robert@cheviot.uucp (Robert Stroud) (10/07/85)
This has got nothing to do with Lisp, but I couldn't let the following comments (which have also got nothing to do with Lisp) pass unchallenged! Chris Lamb, a self-confessed "Uncontrollable Perq Fanatic" writes... > I say the Perq is underpublicized, which is strange > since it was the first REAL commercially available workstation, the first > with RasterOp hardware, and one of the early workstations to use Ethernet. > They even offered an interface to the Canon laser printer before anyone > else. Ah, but they didn't bring up Unix on it... Rob MacLachlan disagrees... > The PERQ is as dead as a dodo. PERQ system has closed their doors due to an > inability to sell machines. PERQ never quite got their shit together on > their first generation machine, and their second generation machine which > they needed to compete high-end micro systems never got off the ground. In the UK (and Europe for that matter) the PERQ is marketed by ICL microcoded as a C machine running a version of Unix called PNX complete with window manager, distributed file system (Newcastle Connection) and other goodies. It forms part of the UK Common Base Policy which means that anyone requesting funds and resources from the Science & Engineering Research Council is liable to be given a PERQ or two as part of their grant. Most Universities have probably got a few. The Atlantic has got two sides - so has the PERQ story. Robert Stroud, Computing Laboratory, University of Newcastle upon Tyne. ARPA robert%cheviot.newcastle@ucl-cs.ARPA UUCP ...!ukc!cheviot!robert JANET robert@newcastle.cheviot