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by Lauren Gibbons Paul, Contributing Editor Posted on Friday, November 03, 2006 3:10:08 PM   | Abstract: | Thin clients and Flash memory help the newest industrial PCs avoid hard drive failures while printers get powerful new chips. |
Most people don't think of industrial computers and printers as exciting and new. But they are important. These workhorses form the backbone of many a manufacturing production line. And the vendors in this space have steadily introduced innovations and enhancements for customers that need hardy equipment to withstand extremes in temperature, vibration, noise and dirt. The industrial setting is notoriously hard on rotating computer components, for example. OEMs are bringing out models that take a variety of approaches to addressing that challenge. Rockwell Automation (Milwaukee) is introducing in August a 15-inch VersaView Panel PC that has a Flash memory drive rather than a hard drive. Flash memory is solid state -- there are no moving parts, lowering the chances of breakdown and extending the lifecycle of the machine in high-vibration environments. "Vibration hurts hard drives. Flash drives are better in industrial environments," says Paul Whitney, VersaView product manager. Rockwell Automation worked with Microsoft Corp. (Redmond, WA) for several months to develop a version of the Microsoft XP Professional operating system that could run on the Flash drive. Absent this joint development, the only other option would have been to run Microsoft XP Embedded, which would have limited the number of available applications. [Click to continue] |