Like most everyone in the industry, the Lab Guys spend most of our time looking forward. We wait for the next release of software, anticipate new and more powerful platforms, and search for a killer new product that will set the industry on its collective ear. The rest of the time, we are firmly rooted in the present. We wrestle with software features that don't work as documented, fight hardware components that defy the laws of physics, and struggle to make products jump through the hoops that their four-color printed advertisements show.
The opportunity to look back is rare. In fact, we usually look back only during our paranoid periods, but in this case, we looked back for a worthwhile cause--to reflect on the products we tested in 1997 and recall those that really caught our attention. After giving this subject much thought, we came up with a list of 10 (OK, 11 because of a tie) products that caught our interest and deserve special recognition. Without further ado, here are our "Labsolutely" favorite products from 1997.
Favorite Workstation
- Picking our favorite workstation was our most difficult choice. Over the past year, we had several 500MHz Alpha workstations in the Lab that were both works of art and powerful workhorses. But in the final analysis, we all agreed that Compaq's Professional Workstation 5000 was the unit we'd most like on our desktops. Equipped with dual 200MHz Pentium Pros, a high-end 2D or 3D graphics adapter, sound, and an Ultra Wide SCSI controller, the Professional Workstation 5000 puts the power of a server on your desktop.
Reviewed in Lab Reports, July 1997, page 74
Contact: Compaq Computer · 281-370-0670 or 800-345-1518
Web: http://www.compaq.com
Price: $8636
Favorite Server
- We've seen a lot of servers come into and go out of the Lab over the past year, but only one server brought tears to our eyes when we saw it crated up and carted out of the Lab. That system was Data General's NT Cluster-in-a-Box. The Cluster-in-a-Box combines two interconnected quad 200MHz Pentium Pros in one cabinet. The cabinet also houses a shared RAID
subsystem and a keyboard-video-mouse sharing unit so that you can manage both internal systems with one keyboard-video-mouse setup. Sniff. Just thinking about this server chokes us up.
Reviewed in Lab Reports, June 1997, page 82
Contact: Data General
508-898-5000 or 800-328-2436
Web: http://www.dg.com
Price: $110,000
Favorite Pocket Technology
- Choosing a winning handheld computer resulted in a tie. This category caused more of a religious debate than an analytical discussion about the pros and cons of U.S. Robotics' Pilot and Compaq's PC Companion. Pilot advocates harp about its ease of use, its interface, and how it fits in a pocket. PC Companion advocates spout about the power and flexibility of the Windows CE operating system and the benefits of combined keyboard and pen input. We decided that this technology speaks to our inner child: One Lab Guy's inner child is the next Lab Guy's inner enemy.
Pilot 1000 reviewed in Lab Reports, February 1997, page 71
Contact: U.S. Robotics (a division of 3Com)
408-848-5604 or 800-881-7256
Web: http://www.3com.com
Price: $249
For information about the PC Companion, see Tim Daniels, "Windows CE Meets Windows NT," April 1997, page 135
Contact: Compaq Computer · 281-370-0670 or 800-345-1518
Web: http://www.compaq.com
Price: Call for pricing
Favorite Gee Whiz Gadget
- We get a lot of strange, futuristic looking devices in the Lab. Most of these devices turn out to be pretty mundane, but Wyse's Winterm Wireless 2930 tablet lived up to our Buck Rogers expectations. The Winterm Wireless tablet functions as a thin client on a Citrix WinFrame server and lets you rove around while running standard Windows NT applications. Our favorite form of entertainment was to use the Winterm Wireless tablet as a roving Web browser--we could browse the Web no matter where we were.
Reviewed in Lab Reports, December 1997, page 108
Contact: Wyse Technology · 800-438-9973
Web: http://www.wyse.com
Price: Call for pricing