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From: ed@mtxinu.UUCP (Ed Gould)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: CYBER word length
Message-ID: <265@mtxinu.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 18-Nov-86 14:38:31 EST
Article-I.D.: mtxinu.265
Posted: Tue Nov 18 14:38:31 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 25-Nov-86 20:11:45 EST
References: <7208@elsie.UUCP> <5142@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Reply-To: ed@mtxinu.UUCP (Ed Gould)
Organization: mt Xinu, Berkeley, CA
Lines: 25

>Well, a Cyber isn't really the successor of the CDC-6000 series, as
>far as I know, it's the same thing. At some point, they changed the
>name CDC-6000 series into CDC Cyber 60 (and then 70, etc.).

The story as I heard it is this:  When CDC sold 6600's - and later
6400's, 6500's, and 7600's - to the government, there was a clause
in the sales contract stating that if CDC *ever* sold these machines
(specifically these model numbers) to *anyone* at a lower proce, the
government would recieve a refund of the difference.

As the 6000 series aged (it was new in the mid 60's, still being
sold in the mid 70's), there was some desire to price it lower.
But CDC couldn't face the millions of dollars the government
would have due if they sold it for less.  So they changed the
paint job, renamed the machines Cyber, and lowered the price.  No
reimbursements to Uncle Sam.

This may all be legend, but that's the way I heard it.  What's
it doing in unix-wizards, anyway?

-- 
Ed Gould                    mt Xinu, 2560 Ninth St., Berkeley, CA  94710  USA
{ucbvax,decvax}!mtxinu!ed   +1 415 644 0146

"A man of quality is not threatened by a woman of equality."