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From: abaum (Allen Baum)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: XDS940 computer (or Xerox Sigma 9)
Message-ID: <193@armltd.uucp>
Date: 12 Jun 91 08:55:19 GMT
References: <1991Jun10.235301.2946@leland.Stanford.EDU>
Sender: abaum@armltd.uucp
Distribution: comp
Organization: A.R.M. Ltd, Swaffham Bulbeck, Cambs, UK
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In article <1991Jun10.235301.2946@leland.Stanford.EDU> alderson@Alderson.Stanford.EDU (Rich Alderson) writes:

>In article <1991Jun8.085847.7980@m.cs.uiuc.edu>, gillies@m.cs (Don Gillies) writes:
>>Xerox balked at the idea... went back to the lab and built a DEC-10
>>... This was the genesis of CPU development at Xerox.
>
>Is this the origin of the Foonly?

No. Foonly grew out of a project at Stanford AI Labs circa 1970
(called Super-Foonly, for reasons that I don't remember) to build a
PDP-10 that was 10x faster than the current KA-10. It was supported
by ARPA, and by some extent, DEC. ARPA cancelled the project after
a year or two (I'm not sure exactly how long the project lasted, but
as I recall the reason for cancellation was not meeting schedules).

DEC took the plans/ideas (and the CAD system developed for it and
the person who wrote the CAD system) and came out with
the KL-10 processor a few years later.

The CAD system developed for it was, as far as I know, the original
schematic capture system, and the genesis of both VALID and 
CASE Technologies. It was more powerful than ANY that have been
produced since then, IMHO.

So, having made that outrageous statement, does anyone know of an
CAD systems in used earlier?

******************************
Allen J. Baum   baum@apple.com