[Info-vax] Dave Cutler, Prism, DEC, Microsoft, etc.

[John Santos]

In article <mddpr6ua0il.fsf at panix5.panix.com>, 
news at alderson.users.panix.com says...> 
> Jan-Erik Söderholm   <jan-erik.soderholm at telia.com> writes:
> 
> > Rich Alderson wrote:
> >> JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot at vaxination.ca> writes:
> 
> >>> RE: new PDP11s post Digital going to VAX.
> 
> >>> Didn't Compuserve use customer PDP11 based machines as "nodes" in
> >>> different cities where they offered service ?
> 
> >> No, they used PDP-10 systems, eventually making a deal with Systems Concepts
> >> to manufacture their own SC-40 CPUs at a license fee per box of 40% of list.
> 
> >> And yes, the SC boxes do count as PDP-10 systems.  Bug-compatible with the
> >> KL-10 processor.
> 
> >>> And after Mentec inherited the PDP, did it have any PDP CPUs fabbed ? Or
> >>> did it use stockopiled CPUs made by DEC when it made the last big batch
> >>> of them ?
> 
> >> There's no such thing as "the PDP"!  DEC built 4.5 different architectures
> >> which it labeled PDP-<number>, you know.
> 
> > They might have used "real" PDP-11 CPU's for some time, but the last
> > models was built using an inhouse emulation of the PDP-11 CPU using
> > completely different processors...
> 
> Hmm.  Since I was part of the conversation with CIS when they were looking for
> a less expensive alternative to the SC40s, and heard the systems programmers
> from CIS describe the use of PDP-10 systems as network nodes, I'm pretty sure
> I know what I'm talking about here.
> 
> There were no PDP-11 systems used in that application.

I think that last bit was in reference to Mentech, not Compuserve.  
Mentech only purchased the PDP-***11*** software, and never had
anything to do with PDP-10s (or PDP-anything-elses), AFAIK.

I know Mentech sold PDP-11's of their own design.  I don't know if
they ever resold DEC-manufactured PDP-11s, or built their own 11s
from DEC parts (i.e. J-11 or F-11 CPUs.)  Other 3rd parties also
built their own PDP-11-compatible machines (QED, Strobe, maybe
Nemonix and probably several others.)  Many of these were much faster
than the fastest DEC PDP-11.

-- 
John Santos
Evans Griffiths & Hart, Inc.