May 6, 2002 - To help ensure fast and error-free ballot counting and election results, National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: NSM) and Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) will provide Brazil with 52,000 state-of-the-art electronic voting machines for Brazil’s national elections this fall. Powered by National's Geode™ technology, the new voting machines feature an integrated screen and keyboard in a small 30 X 40 X 20 cm form factor. They will be deployed in ballot stations in every Brazilian city for the upcoming presidential, legislative, senatorial and state gubernatorial elections in October 2002.
Electronic voting machines have been used in Brazil since 1996. The new model, known as "Urna Eletronica 2002," further enhances ease-of-use and reliability and drives down system cost, thanks to the performance/power/cost mix of National's Geode technology for thin clients as well as Unisys' expert design and software integration. In areas as remote as the Amazon jungle where electricity is not available, the machines operate on batteries for more than 12 hours.
"National continues to aggressively drive its industry-leading information appliance technology for innovative use in markets that matter -- and elections count," said Mike Polacek, vice president of Information Appliance Division at National Semiconductor. "The Brazilian voting machine is a perfect use of thin-client computing technology for government applications that need improved efficiency and productivity."
The voting machine, running Microsoft's Windows CE operating system, is extremely easy to navigate. To vote for a candidate, voters only need to press a number on the keyboard that's designated for a particular candidate. The candidate's picture then pops up on the screen. Voters can either confirm, reject, choose another candidate or start the selection process again.
Currently, all votes are cast by electronic voting machines in Brazil, the largest nation in South America. The newer and easier-to-use Unisys machines will enable Brazilians to cast votes more efficiently.
Powering the Urna Eletronica 2002 electronic voting machine is National's Geode GX1 integrated processor, along with analog solutions from National. Unisys will be responsible for the maintenance of these voting machines during the elections.
With the addition of the new machines, the country will have 405,000 voting machines nationwide, more than 80% of which are based on National’s Geode technology.
About Unisys
Unisys is a worldwide information technology services and solutions company whose 37,000 people help clients in more than 100 countries utilize technology to seize opportunities, overcome challenges and succeed in the global economy. The company offers a rich portfolio of business solutions led by its expertise in consulting and systems integration, outsourcing, network services and security, coupled with leading enterprise-class server and related technologies. Primary vertical markets for Unisys worldwide are the financial services, transportation, communications, media, commercial and public sectors, including U.S. federal government customers. For more information on the company, access the Unisys home page on the World Wide Web at www.unisys.com. Investor information can be found at www.unisys.com/investor.
About National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor is the premier analog company driving the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of-the-art digital technology, the company is focused on the fast growing markets for wireless handsets; displays; information infrastructure, and information appliances. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National reported sales of $2.1 billion for its last fiscal year and has about 9,800 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.
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