Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wasatch!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcvax!ukc!newcastle.ac.uk!news
From: q1aqf@ingram.newcastle.ac.uk (A Waterworth)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.transputer
Subject: Re: ATW
Message-ID: <1989Jul31.082920.11837@newcastle.ac.uk>
Date: 31 Jul 89 08:29:20 GMT
References: <234@brazos.Rice.edu>
Sender: A.Waterworth@uk.ac.newcastle
Reply-To: comp.sys.transputer
Followup-To: comp.sys.transputer
Organization: Computing Laboratory, U of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK NE17RU
Lines: 61

In article <234@brazos.Rice.edu> rhode@ricevm1.rice.edu writes:
>Does anyone know anything about the Atari Tansputer Workstation?
>Does it really exist?  I'd like to know more about it.

[First of all, apologies if someone else has already replied to this...]

The Atari Transputer Workstation _does_ exist and seems to be pretty close
to full development. We have a fault-tolerant processor project here at 
Newcastle and are using Transputers (in a TMR configuration) to construct
fault-tolerant and fail-silent processors. Sometime fairly soon, I think
that we will be receiving one (or more?) ATWs to serve as front ends to
a Transputer farmcage which we already have (the ATWs will be used in place
of a PC-AT which we are presently using).
As regards further information, we used to have a glossy fact sheet about
the darned beastie lying around the office here, but I can't seem to find
it. So, here goes from memory...
The ATW uses a T800-20, with an M68000 as an I/O processor. It has 4 Meg of
memory for the T800 (120ns dynamic RAM) and 512K for the 68000. These can
be expanded internally up to 16M (eventually 64M) and 4M respectively. It also
has 1M of fast dual port RAM (100ns) as video memory. The 68000 I/O subsystem
is based upon the Mega-ST computer and can function independently of the 
Transputer, supporting RS232, DMA, Parallel Port, Midi Ports, Floppy disks
(3.5 or 5.25), SCSI and a Mouse/Joystick Port, as well as its own independent
RGB/composite video monitor if required. The standard hard disk will be 40M
SCSI, but larger disks will be available as options. The system's graphics
capabilities range from 1280x960 resolution in 16 from 4096 colours to
512x480 resolution in "True colour". Both the T800 system and the 68000
subsystem can be expanded (4 slots for the T800, 1 for the 68000). The 
T800 bus will take extra Transputers or RAM, along with X25, Ethernet cards
etc. etc.
The operating system is Helios (Unix look-alike), with X-windows as its
user interface. I have heard that much of the X-windows stuff is done in
hardware, but I'm not certain whether that is true - I think it is.
Oh, and the whole thing arrives in a fairly standard looking tower enclosure,
with a separate monitor and standard Atari keyboard (_very_ similar to
an Atari ST).
UK prices are of the order of 5000 pounds, plus the cost of a suitable 
monitor (e.g. NEC MulitSync Plus). However, I don't know whether this 
includes V.A.T. (Sales Tax). If it does, the actual price will be of the 
order of 4350 pounds (plus monitor).
Perihelion in Cambridge, UK (the developers of Helios) know a lot more
about it (as do Atari, presumably!!).

			Hope this was of some help...

					Adrian W.

P.S. [disclaim...disclaim...] I can't vouch 100% for the truth of all this
	information, although the technical details were taken from the 
	fact sheet (I finally found the blasted thing!!).
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