Thousands of products and technologies are announced each year, but few manage to fulfill the potential of their spec sheets. Yet every year, a select group of hardware and software delivers innovations that reset our expectations by allowing us to work in new ways.
Each year, we honor those top-tier products with the BYTE Editors' Choice Awards. Awards of Excellence showcase technical innovation that sets a new standard for a product class. Awards of Distinction single out products that are important from a
technical, features, or price standpoint. Awards of Merit go to products worth noting for an interesting feature or price.
Our award winners represent a breadth of techno
logies, yet all the honorees have something in common: They all continue to make computing exciting.
Awards of Excellence
Adobe PrintGear
PostScript's younger cousin enables low-cost devices to deliver high-quality output. Adobe Systems, Mountain View, CA; (415) 961-4400;
http://www.adobe.com
.
Apple Cyberdog 1.1
Apple's Internet technology makes point-and-click integration of Web content practical. Apple Computer, Cupertino, CA; (408) 996-1010;
http://www.apple.com
.
Intergraph TD-410
with Intense 3D card
Combine a dual-Pentium Pro system and Intergraph's sophisticated 3-D accelerator and you get a performance leader in personal graphics workstations. Intergraph, Huntsville, AL; (205) 730-2000;
http://www.intergraph.com
.
Metrowerks CodeWarrior 10
A unified front end makes it easy to develop applications for Be, Palm Pilot, Magic Cap, Windows, and embedded applications. Metrowerks, Austin, TX; (512) 873-4700;
http://www.metrowerks.com
.
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
The newest NT is faster than its predecessors, more agnostic about networks, and generous in the quality of Web services it delivers in the standard package. Microsoft, Redmond, WA; (206) 882-8080;
http://www.microsoft.com
.
Palm Pilot
A svelte PDA that's small enough to carry around easily and a docking station that makes data sharing with desktop PCs practical. U.S. Robotics (Palm Computing Division), Los Altos, CA; (415) 949-9560;
http://www.usr.com/palm
.
Proxima Desktop Projector 4100Z
A $10,000 presentation "app
liance" that combines Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processor and Adobe's Acrobat. Proxima, San Diego, CA; (619) 457-5500;
http://www.prxm.com
.
Silicon Graphics O2 workstation
A clever unified memory architecture efficiently handles complex video and graphics; street prices start below $6000. Silicon Graphics, Mountain View, CA; (415) 960-1980;
http://www.sgi.com
.
Stratus Computer Radio PC
Fault-tolerant Pentium Pro that supports n-way clustering. Stratus Computer, Marlborough, MA; (508) 460-2000;
http://www.stratus.com
.
Tektronix Phaser 550
The first network peripheral we tested with a Web browser interface. This 1200-dpi color printer also distinguishes itself with a 14-page-per- minute monochrome output mode. Tektronix, Wilsonville, OR; (503) 682-7370;
http://www.tek.com
.
Wall Data Salsa 2.1
A visual database development tool with clever object-oriented technology. Wall Data, Kirkland, WA; (206) 814-9255;
http://www.walldata.com
.
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1997 Editors' Choice Awards: Awards of Excellence
