iav1917%ritcv@cs.rit.edu (alan i. vymetalik) (03/01/89)
Hello Dec-Micro Land:
Every now and then I am amazed by the fact that many (if not most)
of the readers of this newsgroup are still NOT DEC micro
"evangelists!" I mean if, after all this time, you still don't
know everything there is to know about DEC's micros... well, you may
as well buy an IBM PC and read the (crowded, noisy, etc.)
comp.sys.ibm.pc newsgroup. ;-) Oh, by the way, no matter what the
logos on the outside say, the NEW DEC PCs are NOT DEC. They're
Tandy. Don't confuse the issue. This newsgroup discusses DEC's
PCs: The Pro 325/350/380, DecMate I, II, III, III+, the Rainbow
100A/100B/100+/190, and the VaxMate.
Let's face it. The world is no longer going to accept high-quality,
non-commodity-designed machines. It's an IBM PC world. Face it,
folks! DEC built wonderful, albeit high-priced, machines that
last. They're well-built and well-designed. Some break down.
Most keep chugging along. OK. They're not "HOT STUFF." But, then
again, I don't need HOT STUFF to wordprocess my articles and papers.
I need a quality display and keyboard. If it takes 2.5 seconds to
jump to end-of-file instead of 1.5 seconds, I can live with that.
By the time I have $10,000 to spend on an '386 PC system, the
Dynabook will be a reality and all these PCs will be nothing but
a footnote in computer history.
A real power-user knows how to get the Rainbow to do what he/she
wants it to. Hey, with the Rainbow GRAPH.TPU unit floating around
for Turbo Pascal V5.0, the BGIDEMO (graphics!) demo program runs
virtually, flawleslsy on the Rainbow at about a slow AT's speed!
Not too shabby for a supposedly non-compatible machine. By the
way, the Rainbow has an almost complete implementation of the
VT-102 (not just VT-100!) built into ROM! You don't even need to
boot DOS or CP/M to talk to a modem. And, of course, there are
no file handling capabilities in the Rainbow's VT-102 implementation.
If the machine has no disks and can still boot to be a terminal,
where's the data going to go?
There is STILL a small, but extremely dedicated bunch of people
out there who want to see Rainbow users SUCCEED using the hardware
and software that they purchased years ago, and which DEC abandoned
over a year ago.
The number of companies that once supported the Rainbow were many.
Now, only a mere handful remain. But, that handful is doing MORE
than DEC ever did. Suitable Solutions, in particular, is the premier
Rainbow product and support company. If you're a Rainbow owner and
you're not buying Suitable's products (and thereby nOT supporting them
to continue with their development of Rainbow hardware and software),
sell me your machine for $100.00 right now and buy an IBM PC. Good
luck in the PC world. OK, that was a shameless plug. I admit it.
OK. Here's a brief summary of some things available for the Rainbow.
And, MOST of it has come out in the last year to two years. NOT
four or five years ago!
Suitable Solutions sells:
8087 and 8087/clock/calendar boards
The Turbow-286, an 80286/80287 accelerator card for $595.00
1MB memory boards
Clock/calendar chip-boards
Suitable Solutions MS-DOS V3.10A (revisions came out in
October, 1988)
SCache - Reliable Disk Cacheing software
Harddisks and controllers
Suitable also markets IBM-compatibility software and hardware:
CodeBlue V2.0 - runs a VERY WIDE range of non-graphic, PC
DOS programs and languages. Complete
remapping of the Rainbow's keyboard to match
the Enhanced AT keyboard (which, by the way,
is a direct rip-off of DEC's keyboards).
The IDrive - A 360K DSDD floppy drive which reads, writes,
and formats IBM PC diskettes on the Rainbow.
Boston Software Works sells:
LCTERM (in a commercial package format) - Everyone knows about
LCTerm. Right?
Enhanced Rainbow/VENIX V2.0 - Do you want to see a TRUE multi-
tasking, multi-user operating system on the Rainbow?
Forget QNX or MINIX. Venix from BSW is a greatly-
enhanced version of the original VenturCom Venix system.
It's Unix System V7 and it works! I reviewed the OS
a while back and had 5 users running (each doing a task)
and two background processes running. Simultaneously!
OK. It was somewhat slow. If BSW would revamp it for
the 286 board from Suitable, I'd buy it! BTW, four of
the users on my Rainbow were the four consoles available
via the console switch hotkeys. The fifth was a GIGI
hooked up to the serial port.
Wordperfect:
Wordperfect V4.2 (Enhanced Version) - This version is the latest
WP version (before 5.0) and the enhanced version does
screen I/O FASTER than an IBM PC (almost the speed of a
6mhz AT).
Lotus:
1-2-3 V2.01 is available as well as Symphony V1.1
Ashton-Tate:
dBase III V1.1 is available
Borland:
TurboPascal V5.0 (command-line version, only).
The list goes on. Nearly every MAJOR product on the market has a
Rainbow version. Well, that WAS true up until DEC stopped production.
Obviously, there isn't much of an incentive to keep making Rainbow
products if DEC stops making the machine.
Want to know more? Do you have any questions? Send me mail or an
e-mail and ask. I develop software for the DEC Rainbow and I perform
consulting services for the machine. The machine is far from dead.
In fact, two IBM PCs that I've had had since passed away and were
sold off cheaply because they kept breaking down. My Rainbow has been
working FINE for almost FIVE years straight. I've never had my
floppy drives replaced. I have a 33MB harddrive, an 8087 board,
896K of USABLE memory, a graphics card/color monitor, a V20 replacement
CPU for the 8088 (plus new ROMs), and I'm soon going to purchase the
Turbow-286 board. There's even a rumour that Suitable will be
marketing Windows V2.1 for the Rainbow.
You want compatibility? With a lot of companies moving to
Windows-based applications, well, there you have it. Couldn't have
asked for a better thing to happen to the Rainbow, hmm?
Price? Well, DEC built QUALITY equipment. I haven't even had a
board or chip failure in my machine. You paid for Q/A and stringently-
controlled production of the equipment. It's just too bad DEC didn't
know how to play the marketplace. They had high-caliber machine and
they blew it. No doubt about that. They could have owned a good
share of the market had the played their cards properly. Oh well,
what can you do?
Enjoy,
Alan
"The usenet DEC Rainbow Evangelist"
Mail: Alan I. Vymetalik, Prism Software Designs, 8 Barn Swallow Lane
Rochester, New York, 14624-4650, USA Phone: (716)-889-2904
uucp: {seismo}!rochester!ritcv!iav1917 BITNET: aiv1917@ritvax
Reality Check:
Based on highly-expensive, government-sponsored research into the
subject (which has cost the taxpayers of this country plenty as
well as the life of one researcher), I have determined that the
above statements and opinions ARE directly related to the fact that
a little, fat man puts crisp $100 bills in my pocket.
shevett@mccc.UUCP (Dave Shevett) (03/03/89)
In article <958@cs.rit.edu> iav1917%ritcv@cs.rit.edu (alan i. vymetalik) writes: > > They're not "HOT STUFF." But, then > again, I don't need HOT STUFF to wordprocess my articles and papers. > I need a quality display and keyboard. [...rantings deleted...]. > By the time I have $10,000 to spend on an '386 PC system, the Who ever said you need a 386 PC? Most normal functions like WP and spreadsheets work great on a 1k 286 PC. The video is excellent, and the keyboard is whatever you want. > A real power-user knows how to get the Rainbow to do what he/she > wants it to. Granted, but that's not the point here. I can make my S-100 system do handstands beyond a Rainbow if I wanted it to... > [...] the BGIDEMO (graphics!) demo program runs > virtually, flawleslsy on the Rainbow at about a slow AT's speed! > Not too shabby for a supposedly non-compatible machine. Pretty shabby by my standards. All PC's (not IBM pc's... ANY) are moving toward high-end graphics interfaces for their systems. The graphics on the Rainbow were good, but DAMNED slow. There are NO good windowing systems around (that I'm familiar with), and none on the horizon... > By the way, the Rainbow has an almost complete implementation of the > VT-102 (not just VT-100!) built into ROM! Should I be impressed? The key word here is 'almost'. The VT102 mode is at best functional. Run up SmartTerm/240 on any PC and THATS what a terminal emulator is about. > There is STILL a small, but extremely dedicated bunch of people > out there who want to see Rainbow users SUCCEED [...] why? > [... more ramblings about Suitable's products ...} This is sounding more and more like a late night commercial. I've seen Suitable's products, and they're pretty good. Why not just say so, and get on with it? Why are you tearing apart people who are NOT using one company's products? > OK. Here's a brief summary of some things available for the Rainbow. Brief? Thank you for the listing, but did you have to show every product on the market? I don't remember seeing anyone ask for it. > and two background processes running. Simultaneously! > OK. It was somewhat slow. If BSW would revamp it for Congratulations. You are touting a multi-user system for a 8086 based computer? Ok, so lets revamp the system for a 286 processor (costing how much?) - Sounds like you've gone way over any reasonable amount of cash I'd invest in this machine. (DDS - Unix PC's - $495 - supports 3 users right off the bat - and is still supported) > TurboPascal V5.0 (command-line version, only). What's the point? Turbo is was desgigned as an integrating programming environment. All the run-time libraries that are available for it are virtually worthless if the screen drivers don't work. You should have stated that Turbo 3.0 runs on the machine fine. > You want compatibility? With a lot of companies moving to > Windows-based applications, well, there you have it. Couldn't have > asked for a better thing to happen to the Rainbow, hmm? I'll wait until I see it. Windows 2.1, eh? Could be possible, but gee, guess you'll need a mouse now, huh? > "The usenet DEC Rainbow Evangelist" > > Mail: Alan I. Vymetalik, Prism Software Designs, 8 Barn Swallow Lane > Rochester, New York, 14624-4650, USA Phone: (716)-889-2904 Its rare I flame someone on the net, and this may not even qualify, but I sat through this entire tirade with a grim expression on. Thank you Alan, we understand that the Rainbow was *FAIR* machine (I won't go further than that), but PLEASE, try to restrict the postings to something approaching reality? +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | Dave Shevett ~----------------------~ Labyrinth II BBS | | W. Trenton, NJ | Have you made your | ...!mccc!labii!shevett | | (609) 883-9352 | saving throw today? | -------------------- | | 1200/2400 ~----------------------~ 3b1ish and proud of it | +----------------------------------------------------------------+