Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 13:07:41 -0600 (CST) From: Jim Bryant <jbryant@unix.tfs.net> To: jkh@time.cdrom.com (Jordan K. Hubbard) Cc: freebsd-alpha@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: FreeBSD/Alpha Web page Message-ID: <199801271907.NAA19612@unix.tfs.net> In-Reply-To: <25172.885924729@time.cdrom.com> from "Jordan K. Hubbard" at "Jan 27, 98 10:12:09 am"
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In reply: > > I hate to be the one saying this, but now, given alpha's questionable > > future, based on Compaq's and DEC's decision to kill any progress in favor > > of elite Intel's chips, do people here still generally think there is > > much point in continuing this port? > > It's definitely a question to be asked and considered. > > > I would personally love to see it happen, and i'm sure there will still > > be a lot of alpha hardware around for quite some time, but will there > > be any future without further development of the hardware? > > Probably not, no. I think it's fairly safe to say that the future of > the ALPHA is bleak unless some other company purchases just this piece > of the technology from Compaq. It's been known to happen, though such > "comebacks" are still rare in the world of high-tech. I think the > Amiga, for example, tried to return to life at least twice without > much luck though that's also admittedly a completely different market. > > The question for me remains more of "are there enough ALPHAs out there > doing especially sexy things to justify keeping the port alive as a > transition aid for the next 2-3 years?" The Linux people have been > crowing for some time, for example, that the special effects for the > movie "Titanic" were all done on a 150 processor Linux/ALPHA farm and > I'm pretty sure that there have to be ALPHAs elsewhere doing similarly > high-powered tasks where Intel stuff just didn't cut it. Are these > people worth trying to get on board just on the basis of what they're > doing with the technology rather than just counting sheer numbers? > There is certainly merit to this argument and it's just one of the > many things we need to discuss. Another thing worthy of discussion is > whether or not using the ALPHA as a "64 bit springboard" is something > we want to do just because the ALPHA happens to be there right now and > we NEED to be 64 bit clean at some point, if only to be prepared for > the arrival of Intel's Merced architecture. > > Comments? > > Jordan keep in mind that DEC has been moving towards pure FT and HA systems. DEC has also abandoned the VAX archetecture in favor of AXP on large systems. compaq wants to move away from intel. DEC still controls production and design of AXP, intel only manufactures them. tandem is the definition of FT systems. intel cannot even come close to the power of the 21164, much less the 21264 in either integer or FP, in fact FP still remains an etheral concept to intel. DEC will remain independant, as will Tandem, simply a term of the mergers. All three companies will benefit from the power of the AXP, the FT of Tandem, and the marketing of Compaq. Tandem has been wanting to move away from MIPS for some time now... Imagine, Tandem FT AXP systems... As for Merced, DEC and Sequent are merging DEC-Unix [OSF/1] and Dynix into a Merced port. The intel base will of course be covered. AXP has a bright future! jim -- All opinions expressed are mine, if you | "I will not be pushed, stamped, think otherwise, then go jump into turbid | briefed, debriefed, indexed, or radioactive waters and yell WAHOO !!! | numbered!" - #1, "The Prisoner" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Inet: jbryant@tfs.net AX.25: kc5vdj@wv0t.#neks.ks.usa.noam grid: EM28pw voice: KC5VDJ - 6 & 2 Meters AM/FM/SSB, 70cm FM. http://www.tfs.net/~jbryant ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ HF/6M/2M: IC-706-MkII, 2M: HTX-212, 2M: HTX-202, 70cm: HTX-404, Packet: KPC-3+
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