IBM unveils new workstation

Federal IT managers looking for an affordable workstation that doesn't sacrifice

computing power and graphics capabilities have a new option with today's

release of the new IntelliStation E Pro from IBM Corp.

The E Pro will cost less than $1,700 once General Services Administration

pricing is available, said Alissa Eckstein, worldwide product manager for

IntelliStation at IBM. It features up to a 1 GHz Intel Corp. Pentium III

processor, up to 256M of memory, and 2-D and 3-D graphics engines.

The machines are pre-loaded with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 2000 operating

system, but they also can come with Windows NT or Linux.

The new E Pro enables users to do advanced streaming video and other

applications at a lower price point than the competition, said Terry Duff,

worldwide IntelliStation marketing manger.

"The applications environment drives workstation buys," he said. "Memory,

hardware, graphics, scalability. We have a portfolio of 209 certified applications.

Our nearest competitor has less than 50. It's all about process improvement

and cycle time reduction — getting it off the drawing board and into the

field."

Federal agencies already using IBM workstations include the departments

of Energy, Education, Transportation and Defense.