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Intel Launches P-II Xeon Chip for High-end Apps Intel Asia Electronics Inc. has launched the new Pentium II (P-II) Xeon
processor to meet the requirements of mid-range and higher servers and workstations. They
have been targeted at applications such as Internet services, data warehousing, digital
content creation, electronic and mechanical design automation. The new processor delivers
high performance due to its larger, faster Level (L2) caches, multiprocessing capabilities
and a 100 MHz system bus. Systems based on the P-II Xeon chip can be configured to scale
to four or eight processors and beyond. Said Atul Vijaykar, director, South Asia, Intel,
"P-II Xeon processors will extend Intel architecture into the highest reaches of the
enterprise, also addressing the demanding workstation computing tasks."
Key features of the P-II Xeon processor include: 0.25-micron
P6 microarchitecture core operating at 400 MHz; 512 KB and 1 MB L2 cache options; support
for greater than 4 GB of memory for servers using its Extended Server Memory Architecture;
and system management feature via the system management bus.
Close on the heels of the new chip launch, HCL Infosystems
Ltd. announced its high-end 'Infiniti Global Line' range of servers and workstations
incorporating the P-II Xeon processor. The servers and workstations will be manufactured
at its ISO 9002-certified facilities at Noida and Pondicherry.
Meanwhile, after Microsoft Corp.'s launch of its Windows 98
OS, HCL Infosystems has enabled its Busybee 2000 and Beanstalk PCs with this OS.
Apple Launches G3
PowerBook in India
 Apple Computer International
Ltd. has launched the new PowerBook G3 Series of notebooks in India. Targeted at
multimedia application developers, digital video editors and pre-press professionals, the
G3 PowerBooks run Mac OS 8.1. The 233 MHz PowerBook G3 with 12.1-inch display, 32 MB
SDRAM, 66 MHz memory bus, 20x CD-ROM drive, and 2 GB hard disk drive would cost Rs
1,79,000, the model with G3/250 processor with 80 MHz memory bus, 4 GB hard drive,
13.3-inch display would cost Rs 2,71,000, while the G3/292 MHz with 64 MB SDRAM, and 14.1
inch TFT display comes with a hefty price tag of Rs 3,72,000.
During the launch in Delhi last month, a Mac user pointed out
that the G3/233 notebook has a price tag of $2,000 in the Apple Store (at www.apple.com ),
the online store of Apple Computer. "Even if you add 50 percent customs duty, though
about 42 percent, it adds up to Rs 1,30,000 for the PowerBook." Apple officials
explained the high price tag with 10 percent premium to be paid for Special Import
Licence, forward billing of dollar, etc. But Apple India did not have a plausible
explanation to offer.
Where technology is concerned, they are ahead than other
notebooks, claimed Naresh Thapa, acting managing director of Apple SAARC. "These are
almost two times faster than the P-II-based notebooks ranked on the Bytemark processors
test scores."
Global Operations Yield
NIIT Major Revenues
 The global revenues for NIIT
Ltd. and its subsidiaries for the nine-month period ended June 30, 1998, reached Rs 46.90
crore, up by 67 percent over the corresponding period last year, that is Rs 28.06 crore.
Net profit stood at Rs 4.53 crore, up by 92 percent. For NIIT, international revenues grew
by 83 percent to touch Rs 21.96 crore. This represents 47 percent of its global revenues
for the nine-month period ending June 30, 1998. While USA fetched 112 percent, Europe
contributed 91 percent and Japan 132 percent to the total international revenues.
NIIT's operations in the third quarter (April-June 98)
resulted in revenues of Rs 13.07 crore, up by 54 percent from Rs 8.49 crore in the
corresponding quarter last year. According to Vijay Thadani, president and CEO, NIIT,
"The significant growth has been spurred by the performance in both domestic and
overseas operations as well as expansion of three business lines like software, training
and educational multimedia." Thadani added, "NIIT's operations in the US and
Europe have been better than expected while fresh software and education business for NIIT
in the ASEAN region has led to a turnaround. And a close watch on expenses and interest
has brought in improved profitability." While the multimedia business has grown by 88
percent to reach Rs 7.95 crore, software business has grown by 68 percent fetching Rs
21.29 crore; training operations grew only by 59 percent to rope in Rs 17.66 crore.
The ASEAN geography saw a significant turnaround recording
growth of 32 percent over the same period last year. This is an increase over the 12
percent growth that it registered in the first six months of 1997-98.
VSNL to Sign MOU for
Submarine NW
Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL), the country's international
telecom carrier, is set to sign an MOU for Project Oxygen, a $15-billion submarine optical
fibre network project. According to company officials, the company's equity exposure would
be between $10 million to $20 million. Among the most ambitious projects so far, Project
Oxygen is a global optical fibre network under planning and is a self-restoring network
comprising 158,000 km of fibre-optic cable with 101 terminal points in 74 countries. It
would be based on ATM technology as against the existing fibre cables which offer
point-to-point connectivity.
The project is similar to the recently completed FLAG
(Fibre-optic Link Around the Globe), now the longest submarine cable in the world, running
from UK to Japan.
Cable installation is scheduled to begin next year with the
first few loops going into service by year 2000. The network, divided into 38 loops, will
be ready for service by year 2003.
Said Amitabh Kumar, acting chairman and managing director,
VSNL, "Participation in Project Oxygen will allow VSNL to obtain international
transmission capacity at a significantly lower cost, thus reducing its cost of
international networking. It will enhance our capability for providing multimedia and
Internet capacity on a global scale." |
