Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!husc6!yale!mfci!colwell
From: colwell@mfci.UUCP (Robert Colwell)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: In defense of the VAX
Message-ID: <666@m3.mfci.UUCP>
Date: 24 Feb 89 14:14:57 GMT
References: <11037@tekecs.TEK.COM> <76700073@p.cs.uiuc.edu> <324@taniwha.UUCP>
Sender: colwell@mfci.UUCP
Reply-To: colwell@mfci.UUCP (Robert Colwell)
Organization: Multiflow Computer Inc., Branford Ct. 06405
Lines: 19

I have an old clipping from EETimes, ca. 1982 or so, covering an
interview with Ken Olsen, Imperial Overlord of DEC (or equivalent).
He made what I considered to be one of the most telling points I'd
ever seen in a pseudo-technical forum.  Talking about the VAX, 
which at that point was pretty young, he said (paraphrasing, since
I don't have this in front of me), "Talk all you want to about 
architectures, but in the end the only thing that REALLY matters
is how many disks you can put on the thing.  That's all the customers
care about."

If you take too many courses in school, you may start to think that
all the interesting technical intricacies actually mean something.
I used to keep that quote over my desk at school as a reminder of
how the world really works.

Bob Colwell               ..!uunet!mfci!colwell
Multiflow Computer     or colwell@multiflow.com
175 N. Main St.
Branford, CT 06405     203-488-6090