From: YOUNG@tattoo.cs.widener.edu (Rob Young)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: net.views - dec and alpha
Date: 13 Jan 1993 05:25:15 GMT
Organization: Widener News/Mail Gateway
Distribution: world
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In <AJR.93Jan11144527@pug.hri.com>  ajr@pug.hri.com (MFHorn) writes:
>

>In article <1iq4f0INN9il@chnews.intel.com> bhoughto@sedona.intel.com 
    (Blair P. Houghton) writes:
>> And besides, if they couldn't make money with the Rainbow,
>> how can they hope to make money with this?  The electronics

	The line of reasoning above goes something like:

	  "DEC attempted a new engineering direction with Rainbow and lost 
	   money with the Rainbow (TRUE). Since this is another attempt at 
	   going in a new engineering direction, this too shall fail."

	Pleeeze, are these two even related?  Is the Alpha saddled with 
	limited software as the Rainbow was????

>> industry is first and foremost a creature of marketing.
>> Superwhizzy parts at bargain-basement prices don't sell
>> themselves well in any context.

	Superwhizzy parts may not sell themselves in and of themselves.
	Superwhizzy machines/software/solutions/addyourshere do sell.

>
>IMHO, Alpha's big selling point is it will run VMS.  VAX performance has
>been falling behind the RISC world, and this will allow their rather

	This is somewhat fallacious.  VAXes don't do well on the low-end
	of the world and Alpha will turn that around.  But even today
	VAXes do quite well when compared to RISC platforms. 
	From Open Systems Today's latest offering (1/4/93 page 8 OLTP survey):

		VAX 6000-660  number 2 in performance in tpsB
		VAX 4000-100  number 2 in price/perfomance tpsA-Local

	and several other VAXes scattered through there.  Imagine when they
	benchmark the Alpha/VMS boxes with 4 times the CPU punch ;^).


>large installed base to upgrade to a shiny, new, FAST architecture.  The
>transition looks like it'll be pretty smooth so customers won't be scared
>off.  Those sales alone should get DEC back on track.  Add new VMS sales,
>sales for Windows NT and Unix customers and you've got a healthy, growing
>market.
>
>Alpha's not a Rainbow.  It's the next leap-frog in the high end RISC
>arena *and* a new upgrade path for the VAX.
>
>I see comp.unix.questions in the list, so I feel obligated to mention
>that I personally hate VMS.  But I'm buying the stock, not the OS..
>
	Let's look at what Alpha is initially:

		1) 5 different VMS platforms announced on November 10th.
		   The low-end machine being a 108 Specmark89 workstation
		   for $15,000.

		2) OSF/1 machines scheduled for March/April announcement.
		   DEC will reclaim the high-ground from HP with a *higher*
		   high-end workstation.

	Still to come:

	"Lurking behind a cardboard cutout of Captain Kirk during Cisco's 
	megabash with a Star Trek theme, I overheard one partygoer outline
	DEC's plans to take Alpha where no processor has gone before.  Seems
	a quad-issue version of the Alpha processor is due in December 1993.
	My pals added that the EV-5 eats up about 60 watts.

	Later that evening, during an Exploratorium function hosted by TGV,
	I was scratching my head trying to figure out what kind of applications
	would need 275 Specmarks.  I mean, the EV-4 is a dual-issue processor
	that already screams."

				Rumor Roundup
				Digital News and Review 11/12/93


And if you want, you can get a copy of Microprocessor Report Volume 6 Number
9 that talks about the 1000 MHz (that is correct, 1 GHz) Alpha coming out
of DECWRL (Western Research Lab). They will have testable silicon by the
end of this year.  Yeah, another Rainbow alright.  Instead of being caused
by the *Sun*, it will occlude the Sun ;)

				Rob


                                                     young@tattoo.cs.widener.edu
"Even the street fighters over at Sun are concerned when they look at what's
happening with Windows.  They see the way the market works: The users are a
bunch of sheep, and Billy [Gates, Microsoft CEO] is the shepherd"
						-- Maureen O'Gara
						   Unigram-X editor