General Dynamics Itronix Tadpole® Ultra-Thin Client Notebook Selected by Cascades Tissue Division; Move Will Reduce Energy Consumption, Improve Workforce Mobility

CUPERTINO, Calif., June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Tadpole® M1500 ultra-thin clients by General Dynamics Itronix have been selected by Cascades Tissue Division, a business of Cascades, Inc., to replace PC-type computers for employees whose jobs take them to various locations within their worksite or to facilities located throughout North America. The selection is part of the division's recent shift in IT strategy to centralize network infrastructure, reduce operating costs and reinforce their commitment as a 'green' company by reducing power consumption.  

Dany Briard, director of Information Technology for the Cascade Tissue Division, said, "The M1500 met all the critical computing requirements for our employees and topped it off with one very significant factor, power savings. A standard PC uses about 80 watts of electricity to operate and the Tadpole M1500 cuts that amount in half."

Mark Johnston, general manager of General Dynamics Itronix, which manages the Tadpole family of ultra-thin clients, secure mobile workstations and desktop/rackmount servers, commented, "Ultra-thin clients move core computing elements from end-user devices to a secure, easily managed centralized server system. This way the IT staff can focus on server support rather than hundreds or thousands of individual PCs."

Ultra-thin client computers improve company productivity and efficiency as users can pull a Tadpole M1500 off a storage shelf, enter their identification card and connect to the company network instantly. The unit looks and acts like a typical PC notebook computer when connected to the network operating platform, which for Cascades is Oracle's Sun Ray™ product. The difference between a PC and the ultra-thin client is the lack of a hard drive, memory and software, which makes the Tadpole units virtually immune to viruses and security issues associated with lost or stolen computers. Other features include:

• Instant access to customized user environments from any thin client on the network (LAN or WAN)
• Simple plug-and-play set up or replacement
• Network maintenance, computer imaging and technical support are virtually eliminated
• Low power consumption, improved battery life
• Lightweight, compact size.

General Dynamics Itronix's Tadpole product family is part of General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). Additional information is available at www.gdc4s.com/tadpole.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 91,200 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about General Dynamics is available online at www.gd.com.

SOURCE General Dynamics C4 Systems