[Info-vax] OT: news from the trenches (re: Solaris)

[glen herrmannsfeldt]

JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot at vaxination.ca> wrote:
> On 15-03-12 09:50, lists at openmailbox.org wrote:
 
>> As you know IBM didn't design x86 and it was never their baby.
 
> In hindsight, imagine if they had designed a low end 370 chip for
> personal computers and got Gates to build DOS to the 370 instead of 8088.

IBM did build a low-end 370, actually more than one.

The XT/370 and AT/370 came out in PC/XT and PC/AT days, using the
appropriate PC has host, and the P/370 and R/370 using OS/2 on PC
and RS/6000 based hosts. 
 
> Of course, a large corporation is prevented from going that way because
> making an affordable 370 based computer is tantamount to cannibalasing
> higher end sales. DEC also suffered that fate.

Yes, the XT/370 and AT/370 have some restrictions meant to limit
such cannibalization.  P/370 and R/370, as far as I know, don't have
any such restriction, other than the speed.
 
> Had IBM made the 370 into "PC" scale, it would have been 370 against the
> 68k and the environment would be very different today. Perhaps Alpha
> would have replaced the PowePC chip since IBM would have focused on its
> 370/390 or whatever it is called this week. Intel would still just a a
> component manufacturer with a couple of toy controllers.

It does seem that the Z80 is well adapted to the 8 bit world, and
the 68000 to the 16 bit world. Not too complicated or slow for what
they need to do.
 
>> to run specifically on those architectures. Selling off z/Arch 
>> and POWER fab is a major directional change
 
> Are they selling only the fab business or the chip design for the 360/z
> and Power architectures ?  If they retain the chip design, then they are
> like Apple, designing their own chips and getting a vanialla FAB build them.
 
> Note that IBM has traditionally been an R&D leader for FAB technooogies.
> So interesting to see them let go of that leadership.
 
> a lowly 8086 in enterprise grade enclosure and enterprise grade remote
> management is more worthy than a 200 ghZ Power chip in a desktop
> el-cheapo PC with a single 1TB slow SATA drive,

-- glen