mbkennel@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Matthew B. Kennel) (05/12/89)
NOTE: I posted this about 3 weeks ago, basically asking questions about DG's 88000-based workstation. I received replies that fell into about 3 categories: 1) "Yeah, me too. Post any information that you find." 2) "We have a whole stable of computers here, this is what I find happens on my floating-point programs. We don't have a DG though." 3) "Hey, why don't you look at the NeXT, or Sparcstation." Notice what's missing: information about DG's computer. I've tried mailing to the various DG folks on the newsgroup, but some mail daemons apparently had other ideas. So, if anyone here makes, sells, or uses a Data General 88k workstation, please try to reply or post. (followups are set to comp.sys.misc) Ed note: From what rumors and bits of factioids I can gather, the DG machine appears to be very good technically, at a very good price. On the other hand, I have seen absolutely NO solid information or even promotion from the company. Compare this to Sun's media blitz, and especially helpful employees here on the net. It would be a shame if DG's machine died in oblivion despite fine engineering. ============================================================================= Hello, I'm thinking of getting a workstation, primarily for scientific computation. I was thinking originally of the NeXT machine, but it seems like there are better things coming out, especially for hard-core floating point performance. Right now for my thesis, I've been spoiled by using a Personal Iris workstation, which for my application, is twice as fast as a VAX 8700, and slightly faster than a Convex C120, even when fully vectorized. The Iris is out of my price range ($20K+), but I really don't need all the fancy color graphics. What I want is something like a NeXT: monochrome screen, medium-sized disk (~100 MB), and appropriate amount of memory(8 mb I guess). How does floating point compare to a DEC 3100? Price? I'm probably going to have to go for the lowest end machine, even with educational discount. Could any knowledgable users or vendors tell me: What would be the price on a DG workstation as described above, with and without educational discount? What kind of system software does it come with? Is it BSD or SYSV based? (which is it _really_?) Is X windows included? (i.e. a working, compatible server) How close is the OS to common "industry standards"? Is it possible for individuals to purchase, or can it only work through a department/purchasing officer? Are you with OSF or AT&T/Sun? Much thanks, Matt Kennel mbkennel@phoenix.princeton.edu
mpogue@dg.dg.com (Mike Pogue) (05/12/89)
In article <8384@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> mbkennel@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Matthew B. Kennel) writes: >NOTE: I posted this about 3 weeks ago, basically asking questions >about DG's 88000-based workstation. I received replies that >fell into about 3 categories: > 1) "Yeah, me too. Post any information that you find." > 2) "We have a whole stable of computers here, this is what I find >happens on my floating-point programs. We don't have a DG though." > 3) "Hey, why don't you look at the NeXT, or Sparcstation." > >Notice what's missing: information about DG's computer. >I've tried mailing to the various DG folks on the newsgroup, but some mail >daemons apparently had other ideas. So, if anyone here makes, sells, or >uses a Data General 88k workstation, please try to reply or post. >(followups are set to comp.sys.misc) > >Ed note: From what rumors and bits of factioids I can gather, the DG >machine appears to be very good technically, at a very good price. On the >other hand, I have seen absolutely NO solid information or even promotion >from the company. Compare this to Sun's media blitz, and especially helpful >employees here on the net. It would be a shame if DG's machine died in >oblivion despite fine engineering. > I apologize to anybody who has had trouble getting through to us. The problem is on our end, I think, because we have had multiple complaints about our mailer screwing up, and I have not had a chance to fix it. The CORRECT local mailing address for me is: uunet!dg!mpogue. Hopefully this will be fixed soon.... In the mean time, we can move the discussion over to comp.sys.misc, and I can answer your questions there (I am one of two managers responsible for the DG AViiON 88K-based workstation). If you have ARCHITECTURAL issues, especially addressing the 88K (as opposed to our workstation or server implementations of the 88K), I will be happy to answer those questions here in comp.arch. Mike Pogue Data General Westboro, MA. My opinions are my own....
ggw@wolves.UUCP (Gregory G. Woodbury) (05/16/89)
In <8384@phoenix.princeton.edu> mbkennel@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Matthew B. Kennel) wrote: >NOTE: I posted this about 3 weeks ago, basically asking questions >about DG's 88000-based workstation. I received replies that >fell into about 3 categories: > 1) "Yeah, me too. Post any information that you find." > 2) "We have a whole stable of computers here, this is what I find >happens on my floating-point programs. We don't have a DG though." > 3) "Hey, why don't you look at the NeXT, or Sparcstation." > >Notice what's missing: information about DG's computer. >I've tried mailing to the various DG folks on the newsgroup, but some mail >daemons apparently had other ideas. So, if anyone here makes, sells, or >uses a Data General 88k workstation, please try to reply or post. >(followups are set to comp.sys.misc) > >The Iris is out of my price range ($20K+), but I really don't need >all the fancy color graphics. What I want is something like a > monochrome screen, medium-sized disk (~100 MB), and appropriate amount >of memory(8 mb I guess). Well, I passed on the first note because you specifically asked about the DG machine, and I have only an Opus 8000. It is an 88000, and we got the first commercial one shipped. We are in the midst of pricing another one, and we may have a chance to try our application on one before we decide to buy. I also passed because you were asking about the low end, and I tend to go for the things that are in the 25k to 30k price range. If you have a PC already, you might check out the Opus card - the card is $13,101 + ~$180 + ~$525 (evaluation price thru end of May) and provides a 20MHz (17 MIPS) 88000 with 20MB of ram (less memory has a lower price - I don't remember them offhand). The Opus is really a System V beast, with a BSD overlay for sockets and such. I'm sure they'd love to give you more info than I have. On my double-precision intensive applications, I get about 2.6 times the performance of an Intergraph 30MHz Clipper. I really anticipate the higher speed versions! [Usual disclaimers - I don't work for Opus, I just use their products.] -- Gregory G. Woodbury Center for Demographic Studies, Duke Univ. UUCP: ...mcnc!duke!dukcds!wolves!ggw or ...mcnc!ecsgate!dukeac!wolves!ggw Internet: ggw%dukcds@cs.duke.edu or ggw@dukeac.ac.duke.edu Voice: 919-493-1998 (home) 919-684-6126 (work) USMail: 902 A1 Park Ridge Rd. Durham NC 27713