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Novell "NEST" Extends Network to Consumer, Home and Office Devices Paves Way to Pervasive Computing and 1 Billion Users OREM, UT -- February 6, 1995-- Novell today announced it has begun to ship software technology that it believes will be instrumental in making computer networks meaningful to a billion users by the year 2000. Novell expects networks to significantly expand as network connections extend to telephones, televisions and many other devices -- from copiers to utility meters -- that people rely on in the office, in industry, at school and at home. The company is now shipping Novell Embedded Systems Technology (NEST), software being used by manufacturers of office equipment, process controls and consumer devices to increase the value of these products to users through built-in network connections. With NEST software printers, copiers, security systems, factory controls, TV settops, home appliances, personal digital assistants -- even automobiles will gain Novell's NetWare client software, bringing them online to the global network. (See related NEST Software Developer's Kit an! nouncement.)NEST is a critical component of Novell's vision for pervasive computing, where people connect with each other and the information they need anytime, anywhere. Networks are the underlying infrastructure for pervasive computing. By extending networking capabilities into devices in nontraditional environments such as the home and factory, Novell and its partners expect to expand the reach of networking and its benefits of increased productivity, to a broader audience of non-technical users. Early NEST adopters who are placing the NetWare client within their devices are Ricoh, Fujitsu, Xerox, Canon, Andover Controls, IC Card, I-Data, Securicor Telecoms, Castelle, Digital Products and QMS. As a result of NEST devices, networking will become an underpinning of everyday life, a transparent universal service like electricity and as easy to use as the telephone. Because network applications written for these devices will be the interface to the network and its services, users will not have to know anything about computing in order to access the information they need, maintain control over the tasks they perform and increase productivity. NEST is built on NetWare 4, the world's most advanced network operating system, which already connects 40 million users worldwide and is integrated with the estimated 30 million UNIX -- more --
NEST Extends Network to All Electronic Devices2-2-2-2 NetWare Directory Services (NDS), the directory in NetWare 4, is critically important to managing the diversity of devices and systems that NEST will bring onto emerging global networks. Users will want to have the same view of the network and logon only once to its services whether they are at home accessing shopping opportunities from their TVs, in their cars scheduling servicing from the nearest manufacturer-approved mechanic, or in their office accessing a file that resides on the mainframe. Information system managers will want a single point of administration as well as a single view of all these new devices on the network. NDS provides the single directory that gives them that seamless access to information and centralized control, without anyone having to know where the information ultimately resides. NEST-enabled devices will also grow in importance as Novell and AT&T launch AT&T NetWare Connect Services (ANCS), a secure global public data network based on NetWare and developed specifically for business to business transactions. NEST devices will take their place as full citizens on that network. Later this year Novell will bring to market a consumer-friendly user interface, code-named Corsair, that application developers will use in NEST applications. Corsair hides the complexity of the network and its services by providing a world metaphor in 3D that can be customized to represent any environment -- an office, a showroom, grocery aisles, etc. Using Corsair's Ferret browser and familiar icons, users can connect ANCS, the Internet and other public data networks. In the coming world of electronic commerce, for instance, users of NEST TV settops (from General Instrument), ANCS (from AT&T) and Tuxedo (Novell's online transaction processing environment), would be able to visit the gift shop in The Louvre Museum in Paris, peruse the merchandise, select an item to purchase and pay for it with a charge card. NEST is one of the best examples of Novell's philosophy of partnering with other companies to deliver pervasive computing. Too big an undertaking for any one company and an estimated twenty year process, pervasive computing will take the expertise of many hardware and software vendors, channel partners and service and support organizations. Customers can expect Novell to provide those parts of pervasive computing it has historically been involved with: the networking infrastructure, network services, and applications that are tightly integrated with those services. By maintaining an open environment for developers, original equipment manufacturers and related industry partners such as telecom providers, financial services companies, cable operators and content publishers, Novell hopes to hasten pervasive computing. The business of Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) is connecting people with people and the information they need, enabling them to act on it anytime, anyplace. Novell is the world's leading network software provider. The company's products provide the distributed infrastructure, network services, advanced network access and network applications required to make networked information and pervasive computing an integral part of everyone's daily life.
Press Contact:
Jessica Kersey
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