MS nabs Madge for Windows

Networker Madge has stolen a march in the battle for the next generation of Token Ring, by licensing its Token Ring drivers to Microsoft for inclusion in future releases of Windows NT and Windows 95.

'Microsoft has picked us as the de facto standard,' said Madge UK market development manager David Pool. 'The others will be judged by how well they compete with us.' Microsoft had previously used a mixture of codes from other vendors including Olicom and IBM, but had decided to concentrate on just one vendor.

The agreement initially covers Windows NT, but will also cover future versions of Windows 95. 'It gives us the edge because we get access to what Microsoft are doing,' said Pool.

He claimed the Token Ring networking technology still had a future, despite its speed limitations. 'We are adding ATM switching to increase network speed,' he said.