[Info-vax] Unix on A DEC Vax?

[John Wallace]

On Jan 25, 2:27 am, David Froble <da... at tsoft-inc.com> wrote:
> Bob Koehler wrote:
> > In article <kdn33t$an... at dont-email.me>, David Froble <da... at tsoft-inc.com> writes:
> >> This goes back a ways, but, I don't know whether there ever was a MIPS
> >> manufacturing facility.  What I remember is that there was a design, and
> >> licenses to produce it.
>
> >> But, I know nothing, so the above could be totally wrong ....
>
> >> :-)
>
> >    That's right.  MIPS were not manufactured.  They were dug up in secret
> >    mines in Connecticut and shipped around until the trail was lost.
>
> Yeah, very funny, ha ha ...
>
> Does anyone remember, did the people who designed the MIPS architecture
> actually do any manufacturing, or was all manufacturing done by licensees ??

I thought they were fabless, and there are lots of non-definitive
references on t'Internet to MIPS as a fabless chip company,ie like
ARM, they didn't manufacture their own chips. The first definitive-
looking reference I found was
https://www.edacentrum.de/content/if-wise-men-buy-eda-and-real-men-build-fabs-then-successful-men-are-absolutely-fabless
which is a presentation from MIPs' European VP of Field Operations
(just read the summary).