Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-tgr.ARPA
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxb!houxm!whuxl!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!seismo!brl-tgr!tgr!deccra!maynard!campbell@DECWRL
From: campbell%DECWRL@maynard.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Does Anyone Know the Real Scoop About the DEC Rainbow?
Message-ID: <8442@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 21-Feb-85 21:14:00 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.8442
Posted: Thu Feb 21 21:14:00 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 26-Feb-85 07:48:34 EST
Sender: news@brl-tgr.ARPA
Lines: 35

Here's the real scoop, as near as I can tell (I am leaving out a tiny
bit of not very relevant company confidential stuff).  I know what I
am talking about; I work for DEC, in their Eastern Research Lab, until
Friday, at which point I'm leaving to start my own software company.
I have some good friends in the Rainbow group, and I own two Rainbows
outright.

I think DEC has done little more than bungle the P.R. aspects of this
whole thing.  DEC needs manufacturing space for some
soon-to-be-announced products.  I can't say what they are, but I can
say they're NOT replacements for the Rainbow, so don't worry about the
Rainbow being superseded.  The new products are hot, will be popular,
and will demand much manufacturing space.  So DEC has accumulated (by
my calculation) a 20-month supply of Rainbows, and shut the plant down
to convert to the new product.  DEC has also stated that when the
inventory becomes depleted it will begin building Rainbows in one of
its Far East plants.

DEC is developing software products for the Rainbow.  I can't be
specific, but look for some major announcements sometime during the
next few months.

In addition, VENIX is available NOW for the Rainbow directly from
VenturCom (or through their distributor, UniSource).  I am a beta test
site for the product; I've been running it for two months; and I love
it!  Sure beats the hell out of MS-DOS.

Bottom line: I'm keeping my Rainbows.  I like them.  If you thought
two weeks ago that Rainbows were Good Things, I don't think any of the
recent news should change that opinion.  There are good things and bad
things about the Rainbow, but to me, both as a Rainbow owner and soon
to be an independent software producer, last week's news hasn't really
changed anything.

- Larry Campbell