Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!dimacs.rutgers.edu!mips!rogerk From: rogerk@mips.com (Roger B.A. Klorese) Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi Subject: Re: sgi-compaq deal Message-ID: <938@spim.mips.COM> Date: 12 Mar 91 23:34:35 GMT References: <9103091500.AA24477@karron.med.nyu.edu> Sender: news@mips.COM Organization: MIPS Computer Systems, Sunnyvale, California Lines: 24 Nntp-Posting-Host: ombredin.mips.com In article jim@baroque.Stanford.EDU (James Helman) writes: >Does anyone know why CDC, NHK or Prime invested in SGI? I don't recall >any joint product efforts. CDC's Cyber 900 series is the 4D series. The Prime story is a touch more interesting. Back in the mid-80's, Prime set out to build its own workstation, based on CPU boards from Mips (at the time, by the way, I worked for neither Prime nor Mips, so this is from memory), with graphics by Raster Technology. (The Raster Tech deal was announced.) At high levels within Prime, it was determined that the time to market was too great, especially considering their lack of experience with desktop products. (This, remember, was the company which told Bill Poduska not to proceed with "Primos on the desktop," so he left and founded Apollo...) They sought out, and invested in, SGI to foster the building of a workstation combining Mips RISC with SGI graphics... the first 4D systems. Prime sold these until the aftermath of their buyout of Computervision led them to consolidate their workstation line for CAD products on Sun systems. -- ROGER B.A. KLORESE MIPS Computer Systems, Inc. MS 6-05 930 DeGuigne Dr. Sunnyvale, CA 94088 +1 408 524-7421 rogerk@mips.COM {ames,decwrl,pyramid}!mips!rogerk "I'm the NLA" "WAR: been there, done that... hated it." -- QueerPeace/DAGGER chant