jans@mako.UUCP (Jan Steinman) (12/01/85)
In article <4616@alice.UUCP> ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) writes: >Well, IBM *DID* choose the 68000... to use in a little box >they called the CS9000. Apparently it didn't catch on. Wrong. This is like saying Ziff-Davis chose to run a hackers' magazine, just because they bought out (and subsequently destroyed through neglect) Microsystems. The end result is the same. I was working as a consultant to IBM Federal Systems Division at the time of the purchase. They were using 68000s in an embedded sonar thing, and charged my company to come up with a development and test environment. We looked at the numerous 68000 Unix boxes available at the time -- none were suitable for real-time operation. The 9000 was beautifully suited to the problem, and the internal funny-money cost ment they could set up three test stations for every two they had budgeted. We recommended it heartily. We ended up going through three levels of management before finding out that the machines were not available for in-house use and would be cancelled. We actually got to "borrow" one from ISG -- it was quite nice for dedicated process control and real-time software development, but it was by no means a business or hackers' box. They ended up using a two-tierd approach -- tying a Motorola ed board to a IBM PC via serial link for the test stations and using extra Tek MDSs for development. Nothing talked well to anything else and the lack of the 9000 probably cost thousands of person-hours and much cursing. To sum up, IBM did NOT DESIGN the 9000, they did NOT MARKET it (I suspect the few ads were to appease ISG folk who had labored on it?), and they did NOT PRODUCE IN QUANTITY even enough of these to satisfy internal need. Through that experience, I am convinced that IBM purchased ISG for some other asset it held, and never intended to actually produce the box. -- :::::: Artificial Intelligence Machines --- Smalltalk Project :::::: :::::: Jan Steinman Box 1000, MS 60-405 (w)503/685-2956 :::::: :::::: tektronix!tekecs!jans Wilsonville, OR 97070 (h)503/657-7703 ::::::
brianu@ada-uts.UUCP (12/06/85)
I don't know what IBM's normal procedure is, but when the Instruments 9000
came out I saw many forms of advertisments. I received an invitation to
a free seminar (including lunch) about the machine (direct mail), and I
saw ads in magazines. Granted, there weren't any TV commercials during
the Super-Bowl about it, but then it wasn't intended for the mass home
consumer market. I do remember considering it for home use, and some
people I worked with were *very* impressed with its data-collection
and process control abilities.
Brian Utterback
Intermetrics Inc.
733 Concord Ave. Cambridge MA. 02138. (617) 661-1840
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