Camarillo, CA — (press release excerpt) — Total Impact today announced the briQ; a PowerPC based network appliance computer. Measuring just 5.74 inches wide, 1.625 inches tall and 8.9 inches deep — approximately the same dimensions as a CD-ROM drive — the briQ gives developers and OEMs the first high-performance, production ready compute engine sized for insertion into an industry standard half height… drive bay. It weighs approximately 1.85 pounds.

Featuring PowerPC G3 or G4 processors, the briQ is a customizable computing appliance designed to easily handle performance hungry applications. With Linux as its operating system, the briQ is a versatile platform for a wide range of applications and products such as firewalls, routers, security devices and web servers. The briQ's form factor is also a real plus since it allows product designers to specify for current or future uses with full confidence that it will always fit a standard housing without modification.

“The PowerPC and Linux have enabled us to develop the most powerful network appliance in the smallest foot-print available,” said Brad Nizdil, President of Total Impact. “We are very excited about the briQ's potential and have already received commitments from several OEMs.”

According to Nizdil, the briQ was developed by Total Impact as a “yesterday, today and tomorrow solution.” In its widely accepted standard form factor, “it can be used as a processor addition or replacement for yesterday's older systems, as a processor base for today's new single board or cluster systems, or as the engine or control unit for tomorrow's embedded products. The common denominator is a target insertion bay the size of a CD-ROM drive. We believe the briQ will become a computer standard in an industry where such standards are necessary but heretofore lacking.”

The briQ's unique specifications and features include:

• PowerPC 750 (G3) or 7400 (G4) microprocessor
  
• 1 megabyte of L2 Cache
  
• 100MHz 64-bit System Bus
  
• Up to 512 megabytes of SDRAM
  
• Open Firmware — support for remote booting
  
• Dual 10/100 Base Ethernet support
  
• 64-bit 66MHz PCI Bus
  
• Programmable VFD display
  
• Up to 40 Gigabyte hard drive
  
• RS-232 interface
  
• Linux operating system
  
• Remote Management
  
• Low power requirements
  
• Form-factor the size of a CD-ROM drive

briQ's internal single-board computer
Development systems start at $2,500. Availability is 45 days after receipt of order.

Located in Camarillo, California, Total Impact designs, manufactures and markets multiprocessor products based on PowerPC SMP and PowerPC cluster architectures. These products, featuring TotalMP Technology and the Linux operating system, are scalable and stackable systems that address the most stringent infrastructure and computing requirements established for the Internet, corporate networks, industry, science, research and education.

 
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