W8SDZ@SIMTEL20.ARPA (Keith Petersen) (06/10/87)
Forwarded from my RCP/M...I am NOT the author.
--Keith Petersen
Arpa: W8SDZ@SIMTEL20.ARPA
Uucp: {bellcore,decwrl,harvard,lll-crg,ucbvax,uw-beaver}!simtel20.arpa!w8sdz
GEnie: W8SDZ
RCP/M Royal Oak: 313-759-6569 - 300, 1200, 2400 (V.22bis) or 9600 (USR HST)
--cut-here--ZEDUX280.DOC--cut-here--
The ZEDUX Z280 Accelerator
by Rick Charnes, 7 June 1987, San Francisco
What's going on here? A generic Z280 add-on card for CP/M
computers? An operating system, assembler and linker already
available for it?
I have in front of me a copy of a document dated January 17,
1987 produced by a company by the name of Zedux, Inc. at 14402
Hamlin Ave. #C, Van Nuys, CA 91401, phone 818/787-0113 about the
above. It was given to me by a gentleman at our BAMDUA general
meeting last night at which Peter Mireau of MicroPro spoke. I am
reading and I am amazed by what I see. This company has
apparently produced a generic Z280 board called the Accel 280 and
has developed not only a genuinely multitasking OS to go along
with it, but an assembler and linker as well. This is the first
I have heard of this. Can this be for real? The OS, called RP
for Remote Partition, sounds like it culls from the best of Z-
System: multiple command lines, aliases, pathing, named
directories, memory-resident flow control (including
REPEAT/UNTIL, WHILE/ENDWHILE, BREAK, GOTO/LABEL). There are
string/shell variables and expression analysis operating on both
numbers and strings.
The document describes RP as being able to run any number of
CP/M 2.2 "partitions" simultaneously. Each program "sees" a
standard CP/M 2.2 environment, with full BDOS and BIOS access.
Programs can use almost the entire 64k space without having to
share this with the operating system. There is a task console
handler that allows the user to control and monitor the operation
of multiple tasks. Multiple terminals can be connected to the
same computer and a different task run on each, with privileges
given to each task.
The way the multi-tasking is done is interesting. If you
wish each command on your multiple command line to run
subsequently one after another as we are used to, separate your
commands with the familiar semicolon. If you want them to run
concurrently, separate them with a "&".
Multitasking has two modes. One is referred to in the
document as "Unix style," in which each task's output mixes in to
the console display. In the other mode, apparently when a task
other than the one being worked on finishes an output line, it is
made to scroll upwards. You can swap tasks with a "rotate" key
which flips through the tasks currently executing.
The doc also describes the Z280 single-pass assembler, AS,
and linker, LN.
What is going on here? Has this been happening beneath our
noses with none of us knowing about it? The product is
apparently available at this time for $350, with 256k DRAM. I am
unsure as to why it is being supplied with only 256k RAM since we
were all expecting a full meg. I assume this will be expandable
at some point. A full package can be had for $600 which includes
the basic hardware card, an "RP-CP/M compatible" software monitor
program to talk to the chip (separately $200; I guess only
necessary for development work), a extension cable if you lack
sufficient space inside your computer for the board, and the
assembler and linker (separately $150).
A PC-Pursuit-accessible BBS line to Zedux is said to be
available at (818) 787-0458 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but I
just tried it (Sunday afternoon 6/7/87) and there was no answer.
From everything I can gather after having scanned the
article with a cynical eye it seems like this product is up and
running, ready to roll. It does not sound like vaporware: a
sentence from the document reads, "The Zedux Accel 280 is
available at this time." The person who gave me the document
says Zilog referred him to the company. As far as I know Zedux
has not contacted Echelon, user groups, or any of the traditional
CP/M/Z-System institutions or sources. I have no idea if they
are coordinating work with High Tech Research with the latter's
UltraBoard or Echelon with their planned ZOS. I am aware of no
advertising. Are they simply too busy to advertise? Is anyone
using it? Does anyone know anything about this product?