jmbj@whuts.ATT.COM (BITTMAN) (12/08/88)
The results of the Bus Survey have Arrived! I will continue to keep up this list if I get any more responses. But these are the results as of 12-7-88. Total Number of responses = 18 1) Bus using Now 2) Bus Expect to be using 3-5 years 3) Upgrade Status 4) Bus wants to win MCA AT PC EISA NuBus Wait Now "Winner" 1) 6 12 6 2) 8 5 1 5 1 3) 3 1 1 11 5 4) 1 5 1 Additional comments give an idea of how diverse the opinions are: EISA is a better upgrade path, but where I can find some technical information about EISA without paying a few thousand dollar? Depending on how things go I think (emphasis on think) we will be using EISA based machines when they become available. The reason being we have to many PC or AT bus adapter cards ( for networking and such ) some of which there is ( at least presently ) no MCA equivalent. I want MCA to win (I fear that EISA will become outdated as processor speeds push ever higher). I use PC and MCA now. I will use MCA in the future. I think that this EISA thing will just give IBM extra time to get MCA into the market before the competitors respond. Before EISA, I wasn't sure where the future was, now I'm sure it's MCA. >What bus do you expext to be using? MCA. no question. However, the sun 386i uses AT. so MCA for PC's, AT bus in workstations unless sun changes. ... I don't think MCA is the future. I expect to be using MCA, because EISA will probably fail. However, I hope that EISA doesn't I'd like to see a BUS STANDARD (EISA) become popular so that we can get manufacturers to build cards we could use in *all* comupters. The AT BUS handles most everything we need NOW, but what about the future. MCA s*cks ... we bought (had to) some PS/2s and now we want to put them into an existing STARLAN network. AT&T might come out with STARLAN-10 cards in the future, but that does us a lot of good now, and even then we'll need a Gateway. We have AT/XT systems with dedicated emulators in them that we don`t want to throw away. (I don't suppose we could force IBM to upgrade our AT cards to MCA or make a converter box of some sort) Today we are using the AT-bus, and have no intention for today to change bus. But if and when we are changing to a new bus, it got be a open bus. Not this hysch-hysch that IBM is doing, reveal no info and those that are to develop cards has to join the IBM-fraction (not good) So if it is to be a new bus much is speaking to the EISA. Greetings from a cold Sweden!!! I expect to be using whichever "wins". Which one would I rather be using? EISA. I'll probably upgrade to EISA. Personally, I wished the "Gang of Nine" had gone for NuBus. When I trash my old 8 bit bus machine, I am not going to keep any of the old (slow) cards, so what do I care about compatibility? NuBus would have at least kept down costs by allowing memory cards etc to work in Intel and Apple architectures. (I think?) Otherwise, I don't see going to MCA because the cards are too small. That is my only complaint with them, that the really neat stuff will be too expensive because of the need for ASICs. Probably just AT, although I will be waiting for some EISA machines before my next purchase. I like the idea of Well-American's multi-bus machine. (Freudian slip - I just typed multi-bugs) Wait till next Summer. If EISA does anything, maybe I'll buy it, otherwise AT. >upgrade MCA-based machine which will run AIX. Jim Bittman, whuts!jmbj