patcl@tekecs.UUCP (Pat Clancy) (10/31/84)
I have a blurb from Pinnacle Systems, Dallas Texas (214-340-4941),
advertising the following for $4995:
12 Mhz 68000
512 K RAM (no wait state)
20 Mb hard disk
Un*x System V
MOSYS Modula-2 based development package,
including native code compiler
P-System
Does anyone have experience with this system, or with Pinnacle?
A couple of things make me suspicious: (1) they claim that
a 12 Mhz 68K is a 3 MIP machine; (2) an MMU
is a $500 upgrade, but 68010 is not mentioned, nor do they
say what this means in relation to the Un*x port.
Pat Clancy, Tektronix
{ucbvax,decvax,ihnp4,allegra,uw-beaver,hplabs}!tektronix!tekecs!patclbob@sdcsvax.UUCP (Robert Hofkin) (11/02/84)
These guys seem to be for real; I know someone who is using the Pinnacle system right now. He's having a little trouble finding his way around the system (mostly due to poor documentation). Apparently the software is not all there: the Modula operating system is still being written. The company is enthusiastic, however, and promises a "very generous" update policy. They are also trying to improve their manuals.
willc@iuvax.UUCP (11/04/84)
The system you describe is similar to a system sold by Stride Micro (formerly Sage). They also advertise 3 MIPS for a 12 MHz 68000, but they don't mention that 3 MIPS is a peak rather than average rate. Furthermore the figure is for the 68000 instruction set, so it can't be compared to rates for any other processors. Un*x System V does not support virtual memory. I presume the MMU is for relocation and protection. A Stride 440 with 12 MHz 68000, 512 KB RAM (0 wait states), 15 MB disk, MMU, Un*x V, and p-system lists for about $9000. They claim that MOSYS will be available but it is not in their catalog. William Clinger willc@indiana