Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!convex!piziali
From: piziali@convex.com (Andy Piziali)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.super
Subject: Re: What ever happened to the E&S Supercomputer?
Summary: Evans and Sutherland cancelled the project.
Keywords: Evans and Sutherland, ESCD, E&S, ES-1
Message-ID: <102048@convex.convex.com>
Date: 7 May 90 13:52:33 GMT
References: <40744@apple.Apple.COM>
Sender: usenet@convex.com
Reply-To: Piziali@Convex.com (Andrew Piziali)
Organization: Convex Computer Corporation, Richardson, Tx.
Lines: 30

In article <40744@apple.Apple.COM> jp@Apple.COM (John Peterson) writes:

   While we're on the subject of supercomputer companies going under,
   does anybody know what happened to the Evans and Sutherland project?
   I recall seeing a couple tiny articles in trade rags "announcing" it,
   but nothing substantial.  One rumor indicated that after several years
   and millions of dollars, they couldn't even get a working prototype. 
   
   Anybody know the real story?

The Evans and Sutherland supercomputer, the ES-1, was designed, built, and
shipped.  Evans and Sutherland Computer Corporation cancelled the project on
November 12, 1989.  As with the ETA saga, the account of the cancellation of
the ES-1 varies with former employee to former employee.

As a former member of the ESCD computer architecture group, my opinion is that
the project was cancelled because the corporate officer behind the project,
founder and former president and chairman of the board Dave Evans, was asked to
resign from his position in the company and the vacuum was filled by a member
of the "old guard" who did not approve of Evans and Sutherland venturing into
the risky business of supercomputing.  When the opportunity presented itself to
cancel the project, the 1990 budget review, the new corporate president
garnered sufficient support from the board of directors to stop product
development.

We spent approximately thirty five million dollars between 1986 and 1989, had
two ES-1/100 beta systems (single "P", 16 computational units) in the field,
and three other systems up and running in house.
--
		piziali@convex.com	(Andrew J. Piziali)