THE INFERNO(TM) OPERATING SYSTEM

Inferno(TM) operating system facilitates the creation and support of d istributed services in the new and emerging world of network environme nts, such as those typified by CATV and direct satellite broadcasting systems, as well as the Internet. In addition, as the entertainment te lecommunications, and computing industries converge and interconnect, different types of data networks are arising, each one as potentially useful and profitable as the telephone network. However, unlike the te lephone system, which started with standard terminals and signaling, t hese new networks are developing in a world of diverse terminals, netw ork hardware, and protocols. Inferno is designed so that it can insula te the diverse providers of content and services from the equally vari ed transport and presentation platforms. The Inferno Business Unit of Lucent Technologies and the Computing Sciences Research Center of Bell Labs, the R&D arm of Lucent designed it specifically as a commercial product. It is intended for licensing in the marketplace and for use i n conjunction with new Lucent offerings. Inferno incorporates many yea rs of Bell Labs research in operating systems, languages, on-the-fly c ompilers, graphics, security, networking, and portability in providing an effective and economical network operating system.