Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!ima!spdcc!mipseast!rogerk
From: rogerk@mips.COM (Roger B.A. Klorese)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: How the Japanese will win the MIPS wars with SPARC
Message-ID: <487@mipseast.mips.COM>
Date: 2 Sep 88 14:23:39 GMT
References: <58@zeno.MN.ORG>
Reply-To: rogerk@mipseast.mips.COM (Roger B.A. Klorese)
Organization: MIPS Computer Systems, Inc., Burlington, MA
Lines: 41

In article <58@zeno.MN.ORG> gene@zeno.UUCP (Gene H. Olson) writes:
>*	All of these (RISC) architectures, except SPARC is proprietary.
>	The US manufacturers who own the other architectures will
>	attempt to take advantage of their propretary architectures
>	to make high profits on their customers who are locked into
>	those architectures.  In particular they will not allow
>	second source agreements until it is too late,  and will
>	milk their latest designs as cash cows to amuse stockholders,
>	and justify development of the next generation.

This displays a total lack of knowledge of the MIPS architecture and
its availability.

(Note: insert standard disclaimer here.  I'm speaking for myself here.)

The R3000 and R2000 processor series are *not* single-sourced, proprietary
parts.  They are not sold by MIPS, but rather, by several (currently three,
and potentially more) semiconductor companies:

      Integrated Device Technology (IDT)
      LSI Logic
      Performance Semiconductor

Unlike SPARC implementations, which are not all pin-compatible, all three
implementations of the R3000 parts (and R2000 parts) are required by contract
to be fully pin-compatible as well as opcode-compatible.  That's not by
choice, or by the convenience of the semiconductor vendors; it's in the very
text of their license to manufacture.

This competition is already driving prices down: some quoted prices are
already down to half what they were at announcement in April.

It seems that without pin-compatibility, there is no benefit to the builders
of systems from mere opcode-compatibility.  And without MMU compatibility
(and, of course, SPARC offers your choice of two reference models), there
is little benefit to systems software vendors.
-- 
Roger B.A. Klorese                           MIPS Computer Systems, Inc.
{ames,decwrl,prls,pyramid}!mips!rogerk  25 Burlington Mall Rd, Suite 300
rogerk@mips.COM (rogerk%mips.COM@ames.arc.nasa.gov) Burlington, MA 01803
I don't think we're in toto any more, Kansas...          +1 617 270-0613