lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein) (04/15/86)
Due to a number of inquiries from people who don't regularly read net.news.stargate, I thought I'd mention here that the prototype Stargate buffer box (an inexpensive 68000-based board) has become available for firmware development. This board, which is slated for mass-production, is a major part of the national satellite/cable TV distribution system of Stargate and will serve to error-correct, flow control, and otherwise manage data from the Stargate decoders feeding from the satellite/cable TV feeds. The board serves to offload most of the processing overhead from the host computers which are the ultimate receivers of the transmitted data. A large number of persons have volunteered to work on the buffer box firmware, and as soon as a couple of logistical issues are worked out the firmware development will begin. Without going into details here, this seems like a good time to mention that Stargate is alive and well, and has entered a new aspect of its life--and "organizational" phase that must exist alongside the ongoing technical operations. A proposal that will move toward establishing Stargate as an available service, addressing a variety of "news" and mail issues, will be presented to Usenix for their consideration. Usenix has expressed a strong desire for this plan to be submitted, so that the issues surrounding a transition from Stargate "experiment" to "service" can be evaluated. My next significant public discussion of Stargate will be at the Atlanta Usenix this June. As always, I'm glad to talk to anyone with interest in the project. And of course, I want to thank all of you who have supported the project up to now--I hope we have your continuing support into the future as we move toward the goal of making actual Stargate services generally available. Thanks! --Lauren--