Small businesses stopping off at Intel's Internet Station
(Dominion; 08/24/98)
CHIPMAKER Intel says its new InBusiness Internet Station, which provides
multi-user access to the Net, is proving to be a big hit with small businesses.
The uptake has been very good, says Grant Finer, Intel's Auckland- based
network engineer.
The Internet Station, launched in February, fits quite well into New Zealand
small businesses, he says.
The unit is installed between a hub, or switch, on a PC network and an
outside telephone line, says Mr Finer, and becomes the default gateway for the
network.
It allows customers to access the Internet simultaneously through a single
Internet service provider and one phone line.
The station supports both analogue and ISDN (integrated services digital
network) connectivity, and allows users to send and receive e-mail messages.
Two additional analogue PC card modems can be used for faxing, accessing
bulletin boards, and getting into commercial online databases.
While accessing the Net, users can run applications on their computers and
share files, and the like, on their network as they would normally do, says Mr
Finer.
Moller Yamaha, which imports and distributes a range of Yamaha products in
New Zealand, has an Internet Station.
According to Stuart Herbert, Moller Yamaha's system administrator,
installation was hassle-free.
"We plugged it in and within three-quarters of an hour we were up and
running," he says.
Ease of implementation and, coupled with cost-effectiveness, were the key
reasons why the company bought the station, he says.
Previously, the company had just one PC to provide Internet access which was
a major inconvenience for all the staff who had to use the Internet, he says.
They had to traipse down the hall, dial up the Internet access company, and
wait for access, says Mr Herbert.
The Intel In-Business Internet Station is distributed by Tech Pacific and
Electronic Resources.
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