[Info-vax] BOINC for VMS

[David Froble]

Michael Kraemer wrote:
> Neil Rieck schrieb:
> 
>> On a related note, in what universe was it correct to kill Alpha while 
>> allowing SPARC to live?
> 
> In every conceivable universe where some basic rules of economy hold.
> Alpha simply wasn't good enough to survive.
> 
>> Man, I feel like I'm living in the twilight zone. 
> 

Well, you did mention "rules of economy".

The problem was, Alpha did not have anyone in the chip business who wanted it to survive. 
  HP had come up with their rather stupid design, and got Intel to also support it.  IBM, 
well, they were and still are IBM.

If DEC had been able to make a deal with Intel to mfg and develop the Alpha, we'd still be 
running them (new CPUs) today.

The technology was good, but that is not enough.  You need need dedication to a product. 
After Ken Olson, it seemed that DEC had no dedication in top management.  Their mistakes 
didn't help much either.  As for Compaq, I doubt they had any dedication to anything.

What is interesting is that the latest itanic designs seem to be moving away from "do 
everything in the compiler" and a bit toward OoO.  At least, if what I read has any substance.

The problem now is, "rules of economy" aren't on the itanic's side ....