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The soft...--...__·seiections you have from Zilog we all industry standes. Your customers will e them instantly. What's , Zilog provides complete software support. So you don't waste energy seeking vendors for help if and when you need it.
Get a taste of what it's like to run the most satisfying menu of software on the best high-performance UNIX* multi-user supermicros ever built-the System 8000. Call Zilog Systems Division at (800) 841-2255. Or write: Zilog Systems Division. Corporate

Publications, 1315 Dell Avenue, MS C2-6, Campbell, CA 95008.
*UNIX is a trademark of AT&'T Bell Laboratories.
Zil'pi"
an affiliate of ·*PN Corporation

CIRCLE NO. 4 ON INQUIRY CARD

·ini-llliara 1111e·1

p. 159 .... Art direction and design by Vicki Blake. Photography by Richard Wood.
40 30

MINI-MICRO WORLD News
33 TeleVideo enters DEC market with VT220-compatible terminal 34 HP is first with low-cost laser printer 35 Data General 's engineering workstations push
price/performance boundaries 38 New VAX/VMS version streamlines VAX cluster 43 HP phases out three terminals with low-priced model 48 Datapoint opens ARCNET LAN to outside vendors 54 Virtual Microsystems adds PC-DOS compatibility to DEC micros 58 Xebec Owl combines on-board controller, electronics 62 Heard on the Hill: Unhappy electrical engineers bewail U.S.
productivity 65 Calcomp plotters provide economic drawings 68 Half-height Winchester family offers 57M to 202M bytes
Corporate and Financial
79 Fortune revamps management, aims for value-added resellers 85 Corporate and financial briefs 88 Guest Forum : Users must carefully weigh PBX/office equipment
purchases
International
101 European PC users demand high-quality, on-site maintenance 106 Olivetti acts as AT&T's counterpart to push AT&T micros in
Europe 109 Overheard Overseas: Honeywell takes a bold step toward
helping startups

1981

1982

1983

1984

p. 133 . Watch CAD/CAM/GAE sales take off

INTERPRETER
114 Software vendors zero in on marketing 125 IBM LAN announcement raises many questions
INTEGRATOR
133 Technology continues to define leaders of CAD/CAM and CAE market
147 Automated testing and material handling streamline production and raise yields

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

A Cahners Publication

Vol. XVII No. 10 August 1984

FEATURES
157 Feature Highlights
159 Single-board computer merges 8-, 16-bit performance . .. mini strategy packs power on a single board
171 Eurocard/DIN single-board computers signal era of international standards . .. debate surrounding standards highlights trends
183 Mature software tools speed development tasks . .. making a better product in less time
195 Low-cost multiuser system exploits PC-compatible workstations . .. micro allows up to 12 users to run concurrent applications
205 Value-added resellers pursue system integrators with support and services . . . vendors seek to penetrate vertical markets
217 HP's model 9000: squeezing a mainframe into a shoe box . .. 32-bit micro runs at 1 MIPS
233 Computer-integrated-design graphics terminal incorporates local database . .. reducing host intervention in graphics applications

p . 171 . ... . .. . Eurocard goes international
· MAIL ORDER 5%
-oTHER 2%
HARDWARE SOFTWARE STORES 9%

4 Editorial Staff 9 Editorial 13 Letters 17 Breakpoints 245 Guest Viewpoint 246 New Products

DEPARTMENTS
266 Calendar 269 Career Opportunities 273 Classified Advertising 274 Index to Advertisers 275 Mini-Micro Marketplace

SOFTWARE

p. 205 .

..... Pursued by VARs

CENTER OF IDEAL LINE

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS (ISSN 0364-9342) is published monthly (with addttional issues in spring. summer and fall) by Cahners

Publishing Company. Division of Reed Holdings. Inc.· 221 Columbus Avenue, Boston, MA 02116. Norman L. Cahners, Chair-

man; Saul Goldweitz, President and Chief Executive Officer; Ronald G. SeQel, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating

Officer. MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS is published by the Cahners Magazine C>ivision: J. A. Sheehan. President; William Platt.

Executive Vice President. C irculation records are maintained at Cahners Publishing Co.· 270 St. Paul St.. Denver, CO 80206.

Second class postage paid at Denver. CO 80202 and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to MINI-

MICRO SYSTEMS. 270 St. Paul St.. Denver, CO 80206. MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS Is circulated without charge by name and

tttle to U.S. and Western Europe based corporated and technical management, systems engineers, and other personnel who

meetqualiflcationprocedures. Availabletoothers atthe rateof $55.00 peryear tntheU.S. ; $60.00in Canada and Mexico;

$75 ·surlaoe mail in all other countries; $1201oreign air mail (1 5 iasues). Single issues $4.00 in the U.S.; $5.001 in Canada

and Mexico; $6.00 in all other countries.

p. 233 . .. . ...... Eliminate those ' 'iaggies "

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

STAFF
Vice President/Publisher S. Henry Sacks
Editor-in-Chief George V. Kotelly
Managing Editor James F. Donohue
Assistant Managing Editor Bruce J. MacDonald
Senior Western Editor: Jerry Borrell San Jose, (408) 296-0868
Senior Editor: Sarah Glazer Senior Editor: Paul Snlger Senior Editor: Lori Vallgra Senior Projects Editor: Rick Dalrymple
Western Editor: Carl Warren, Los Angeles, (213)826-5818 Associate Editor/Research:
Adrienne Deleonardo Associate Editor: Frances T. Granville
Associate Editor: Lynn Haber Associate Editor: Tom Moran,
San Jose, (408)296-0868 Associate Editor: David Simpson Associate Editor: Marjorie Stenzler-Centonze,
New York, (516)595-2737 Associate Editor: Michael Tucker
Associate Editor: Jesse Victor Assistant Editor: David Bright Assistant Editor/New Products: Eiieen Mllauskas Assistant Editor/Research: Megan Nields
Contributing Editors:
London : Keith Jones, (011-441-661-3040) Data Communications: Walter A. Levy Computer Architecture: Efrem Mallach Office Automation : John Murphy Frankfurt: Maureen O'Gara Artificial Intelligence: Steven Roberts Washington, D.C.: Stephen J. Shaw, (202)387-8666
Editorial Production
Senior Copy Editor: Arsene C. Davignon Production Editor: Mary Anne Weeks Copy Editor: Gregory Solman Word Processing: Kathleen Appignani
Administrative Assistant: Frances C. Michalski
Editorial Services
Sharon Hassell, Robin Sheehan
Assistant to the Publisher: Linda L. Lovett

Executive Editor, Cahners Computer Publications:
Alan R. Kaplan

SONEX kills disk drive hum.
SONEX acoustical foam's absorption coefficient is four times .that of conventional
materials. Send for the tests, charts, specs, and color examples from 3800 Washington Ave. N.,
Minneapolis, MN 55412, or call 612/521,3555.
llllruck/usa
techniques with foams

Art Staff
Art Director: Vicki Blake Assistant Art Director: Cynthia McManus
Artist: Anne Tregay
Director of Art Dept.: Lee Addington Associate Director: Norm Graf
Production Staff
VP Production: Wayne Hulltzky Supervisor: William Tomaselli Production Manager: Nancy Norton
Composition: Diane Malone
Editorial Offices
Boston: 221 Columbus Ave., Boston, MA 02116. (617)536-7780. Irvine: 2041 Business Center Dr., $uite 109, Irvine, CA 92715. Los Angeles: 12233W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064. San Jose: 3031 Tisch Way, San Jose, CA 95128. New York: 33 Arcadia Dr., Dix Hills, NY 11746. London : Business Press International , Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 SAS, England.
Reprints of Mini-Micro Systems articles are available on a custom printing basis at reasonable prices in quantities of 500 or more. For an exact quote, contact Art Lehmann, Cahners Reprint Service, Cahners Plaza, 1350 E. Touhy Ave., Box 5080, Des Plaines, IL 60018. Phone (312)635-8800.

CIRCLE NO. 6 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

C'PU 68000/Z. SOI<

WE'VE BEEN DELIVERING 31/2" WINCHESTER DISK DRIVES FOR OVER A YEAR.

Rodime has been setting a new standard in Winchester disk drive storage for more than ayear. Its 3l/i'' drive with Sand 10 megabytes of formatted storage has become the industry leader for sub 4" Winchester disk drives. Rodime has now delivered tens of thousands!
The proven compact drive and proven quantity supplier
With thousands of its 3W' Winchester drives in operation today Rodime has further demonstrated its reputation for reliability. a major design consideration for its 31/i'' drive, and quality It has a rugged design with high resistance to shock, an important consideration for portability and for vibration prone environments. Using advanced large-scale integration, the entire electronics for the drive are on a single compact board and there are no adjustments or select-on-test components.

N·ew design horizons The compact size of Rodime 's drive suddenly puts large-scale storage into areas never considered before. The 3SO series is
s one-fourth the volume of a 1;..': Winchester
drive. And the 2SO series, which includes
mounting brackets and a face plate, fits into the same space as a half-height SY.'' Winchester offering even further shock and vibration isolation. Now. system designers have a new level of flexibility One area that has received attention is use with portable computers. Several major portable computer manufacturers have already incorporated Rodime 31/i'' Winchester disk drives into

their products. There are other equally exci ting areas such as desk top computer systems, intelligent terminal s, point-of-sa le terminals, industrial controllers, telecommunications systems, navigation and guidance systems, and portabl e instrumentation. In fact the list of potential uses is only limited by the imagination of the system designer.
A tradition of excellence In a few short years, Rodime has established itself as a major force within the Winchester disk drive industry Rodime is one of the few manufacturers that are delivering Sl/4' Winchester drives with a broad range of capabilities up to S4 megabytes. And is the only manufacturer delivering high-performance 31/i'' Winchester drives in product io n quantities.
For the compact 31/i'' Winchester disk or other SY.'' Winchester requirements, look to Rodime. Rodime delivers.

DIME

Western Sales Office: 17141 770-3085 ·Eastern Sales Office: 15121453-5135 Distributors: San Jose, CA 14081 946-8000 ·Tustin. CA 17141 730-8000 ·San Diego. CA (6191 279-5200. 453-9005 ·Chatsworth. CA 18181 700- 1000 ·Tempe. N. (6021 244-0900 ·Englewood, CO (3031 790-4500 Redmond, WA (2061 881-0850 ·Addison, TX (2141 733-4300 ·Austin. TX (5121 835-0220 · Sugarland. TX (7131 240-2255 ·Burlington, MA (6171 272-9400 · Hauppauge. NY (5161 273-1660 ·Fairfield, NJ (2011227-7960 ·Horsham. PA (2151 443-5150 ·Columbia. MD (3011964-0040 ·Tulsa, OK (9181644-8812

CIRCLE NO. 9 ON INQUIRY CARD

Editorial

Personal compute.rs: boom and bane
The recently published report, "Trends in Computing Systems and Services for the 80's,'' produced by International Data Corp. (IDC), a Framingham, Mass-based market research company, for Fortune magazine, discussed the expected changes and challenges of personal computers, as well as minicomputers and mainframes. The report essentially states that during 1984 and 1985 the movement of innovative computer technologies into commercially available products will greatly accelerate.
In fact, the sale and shipment numbers boggle one's mind. For example, IDC claims that worldwide computer shipments for 1983 exceeded $42 billion, and that the installed base is now worth more than $200 billion. But this decade, says IDC, belongs particularly to the personal computer. By 1985, the dollar value of personal computer shipments in the United States, projected at $12 to $13 billion, will exceed those of mainframes. By 1987, personal computers will be king of the hill, with U.S. shipments achieving a predicted value of $19 to $20 billion.
Even more optimistic is Dr. Egil Juliussen of Future Computing Inc., a market research company located in Richardson, Texas. In his state-of-the-market, personal report (MMS, June 1984, Page 167), Dr. Juliussen prophesied that U.S. revenues for office personal computers will reach $13.1 billion in 1985 and $20.7 billion in 1987. Moreover, he states that the U.S. software market for office personal computers will expand from $3.2 billion in 1985 to $5.6 billion in 1987.
But what do all these numbers mean to system integrators? On the positive side, a flood of low-cost, high-performance personal computers should inundate the marketplace. On the negative side, though, system integrators will be paddling furiously against the tide to gain adequate product knowledge, to achieve full product utilization and to determine proper product application.
tn fact, the IDC report predicts that the decade's outstanding trend is that all computer systems will eventually be integrated. First, the systems will be joined in-house and, second, to the outside world. Therefore, the trend implications point to integrating personal computers with mainframe operations and with existing microcomputer and minicomputer systems.
Consequently, the need for new computer product and system information becomes paramount. And most system integrators will rely on computer trade magazines, trade shows and seminars to meet their immediate information needs. For our part, Mini-Micro Systems serves you with the latest computer, peripheral and software product, industry and technology news, issues and events-in depth and in perspective. Let us know how we're doing.

George Kotelly Editor-In-Chief

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

These days, computer designers everywhere face a problem of massive proportions: How do you cram a desktop computer into a briefcase?
Sound familiar? If so, there's a family of 3.5" single and double-sided microfloppy disk drives you should meet. The Shugart 300 and 350, respectively
The perfect drive solution for a full-featured portable.
Tiny enough to fit easily into your smallest design.Yet with a 6 millisecond average access time, a capacity up to 1 megabyte and MinifloppyTMcompatibility, your portable computer could easily run the same software as someone else's desktop.
And keep it running for quite some time.
Shugart drives are so reliable, you can count on an MTBF of 10,000 power on hours. One reason we're projecting delivery of over 100,000 microfloppy drives this year.
At just over a pound apiece, you could even use two. And still call your portable computer portable.
There's just one thing to remember. You should always check the activity light on a Shugart microfloppy Theyre so quiet, there's no other way to tell if they're running.
What more could a shrinking

business need? A couple of other small things. Industry standard 3.5" microcartridges, to be exact. Their track densities offer a more than generous upgrade path. But more important, considering where they could end up, they come equipped with a hard shell plastic media cartridge. And an automatic head access shutter Sure protection from all kinds of catastrophes. Stick them in your pocket. Throw them in your purse. Bang them around in your briefcase. They'll survive.
The 3.5" Shugart Microfloppy. Smaller than actual size, but not much.
Sound interesting? Call your local Shugart sales office. We'll do a private microfloppy workshop right in your office . But do it soon. The more your business shrinks, the more Shugart can help.
Shurcart
Right from the start.

Mtlp1tas. CA (408) 263-2600. Costa Mesa, CA (714) 979-1935, Thousand Oaks, C A (805) 496·5388, Rochester. NY (716) 235-7190, Minneapolis, MN (612) 546-4411, Richardson, TX (214) 234-3568. Framingham, MA (617) 879 -1700, Saddle Brook, NJ (20 1) 368-8445, Smyrna, GA (404) 436-0953,Ma rkh am, ONT (416) 475 -2655. Paris. France (3) 946·42-66, Munich, West Germany (089) 786-021, London, UK (44) 4862-27272, Wancha1, Hong Kong (852) 5·733307 (C; 1984 Shugart Corporation
CIRCLE NO. 10 ON INQUIRY CARD

Choose Precision Visuals graphics software and you're in the best company.

"DI-3000 ®graphics software will meet the needs
of a total enterprise."
Phil Goss Honeywell
Precision Visuals' graphics software tools are today's standard for over 800 organizations, large and small. Here's why. Graphics programmers are saving hundreds of hours by using the appropriate Precision Visuals software tools for the project. They choose from our integrated family of graphics packages based on the commercially acclaimed DI-3000® subroutine library or the GKS implementation, GK-2000~" With full support for most computers-IBM, DEC, CDC, PRlME, Honeywell, Data General, Cray, Apollo, and many UNIX-based systems*-and over 80 popular graphics peripherals, their investment in our software is secure ... today and tomorrow. Look into Precision Visuals and see why.

"Precision Visuals' documentation is a
model for the industry."
Dr. James D. Foley, President Computer Graphics Consultants, Inc.
Here's someone who knows how a good manual should look. Dr. Foley, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at George Washington University, is co-author of Fundamentafa of Interact?'ne Computer Graphics. According to Dr. Foley, our DI-3000® manual is "ideal for people with little or no graphics experience." Our exampleintensive documentation includes a quick reference guide for the experienced graphics programmer and stepby-step tutorials that quickly turn beginners into productive graphics programmers.
It's not surprising that many customers were sold on our graphics tools just by looking at our documentation. Ask to see a copy for yourself.

"It's not just the package that's important. It's the people behind it."
David Campbell INCYTE , Fairchild/A Schlumberger Co.
What adds even more value to our versatile graphics tools is the support you get from our people at Precision Visuals. Graphics software specialists staff a Help Line for quick answers to keep you on schedule; national training programs, for the novice to the advanced graphics programmer, help get your applications operating on time and within budget; active international and regional user groups that exchange creative and productive ideas; plus thoroughly tested products and documentation designed to meet your needs today and in the future.
Don't you think it's time to choose Precision Visuals? Call us today at 303/ 530-9000.

Precision Visuals
6260 Lookout Road I Boulder, Colorado 80301
303 / 530-9000
TELEX 45-0364 I TWX 910-940-2500

VLSI Design

Solids Modeling

Process Control

*U NIX is a trade ma rk of BELL La boratori es, Inc.
12

CIRCLE NO. 11 ON INQUIRY CARD

843
MINI-MI CRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Letters

CORPORATION LOSS
To the editor: I take exception to some of the infor-
mation in the article "Bypassing Local Telephone Lines-a Growing Option for Data Communications" (MMS, February, Page 115). The information, ostensibly provided by Pacific Northwest Bell (PNB), claims that corporation stands to lose $800,000 annually because of Tektronix's microwave system. However, Tektronix's calculations show that PNB's unrealized revenue would come to only a small fraction of the stated amount.
The report provided by PNB to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) describes Tektronix's microwave system as having the potential to avert annual charges of$800,000. Your article, stating that PNB "stands to lose $800,000," is almost unequivocal in its implication that such a loss is a reality.
The extent to which the article suffered from misleading source data is unclear. What is clear, however, is that, in these days when regulatory matters are being decided in the political arena and common carriers submit carelessly researched information to public agencies, it is more important than ever that the media research more assiduously and probe a bit deeper to provide accurate and informative assessments. C.J. Thomas Telecommunications Manager Tektronix Inc. Beaverton, Ore.
Author's response: The $800,000 figure as related to rev-
enue losses experienced by Pacific Northwest Bell due to Tektronix's private microwave system was obtained directly from the FCC's Third Report and Order in the Matter of MTS and WATS Market Structure, released Feb. 28, 1983, FCC 82-579 32607, Attachment 1, Page 5. The report was cited accurately in my article. This report is a public document and can be obtained through the FCC's Office of Public Affairs. Stephen J. Shaw Washington Editor
BROADBAND NETWORKS
To the editor: In reference to "Broadband Networks
Prove Expensive for Interconnecting

Terminals" (MMS, March, Page 139): I have been reading Mini-Micro Systems for several years. This is the first time I have found myself upset at what would appear to be a report that uses a specific, narrow instance to extract a general truth.
First, uninformed readers would probably not realize that, if the only requirement of an application is to interconnect terminals to host processors, purchasers of a network would be wasting money if they even study a broadband solution. That being the case, twisted-pair wiring is certainly the answer unless the application requires thousands of terminals.
Second, I'm not sure why you indicated maximum system terminal capacity for WangNet before major renovation was only 192 additional terminals. Preplanning cable plant installation would allow that many terminals on one 6-MHz channel. If the bandwidth is approximately 360 MHz, you could get approximately 60 times that number. Therefore, the number of terminals to be supported is limited only by customers' ingenuity in defining future requirements while engineering their cable plants.
By the way, I'm not a big fan of WangNet, but I do believe your reporting lacks some fact or you are biased. Peter E. Donohue Montgomery, Ala
Author's response: Mr. Donahue's letter reflects a wide-
spread problem in the field of area networks: the tendency to confuse technology with products. I will respond to certain points in his letter.
Wang Laboratories Inc.'s workstations are directly connected to the VS-100 host via a twin coaxial cable over which signals travel at approximately 2M bits per second. The only alternative to direct connection is to use the WangNet's peripheral attach band. Even then, the terminals and the host must still connect to the WangNet system via the twin coxial cable. Twisted-pair wiring simply cannot be used.
Whether or not a broadband system is economical is precisely what the study was trying to determine. Wang had aggressively promoted the benefits of WangNet to the client in the study and had provided encouragingly low, although informal, estimates of the cost of installation. The parallel cost studies were run to put the question on an

objective basis. In an industry in which people often make broad, sweeping generalizations, reporting on practical experience is the only way to clear the air.
Mr. Donahue's statement concerning maximum system capacity does not quote the article correctly, much less correct an error. The basic facts are these:
· The peripheral attach band of WangNet has a capacity of 192 workstations, serviced through six sub-channels, each having a capacity of 32 workstations. If users need to support more than 192 devices (which typically means a second VS-100 computer in the system), they can do so only through a complex procedure that involves splitting the population of the terminals into two groups, each associated with one of the two computers, using RF diplexors. The two groups of terminals and their associated computers must be on physically separate sections of the coaxial cable. Overlapping and intercommunications are not possible between terminals in one group and the computer in the other group. In a diplexed configuration, both segregated terminalcomputer populations use the same RF band.
· This restriction would not exist if Wang permitted users to configure the network with several independent peripheral attach bands, each assignable to a different sector of the RF spectrum. But, since Wang did not do this, the restriction must be abided.
Wang could possibly release new features for WangNet that might remove some of these limitations, and users considering the system would most likely want the most current product information available. The study in the article was done in early 1983. Interested readers can consult the Wang brochure ''WangNet Overview," dated August 1982, to verify our baseline.
Technologies and methodologies, like cabling methods, control schemes (CSMA/CS vs. token ring), topologies (rings, stars, buses) and transmission schemes (broadband, baseband, Manchester coding), do not provide ·service to users. They must be incorporated into workable products. Perhaps we should declare a moratorium on seminars and magazine articles about localarea-network technology and talk only about real products. Walter A. ·Levy Edgewood Computer Associates Inc.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

ATRON Announces A State-ofthe-Art Software Debugging Tool
FOR THE MULTIBUS®
· DEBUG 86/88/87 BASED BOARDS
· HARDWARE BREAKPOINTS with pretrigger o finds problems like memory overwrites
· REAL TIME TRACE o answers the question "How did I get here"
· SYMBOLIC DEBUGGING o no more hex addresses
· MEMORY MAPPING o test code before blowing proms
· COMPATIBLE WITH INTEL OBJECT MODULE FORMATS o simplifies language compatibility
· 8 CHANNEL LOGIC ANALYZER o trace and trap external signals
· MACRO COMMANDS o create your own commands
· PERFORMANCE ANALYZER o time out program events
· PROGRAM PATCHING o on linesymbolicassembler
If you're developing MULTIBUS® based systems you need MBUS PROBE 86188. Call us today.
MULTIBUS is a registered trademark of Intel Corp.
afj'(·~
20665 FOURTH STREET SARATOGA. CA 95070
CIRCLE NO. 12 ON INQUIRY CARD 14

Letters .

ARETE SYSTEMS
To the editor: I am writing to correct an article
about Arete Systems Corp. (MMS, February 1984, Page 44).
Arete has chosen to occupy a highperformance (not low-end as mentioned in your article) niche with OEM systems ranging from $52,600 (not $15,000) to $104,300 (not $80,000).
Your article said: "As many as three 12.5-MHz 32-bit processors and a controller are contained in a memorymanagement unit with a capacity of 16M bytes." This sentence is confusing. The Arete 1000 supports up to four CPUs. The CPUs are 12.5-MHz 68000 microprocessors.
The Arete 1000 supports as many as 12 intelligent I/O controllers and a highspeed memory controller. The entire Arete 1000 supports 16M bytes of tightly coupled physical main memory.1:here is not a separate memory associated with each CPU.
The author missed the point of the Arete system architecture. Arete provides the computing and I/O capabilities of a superminicomputer using the advantages of inexpensive and reliable microprocessor components. Arete represents a major breakthrough in computer architecture. It is the first multithread, data-flow system that has been commercially produced. Until now, mult_ithread machines have been found only m laboratories. John R. "Beau" Vrolyk President Arete Systems Corp. San Jose, Calif.
UNIQUELY UNIX
To the editor: I thoroughly enjoyed the May 1984
issue of Mini-Micro Systems. As a UNIX operating system professional, I am gratified to see the expanding inte;est in this system. (UNIX was central m at least 30 ads and seven articles.)
I submit the following comments as a reader and not as a representative of Motorola Inc.
From the title of the article "Microsoft makes XENIX compatible with UNIX System V" (MMS, May 1984, Page 93), the casual r~a?~r would c01:clude that this compat1b1hty was a fait accompli. However, the first paragraph indicates that Logica UK Ltd. is merely investigating the technical issues in-

volved. Hence, compatibility with UNIX System V is not a current realization. I am sure Microsoft Corp. does not want potential customers to be confused about this.
In the same article, John Ulett of Microsoft notes that "porting the [System V] shared-memory feature to [nonVAX] processors poses problems" and that XENIX already provides another System V facility-record locking.
As part of the Motorola Microsystems team that ported the UNIX System V operating system to the MC68000 microprocessor under contract to AT&T Technologies Inc. (and without any subcontracting, despite rumors to t_he contrary), I believe I can speak with some authority on these statements. The port of the UNIX System V sharedmemqry feature to the MC68000, al.ong with semaphores and message passmg, w~ trivial. System V does not have record locking. I anticipate that AT&T will offer this in a future release. It is true that, in view of the current lack, many OEMs have added this enhancement.
On a separate topic, it appears de rigueur for computer industry writers to complain about IBM Corp.'s apparent inconsistencies in the UNIX market. "Version 7 on the Series/l, XENIX on the System 9000, System III on the PC. What is IBM's choice?" they cry. It seems to me the answer is, "the latest.'' The Version 7 release was the latest for the Series/1 port, called CPIX, and for Microsoft's XENIX port to the System 9000. The System III release was the latest when Interactive Systems Corp. began its port to the PC. Fred Christiansen Staff Software Engineer l\lotorola l\licrosystems Tempe, Ariz.
NEX~ MON~H IN MMS
Line printers get the feature spotlight in the September issue of Mini-Micro Systems. Manufacturers of traditional impact line printers are foregoing technological innovations and, instead, are focusing on lower prices and higher reliability.
A comprehensive survey chart of over 130 products and 25 companies is included with the article.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

LOW POWER, CMOS 8086 SINGLE BOARD COMPUTER
Replace Your iSBC * 86/05 and get the Benefits of CMOS Technology Without Redesign

Compare these Key Features:
Bus Type CPU 5V Operating Current Operating Temperature Supplied RAM (Bytes) RAM Battery Back-Up On Board

INTEL ISBC" 86/05
MULTIBUS" 8086
4.7 amps max. 0°C to 55°C
8K
No

DIVERSIFIED TECHNOLOGY CBC 86C/05
MULTIBUS" 80C86
200 milliamps max. 0°C to 70°C 16K
Yes (2.5 yrs. data retention)

Whether your application is an existing system upgrade or a low-power CMOS system design, DTl's CBC 86C/05 will make your job easier. Full hardware and software compatibility with the iSBC" 86/05 allows you to gain the low power advan-

tages of CMOS without sacrificing system performance or your development investment. You even get fast nonvolatile memory on-board, and a fullspec MULTIBUS" interface to maintain compatibility with existing systems.

ASK ABOUT OUR NONVOLATILE CMOS RAM FOR MULTIBUS AND LSl-11 TOO!
Above specifications taken from manufac turers'cuffent pul:Jllshecl data. "MULTIBUS and /SBC are trademarks of Intel Corp.
CIRCLE NO. 13 ON INQUIRY CARD

For more information regarding the CBC 86C/05 CPU board, or any of our other all-CMOS MULTIBUS" boards, contact Bill Long, CBC Product Manager at (601) 856·4121.
I!!! Diversified liiil Technology
An Ergon Co.
P. 0 . Box 748, Ridgeland. MS 39157 Telex 585326

. ... ..

. .

. ~

. .. ~ .

Breakpoints

DATA GENERAL TO BROADEN PRODUCT SCOPE WITH LAP-TOP COMPUTER

Taking the road less traveled by other minicomputer makers, Data General

Corp ., Westboro , Mass . plans to introduce a lap-top portable computer in

about five months , sources say. The 7-pound model , which was shown

privately at the recent National Computer Conference, will be built by the

company's Nippon Data General subsidiary in Japan. It is said to be fully

IBM PC-compatible and will run the MS-DOS operating system. The unit

includes dual 3 Y2 -inch microfloppy drives, a 24 line by 80 character display

with graphics capability, 256K bytes minimum memory, and an Intel Corp. 8088 processor . A hard disk may also be offered . DG is expected to sell the product through retail stores such as Businessland.-L Vnligm

U.S. CONGRESS TO ACT ON COMPUTER CRIME LEGISLATION

The U.S. Congress is finally about to act on federal computer crime

legislation. Stirred from years of inactivity by the disclosure of a recent TRW

Inc. credit-.database break-in, the House Judiciary Committee has approved

the Counterfeit Access Device and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Similar to

R.R. 1092 (MMS , July, Page 264) but containing stronger penalties, R.R.

5616 would permit fines of up to $100,000 and up to 20 years' imprisonment for anyone who knowingly accesses without authorization a computer used in

interstate or foreign commerce and gains $5,000 or more from the break-in

over a one-year period. Although it's expected to pass in the House, the bill

would have to be reconciled in conference committee with a similar credit

card abuse bill already passed by the Senate. That bill doesn't contain

computer crime provisions.-J . Victor

SERVO WRITER REPLACES UNITS THREE TIMES ITS PRICE A low-priced servo writer from Pioneer Research Inc., Santa Monica, Calif.,
may solve both the availability and price problems of support tools for disk drive manufacturers. The model PRlOOO Servowriter, at less than $60,000, is designed to replace units three times its price and six times its size. It manages hard disks from 3Y2 inches to 14 inches. The company claims the unit is a universal device capable of writing servo information on as many as four drives at a time, with no restrictions on the servo formats. The user can either design formats for downloading from a microcomputer, or have hardwired versions built in at the factory .- C. WanPn

GRAPHICS CARD FOR IBM PC TRANSLATES COLOR INTO 16 GRAY SHADES Paradise Systems Inc., of Brisbane, Calif., has introduced its Modular
Graphics Card in a bid to meet the strong demand for high-resolution graphics for IBM Corp.'s Personal Computer. Due to be shown in the United States later this month, the card already is available from Accent Computers International Ltd. , of London. Accent president Terry Harris claims the card runs color graphics software written for the PC's color board, without modification. The $495 Paradise card translates color graphics into 16 gray shades on IBM's monochrome screen. It also can be used with the IBM PC color monitor.-K. Jones

MINI -MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Breakpoints

::MICROCOMPUTER ::MEMORIES READIES 2S::M-BYTE 3%-INCH WINCHESTER Microcomputer Memories Inc. 's 25M-byte (unformatted) 31h-inch
Winchester disk drive, available in three configurations, is scheduled for shipment in the fourth quarter. The Van Nuys, Calif. company will sell the drive for less than $600 in OEM quantities. The 588-track-per-inch, 10,943-bits-per-inch drive has four platters, eight heads, and comes in three models: the 31h-inch model M-125, the half-high 5%-inch model and the fullsize 5%-inch model M-325. The larger size is constructed by bolting on the appropriate 5%-inch bezel. - C. W·j1·1·1 i1
DATA :MANAGE::MENT LABS EXTENDS DEC'S Q-BUS WITH CONTROLLER The model DML-660 standalone controller made by Data Management Labs,
San Jose, Calif., extends the Q-bus architecture of Digital Equipment Corp. 's MicroVAX and Micro PDP-11 computers. Housed in a 19-inch rack, the controller provides Q-bus extension and offers DEC UDA-50 subsystem-type operation. The DML-660, priced at $2,650 in 100-unit quantities, should be shipped in December. The controller can be attached to a DML D80 404.5Mbyte disk system for $8,400 or a DML D81, 640.5M-byte drive for $10,100, both in 100-unit volumes.-C. W '111·r0 11
XEBEC AND HEWLETT-PACKARD TO PURSUE 31/z-INCH WINCHESTER :MARKET Xebec Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif., and Hewlett-Packard Co., Greeley. Colo., are
separately planning 31h-inch Winchester drives. Xebec currently has the 31h-inch, 20M-byte Micro-Owl, but company officials say they are looking to internal use before releasing it onto the market. The drive's capacity may range above 1OM bytes. - C' . Wrn ·1 "1 1
BRITISH SUPER::MINICO::MPUTER AI::MED AT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USE High Level Hardware Ltd., of Oxford, England, is seeking OEM deals in the
United States for its Orion 32-bit minicomputer. Because the Orion can be microprogrammed to execute as many as 16 different languages simultaneously, it facilitates implementation of artificial intelligence languages such as LISP or prolog, says Tim Robinson, High Level technical director. The Orion is based on bit-slice processors, runs Berkeley 4.1 UNIX, and operates at about the same speed as the Digital Equipment Corp. VAX-11/750, Robinson claims. Prices range from approximately $25,000 for a four-user version with lM byte of main memory and SOM bytes of disk storage, to $35,000 for a 16-user system with 6M bytes of main memory and 260M bytes on disk.- K. ,JonPH
ADAPSO EXAMINES SOFTWARE PROTECTION SCHEMES The Association of Data Processing Service Organizations (ADAPSO) plans to
offer a testing service for developers of software protection schemes. ADAPSO is expected to contract with a major university this summer for a product evaluation service. The university then would make information on hardwarebased and software-based protection systems available to the industry.- M. Stenzler-Cen wnze

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

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MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRC LE NO. 15 ON INQUIRY CARD

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CIRCLE NO. 16 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMStAugust 1984

Breakpoints

STARTUP TO SELL GKS SOFTWARE RUNNING UNDER UNIX A yet to be named company that begins operations late this month in Los
Gatos, Calif. , plans to sell software supporting the Graphics Kernel System standard and running under UNIX. Dennis Griswold, a former director of European operations for Contel Codata, set up the company. The software is likely to run on the TP lOm MC68000-based board-level computer from Tadpole Technology Plc., Cambridge, England. The TP lOm is Multibuscompatible . - K_,lorrns
TECH FILES: A QUICK LOOK AT INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS NCC HIGHLIGHTS: Last month's National Computer Conference in Las Vegas, Nev., had promised to be the largest in history, with 100,000 attendees expected to visit 3 ,800 booths . However, attendance was reportedly only 50,000 to 60,000. Some exhibitors expressed disappointment with the light traffic, and local merchants complained about lack of business. Conferees, it seemed, favored working over playing in the casinos. As a result, the Las Vegas Convention Authority reportedly is considering reviewing its convention-booking policies. Though major new product introductions were minimal, some companies attracted prospects to private suites in local hotels.
Diconix Inc., an Eastman Kodak Co. subsidiary, demonstrated a nonimpact, ink-jet printer in its hotel suite. Diconix was formerly known as Mead Digital Systems, a company that pioneered ink-jet technology . The printer uses a multiple-array, binary-deflection, continuous ink-jet that is not electrostatically charged. Company officials claim the technology allows more accurate dot placement on plain paper . The 18-page-per-minute printer places dots in a 300-by-300 dot matrix in high-quality mode, and in a 200-by-300 dot matrix in draft-quality mode. The printer includes two MC68000 processors; one for font creation and one for image and data management. The printer houses 64 jets on a printhead the width of an index finger. Introduction of the printer is slated for October, and availability is scheduled for the first part of next year. Tentative pricing is $12,000 to end users, and $5,000 to $7,500 to OEMs . Printer supplier C. Itoh & Co., Ltd. was one visitor to the suite.-! _Valip;rn
CompuPro has added its blessing to the 6MHz NS32016 processor from National Semiconductor Corp. by using it in its 816/ G series of microcomputers. The eight configurations of the G series, all IEEE 696/ S-100-compatible, bring to 50 the number of products offered by CompuPro. The 816 line already includes machines built around Motorola Inc. 's MC68000 and Intel Corp. 's 80286 chips. A typical price for an 816 is $14,995, including 40M bytes of hard disk storage and lM byte of 16-bit static memory . -,1 _ I Jn' 1 !1111
NEC Information Systems Inc. has introduced a line of superminicomputers based on custom NEC processors. The computers, called

MINI -MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Breakpoints

the Astra 300 series, begin in price at $15,000, and use the proprietary NEC ITOS operating system, so they are compatible with earlier, Astra 200 series computers.-L. Valigra
The major knock against Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh portable computer is a lack of applications programs. But the company is clearing up that problem. At its NCC booth, Apple demonstrated 80 packages from 65 vendors. Fifty of the packages should be available by the end of the summer, and 150 packages should be shipped by year's end.-D. Bright
Digital Research Inc. is preparing Concurrent PC-DOS for fourth-quarter availability on AT&T's PC6300 microcomputer. The multitasking operating system supports Concurrent CP/ M and PC-DOS. AT&T also is considering Digital Research's StarLink multiuser add-in board for the PC6300, according to Digital Research sources.- D. Bright
In a move away from its traditional office environment, NBI Inc. introduced a workstation for scientific and technical workers. The U! Technical Workstation runs the Berkeley 4.2 version of UNIX and is said to support most applications designed to run on AT&T Co.'s UNIX System V. Based on a Motorola Inc. 8MHz MC68010 processor, the workstation has paged virtual memory and a high-resolution, 14-inch, 1024-by-768-dot, bitmapped, monochrome display. The price in single quantity is $15,495, including lM byte of memory, one 640K byte, 5%-inch, floppy disk drive and a 2M byte hard disk drive. The workstation may be attached to an IEEE 802.3 Ethernet local network with TCP/ IP protocols.-J . Donohue
Bellsoft Inc., a Bellevue, Wash., startup, next month plans to market its PopUp programs. Users can call the programs in windows while using application programs in a PC-DOS environment. PopUp programs with an assembly language kernel include a calculator, a notepad, a calendar, an alarm clock, a telecommunications program, and a POP-DOS utility that allows the user to perform system functions such as formatting disks. Package prices range from $19.95 to $79 .95 .- D. Bright
Epson America Inc.'s OEM products division introduced the model 3740 ink-dot, 40-column printer/ plotter . An ink reservoir at the top of the printhead wets the head's four pins, which then place dots directly onto the paper. Print speed is 8.8 .characters per second. The price has not yet been determined. Epson also unveiled a 25 line by 80 column, liquid crystaldisplay module for portable computers. The 640-by-200-dot display measures 9 inches by 3 inches. The price for 100 units is $325. The accompanying LCD controller is $17.70.- D. Hright
An 1800-by-1400-dot, color CRT was shown by Panasonic Industrial Co. The TlOl-01 CRT measures 40 inches diagonally, and is intended for computeraided design, manufacturing, and engineering applications. Panasonic also

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

LINE PRINTER COftPARISON CHART

· STANDARD FEATURES CIE TERftlNALS CIE TERftlNALS DATAPRODUCTS PRINTRONIX

CI-300

CI-600

· 8-300/600 P-300/600

LOWEST PRICE

L Q PRINTING

COftPRESSED PRINT

GRAPHICS RESOLUTION

60 x 72

x ·

120 x 72

x ·

200 x 144

200 x 288

BOLDFACE PRINTING

SLANTED PRINTING

CHAR. ENLARGEftENT

INT'L CHARACTERS

Tth~heoi~sC~Peosrm'l1'n.pA~·eeoot··uuittt·iopnr1·nt ~~:f~~~~~:r~fr:f;;~~~~~::~~~~~e J..~ 'y ~

e .l!
yy ~

The chart above tells a telling story about our CI-300 and Cl-600 Matrix Line Printers. Feature for feat~re, th_ey out-print

.,,

many types of applications and computer

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barcode applications. Barcode applications are easily developed with optional graphics card.

Interfacing is not a problem either. RS232-C Serial, Centronics®and Dataproducts

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~Y ·~·~~~Ill!.' ..,.,... I&~
A C/fll'{ElEC11iQVICSCQ4UW/Y

®Dataproduc ts is a registered trade mark of Dataproducts Corp. Pr intron ix is a registe red trade mark of Pr intron ix Corp. Ccntronics is a reg istered trademark of Centronix Data Computer Corp.
©1984 C I E Terminals.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 17 ON INQUIRY CARD

'Mththe right~ \X.6rdStar can be
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The WysewordTM 50 has a beautiful way of making WordStar~ simpler.
Its special keyboard reduces WordStar's multiple keystroke command sequences to single keystrokes. Commands relate easily to what's written on the keys.
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To find out where you can see the Wyseword 50 demonstrated. call the regional office nearest you: Southwestern (213) 340-2013 : Midwestern (313) 471-1565: Northeastern -(201) 725-5054: Southeastern (305) 862-2221; Northwestern (408) 946-307 5 ext. 256.
For more information about our complete line of products. write or call Wyse Technology 3040 N. First Street. San Jose. CA 95134 . (408) 946-3075. Outside of California . 800-421-1058.
WYSE

Breakpoints

introduced its 19-inch graphics terminal with a 1365-dot-by-1024-dot resolution and a drawing speed of 40,000 short vectors per second.-D. Bright
AlphaCom Inc. unveiled a number of products in a private hotel suite. Aimed at the lap-sized computer market, the AlphaCom Traveler is a 60character per second (cps) , battery-powered, thermal printer that weighs 5V:a pounds and is priced at $199.95. The associated interface cable for RS-232 or RS-422 connections is $49.95 . The company's AlphaPro 18-cps $399.95 daisy wheel printer can use Diablo Systems Inc. and Qume Corp. print wheels and ribbons. It has a 93-byte buffer expandable to 4K bytes. The interface cable is priced at $49.95. AlphaCom also showed a $49 .95 interface cable that couples its model 801 thermal printer to Apple Computer Inc. 's Macintosh. All products are slated for October delivery.-C. Warren
NOTES FBO:M OVERSEAS: West Germany's electronics giant Siemens AG has earmarked about $357 million for its mega-project, an effort aimed at producing its next two generations of microchips. Siemens chief executive Dr. Harlheinz Kaske said last month that the first stage of the project, with $143 million budgeted, will be for a lM-bit memory chip. The second stage is for development of a 4M-bit dynamic RAM by the end of this decade . Siemens already has 64K chips in volume production and is ramping up to produce 256K RAM chips in volume by next year.- M O'Gara
Hitachi Ltd. said its output of 64K dynamic RAMs is growing from the present pace of 7 million to 8 million units a month toward 9 million a month by year's end, when it will peak. Hitachi is more interested in building capacity for 256K dynamic RAMs, now being produced at a rate of about 700,000 monthly, to one million monthly starting this month. Hitachi makes an estimated 80 percent of all 256K memory devices. Sutezo Hata, a Hitachi managing director, said the change in bit emphasis will probably show up in mid-1985. Hitachi is preparing a plastic package to add to the SIL- and DIPpackaged 256K dynamic RAMs now available. Chips with those packages should be ready by fall, and available in quantity early next year.- T. Kakehashi
The Samsung Semiconductor and Communication Co., a division of one of Korea's four biggest electronics companies, plans to start marketing in October for 64K dynamic RAMs being produced at its new VLSI plant in the Kiheong Industrial Complex in Kyunggi-do. The facility, a $125 million investment in a first, 28,000-square-meter phase, plans to produce 6 million devices a month. Samsung will invest another $750 million in the second phase of the plant this fall. That investment is, first, for producing lM bit dynamic RAMs, static RAMs, and microprocessors, then for personal computers and peripherals, and, eventually, for minicomputers and mainframes. The development by Samsung of a 64K device last year made Korea the second country after Japan to develop a 64K dynamic RAM outside the United States .- I. Kakeha.shi

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Breakpoints

Toshiba Corp. is shipping samples of two CMOS mask ROMs that have 200 nanosecond access times . One device, the TC531000P, can store 16-by-16-dot patterns for 3 ,418 characters at a time . The mask ROM is widely used in word processors, personal computers and printers for generating characters and patterns. The Japan-based sample prices are about $26 for the 256K TC53527P device and less than $110 for the lM-byte TC531000P. Toshiba will start taking mask data for production orders in September.- T. Kakehaslli
Inmos Corp.,the Colorado Springs, Colo., R&D unit of Britain' s Inmos Group, has formed a production technology-sharing agreement with the newly-established NMB Semiconductor Company for the manufacture and sale of 256K CMOS dynamic RAMs. The five-year agreement provides for u se of Inmos technology to make the devices at a plant being built in Tateyama, Japan, and representing a $91.8 million investment. Initial production output will be about 200,000 chips a month, and will gradually grow to one million a month. Inmos will get half of the production volume. The companies plan to make the RAMs available to outside customers early in 1986.-I. Kakelrnsl i
AT&T last month launched UNIX Europe Ltd., a London-based joint venture with Olivetti SpA. Heading the small 15-person startup is Digital Equipment Corp. veteran Vanni Papi. The appointment of an outsider to fill the post may signal to current and would-be European UNIX licensees that Olivetti, the exclusive European distributor of AT&T's UNIX-based 3B computers, will not receive preferential treatment from the venture. Some resellers had expressed fear about buying the operating system from a strong competitor such as Olivetti. Reports indicate AT&T is planning another UNIX marketing operation in the Far East.-M. O'Gara
U.K. distributor Universal Computer Systems Ltd. is charging its sole supplier, Datamedia Corp., with fraud and breach of contract in a $5 million lawsuit filed in New Jersey. The action follows Datamedia's abrupt cancellation of the exclusive distribution pact it signed with Universal a year ago for Datamedia 932 computers running the Pick operating system. The suit demands damages, reimbursement for lost profits and investments, legal costs, and reinstatement of Universal's exclusive marketing rights in the U.K. The suit also asks to nullify the worldwide remarketing agreement for 932s Datamedia signed only months ago with Britain's !CL Plc.-M. O'Gar<1
Taiwan's National Science Council is planning to establish a liaison office in California's silicon valley for the purpose of attracting high technology and foreign investors to Taiwan's Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park. The office, which is expected to be set up soon, will be administered in the United States by Taiwan's Coordination Council for North American Affairs, the equivalent of a consulate. Two similar offices were established in Los Angeles and Houston earlier this year. Hsinchu, established in 1980, is the offshore manufacturing site for a growing number of American computer companies, including Qume Corp . and Wang Laboratories.-C. HintermeisLer

MINI -MICRO SYSTEMS/Augus t 1984

HOW 10STRETCH APC TO CRUTEllEW
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/ / / MARINCO
CIRCLE NO. 20 ON INQUIRY CARD

IT TAKES ALOT OF DRIVE

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CIRCLE NO. 22 ON INQUIRY CARD
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Mini-Micro World
NEWS

TeleVideo enters DEC market with VT220-compatible terminal

Tom Moran, Associate Editor
TeleVideo Systems Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., has introduced the model 922 terminal, which the company hopes will enable it to compete head-to-head against Digital Equipment Corp. in the VT200 market. Code-compatible with both the VT220 and VTlOO, the $995 TeleVideo 922 will undercut the retail price of the VT220 by $300. TeleVideo showed the monochrome, alphanumeric 922 at the National Computer Conference in July, and the company expects to begin shipments this month.
A major departure
TeleVideo's only previous DECcompatible product is the TeleVideo 970, which is aimed at the high-end market for American National Standards Institute (ANSl)-compatible units. The 970 contains a VTlOO subset, but, according to Steve Tatum, TeleVideo's vice president for national sales, "The 970 was never targeted to go directly into the DEC market, and it was not a DEC emulator."
The 922 offers a low-profile keyboard, a tilt-and-swivel screen, a 10-key, accounting-style keypad, block mode, eight character fonts and space for an auxiliary option board. The 12-inch, non-glare screen uses a P31 green phosphor and displays 80 or 132 columns by 25 lines. An optional Tektronixcompatible monochrome graphics board should be available when the 922 is introduced. The graphics upgrade board will match the 922 against DEC's VT240 monochrome text and graphics terminal.
Tatum says the company agonized

Intended to compete with DEC terminals, TeleVideo's 922 monochrome alphanumeric terminal is said to be code-compatible with the VT220 and VT100. The 922's keyboard is nearly identical with that of the VT100 but differs from the VT220 keyboard.
over designing the 922's keyboard because, when DEC designed the VT220, it ignored the VTlOO keyboard. Instead, DEC used the Rainbow microcomputer keyboard for the VT220 and placed the >!< key adjacent to the letter "z"-where most typists expect to find the shift key. "If you're going to enter somebody's market, the golden rule is that you must emulate the keyboard -key-for-key and stroke-forstroke," says Tatum, but "we couldn't bring ourselves to put the key there, so we decided to break the golden rule." A number of other keys on the 922, including "break" and "escape," are also in positions different from the VT200.
TeleVideo director of marketing Craig Lynar does not believe the keyboard differences will present a problem for the company, "since [the VT220] is not out in the field yet and does not have an installed base." He adds that TeleVideo is prepared to move the keycaps on the 922 if the VT220 keyboard becomes a standard. The installed base for VTlOO keyboards is estimated at 500,000 units.
DEC market to grow
Tatum expects the DEC market to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15 percent to 20

percent. He estimates that more

than 270,000.units are being shipped

into the DEC market and that about

80,000 of those units are captive

customers of DEC. The major com-

petition for the remaining 190,000

units is DEC. "We are going to try

to get as large a share of that as

possible," he adds.

Bob Sanekoff, vice president for

display terminals for Dataquest

Inc., a San Jose, Calif., research

concern, predicts that the demand

for DEC and DEC-compatible ter-

minals will be strong for the next

two years. "Because of the basic

uses of data input, data retrieval,

information updates and so on, [ter-

minals] will continue to show good

strength," he says. Dataquest says

that DEC has about 60 percent to 62

percent of the DEC-compatible

market and forecasts that DEC will

ship about 250,000 terminals world-

wide this year.

TeleVideo will distribute and

service the 922 through 35 active

distributors, including two-tier dis-

tributors (through dealers), whole-

sale distributors and full-service,

value-added resellers. TeleVideo

will service large OEMs directly

only if the OEM's volume is greater

than the amount a distributor could

handle. TeleVideo does not plan a

direct retail effort.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

HP is first with low-cost laser printer

Tom Moran, Associate Editor
Hewlett Packard Co.'s Boise, Idaho, division has unveiled the $3,495 LaserJet printer, described as the first laser-beam printer to retail for significantly less than $10,000.
The LaserJet uses Canon USA Inc.'s LBP-CX print engine to produce 8 pages per minute of 300-by300-dot resolution text and 75-by75-dot resolution graphics. Billed by HP as a one-to-one replacement for daisy-wheel printers, the page printer sells for about the same price as high-end daisy-wheel units. Producing less than 55 decibels adjusted (dBa) during operation, the LaserJet is aimed at small businesses and offices. The unit offers the flexibility of a number of fonts and graphics capability, and the print quality of text is said to be difficult to distinguish from fully formed impact printing.
HP adds formatter and Interface
HP designed its own interface and formatter for the Canon engine, which has only a video formatter. Canon USA, Lake Success, N.Y., will build the electronics for the HP design. HP also offers system integration, support and distribution. According to product marketing manager Robert Granger, ''We've aggressively taken [the LaserJet] to independent software vendors for them to interface with their packages." The LaserJet supports Lotus Development Corp.'s Lotus 1-2-3, Multimate International Corp.'s Multimate, MicroPro International Corp.'s WordStar, Software Publishing Corp.'s pfs:Write, BPI Systems Inc.'s BPI Accounting and other software packages.
The printer is compatible with the HP 150 touch-screen personal

computer, the IBM PC and IBM PC compatibles. When linked to the HP 150 via its RS232 port, the LaserJet copies the 150's screen on a onekeystrc;>ke command. HP says it will provide screen-copy software for the IBM PC this year.
HP offers the LaserJet with a Courier 10 font, but an optional plug-in ROM cartridge provides three additional fonts. The font cartridges allow use of four typefaces on a single page. Other ROM cartridges with additional fonts are scheduled to be released this year. LaserJet also rotates images 90 degrees, which allows the printing of spreadsheets in "landscape" mode using compressed type.
The LaserJet prints on letterhead paper, labels, envelopes and transparencies. Its paper cassettes feed standard 81h-by-11-inch sheets, legal-size pages and European sizes A4 and B5. Manual feed permits printing on both sides of a sheet and the use of odd-sized paper. The LaserJet opens like a clamshell to permit easy clearing of the paper path.
Same engine as Imagen
The LBP-CX print engine is also the heart of the previously announced Imagen 8/300 from Imagen Corp., Mountain View, Calif. The Imagen 8/300 has a more sophisticated controller than the LaserJet and retails for less than $10,000.
Edward Webster, president of Datek Information Services Inc., Newtonville, Mass., says one source of buyer resistance to the LaserJet may be the $99 disposable, electrophotographic cartridge. He also believes that the 100-sheet capacity of the paper cassette is not large enough for small business environments. "There's a lot of resistance to new things in the market. For several reasons, people are not real-

The LaserJet printer from HP opens like a clamshell to permit easy clearing of the paper path. A disposable cartridge containing toner, developer and a rotating drum is the heart of the print engine supplied by Canon USA.
ly unhappy with daisy-wheels." Webster says that the LaserJet
print quality is "great for a laser printer but not as good as a daisy. There's nothing wrong with the HP machine. I think its amazing that they can sell it for $3,500."
According to the Boise division's general manager, Raymond A. Smelek, changing the electropho~o graphic cartridge produces extremely consistent print quality. "All the key imaging components, including the drum, are replaced each time. This makes the LaserJet simple to maintain." The cartridge includes mono-component toner, developer, a rotating photoconductive drum, a charge corona assembly and a drum-cleaner blade.
HP will distribute the LaserJet through approximately 1,100 dealers of its personal computer and plotter products in the United States. The company will also sell the printer through its direct sales force. HP projected quantity shipments by June 1, with European availability scheduled for late 1984.
0

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Data General's engineering workstations push price/performance boundaries

Lori Vallgra, Senior Editor
Data General Corp., Westboro, Mass., recently introduced two 32-bit minicomputer-based engineering workstations with an entrylevel price tag of $35,500.
DG is entering the low end of a market in which machine prices reach $100,000. In doing so, it is trying to attract the growing ranks of cost-sensitive Fortune 1,000 and OEM companies that need to increase their engineers' productivity and decrease product design time.
"Customers must change from system integrators and R&D groups to Fortune 1,000 and OEM operations for the market to explode," says David Rome, marketing manager for the workstation group in DG's Technical Products Division. Rome figures Fortune 1,000 companies employ more engineers than other companies, because they account for 80 percent of computer sales.
The single-user DS4000 and DS4200 superminicomputers borrow their processor technology from DG's low-cost 32-bit system, the MV/4000. The DS4000 is a monochrome model sporting 1,024-by1,024-by-2-bit-map resolution and having 256K bytes of graphics memory. The DS4200 offers 16 colors from a palette of 4,096 on a 1,024by-1,024-by-4-bit-map raster display. The products are among the first to use Texas Instruments Inc. 's dual-ported, video dynamic RAM components. Both compact models fit under a desk and measure 25 by 13 by 20 inches. They are said to execute as many as 2.5 million instructions per second. A hardware
floating-point unit executes 600,000 single-precision Whetstones.

DG's Technical Products Division, which sells to technical OEMs and system builders, and its Information Systems Division, which sells systems for large businesses and office-automation environments, will both handle the product.

DG'S DG/UX UNIX RUNS FAST

COMPREHENSIVE

EXECUTIVE OFFICE (CEO)

MV/UX

SOFTWARE

DG/UX

AOSNS

Supports eight office users
The Information Systems Division's version, the MV/4000 small cluster (SC), supports four to eight office users. The new processors are not as configurable as standard MVI 4000 models, which support 64 terminals. Also, they have comparatively limited mass-storage options because drives cannot be attached externally. It is the first MV/4000based system to support 514-inch disk drives rather than 8-inch drives.

DG's DG/UX native UNIX runs faster than its MV!UX, which runs atop the AOS!VS operating system on DG's MVI superminicomputers. DG!UX does not run with CEO software because of differing file structures and languages.
The new processors include three new boards designed to minimize system size. The integrated 110 controller board has floppy disk and hard disk drive controllers, extra asynchronous lines for a mouse or tablet, and an Ethernet local-area network (LAN) interface. The multiuser asynchronous board includes

DG's DS/4200 32-bit minicomputer-based engineering/graphics workstation is a low-priced
tool that fits under desks.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

A challenge from Apollo, Skok

As Data General Corp. prepared to release its low-priced 32-bit minicomputer-based engineering/graphics workstations, competitors Apollo Computer Inc. and Skok Systems Inc., a Hewlett-Packard Co. system integrator, had a similar pricing notion

in mind when they introduced microcomputer-based systems.
Like DG 's systems, Apollo's DN550 fits under a desk. It measures 241h by 131h by 281h inches. Configured with Apollo's AEGIS operating system, 1M byte of memory, a color monitor, a

keyboard , and a Domain local-area network interface, the DN550 is priced at $31 ,500. Adding a SOM-byte Winchester drive increases the price to $40,000. A rack-mounted version for OEMs and system integrators also is available for $30,000 with 1M byte

APOLLO'S MODULAR DN550 MEANS EASY REPAIR

LOUVERS FOR QUIET COOLING

MULTIBUS MODULE

PROCESSOR MODULE .,
' RECESSED
HANDLE - - -

68010 PROCESSOR

MEMORY---

FLOATING-POINT · .

OPTION ....

NETWORK..,....-

INTERFACE ,,/'

GRAPHICS PROCESSOR

,,//
//

DISPLAY MEMORY

5Y· ·IN .
'~INCHESTER

MUUIBUS BOARDS MOUNT EASILY
FROM

1/4-IN .

'DISK

COVERS ARE

EASILY REMOVED

CARTRIDGE-TAPE '

DRIVE

. MASS-STORAGE MODULE

Skok'a Artech computer-aided-design and -drafting system com-

Apollo'a DN550 under-desk system unit has three modules for easy petes with low-priced machines. Showing off the HP processor-

repair.

based Skok system is Skok president and co-founder David Skok.

Apollo's low-priced Domain DN550 engineering workstation is available in under-the-desk (left) and rack-mount (center) versions. Display (right) shows multiple windows.

MIN I-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

of memory, 1M by1e of display memory, a 19-inch color display and a lowprofile keyboard .
The monitor has 1,024-by-800-dot graphics and displays as many as 256 colors. The system is based on the MC6801 O processor. Options include a 45M-byte, 1/4-inch cartridge-tape drive, a four-slot Multibus peripheral adapter and a floating-point hardware accelerator.
Apollo's processor is capable of 32-bit MC68020 processor performance, according to Lou Reynolds, product group manager for high-end systems and graphics at Apollo. Apollo is still sticking with a 16-bit bus. "When 32-bit CPUs [such as the MC68020] are available, then it will make sense to go to a 32-bit bus," he says.
One feature added across the Apollo DN processor line is the graphics metafiles resource (GMR), which Reynolds says appears to the application program like a series of functions or subroutines. Reynolds says GMR affords application independence and supports bit-mapped graphics devices. It creates and edits graphics primitives; handles interactive user input; provides scaling, translation, rotation and installation of graphics; and supports viewing 2-D objects. The company plans to add 3-D displays later. Users can distribute metafiles libraries across Apollo's Domain network, making it seem much like a distributed database for graphics routines. GMR . software and firmware is free to Apollo users who are members of the software support program.
Also touting low price for its workstations is Skok. The company has based its Artech computer-aided-design and -drafting system on HP's 32-bit HP9920 microcomputer. An Artech DesignStation is priced at $27,000. A fully configured entry-level system sells for $59,500, including dual disk drives, a D-sized plotter, and Skok's Arplan 2-D design and drafting software. The 3-D Arview program sells for $7,500 more. A graphics processor system adds $35,000. The graphics processor is manufactured by Silicon Graphics Inc., Mountain View, Calif.

eight asynchronous and two syn- prehensive Electronic Office (CEO)

chronous ports and is for use with system software, which "sits" atop

the MV/4000 SC eight-user com- the AOS/VS operating system.

mercial system. The graphics board CEO machines employ the AOS/VS

supports a 19-inch color or raster- operating-system file structure and

scan monitor.

a language different from DG/UX,

DG announces native UNIX

Rome explains. The system also runs RT32, a subset of DG's

Along with the processor an- AOS/VS operating system.

nouncements, DG released a native Other new products include

UNIX operating system called IEEE 802.3 LAN support and

DG/UX, which is based on UNIX transmission-control protocol/inter-

System V Release 2 and supports network protocol (TCP/IP) commu-

the Berkeley extensions that are nications support, which allows DG

popular in engineering applications. equipment to coexist with non-DG

Unlike DG's earlier MV/UX UNIX, equipment using the UNIX opera-

which runs atop its AOS/VS mini- ting system in a LAN.

computer operating system, Price for the DS4000 with lM

DG/UX runs directly on the CPU. byte of memory, a 19-inch mono-

Rome claims the DG/UX thus runs chrome display, a 38.6M-byte, 5~

faster , requires half the memory inch Winchester disk drive, a 736K-

and uses one-third the disk space. byte floppy disk drive, a LAN

Programs written under DG/UX interface and software is $35,500.

are said to be compatible with those The maximum 4M-byte DS4000

written under MV/UX, so users sells for $50,000. Similarly config-

have access to Ada development ured DS4200s with color displays

software running under the run from $44,000 to $59,000. Simi-

AOS/VS environment.

larly configured MV/4000 SCs with

DG/UX works with all DG prod- CEO software are priced from

ucts except those running its Com- $34,400 to $47,400.

DOW PLANS SOFTWARE FOR SALES MANAGEMENT
Dow Jones Software, Princeton, N.J., is expected to announce a modular software series this summer that focuses on sales-management functions. The modules are designed for tracking sales, forecasting, etc. The first module, Prospect Organizer, is expected to retail for $395.
HIGH-END UNIX TO GAIN APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Pyramid Technology Corp., Mountain View, Calif., is moving to close the application gap in software for high-end UNIX systems. In conjunction with approximately 20 software vendors, Pyramid planned to announce in June the establishment of a third-party software support program for its 90x SuperMinicomputer. The 32-bit 90x is one of the first dual-port UNIX systems that supports both American Telephone & Telegraph Co.'s UNIX System V and the popular Berkeley 4.2 version of UNIX. Among the programs successfully ported to the system are relational database management, spreadsheets, high-level languages, an IBM PC link, word processors, menu systems and advanced typesetting programs.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

New VAXNMS version streamlines VAXcluster

David Bright, Assistant Editor
Digital Equipment Corp. recently announced a new version of the VAXNMS operating system that makes a 16-node VAXcluster function more like a single, distributed system.
Along with the new product, called VMS Version 4.0, DEC also introduced several other VAX products: the MicroVMS operating system for the MicroVAX I computer, Common LISP, an enhanced FORTRAN, the VAX graphical kernel system (GKS) graphics software package, DECnet software with extended network addressing and a local-area network (LAN) terminal server.
Marion Dancy, VAX software marketing manager, describes the VAXcluster, a loosely connected group of VAX superminicomputers, as a cross between a tightly coupled multiprocessor scheme and a LAN. A passive star coupler links as many as 16 VAX-ll/750s, 11/780s, 11/785s and hierarchical storage controllers over a 70M-bit-per-second coaxial cable. Dancy says several hundred VAXclusters have been installed since the product's introduction a year ago.
VMS system balances jobs
A major feature of VMS 4.0 is the distributed job controller. The controller balances the number of jobs per system and maintains singleprint and batch queues for the entire cluster. A distributed-file system manages all files in a cluster as a single entity; users don't have to specify the drive location when accessing a file. A distributed-lock manager provides concurrent control of the clusters' resources. One of the main advantages is that, should a system crash, the manager

DEC's new communications server provides load balancing to as many as 32 termi-
nals across a VAXcluster or an Ethernet
LAN.
can direct another system to unlock any of its records.
The operating system also includes security enhancements such as a log-on retry limit and auditing of log-ons, log-offs, mounts, dismounts and file accesses. A VMS 4.0 license sells for $10,000, which is the same price as that of the previous version. DEC plans to begin shipments in late 1984.
PDP-11s convert to servers
The terminal server adds to the 4.0's job-balancing capability. It can be used in a VAXcluster or in an Ethernet LAN. Instead of hooking terminals directly to a host machine, the server distributes the hookups across the cluster or LAN, according to system use. The server can offload jobs from a host to intelligent terminals and personal computers.
The server, which can connect as many as 32 terminals, is based on the PDP-11124 minicomputer. The 32-line version sells for $20,000. DECnet-VAX 4.0 software converts a PDP-11 to a terminal server and extends the routing algorithm, ena-

VAXCLUSTER DISTRIBUTED-FILE SYSTEM
HSC =HIERARCH ICAL STORAGE CONTROLLER
With VMS 4.0's distributed-file system, users can transparently access all files from any system in a VAXcluster. However, specified files can be locked for security.
bling LANs and wide-area networks to include several thousand nodes. The previous limit was 1,023 nodes. The software, which also increases communication-interface support, runs on both VAXNMS and MicroVMS and sells for $3,000. The software should be available this summer.
Recomplllng unnecessary MicroVMS is truly compatible
with the VAXNMS of the larger machines without recompiling or relinking, claims Dancy. This is because the only code deleted from VAXNMS concerns Massbus, Unibus and PDP-11 compatibility mode. (MicroVAX I uses the Q-bus but is based on the VAX architecture.) The only user-written application program changes that might be necessary, Dancy says, are to accommodate peripherals specific to the MicroVAX I. In addition to MicroVMS, DEC will continue to offer VAXELN, the MicroVAX I's first operating system. While MicroVMS is a general-purpose operating system, VAXELN is mainly for real-time development.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

8-quad slot Q-BUS card cage

Supports RT-11, RSTS, RSX - l l M - P L U S , UNIX, and TSX-PLUS

1.0 MB floppy disk back-up (vs. 2 x 400 KB
for Micro/PDP-11)

Two fans in card cage area (vs. one in Micro/PDP-11)
Cartridge tape capability

RL02-compatible 5%" Winchester disk;
10 MB, 20 MB, or 40 MB capability

rOnly better.,
You can buy DEC's Micro/PDP-11 with its impressive array of features ...or you can get Dataram's A22 -an LSl-11/23 based minicomputer that gives you a whole lot more.. .for a lot less dollars! Like an 8" RX02-compatible floppy . 40 MB SV." Winchester and '~"cartridge tape capabi lity. And two fans that provide push-pull air flow in the card cage area.
For more information, forward this coupon to us, or, for faster response, call (609) 799-0071.

D Send information. D Contact me immediately.

Name

Company

Address

·ss.8 45 is single-quantity domestic price for A22 with LSl-11 / 23 ,

City

State

Zip

Phone

256 KB. 10 MB Wincheste r and RX02-comratible 8"' florpy .

DEC. LSl-11, Mic ro!POP, POP, RSTS, RSX , and RT-11 are tradema rks of Digital Equipment Corpo ration . TSX -PLUS is a trademark of s& h computer systems, inc.
m mL--------------------J UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories.

Dataram Corporation, Princeton Road, Cranbury, NJ 08512

oataram corporation o Princeton Road o Cranbury, New Jersey 08512 o Tel: 609-799-0071 o TWX: 510-685-2542

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 23 ON INQUIRY CARD

Emu lex sets the pace with three great storage subsystems for the full range of DEC QBus and Unibus systems. Whether you need Winchester disk, cartridge disk,~" streaming tape, or a combination unit, you'll be a step ahead with Emulex.
INTRODUCING VAULT.TM
Emulex rises above the competition with the Vaule This 70-MByte tape subsystem is.built around the CDC Sentinel ~"cartridge tape streamer and uses Emulex's own TC05 (QBus) orTC15 (Unibus) tape coupler to interface with your system. The Vault is totally software transparent to standard TSll software. So this compact tape unit looks
just like a big W' TSll subsystem to your operating system
and diagnostics. Vault comes complete with power supply in a single com-
pact cabinet. It's the perfect backup unit for smaller QBus systems such as the MICRO/PDP-11 and MICRONAX.
PRESENTING SABRE:."
SABRE"' is a sharp solution for LSI users who need more storage and backup. It packs 31.2 MBytes of main storage onto a5r,t" Winchester and 10.4 MBytes of backup onto a removable 8" cartridge disk.
And since SABRE is an exact RL02 emulation, all existing operatiflg and diagnostic software can be used as rs.
SABRE is 5W' high and slips into any 19" RETM
enclosure. A desktop version is also available Bbtf't
come complete with power supply, host adapter.and connecting cables.
SABRE needs only one-eighth the space and one.
quarter the power of four RL02s. And it eliminates the need for a separate system bootstrap, busterminator and clock control board.

DISK STORAGE ANDBOUIDS.

ANNOUNCING MEDLEY.TM

Emulex has another winning combination with the Medley"'

Winchester cartridge tape subsystem . It gives you either 35 or 110

MBytes of formatted storage and up to 70 MBytes of stream-

ing tape backup.The Medley is fully software transparent

to the operating system and diagnostic software of

QBus and Unibus CPUs. And it uses the powerful

and versatile Small Computer System Interface

(SCSI) which keeps your options open for peripheral

expansion.

Medley is interfaced to the system with a TC05/

TC15 tape coupler and a UC02 (QBus) or UC12

(Unibus) host adapter. By using the Mass Storage

Control Protocol (MSCP), the UC02 and UC12

allow the operating system to utilize the precise char-

acteristics of the Winchester disk drive without

patches or modifications to the operating system.

For convenience, Medley's disk drive, tape drive

and power supply all fit into an attractive cabinet that

easily mounts in a standard 19" rack. The Medley is also avail-

able in an attractive desktop version.

Find out how Emulex subsystems can keep you ahead of

the game. Call toll-free (800)

854-7112. In California (714) 662-5600. Or write Emulex Corporation, 3545 Harbor

-->t-

Blvd., P.O. Box 6725, Costa

EMULEX

Mesa, CA 92626.

The genuine alternative.

CIRCLE NO. 24 ON INQUIRY CARD

I
L(JAO

!_) ftEAOY

~ w·uT! "'0TECT

MEDLEY j FAULT

The lean, mean plotting machine
from Houston Instrument

Houston Instrument's brand new servo driven DMP-51 is the fastest drum plotter we've designed to date. This superb plotter offers a pen speed of up to 22 inches/second; programmable accelerations, and a pen-on-paper resolution of 1/ 1000 of an inch! That means you'll turn out quality 17" x 22" and 22"x 34" drawings a lot faster, increasing your firm's productivity and profitability.
Now, for more good news. The DMP-51, priced
at $4,495 *, is as fast as other plotters costing three
times more. At that price, you can afford to put a DMP-51 at individual drafting work stations.
This is the professional plotter that meets the needs-and the budgets-of all companies, large or small.

The DMP-51 is intelligent, too. The DMP-51 can execute complex graphics operations from the simplest commands. A mechanical/architectural version, the DMP-52, with its 18" x 24" and 24" x 36" paper size, is available for the same price from Houston Instrument.
So, watch our new plotter in action ... it won't take much time to realize it's the best buy for your money. For the name, address and phone number of your nearest dealer or distributor, write Houston Instrument, 8500 Cameron Rd., Austin, Texas, 7875 3. You can also call 1-800-531-5205 or 1-512-835-0900 (Texas residents). In Europe, contact Houston Instrument Belgium NV, Rochesterlaan 6, 8240 Gistel, Belgium. Tel: 059-27-74-45. Tix: 846-81399.

*Suggested U.S. retail price
4P014

0uCDD00lS0DU
1ns'trumen't
CIRCLE NO. 25 ON INQUIRY CARD

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

MicroVMS should be available next month in modular form. The license for the basic system with the program-development module sells for $1 ,500, while the DECnet group sells for $1 ,450. DEC also expects to add the ULTRIX UNIX-like operating system to the MicroVax I late this year.
Common LISP on VAX
DEC's VAX LISP is one of the first fully supported artificial-intelligence languages developed by a major computer manufacturer. With this implementation of Common LISP, DEC hopes to achieve standardization of the language.
Art Beane, product manager of DEC's artificial-intelligence technology group, claims VAX LISP is more cost-effective for application development than are dedicated LISP machines. Dedicated machines are best for research, he says.
VAX superminicomputers running the language must have at least 512K bytes of memory per user. Features include both interpreter and compiler modes, dynamic linking of compiled and interpreted code, lexically scoped variables, an editor with multiple window capabilities, integrated debugging facilities, a "pretty-printer" utility for enhancing print readability and the ability to call routines written in any other VMS language.
The new FORTRAN compiler reportedly improves application-program performance by as much as 50 percent. The compiler features a multiphase global optimizer that works across entire program units. Such operations jnclude constant folding, arithmetic "if," logical "if," block "if-then-else," global elimination of common sub-expressions, removal of invariant expressions from loops and global allocation of general registers across program units. 0

Perkin-Elmer emulates latest AT&T UNIX V release·

While Digital Equipment Corp. was attempting to help set an industry standard with its Common LISP imple mentati.on, Perkin-Elmer Corp . continued to stick with existing standards. P-E's new XELOS operating system for its Series 3200 line of superminicomputers is a "true derivative" of American Telephone & Telegraph Co.'s UNIX System V, release 5.2, says Jeffrey Bork, P-E's UNIX product manager. "We have made a commitment to follow the AT&T baseline standard," he asserts.
The XELOS operating system comes with the standard AT&T command interpreter shell as well as the C shell from the University of California at Berkeley. XELOS also includes an assembler, a C compiler, a FOR-

TRAN compiler Bork calls "the best optimizing compiler in the world" and a symbolic debugger. Another ' aqdition is the MenuMaker for 6teatlng menus that run XELOS a,nd appljcation programs. The Documenter:s Workbench word-processing package also comes standard with XELOS. The popular RM/COBOL language system from Ry~n-McFarland Corp. is optional. P-E plans to ship XELOS in October. Prices range from $1,500 to $30,000.
P-E at the same time announced the availability of the Unify relational datal:],ase-maragement system on XELOS. Developed by Unify Corp., the system can interface with P-E's C compiler and RM/COBOL

HP phases out three terminals with low-priced model

Tom Moran, Associate Editor
Following a trend among maj or systems manufacturers to reduce competition from makers of plug-
---

compatible devices, Hewlett-Packard Co. will "protect the ports" of its HP 1000, 3000 and 9000 computers with a $1,295 HP 2392A ergonomic display terminal.
The 2392A will replace the HP 2622A block-mode terminal, the HP 2382A office display terminal and the HP 2621B interactive terminal.

The HP 2392A display terminal 's ergonomic features include a tilt-and-swivel screen, adjustable-slant keyboard, and a non-glare green-phosphor screen. At $1,295, the 2392A will replace three previous HP terminals and will be more competitive with terminals from other manufacturers.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

"Simply stated, we're a great Winchester disk drive company dedicated to serving
customers with smaller disk drive needs. We don't pretend to be all things to all
people. We're here to service the disk drive customer looking for 2000 to 5000 disk drives over, say, the next year.
We won't promise you the world. We'll never sell a disk drive that doesn't exist, and we won't oversell our capacity. It's that simple.
Building customer confidence and loyalty is first and foremost, so we' re geared to doing our share of hand-holding. We'll guarantee a style of service that's second-tonone which ensures your critical production schedules are met.
On every disk drive, we offer a solid one-year warranty and back it up with an off-the-shelf product exchange to keep your production line up and running. Of course, we' II be more than happy to send you an evaluation sample right now, today; just pick up the phone and tell us what you're looking for.
We're out to build the Otari brand of confidence for both our products and our people. We're committed to giving you the best of both worlds-great disk drives and great disk drive people.
In short, we're here for the long run, and so are our drives."
-Michael Bernard, Manager, Otari Data Inc.
l!Jfjfi![j]Q
OTARI DATA INC.
Subsidiary of Otari Electric Co.. Ltd .. Japan
271 N. Mathilda Ave. Sunnyvale, CA 94086 (408) 738-4808
Disk Drive Confidence, Guaranteed.
CIRCLE NO. 26 ON INQUIRY CARD

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

It is priced 40 percent less than the 2622A. Dan Jorgenson, product manager of HP's Roseville, Calif., terminals division, says the pricing helps differentiate the 2392A from personal computers. In a similar strategic move last year, both IBM Corp. and Digital Equipment Corp. introduced terminals priced 25 percent to 33 percent less than their previous models.
Ergonomic features added
HP created the HP 2392A by adding ergonomics to a modified version of the 2622A. It has all the 2622A's functions but not its optional $12,000 integral printer. New features are a tilt-and-swivel screen with smooth scrolling, an adjustable-slant keyboard, four pages of screen memory with an option for eight pages, a printer port option and a 19.2K-baud maximum transmission rate. The 2392A operates with HP 1000 real-time computers, HP 3000 business computers and HP 9000 engineering workstations. A further option allows compatibility with the ANSI X3.64 standard and DEC's VTlOO terminal at no extra cost. Typical applications include block-mode and charactermode data entry, program development and data inquiry.
The HP 2392A swivels 360 degrees on a pedestal, while the separate CRT tilts 20 degrees inside the casing. The 12-inch, etched, antiglare screen displays text in a 24lines-by-80-column format with two additional lines for function-key labels and one line for status information. The P31 green phosphor used for the display is refreshed at 60 Hz. Characters appear in a 7-by-11 dot matrix inside a 9-by-14-dot cell with 1h-dot shift.
The 2392A's detachable, lowprofile keyboard is identical to that of the HP 150 touch-screen personal computer. It can be adjusted to slant at 3 degrees or 11.5 degrees.

The 107 sculptured keys include a numeric keypad and independent user, editing and cursor keys. Seventeen international keyboard options will eventually be available. The documentation has been translated from English into nine major languages and is included in ROM.
A combined RS232/HP 422 port links the 2392A to the host system. The 2392A has full-duplex, asynchronous point-to-point transmission and is compatible with RacalVadic's VA3400, Bell Laboratories' 212A, Bell's 103A and other Bellcompatible modems. For $150, users can add an optional Centronics port or a second RS232 port to support a printer.
VLSI reduces costs
Jorgenson says HP was able to keep the cost of the 2392A down by using very-large-scale-integration (VLSI) circuits and improved manufacturing techniques. The 2392A's VLSI chips, all designed by an HP team in Grenoble, France, reduced the number of parts to 370 from 700 components in the HP 2622A. According to Jorgenson, the reduced chip count makes the 2392A more reliable than the terminals it will replace.
HP sources will not talk about intended production capacity or the number of terminals HP expects to sell. Dataquest Inc., a San Jose, Calif., research group, estimates that HP's domestic 1983 sales of non-graphics terminals amounted to

47,000 units. The total installed

base is 200,000 units. HP's Jorgen-

son says that HP's worldwide in-

stalled base is more than 500,000

terminals.

According to Louise Herndon

Wells, research analyst for Data-

quest, HP's growth rate for termi-

nals is strong. Wells cites the com-

plexity of HP terminals as a barrier

to would-be emulators. "Probably

half of the development effort in a

new HP terminal is spent ensuring

its compatibility with previous HP

products," she says. "I think that

HP, like other system manufactur-

ers such as IBM and DEC, is at-

tempting to protect the ports of its

systems from competitors with low-

priced, full-functional products. "

Companies offering HP-compatible

terminals include Direct Inc., Santa

Clara, Calif., Falco Data Products

Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., and Semicoa

Data Systems, Costa Mesa, Calif.

Wells points out, "HP's distinc-

tive features have been high quali-

ty, high level of functionality and

service. In today's very competitive

terminal market, although these are

necessary, they are not sufficient.

At $1,295, the 2392A should dis-

courage potential emulators."

HP will produce the 2392A at its

plants in Roseville, Calif., and Gre-

noble, France. The company ex-

pects to start taking orders around

July 2, with a delivery time of six

weeks. Distribution will be through

HP's direct sales force.

INDUSTRY REVENUES TO REACH $90 BILLION BY 1988
The computer services and software industry's annual revenues will hit $90 billion by 1988, according to an Association of Data Processing Service Organizations survey. The industry grew from $27.6 billion in 1982 to $33.5 billion in 1983. Revenues per market segment during 1983 were $9.3 billion in software products, $12.7 billion in processing services, $5 billion in turnkey systems and $6.5 billion in professional services.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Qyality
51'1Incl1 Drives.

From
FUJITSU

Fujitsu quality has come to mean a lot of things to a lot of people. High performance, unparalleled reliability, and technical expertise, built on more than 15 years experience.
This consistent quality is reflected in Fujitsu's complete line of 5 1/4-inch drives. The product line includes half high drives ideally suited for compact applications, standard ST506 drives for general applications, and high performance drives for applications where greater capacities and faster access times are required.
Fujitsu's complete 5114-inch product line. Quality that's exclusively Fujitsu.
For more information contact the Fujitsu America Sales Office nearest you . Northwest: (408) 946-8777, Central: (612) 835-7025, East Coast: (617) 229-6310, Southwest: (714) 476-0852, Europe: 44-1/ 493-1138.

HALF HIGH STANDARD HIGH PERFORMANCE

CAPACITY (MBytes)

7 113

7 / 13 / 20 / 27

AVERAGE POSITIONING TIME (ms)

DIMENSIONS (inch) (HxWxD)

1.6x5.7x8.0

3.3x5.7x8.0

INTERFACE

ST506 I SA4000 ST506 I SA4000

POSITIONING METHOD

Buffered Stepper

31/ 55 / 86 35
3.3x5.7x8.0 ST506 I SA4000 Rotary Voice-
Coil

New products are indicated in red .

STORAGE PRODUCTS DIVISION
Quality Lives

FUJITSU

CIRCLE NO. 27 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

Datapoint opens ARCNET LAN to outside vendors

Marjorie Stenzler-Centonze Associate Editor

Datapoint' & Vista-PC opens MS-DOS access to ARCNET LAN users.

In a significant departure from its marketing and product development philosophy, Datapoint Corp. , San Antonio, Texas, has opened its once-proprietary attached resource computer local-area network (ARQNET) to industry-standard operating systems and hardware from other vendors.
Edward P. Gistaro, president and chief executive officer, says Datapoint's commitment to opening ARCNET is demonstrated by the company's introduction of the VistaPC, which is the 16-bit N-Gen computer system supplied by Convergent Technologies Inc. , Santa Clara, Calif. The Vista-PC brings the MS-DOS operating system to the ARCNET.
The Vista-PC can emulate terminals in an ARCNET and operates standalone or in a clustered environment. It comes with a high-resolution color monitor and 256K bytes of user-available RAM, expandable to lM byte. It is available as a dual-diskette system or with a hard disk. The basic system price is $4,795. The significance of the Vista-PC, according to Michael Gallup, vice president of product marketing at Datapoint, "is the fact that it opens MS-DOS to office-automation users."

years. "We have researched IBM's recent description of a cabling scheme for LANs, and based on that information we have concluded that Datapoint's ARCNET [could] directly utilize this cabling system," Gistaro states.
More t han 6,000 ARCNETS are installed worldwide, according to David R. Fernald, vice president of marketing at Datapoint; 16 computer and networking vendors, including Wang Laboratories Inc., Zenith Data Systems and Nestar Systems Inc. use ARCNET technology, he says.
Datapoint has also unveiled the Vista-Station-84 application proces-

sor, based on Intel Corp.'s 80286 microprocessor, and the Vista-Sta-

DATAPOINT'S VISTA-VIEW SOFTWARE LETS USERS VIEW MULTIPLE WINDOWS OF DATA

DATE AND TIME 5 Jun 1984 2 : 48 p~

VISTA-MAI L
F eto J Oata~rot ' s-;;-STA~

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9 28 3. 598 , · 345

MULTIPLAN

IBM PC to work In ARCNET
The company plans to integrate the IBM PC into the ARCNET as well, Gistaro says, and to enhance access between the network and IBM mainframes. Datapoint officials expect the network to be compatible with IBM's token-ring LAN planned for release in two to three

VISTA-WORD
Datapoint'& Vista-View windowing software displays as many as 14 windows and monitors as many as eight programs running concurrently.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/Augu st 1984

Get On-board the Jll Breakthrough.

We didn't invent the Jll-we just took advantage of the technological breakthrough it represents to create the most powerful front end communications processor for Q-bus* applications in the world. It's called the MLSI-JFEPll, and now, for the first time, co-processing on the Q-bus is possible. And with this multi-processing capability, comes a substantial cost savings for system designers as a new world of applications are available to the smaller, yet faster, CPU based systems.
Powerful is an understatement. The MLSI-JFEPll is the first application of the DEC Jll* processor other than on the 11/73 single board computer. It features 512KB dual ported memories, two high speed serial ports (one megabaud each) and an external parallel bus for 1/0 expansion.
And getting that power underway has never been easier. The MLSI-JFEPll is programmed in the most

widely used machine language in the world - the PDP-11* instruction set. Needless to say, that means a rapid transportation of countless existing programs and a minimum start-up time for new ones.
So if you're committed to the new micro architecture with macro capabilities, we should travel in the same circles. Especially when it comes to such system applications as dynamic communication line resource allocation, data compression/decompression, message processing, message routing, protocol conversion and multi-processing.
Because the MLSI-JFEPll is part of the new world of MDB capabilities. One that started with the TSll Controller/Coupler, followed by our MICR0/11 and MICR0/32 packaging breakthroughs. All tools to help you go as far in the building of a super micro computer system as your design imagination allows.

*Q-bus. DEC J11 and PDP-11 are Trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation

ralJB
SYSTEMS INC.

Corporate Headquarters 1995 N. Batavia Street, Box 5508 Orange, CA 92667-0508 Tel. 714-998-6900 TWX: 910-593-1339

MOB Systems U.K., Ltd. Berkshire, Tel. 44 06286 67377 MOB Systems GmbH Munich, Tel. 49 89 9101272 MOB Systems Australia Neutral Bay, Tel. 612 929-6526

FAX: 714-637-4060

WYLE In the western states MOB products are also distributed by

ELECTRONICS MARKETING GROUP

Circle 195

LABORATORIES

See us at MINIMICRO SOUTHWEST and the Federal Computer Conference

"The Quality and Resolution
I I Are Both There." "But Half The Price Is Missing."

Our VISUAL 500 and 550 graphics terminals emulate the Tektronix®4010/4014 in nearly every way, but one: Price. Ours costs less than half as much.
Our 768x585 high-resolution also gives you remarkably sharp text and graphics display. While our larger 14" screen
makes viewing easier. What's more, both the VISUAL 500
and 550 are compatible with most standard software, including PLOT 10 ~ DISSPLA~ TELL-A-GRAF~ SAS/GRAPH, DI 3000/GRAFMAKER, INFOgraph, SPSS ~ TEMPLATE ~ DR Graph,~ GSX'" and all GSS products.
And both terminals come with a wide variety of advanced graphics features. Resident vector draw. Point plot. Circle

and arc draw. Rectangle draw. Multiple line styles and patterns with rectangle pattern fill. Plus an auxiliary port to support printer/plotters and data tablets.
As an alphanumeric terminal, the VISUAL 500 provides selectable emulations of the DEC VT52 ~ Data General D200 , Lear Siegler ADM-3A~ and Hazeltine 1500 terminals. While the VISUAL 550 is DEC VT100®protocol-
compatible as well as a character or block mode terminal which complies to the ANSI X3.64 standard.
For complete information , call or write Visual Technology today. And find out how easy it is to get all the quality and features you want in a graphics terminal. Without paying all the price.

CIRCLE NO. 28 ON INQUIRY CARD
'\'151.W.See for yourself ®
Visual Technology Incorporated 540 Main Street,Tewksbury, MA 01876 Telephone (617) 851-5000. Telex 951-539
REGIONAL OFFICES: Northwest: (415) 490-1482 Southwest: (213) 534-0200 North Central : (513) 435-7044 South Central : (214) 255-8538 Northeast: (201) 528-8633 Southeast: (301) 924-5330

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

DATAPOINT'S PRO-VISTA MICROS WORK WITHIN ITS ARCNET LAN

Datapoint has opened its ARCNET LAN to outside vendors' products with the introduction of the Convergent Technologiesbased Vista-PC. The PC operates as part of the Pro-Vista office-automation family.

VISTA-PC ~CJ <'
~
VISTA-PC

VISTASTATION-84
VISTA-STATION -82

VISTA-STA TION-84

VISTA-STATION-82

STANDARD HUB

FIBER OPTIC CABLE {UP T() 4,000 FT.)

STANDARD HUB

tion-82 multifunction terminal, based on the Intel 80186. The application processor performs office-automation tasks such as word processing, electronic mail, financial

modeling and windowing. As part of the ARCNET, the application processor (prices start at $8,550) offers from 0.5M bytes to lM byte of error-correction code memory, and an

RS232C or RS422 serial communications interface.
Vista-Station-82 provides I/O support through an RS422 link to Vista-Station-84. The price of VistaStation-82 starts at $2,295.
To provide simultaneous multipletask management of computing resources within ARCNET, Datapoint offers Vista-View, a windowing technique that operates on Vista-Station-84 and Station-82, according to Gallup. Vista-View, which is licensed for $1,000 per installation, enables users to switch back and forth from one application to another, as well as exchange data between these applications, Gallup says.
Datapoint has also developed a fiber-optic link that enables users to extend the distance between standard network junctions to 4,000 feet from 2,000 feet.
Datapoint is expanding its marketing channels to strengthen existing indirect and end-user sales, Fernald explains. The company will continue its emphasis on OEMs
and Fortune 1,000 companies. O

Burroughs unveils Convergent-based microcomputer

Burroughs Corp. recently joined the flock of computer companies integrating Convergent Technologies Inc. mi· crocomputers and unveiled its version, the B 25 desktop system. The B 25 is compatible with the earlier B 20, yet less expensive and more powerful, according to Edwin F. Carlson, president of Burroughs Information Systems Group.
The B 25 system has snap-together modules designed to meet the requirements of first-time and more experienced users as their needs expand. The system supports clusters of as many as 32 workstations when

used with the company's XE 520 shared-resource processor, which further expands the B 25 's capabilities .
For a basic standalone system, including 256K bytes of RAM, a 12-inch display, a keyboard and a dual floppy disk storage module, prices begin at less than $4,000. Price of a cluster workstation is less than $2,700.
Burroughs, which claims to be Convergent's largest OEM customer for this line, has the right to manufacture the system, Carlson says, "if the quantities sold are beyond CT's capabilities to manufacture."
The B 20 operating system (BTOS),

MS-DOS and CP/M-86 are available for the B 25. BTOS enables MS-DOS and CP/M-86 to be used in a clustered environment in which multiple MS-DOS applications can concurrently access the same hard disk.
The B 25 and the XE 520 are available through the Burroughs direct sales force a$. well as the company's dealer network and distribution channels.
Burroughs is putting significant effort into developing application software for the B 25, and more than 250 third-party applications packages are being announced for the system.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

FleX</32TM

All computers are not created equal. Especially when it comes to their ability to tolerate change. In fact, most computers have a hard time trying to adapt when you need to expand or modify their capabilities.
The Flex/32 "', on the other hand, is a scaleable, general purpose multicomputer. That means it can be configured and reconfigured as often as needed at different levels of capacity and performance. All the way up. And down again.
True scaleability.
Each Flex/32 MultiComputer cabinet can contain up to twenty 32bit CPU's, each operating in excess of one million instructions per second with 1 megabyte of RAM each. That's more power and memory than some of the largest mainframes available today. The Flex/32 is easy to maintain with automatic and continuous self diagnostics built in.
With an entry level system, you get two 32-bit computers with 2 megabytes of local memory, 128 kilobytes of common memory, and 2 VMEbus 110 interfaces all located inside one card cage. It's card cage can accept another 18 cards allowing up to 18 more computers or another 152 megabytes of memory. As you expand your multicomputer, additional computers, memories and interfaces are merely slipped into slots.
As powerful as the entry level system is, Flex/32 can go much, much further. Your ability to expand the system is literally without limits.
True concurrency.
Because Flex/32 is a multicomputer, it can provide

true concurrency in processing. Which means it can run many processors at exactly the same instant in time. And since it provides direct programmer control over the use of concurrency, Flex/32 can be tuned to your
application needs.

True programming freedom.

Just as the Flex/32 hardware

gives you freedom from restrictions

of growth, its software will set you

free, too. Free from vendor depend-

ence. Because it uses the univer-

sal UNIX'" System V operating

system, and languages like C,

FORTRAN 77, RATFOR, Flexible's

PERIPHERAL CABINET

own Concurrent CT\I, for real time and concurrent programming, and a

selftest capability. And for enhanced

performance, Flex/32 supports the

ISA extensions to FORTRAN 77.

It even contains a concurrency simulator and

optimization procedures to improve run time performance

- to enable you to tune your application.

True cost efficiency.

Given that a basic Flex/32 can outperform two superminis, it still only costs about the same as a single VAX "' 750. And since Flex/32 is scaleable, the economies continue throughout its growth path.
When you add it all up, the Flex/32 has few equals in terms of its performance and value in the supermini computer world. And you can't take away from that.
For more information, call (214) 869-1234, or write
f leX{ible to us at 1801 Royal Lane,
Suite 810, Dallas, Texas 75229.
Computer Corporation

UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories. Fle· / 32 and Concurrent C are trademarks of Flexible Computer Corporation. VAX is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation.
©1984 Flexible Computer Corporation

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 29 ON INQUIRY CARD

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

Virtual Microsystems adds PC-DOS compatibility to DEC micros

Chris Bailey, West Coast Editor
Will adding IBM PC capabilities to Digital Equipment Corp. microcomputers broaden the market for DEC's small computer offerings? Virtual Microsystems Inc. (VMI), Berkeley, Calif., thinks it will. It has DEC's support in the effort.
VMI',s PC-Bridge creates an IBM PC environment on DEC's Professional 350 and Micro-11 small computers. Comprising a software package and an 8086-based coprocessor board, the PC-Bridge allows .users to access such popular PC-DOS- and MS-DOS-based software packages as Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3, MicroPro International Corp. 's WordStar and Ashton-Tate's dBASE-II. At the same time, it maintains the functionality of the underlying DEC system with its mass-storage and peripheral devices. The single-unit price is $1, 750.
Emulates graphics card
Using an 8-MHz 8086 and 256K bytes of RAM, the 8086 board fully emulates an IBM PC color graphics card, enabling the system to run programs that take advantage of the IBM bit-mapped graphics memory.
The specially adapted PC-DOS operating system runs as a task under the sophisticated P/OS operating system-a user-friendly version of DEC's popular RSX-11that comes with DEC microcomputers. This allows users to run PC-DOS programs concurrently with P/OS applications.
Although developed and marketed by VMI, the PC-Bridge project received close technical support from DEC. Nathan Kolwaski, group

CORPORATE DATA NETWORK INCORPORATES PC-BRIDGE
HIGH -SPEED PAINTER
D

PRO 350 SMALL COMPUTER WITH PC-BRIDGE RUNNING WOADSTAA

VAX- 11 MINICOMPUTER

LOTUS 1-2-3 - - -- ---.

USER TERMI NALS
LASER PRINTER

- --

DATABASE MANAGEMENT, CORPORATE DATA FILES , --TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL
APPLICATION S , COMMUNI CATIONS ETC.

Using DEC equipment and Virtual Microsystems utilities, files can be transferred among microcomputers and minicomputers. Local applications running under PC-Bridge, such as Lotus 1-2-3, dBASE-11 and WordStar, can access corporate data files stored under VAX-11based database-management systems.

product manager for the Professional 300 series, says DEC has committed to volume purchases of the VMI product.
Kolwaski believes the new products will have a significant impact on sales of the Professional line. Because the PC-Bridge is highly compatible with PC-DOS software at the basic input/output system (BIOS) and bit-mapped graphics levels, almost all popular IBM PC software packages should generate on DEC microcomputers. "This should appeal to our targeted customer base and help us broaden our market penetration," Kolwaski says.
Michael Stone, senior analyst with Future Computing Inc., a Richardson, Texas, market research concern, agrees that the availability of IBM PC software packages will

help sell the Pro and Micro-11 system products.
Ken Churilla, vice president of the microcomputer industry group at Creative Strategies Inc. , San Jose, Calif., concurs, adding, "The product concept is a good one. The low cost and widespread availability of IBM PC-based software would be a plus for anyone considering the purchase of a Pro or Micro-11 system."
Target: networks
Lance Batten, vice president of VMI, says the company targets distributed-processing applications for PC-Bridge. "Micros make userfriendly front ends for network access, and systems such as the [DEC] VAX-11 make very good back-end nodes for handling central functions such as data management, commu-

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Our giant commitment to OEMs
BOARDS TO SYSTEMS.
YOU NAME IT.
CIE Systems is committed to being your source for the very latest in micros and all that goes with them.
The micros are the CIES 680TM Business Computers with the advanced 32/16-bit 68000 microprocessor and Intel's MultibusTM architecture. So from boards to systems, you can easily configure your product line for virtually any business.
There are four 680 models. The 680/30 (shown above), 680/20 (on the right), 680/35 and the 680/40.
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

The 680/30 and 680/35 will accommodate up to eight interactive users. The 680/20 expands to four users. And the 680/40 expands to as many as 16 users.
Disk capacities range from 10 to 300 Mbytes, memory from 256K to one Mbyte.
Operating systems include REGULUSTM and CNIXTM (both UNIXTM compatible), as well as RWCOS!M
Language processors include BASIC, FORTRAN, COBOL and PASCAL.
Applications offered are general accounting, financial worksheet and word processing, as well as a
wide range of vertical applications.
And you can include PRO-IV,TM the applications processor that ~ allows you to develop applications in one-tenth the time or modify applications in one-hundredth
CIRCLE NO. 30 ON INQUIRY CARD

the time it normally takes. Boards up to complete CIES 680
systems. Our name or your name on them. That's an ongoing commitment to OEMs from CIE Systems, the company backed by the third largest trading company in the world with well over $60 billion in sales.
Just call or write CIE Systems, Inc., 2515 McCabe Way, Irvine, CA 92713-6579. Call toll free 1-800-854-5959. In California, call 1-800-432-3687.
TM CIES 680 is a Trademark of CIE Systems, lnc. Multibus is a Trademark of Intel Corporation. REGULUS is a Trademark of Alcyon Corporation. CNIX is a Trademark of CIE Systems, lnc. UNlX is a Trademark of Bell Laboratories. RM/COS is aTrademark of Ryan-Mcf arland Corporation. PRO- rv is a Trademark of DataTechnical Analysts, Inc.
© CIE SYSTEMS, INC . 1984 55

The family tie.
Each member of the Quadnet family of local area network systems has its own unique characteristics. Yet all four share one family trait. The same network software.
That means you can start with the LAN system that suits your needs today. And upgrade tomorrow without having to learn a whole new set of commands. Its the only LAN system for IBM PCs. XTs and compatibles that you won't outgrow.
Making the right match.
If you're not sure which Quadnet LAN system is right for you. your Quadram dealer and our SelectNetTMsoftware can help. This easy-to-use software will ask you a variety of questions about your planned applications. number of users operating system. and more. Then SelectNet will recommend the ideal Quadnet match.
Quadnet comes with its own powerful multi-user operating system. Perfectly
Typical Quadnet VI Configuration

compatible with PC-DOS, Quadnet software lets you keep your current software and add on exciting multi-user packages. And while some systems limit each user to about 360K worth of data Uust enough for one floppy disk). Quadnet lets you segment your hard disk any way you like.
When you're ready to order. all the accessories are pre-packaged so you're sure to get everything you need to get your Quadnet system up and running. The master package includes hardware. software and documentation. A workstation kit contains hardware for one workstation. And the cabling kit comes complete in three workstation increments.
Quadram Quality.
Insist on the Quadram name. Its your assurance that you're getting a quality product from an established and reliable company. Ask your dealer about Quadram. We don't make personal computers. we··""'~~ make them better.
Typical Quadnet IX Configuration

DISK SUBSYSTEM

4355 International Blvd./Norcross, Ga. 30093 (404) 923-6666/TWX 810-766-4915 (QUADRAM NCRS)

INTERNATIONAL OFFICES lnterquadram Ltd. 442 Bath Road, Slough, England SL16BB Tel: 6286-63865 Tix: 847155 Aurie ma G lnterquadram GmbH Fasanenweg 7, 6092 Kelsterbach, West Germany
1 8 ~~;:~:~~:d~'ts~:;;g il.f! ~- ~~-~~uadram s.a.r.I . 41 , Rue Ybry, 92522 Neuilly Tel: 758-1240 Tix: 630842 lso Bur Chevco Computing 6581 Kitimat Road, Mississauga,

IBM$ PC, XT are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation . Wordstar 1s a registered trademark of M1cropro ln1ernaf1onal Co rporation

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 31 ON INQUIRY CARD

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

Xebec Owl combines nications and peripheral manage-
ment. With the PC-Bridge product,

on-board controller, electronics DEC's front-end product line is im-
proved through the availability of

popular IBM software packages." Kenneth Lim, a personal comput- Tom Moran, Associate Editor
er research analyst at Dataquest

.....-

Inc., likes PC-Bridge's technology Xebec, San Jose, Calif., maker of

but wonders how big a market ex- , intelligent Winchester disk drive ists for it. He points out that pur- controllers and subsystems, is intro-

- ~ ---

chasers of DEC Professional 350 ducing the Owl, a half-height,

systems may not have cared about Shugart Associates systems inter-

IBM PC compatibility; otherwise, face- (SASI-) compatible, 5%-inch

they wouldn't have bought DEC Winchester disk drive with drive

equipment.

electronics and controller combined

A three-year-old company with $3 in one built-in printed-circuit board.

million in annual sales, VMI has Xebec claims the !OM-byte Owl is

established itself with the DEC af- the first 5%-inch drives with an

ter-market community and UNIX on-board controller.

microcomputer market as a supplier Xebec has also begun pilot pro-

of hardware and software packages. duction of its own head/disk assem-

These products add CP/M, MS-DOS blies (HDAs) at its plant in Sunny-

and p-System compatibility to DEC's VAX-11 and PDP 11 systems and to several 68000-based UNIX

vale, Calif. Previously, the company

had manufactured only controllers,

The haH-helght, 51/4-lnch Xebec Owl Winchester disk drive includes a single printed-

selling them and also complete sub- circuit board incorporating both drive elec-

systems, including those from Altos Computer Systems and Victory Computer Systems Inc.

systems that contained other manufacturers' HDAs.
According to James Toreson,

tronics and controller. Elimination of the interface between controller and drive electronics allows system integrators to use high/eve/ SAS/ fault-status and system-configura-

These VMI products fit into the chairman, president and chief exec- tion messages.

minicomputer mainframe and serv- utive officer of Xebec, the company

ice locally attached terminals. PC- is trying to reap the benefits of low matic seek, automatic command

Bridge differs in that the 8086 board cost, high quality and high reliabili- retry, programmable sector inter-

is installed in the Pro 350 or Micro- ty. He adds that, when the same leaving, multisector data transfer

11 chassis and is accessible only by manufacturer provides both drives and automatic cylinder and head

local users. Other users, linked by and controllers, customers do not switching. The integration of t he

communication lines or local-area become the victims of suppliers that electronics allows the host to re-

networks (LANs), can access the blame each other for failed subsys- ceive high-level SASI fault-status

files .

tems. Toreson projects that system and system-configuration messages.

Good and growing

integrators should save from six Xebec expects to manufacture months to a year of engineering large volumes of the Owl at its new

According to Batten, the PC- time that would otherwise be spent 150,000-square-foot plant in Carson

Bridge market is a good fit now for in evaluation and compatibility test- City, Nev. The facility will have

his small, software-oriented compa- ing of a new system.

three HDA assembly lines, each

ny. But he sees even greater The Owl measures 1.63 by 5. 75 by with a 5,000-square-foot clean room.

growth in the future as personal 8 inches. The drive's data-transfer Toreson says Xebec will announce a

computers are integrated into cor- rate is 5M bits per second, and second source for the Owl that, if

porate data networks.

average access time is 99 msec. A necessary, will augment the compa-

Analyst Stone agrees, adding band actuator and an open-loop ny's ability to produce HDAs.

that half of large companies recently stepper head position the four heads surveyed by Future Computing are over the two metal-oxide platters. Owl uses LSI technology

planning LANs or distributed data- The Owl's controller is compatible Xebec was able to combine the

processing networks with small sys- with Xebec's 81410 controller and Owl's drive electronics and control-

tems as workstations.

0 offers position verification, auto- ler by using surface-mounted chips

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Dear Rapitech; Yesl I'd like my FORTRAN programs and files to move up to UNIX with me. Send full details about FORTRIXTM-c to: NAME._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
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CIRCLE NO. 32 ON INQUIRY CARD

The only reason you're not using Pioneer's disk drive tester already.
If you still haven't seen the Pioneer hard disk drive tester in action, it's time to take a look. And judge for yourself.
Beginning with the price tag, every aspect of the Pioneer QualifierTM is designed to meet your requirements for pocketbook and performance.
It's the only tester to interface with any and all SMD drives.
It's the only one with a hefty 20megabit per second capability. Even at triple the price.
It's the only one that can read and transfer Fujitsu's error map right into your computer. In seconds.
It's the only one that will format to your custom specs. And it does it at one megabyte per second. Over five times faster than by computer. ~
It pinpoints your errors to a specific media sector. And separates the correctable from the uncorrectable. So you can
Qua lifier is a re~istered trademark.
CIRCLE NO. 33 ON INQUIRY CARD

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

XEBEC WILL MANUFACTURE ITS OWL WINCHESTER

r - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -1

CONTROLLER

1- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,

HEAD/DISK ASS EM BLy

I I

STATE

MACHINE

m-i------'-1--l

STEPPER

CONTROL 11-'----+--l POSITIONER

I I I

SERDES ECC
SECTOR BUFFER

DATA SEPARATOR

READ

..- .·. HEADS

CHANNEL

PREAMP-

} MEDIA I

WRITE

LIFIER t==~~~~~===

CHANNEL II-'----+-.__ _ __,

SPINDLE

8-BIT

MOTOR
.___C__ ONT_ RO_L_......_I _

PROCESSOR

______________________ JI

____,__ __

MOTOR

COIL

--------------------

SASI

The Xebec Owl's one Integral printed-circuit board incorporates both disk controller and drive electronics. LSI surface-mounting technology allows Xebec to eliminate one printed- circuit board and the ST-·506 analog interface.

and large-scale integration and by eliminating the need for the separate ST-506 interface that normally connects the controller to the drive electronics. The interface cable, drivers and receivers, a microprocessor and its support chip are all unnecessary. Xebec also eliminated the controller's ability to support multiple drives, a function that Toreson says is seldom-used in the small systems for which the Owl is
intended. Xebec expects to announce a 3¥2-
inch version of the Owl. Toreson says the initial capacity of the 3¥2inch drive will likely be lOM bytes and will be raised to 20M bytes when improved heads and media become available. Xebec will sell the Owl through its direct sales force and selected distributors, with units possibly going to large computer chain stores by next year.
Jim Porter, editor of Disk/Trend Report, Los Altos, Calif., says the Owl has a good chance of success.

"[Xebec is] offering a very appropriate product that potentially has a very wide customer base. The general climate among system manufacturers is acceptance of SASI and the small computer system interface (SCSI), which is closely related, for a very high proportion of the sys-

terns now under development. This is the beginning of [realizing] a longestablished Xebec intent to make its own disk drives."
The company expects to ship the Owl in pilot production quantities in August. They will be priced at less than $500 in OEM quantities. D

IBM EUROPE ALTERS DEALER STRUCTURE
IBM Europe has altered its dealer sales structure for the first time, giving it some semblance of a Value Added Remarketer (VAR) program (MMS, April, Page 25). IBM is not using that terminology but instead has come up with an Authorized Reseller tag that would allow dealers to buy Series/1 minicomputers and CS9000 MC68000-based microcomputers at 15 percent to 30 percent discounts. In return , the dealer would have to attend IBM-sponsored classes, get IBM approval of marketing plans , buy demonstration machines and provide suitable sales sites and adequate user support. In addition, IBM now has the Application Resellers program , which offers third parties the 4300, System 36 and System 38 hardware at 12 percent to 18 percent off list. The operating system carries a 25 percent discount, provided the remarketer is addressing a vertical market. For software and systems houses not adding much value but focusing on sales, support and installation, IBM offers the Complimentary Marketing Program with 3 percent to 8 percent discounts on hardware .

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

HEARD ON THE HILL

Unhappy electrical engineers bewail U.S. productivity

Stephen J. Shaw Washington Editor
One-quarter of electrical engineers (EEs) are dissatisfied with their jobs, according to a recent survey conducted by Louis Harris and Associates Inc. for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The Harris poll also found that U.S. productivity is the top concern among EEs surveyed, and more than seven out of 10 rate this country's productivity only "fair" or "poor."
Electrical engineers are highly critical of their own managers' productivity and efficiency. More than one in three flatly stated that engineering managers in their organizations are not at all effective or productive. This harsh view is also shared by 28 percent of the engineering managers surveyed.
The survey was conducted to determine the EEs' perceptions of their training, profession, social responsibilities and co-workers. Earlier this year, Harris contacted 4,000 IEEE members and received 1,646 responses to its questionnaire and follow-up telephone calls.
"It's a surprising indicator of problems that must exist in engineering management today in U.S. firms," says Ellis Rubinstein, managing editor of IEEE Spectrum, the official publication of the engineering association and sponsor of the survey.
The Harris study should be placed on the required reading list of all electrical engineering companies. The study's insights into the thinking of U.S. engineers, and some of its recommended responses to the disturbing trends, could prove valuable in shaping the future role of EEs in

business and academic environments. The survey suggests telling charac-
teristics of the EE profession's composition today. The largest block of
respondents, 17 percent, identified themselves as working in the comput-
er hardware and software fields. Thirteen percent work in communications, and only 1 percent work in consumer electronics.
The survey base also indicates that the EE profession is still overwhelmingly male-dominated. A minuscule portion of the respondents, 3 percent, are women. But the study does show that women are slowly entering the profession in greater numbers as they complete their educations. Ten percent of the EEs under 30 years old are female.
The most disturbing findings are the relatively high rate of job dissatisfaction and the concern expressed about the nation's productivity. According to the Harris analysis, the number of EEs not satisfied with their jobs (25 percent) is twice as high as among lawyers, and five times as high as among doctors. Productivity worries, and the ability of the United States to compete in world markets, far outstripped EEs' concerns about the nuclear arms race and threats to job security posed by automation.
Not surpisingly, dissatisfaction is most prevalent among those under 30 years old (29 percent) and among those with 1983 incomes of less than $35,000 (32 percent)-almost twice the percentage of those earning more than $50,000. The youngest EEs also reported the greatest disappointment with their careers, symptomatic of what Harris calls "megeneration attributes ." "It is nonetheless jarring to see signs that the new generation of electrical engi-

neers-who hold the future of the

profession in their hands-show less

enthusiasm for the future of the pro-

fession than for satisfying their own

immediate needs,'' states the report.

The majority of under-30 EEs are not

likely to be concerned about U.S.

competitiveness (51 percent), their

companies' technical reputations (65

percent) and national politics unre-

lated to engineering and technology

(67 percent).

However, the nation's competitive

position in world markets ranks as

the chief worry of EEs of all ages,

suggesting their anxiety about the

erosion of U.S. technological superi-

ority. EEs who feel that poor produc-

tivity is to blame for the decreasing

ability of the United States to com-

pete internationally are far more like-

ly to point to labor unions as the chief

cause. But almost one-third say that

managers of engineers must bear the

primary responsibility for poor pro-

ductivity, and 10 percent blame engi-

neers. Among EEs working in com-

puter hardware, one-third describe

U.S. productivity as "excellent" or

"pretty good,'' which is somewhat

more than any other EE employment

category.

Engineering managers are classi-

fied as neither effective nor produc-

tive by 35 percent of the EEs sur-

veyed. Supervisors are more likely

than any other group to be consid-

ered highly effective (24 percent) and

are perceived to be the most likely

group to work "somewhat" (41 per-

cent) or "considerably" more than the

required work week.

For a copy of the report, contact

the IEEE Service Center, 445 Hoes

Lane, Piscataway, N.J. 08554. Publi-

cation number TH-0112-3.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

NCN1 there is a company that can

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years from today. A company with flexible

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working experience.

Codex.

In the 4000 Series LAN , we offer a

system that lets you configure and control

the precise mix of LAN technologies that

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A system, for exam-

ple, that lets you combine

a broadband backbone

for data, video and voice

applications, and less

mBROADBAND
o

expensive Ethernet base-
band feeders to support individual work areas.
A system that sup-

,___ _ ____. ports a wide array of

industry standard interfaces. So you can

connect practically any vendor's

equipment.

Later, when your needs for internet-

working and network management expand,

those needs can best be met by the com-

pany that has literally written the book on

adaptive routing , network management,

protocol intervention, and statistical

multiplexing.

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We just made the decision to get into

local area networking a safe decision

to make.

For more information, call 1-800-821-

7700, ext. 879. Or write: Codex Corpo-

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Mansfield; MA 02048.

codex

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In September, see us at the Federal Computer Conference and TCA.

Mil~htltef fl"CllecllC:
from HPas well!
'writing software for our .,..-.::~give you a bonus of 30% of ·=-"~~. 18oftw&re's sales price-up to 6% of 1:UtHPSystem's price.That could mean
$3,CXJO on a $50,000 system ... or as much
as $30,000 on a $500,000 system. And
you11 get it every time a new system is sold with your software.
We won't tell you what kind of program to write. What industry to write it for. Or
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Of course, extra cash isn't the ofily incen-
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also promOte your SO!tware in HP cat-
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computing systems. A company whose products range from widely-used business computers, like the HP 3000, to one of the
world's most advanced 32-bit computers,
theHP9000. If you'd like to learn more, write to
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Well give you all the details on our HP
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CIRCLE NO. 34 ON INQUIRY CARD

U.S Llal prices only. B0-02301

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

Calcomp plotters provide drawings at workstation economies

Ron Shinn, Senior Editor
The new 1040 series of eight-pen vector plotters from California Computer Products (Calcomp) Inc., Anaheim, Calif., brings A- through E-sized drawings on cut-sheet or roll-feed media into the $7,500 to $12,000 price range, making highspeed, large-sized plotting available at workstation economies.
The series comprises four plotters with performance levels designated as either "low" or "high"0.5G acceleration at 6 inches per second (ips) and lG at 14 ips, respectively. Two machines are offered in each designation, one handling cut-sheet only and one handling both cut-sheet and rollfeed (dual-mode) media. Resolution for all four plotters is 0.001 inch.
According to Calcomp president Bill Conlin, the new series addresses the high end of the personal computer market. "We are very serious about going after this market because it represents a big, untapped potential," he says.
Serles boasts new design
The 1040 series incorporates many new design features and sets Calcomp standards for the other products that fall between the company's $2,000 model M84 and the $15,000 to $25,000 1070 series of plotters. The 1040's supports are made of injection-molded structural foam, and most pen block parts are made of injection-molded plastic. The three lower-priced units incorporate a grip drive instead of a traditional sprocket drive, and the plotters include 68008 microprocessor intelligence, 6803 servo controllers for the linear voice-coil motor in the pen block, and user-

programmable electrically erasable read-only memory (EEROM) holding four sets of plotting parameters.
The eight-pen, turret-type penexchange mechanism rotates a pen into place directly above the writing site on-the-fly, eliminating the slow throughput of pen-picking schemes that position the pens from the side. Calcomp engineers claim that the turret should yield throughput increases of as much as 40 percent, depending on applications, over competitively priced units with side pen-picking designs.
Analysts see Calcomp's new plotter as a significant addition to the vector plotter market. For example, Laura Nichols, an industry analyst for Dataquest Inc., San Jose, Calif., says, "Look to Calcomp to be active in the low end of the market in which microcomputers have been constrained by a lack of software interfaces. When a company with this kind of graphics background enters the market, [it] could be fairly potent."
Neil Kleinman, general manager and analyst at International Data Corp.'s Pacific Technology Center, Santa Monica, Calif., believes that Hewlett-Packard Co.'s 7500 series of plotters defined the market for computer - aided - design Icomputeraided-manufacturing systems selling for $50,000 to $100,000. He sees the Calcomp product as a response to the emerging market for computer-aided-engineering systems that will sell for $15,000 to $40,000. "[The Calcomp product] makes large, high-speed plotting affordable at the workstation level instead of at the low-cost, turnkey, computer-aided-design system level. "
Kleinman sees desktop pen plotters as a 50,000-unit-per-year mar-

Calcomp's new 1040 series of eight-pen vector plotters handles A- through E-sized drawings at 6 or 14 ips. The model 1043 (shown) is the cut-sheet-, high-performance version. Prices for the series range from $7,495 to $11,995.
ket, freestanding units as a 10,000unit-per-year market and the new 1040 series in "volumes of 20,000 to 25,000 per year by 1987 or 1988, as it gains market-wide acceptance.''
Kleinman believes the number of pens is the key to the 1040 series' effectiveness because the use of eight will provide users with multiple windows (integrated software) and allow them to issue plot commands without changing pens for each task. "Someone with a single workstation doesn't want to spend $15,000 for a plotter, and this [product provides] high performance for only $7,000 to $8,000."
The 1040 series uses Calcomp's 960 Driver software and will have a built-in controller for serial and parallel interfaces. The interfaces reside in a ROM pack and are fieldlevel replaceable. The first available ROM pack will serve RS232C serial and IEEE 488 parallel interfaces, and a second version, scheduled for early 1985 availability, will have RS232C and HP Graphics Lan-

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

guage compatibility. The pens used in the new plotters
can be liquid ink, nylon-tipped or ceramicron-tipped. To select a pen, the turret's optical sensors read the metallic-band code integral to each pen as it travels toward the writing surface. A user selects pen pressure, which is stored in the EEROM, to set parameters for media such as mylar or paper. The pens are unique to the series, and Calcomp is setting second-sourcing and prices that will be comparable wth competing pen plotters.
A built-in automatic logging feature using the on-board microprocessor allows users to set up a plot using a 40-character, 2-line liquid-crystal display and an associated, tactile-feedback keypad rather than a separate control terminal.

Adding a standard modem enables the plotters' built-in display and intelligence to communicate in conversation mode with a host.
Self-diagnostics for all
Each plotter has ROM-based selfdiagnostics that are included on the plotter's two standard boards-a system controller board and an analog board. The sprocketed, highperformance, dual-mode model uses a third board that incorporates Calcomp's Sonic Sensor to determine paper position within the castors. The two basic cards can be interchanged among the plotters.
Calcomp offers service contracts with a standard 90-day warranty period for the plotters. Service contracts could be priced as low as 5 percent of purchase price, says Con-

lin. Because the new plotters weigh

approximately 120 pounds each,

Calcomp will most likely provide

on-site service.

The company plans to begin pro-

duction shipments of the cut-sheet

low- and high-performance versions

by October, the dual-mode, low-

performance version by November

and the dual-mode, high-

performance model by December.

Preliminary single-unit prices are

$7 ,495 for the cut-sheet, low-

performance model 1041, $8,495 for

the dual-mode, low-performance

model 1042 and the cut-sheet, high-

performance 1043 and $11,995 for

the dual-mode, high-performance

1044. The 1041 can be field-

upgraded to the 1043. According to

Conlin, OEM quantity discounts

will be competitive.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

~rtec Jenki~s ~

inc. /19

Avenue

/ Lansdale, PA 19446

CIRCLE NO. 36 ON INQUIRY CARD

Phone: (215) 362-0966 Telex: 834-247
67

Mini-Micro World

Half-height Winchester family offers 57M to 202M bytes

and have track densities of around 1,200 tracks per inch (tpi), the wedge servo tends to limit performance.

Carl Warren, Western Editor
To address the increasing demand for more storage on a 51!4"inch spindle, Advanced Storage Technology Inc. (ASTI) has been privately showing its family of high- performance, high - capacity Winchester half-height drives.
The family of drives ranges in capacity from 57M to 202M bytes and uses thin-film media and heads from parent company Cybernex Corp., San Jose, Calif., of which ASTI is a recently formed subsidiary. The equipment is said to provide tighter margins and what

ASTI vice president Dan Klang states is superior disk-to-head compliance.
Besides employing thin-film media and heads, the drives use a voice-coil-driven linear carriage. Electronics are contained on a single printed-circuit board in verylarge-scale-integration (VLSI) circuits. To ensure data reliability, a dedicated quadrature servo surface, rather than an embedded wedge servo, has been incorporated. Klang insists that a wedge servo is primarily for drives with stepper motors and smaller areal densities, adding that, for drives that use a voice coil

ESDI needed
Because the drives have been designed as a reduced version of storage module device (SMD) drives and sport !OM-bit-per-second (bps) transfer rates, ASTI has found it necessary to employ the enhanced small disk interface (ESDI). Until now, ESDI has been offered only by such companies as its primary developer, Maxtor Corp.
According to Klang, the goal is to compete on a cost-per-byte and box basis with SMD drives. Moreover, he contends that SMD has run out of gas and something else has to step in to replace it. For the ASTI family

GCR
68

YOUR BACKUP REMEDY

Take a minute ... let's talk about the benefits of GCR (group-coded recording) tape subsystems.
Today's disk drives offer faster transfer rates and larger storage capacities than ever before, placing stringent demands on the tape subsystems used to back them up.
A high density GCR tape subsystem is your logical choice for high performance backup.
Let's Talk Benefits GCR packs data at 6250 bits per
inch-a standard tape reel holds up to 180 megabytes of data! That translates into fewer tape mounts and rewinds, reducing operator involvement . . . and that's a saver. GCR also provides an outstanding improvement in read/write reliability. Time that was previously spent in retries and error recovery can now be used for computing. That's another saver!
Let's Talk Affordablllty Until now, many thought GCR tech-
nology was out of their budget. Not anymore! At CCG - California Computer Group, our GCR subsystems start as low as $10,500
Lefs Talk Choice You can't make the right choice
unless you have a choice. And CCG helps you choose the right GCR subsystem for your DEC, DG, HP, PE and Tl systems. Whether it's a Kennedy 9400, a CDC 92185 "Keystone" or a

STC 2920 "Avalanche". Let's Talk Expertise
At CCG, we're not just selling hardware ... we're sharing knowledge. Our configuration specialists examine your needs, then help you determine the right GCR subsystem for your application.
And CCG's been around-our clients include Lockheed, USC, TRW, Citibank, Mobil Oil, University of Chicago . . . even Notre Dame. Let's Talk Teamwork
CCG works with you every step of the way . .. from your first cal 1 until your systems are up and running . And whenever you need us, we're only a phone call away. Let's Talk .....
There's so much more to talk about. Call us-we'll show you how CCG can put GCR to work for you!
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(800) 854-7488 - Nationwide (800) 232-1661 - California (714) 966-1661 - Corporate

CIRCLE NO. 37 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Unleash the potential of your the complete 32-bit

·fi='"·'·l·J;!J{j:ll.

MC68881 FLOATIN POINT COPROCES
CUSTOMER DESIGNED PROCESSORS

SPECIALIZED SYSTEMS

OTHER M68000 SYSTEMS

Dl D2 D3 D4 DS D6 D7 32-BIT DATA REGISTERS

new system with the MC68020:
IDl·croprocessor.

The new performance standard.
Motorola's new MC68020 performs at speeds typically 400% of the established standard of comparison. the MC68000. It's up to ten times faster in dedicated 32-bit applications.
No other 32-bit MPU makes this extensive a leap in performance improvement. At 16.67 MHz theMC68020 typically runs at 2.5 MIPS for integer processing. MIPS rates several times typical are achievable in dedicated 32-bit applications.
The advanced two-micron HCMOS manufacturing technology which allows this unparalleled performance also results in very low power dissipation. In fact. the MC68020 consumes less power in a system than the original MC68000.
The MC68020 creates opportunities you've never had before--opportunities to unleash the full potential in your 32-bit MPU-based systems because it sets the standard for 32-bit microprocessors. And. because it's the first complete 32-bit microprocessor available. more than just a 16-bit design on a data bus stretched to 32 bits. A detailed look at the architecture reveals this totality.
A fully compatible M68000 Family
member. Yes. the MC68020 has features new
to the M68000 Family to maximize its true 32-bit capabilities.
Yes. it's an all new design built with advanced. highly manufacturable HCMOS technology.
And. yes. it's a fully-compatible member of the M68000 Family of MPUs and peripherals. All user object code written for previous M68000 Family MPUs executes without revision. In fact. MC68020 enhancements allow it to run more than three times faster.
Family compatibility is further enhanced by dynamic bus sizing. which supports the use of 8-. 16- and 32-bit ports in 68020-based systems. In fact. the MC68020 can be used in existing 8- or 16-bit systems.
New features enhance 32-bit
architecture. The MC68020 design is new. how-
ever its architecture is based on the
proven M68000 Family 32-bit register set. And. the MC68020 is highly enhanced.
On-board instruction cache speeds operation and provides increased multiprocessing efficiency. The coprocessor interface allows direct expansion of the architecture off the MC68020 chip to coprocessors or customer-spec-
ified processing systems. New addressing modes. new instruc-
tions and a 32-bit barrel shifter support

new capabilities. Operating system efficiency is improved with a 32-bit program counter.
These enhancements and more optimize the MC68020 for 32-bit operations.
Design support brings projects together, fast.
Making the most ofyour new 32-bi t design opportunities with the MC68020 is simple and effective with the backing of powerful new hardware and software support from Motorola.
The Benchmark 20TMevaluation system has been developed as a maximum environment testbed for resultant software. For initial software development, cross-support packages under both the UNIXTM-derived System V/68TM and the real-time VERSAdosTM operating systems run on standard Motorola VME/ JOT" and EXORmacs" hosts.
You'll find MC68020 designs a breeze with Motorola's advanced development tools--real time emula-
" """""""""""'11:0. i>:¥t:
µROM

tion and bus-state analysis with the HDS400 development system.
Move up to the MC68020. The opportunity to design new-gen-
eration systems around the MC68020 and the M68000 Family is yours today. Marketplace attention will be focused directly on the growth-oriented companies that take advantage of this opportunity. Motorola's sales engineers and field applications specialists are available and equipped to assist you in moving up to the new 32-bit microprocessor performance standard.Contact one of them today.
Additional technical information is available by writing or sending the completed coupon to Motorola Semiconductor Products Inc.. P.O. Box 20912. Phoenix AZ 85036.
Benchmark 20, SYSTEM V/ 68, VME/ 10and VERSAdosare trademarks of Motorola
EXORmacs is a registered trademark of Motorola
UNIX is a trademark of AT&T Bell Laboratories .
INT. A2/ A3 PLA

AOORESS BUFFERS
ADDRESS EXECUTION
UNIT PROGRAM COUNTER EXECUTION
UNIT
BUS CONTROLLER

INST. PIPE
DATA BUFFERS DATA
DATA CACHE
FC LOGIC
SIZE LOGIC

MOTOROLA

r-----------------~I TO: Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector I P.O. Box 20912, Phoenix, AZ 85036
Please send me more information on MC68020. I

193MMSOB0084

I Title _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __

I Company_ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Address _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _

ILC-all -Me.-Ph-one-: ------------~I

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

96200, consisting of the 57M- and transfer rates," says Klang.

point out that the prices are for very

103M-byte models, EDSI meets ASTI plans to sell the "low-end" large OEM quantities.

part of the need. "It may not be the family for as little as $850 for the Although achieving 57M and

best interface, but it does put the 57M-byte model and $1,100 for the 103M bytes seems like an optimistic

data separator on the drive, where it 103M-byte model-prices that are goal to reach by September-when

belongs, and that's the beauty of it, almost 20 percent lower than mar- evaluation versions are anticipated

especially for drives with high ket rates. But Klang is quick to -Klang asserts that the 96200

- -----========-- -----=::::;;:=:;:=====-- - - -- = =--i drives represent only a small part of the family architecture. ''We are

taking a full-family approach to pro-

pel us, as a company, into the

1990s," he says. For example, Klang

expects the 12200 (76M- and 127M-

byte) and the 12330 (121M- and

202M-byte) series to be available for

sampling by mid-1985. He says the

·families represent the next step up

the performance ladder and will re-

quire a better system architecture.

The 12330 series, for example, of-

fers a 15.87M-bps transfer rate and

a 1,200-tpi track density. To achieve

the high areal densities required to

provide high capacities in half-

height configurations using a maxi-

mum of three disks for the 202M-

byte model, ASTI is relying on 2,7

run-length-limited code. As a re-

sult, a recording density of 30,502

bpi is easily achieved.

For the systems integrator, power is flexibility ... and flexibility is the Heurikon HK68!!!
Sporting an extremely well considered array of on-board features, the Heurikon HK68 presents itself as a single board one to eight user UNIX system!!!
Designed around the Motorola MC68000 microprocessor, the HK68 is compatible with the 24 bit Intel MultibusTM and includes quad channel

DMA controller, memory management unit, 128K or 256K bytes of dual access RAM with parity expandable to lM byte on-card!!!, twin EPROM sockets providing a total capacity of 64K bytes, four RS-232-C ports with optional RS-422 on one port, winchester interface, streamer tape/ printer interface, three 16 bit counter/ timer channels, eight user definable LEDS and four dip switches, and two iSBXTM connectors for further expansion!!!

~ hruri~m· corooratim 3001 Latham Dr.. Madison. WI 153713
Call Heurikon Direct 1 800 356·9602 In Wisconsin 1608 271·8700
Mullibus & iSBX are trademarks of Intel Corp.
CIRCLE NO. 38 ON INQUIRY CARD 72

Looking beyond ESDI
As ASTI sets its sights on the higher-performance family, it is also convinced that a more powerful, almost-SMD-like interface is required. "ESDI can take it to one plateau. To get to the performance levels we need, it looks like the intelligent peripheral interface (IPI) is the way to go,'' says Klang.
According to chairman William Roberts of Emulex Corp., Costa Mesa, Calif., IPI is a better devicelevel interface for high-performance drives. Roberts expects that, as more drives like ASTI's become available, controller manufacturers will embrace IPI.
Specifically, ASTI will use the IPI 2 version when implemented, which is a device-oriented interface. IPI 2 allows transfer rates greater
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

~--------------- · Sharp Electronics Corp, 1909 E. Cornell, Peoria, IL 61614
I 0 Please send me more information about Sharp's PC-5000. 0 Please set up a demonstration. N"""_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Title,_ _ _ __

Company·- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Stree"-- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ci1y1_ _ _ _ _ Statc_ _ _ Zi~

Pho·ne_l__J__ _ _ _ _ __

FROM SHARP MINDS COME SHARP PRODUCTS

Mini-Micro World
NEWS

THE ASTI HALF-HEIGHT WINCHESTERS AT A GLANCE

Specification/model number

96202 96203 12202 12203 12332 12333

Capacity unformatted · per drive (M bytes) · per surface (M bytes) · per track (bytes)

57.5 19.2 20,880

103 20 .6 20 ,880

76.5 25.6 20,880

127.5 25 .6 20 ,880

121 40 .5 33 ,060

202 40.5 33,060

Transfer rate (M bits/sec)

15.87

Access time (msec. incl. settling)

·average

· track to track

·maximum

Rotational speed (rpm)

3,600

3.600

3,600

Average latency (m sec.)

8.33

8 .33

8.33

Recording density (2.7 ALL code)

18,462 19,405 19,264 19,264 30,502 30 ,502

Recording density (FCl·flux changes/in.)

12,308 12,937 12,843 12,843 20,335 20,335

Track density (tpi)

960

1,200

Cylinders

921

987

1,225

Tracks

2,763 4 ,935 3,675 6,125 3,675 6,125

Data heads

Servo heads

Platters

Note: All drives measure: 1.625 x 5.750 x 8 in. However, the three platter version is 1.95 inches in height.

than lOM bps and offers more attri-

butes and control but keeps such

things as error-correction code

(ECC) and other control functions

on the controller-where most drive

and controller makers believe they

belong. Further, Priam Corp.'s I.

Dal Allan, a member of the Ameri-

can National Standards Institute's

X3T9.2 committee for IPI, specu-

lates that with the availability of

higher-performance differential line

drivers-such as the American

Micro Devices 2638-transfer rates

of lOM bps and higher can be easily

achieved.

High-volume production of the

ASTI 96200 family is set for the first

quarter of 1985. Evaluation models

of the 12200 and 12330 families also

are planned for the first quarter

of next year.

B !!l.W4tJ I

I HIGH PERFORMANCE, VERSATILITY, VIVID COLOR, CRISP IMAGE

TOEI COLOR DISPLAYS FTC/COM - SERIES.

TOEI, experienced Display Monitor specialists, offer a wide selection of Color CRT Displays. You can choose from our versatile standard models or OEM versions to meet your exacting requirements.

CDM-14" Series

FTC Series (Housed in lightweight, impact-resistant Cabinet)

~ e

RGB Version

NTSC Version

PAL Version

NTSC . & RGBVersion

PAL&RGB Version

IBMPC Compatible only

12" (CRT Pitch)

FTC-1201-R' (0.47mm Stripe)
FTC-1 203-R' (0.38mm Dot trio)
FTC-1 208-R' (0.28mm Dot trio)

FTC-1200-N (0.64mm Stripe)
FTC-1201-N (0.47mm Stripe)

FTC-1200-P (0.64mm Stripe)
FTC-1201 -P (0.47mm Dot trio)

FTC-1201-NR (0.4 7mm Stripe)

FTC-1201-PR (0.47mm Stripe)

FTC-1 203-H' (0.38mm Dot trio)
FTC-1208-H (0.28mm Dot trio)

14" (CRT Pitch)

FTC-1423H-R (0.42mm Stripe)
FTC-1435H-R (0.39mm Dot trio)
FTC-1455H-R (0.31 mm Dot trio)

FTC-1410H-N (0.52mm Stripe)
FTC-1416-N (0.64mm Stripe)

FTC-141 OH-P (0.52mm Stripe)
FTC-1416-P (0.64mm Stripe)

FTC-141 OH-NR (0.52mm Stripe)

FTC-1410H-PR (0.52mm Stripe)

FTC-1435-H (0.39mm Dot trio)
FTC-1455-H (0.31 mm Dot trio)

Application/NTSC·PAL (Commodore· Apple D, De), RGM (IBM PC· Apple D, De, ID·RGB TTL & Analog)

"FTC-1201-R, 1208-R: Applying for FCC Standard (Class B).

"through Interface-Module

"FTC-1203-R: Acquired FCC Standard (Class B). FTC-1203-R, 1203-H: Non-Glare

COM Series (Unit for OEM)

Model CRT Size CRT Pitch

CDM-1208

12" 0.28mm Dottrio

CDM-1203

12" 0.38mm Dottrio

CDM-1201

12" 0.47mm Stripe

CDM-1455H-R 14" 0.31mm Dottrio

CDM-1435H-R 14" 0.39mm Dottrio

·Green/Orange CRT Displays are also available. (Included IBM Compatible.) CRT size: 9" or 12''. Horizontal frequency: 15.75-64kHz. [15.75kHz version : acquired FCC Standard (Class B).]
·Conform to UL Standard. ·Special made products: Select Horizontal Frequency within 31-40kHz
(Color), 24-64kHz (Monochrome). Models display providing with more than 640x400-dot-resolution are also available. ·We are looking for reliable and established distributor worldwide.

CDM-1 423H-R 14" 0.42mmStripe CDM-1410H-R 14" 0.52mmStripe

TOEI ELECTRONICS CMFGJ CO.,LTC. [Japanese Name: Toei Tsusho Co., Ltd.]

IBM PC is a Trademark of IBM Corp. Applen. lie, UI are Trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. Commodore is a Trademark of Commodore Business Machine Inc.

Kanda Cent Bldg., 2-4, Yushima 1-chome Bunkyo-ku, 113 Tokyo JAPAN Tel. (03) 257-1131 Telex. 0222-2555 TOEICO J FAX (03) 258-3560

CIRCLE NO. 40 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Multibus® Microcomputer
Systems Made Easy

OEMs get products to market faster with SMS Winchester controllers, storage systems and microcomputer foundation systems.
Whether you select 8086, M68000, Z8000 or another Multibus single board computer, you can choose the SMS product to fit your packaging needs.

Small table top applications can use the MDX80000 foundation system with five Multibus slots, 10, 15,or40Mbof5-1/4" Winchester storage plus an 8" IBM compatible floppy.

For high volume or unique packaging requirements, the SMS FWD8001/FWD8006 single board controllers are INTEL 215 compatible and support 8" Winchester/floppy or 5-1/4" Winchester and 5-1/4" or 8" floppy disk drives.

For large configurations, choose the DSX80000 foundation system with eight Multibus slots, 10, 20, 40 or 80Mb of
Winchester storage plus an 8" IBM compatible floppy.

If you have your own Multibus backplane, plug in the SMS FWT80000 storage system. It
occupies only 5-1/4" of rack space and comes with either 10, 20, 40 or 80Mb Winchester storage plus an 8" IBM compatible floppy.

®TRADEMARK OF INTEL CORPORATION. MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Scientific Micro Systems. Inc.
777 East Middlefield Road Mountain View, CA 94043 (415) 964-5700 TWX: 910-379-6577

SMS SALES OFFICES: Seattle, Washington r206 i 883-8303 Boston, MA (617 1246-2540; Atlanta, Georgia (404 1296-2029; Morton Grove, Illinois 1312 1 966-2711 ; Yorba Linda, California (7141993-3768.

CIRCLE NO. 41 ON INQUIRY CARD 75

An average
terminal gets this far in 1. 4 seconds. 16u 'll twiddle your
thumbs for 14 seconds before
it's finished.

NewHiSCAN
terminals complete the entire drawing
in just over one second.

G~hi~ tenninalswith ten time5 the
drawingspeed.$2,195 Monochrome,$2,995 Color
Stop watch courtesy of Heuer Electronic Corp.

Our new graphics co-processor technology

gives you a faster draw than anything under

Ou ·

range. A hundred times as fast as the slowest terminals.
You get superior resolution, too: 800 x 600 monochrome, 800 x 300 color. The monochrome terminal displays four gray levels . The color terminal displays
16 colors (out of 64 choices). - - - · · · Plus fifteen programmable, non-volatile function keys. Simple menus. Superior ergonomics.
You don 't sacrifice a thing for superior graphics. The alphanumeric quality equals the best text terminals. The display is not interlaced (not running at half speed) , so there's no smearing or ghosting when you scroll. You can even choose an 80- and 132-colurnn display to get a full spreadsheet on the screen.
HiSCANTM graphics terminals have full DEC VT220 and TEK®4010/4014 compatibility. Plus your choice of DEC ReGIS , TEK 4027 or TEK 4105 compatibility at no extra cost. They're cable-ready for light pens, mice, digitizing tablets and inkjet printers.
They're designed to help you be more productive and

now you can play ''what-if'' with graphics.

You have to get your hands on a HiSCAN graphics termi-

nal to believe it. And that's easy We'll even arrange a 30-day trial at no risk. Just send the coupon.

New HiSCAN Thnninals
From the people who brought you Retro-Graphics®

DIGITAL

ENGINEERING

630 Bercut Drive, Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone (916) 447-7600 Tulex 910-367-2009

D Send complete information D I want a 30-day trial with no

risk. Call me about my compatibility requirements.

NAME

TITLE

COMPANY

PHONE

ADDRESS

CITY

STATE

ZIP

IC 1984 Digital Engineering. Inc. Retro-Graphics is a registered trademark

J il to:Digital Engineering ,630 Bercut Drive,Sacramento ,CA95814

and HiSCAN 1s a trademark of D1g1tal Engineering, Inc.

CIRCLE NO. 42 ON INQUIRY CARD

"'-
'=·..·.... 1V:. RATUliE

'Il~l

.. = UST PRICE

$845 $19&

- User defined functlOn ~ 16 0

' ·MT' · Video Attribute Control Yu"1 No No

Custom Mode

Yu No No

K~board LED's

7 1

25th Status Line

Yu Yes No

2-Speed Smooth Scroll

Yu No No

Gr~hics Characters

Yu Y11 No

Con~rable Print & Send Yes Yes No

Set U_p_ Mode

Y11 Yes No

No Y11

Settable Tabs

Y11 Yes No

No Y11

Choose Protected Attribute Yes Yes No

Screen Saver

Yea Yes No

No Yes

** Max. Number of Displayable
Characters on one screen 256 128 128

128

2 P~es of Mem~

Opt No No

No Opt

Amber Pho~hor

Opt No No

Plot 1OGraphics from Manufacturer

Opt No No

......Warran!Y_iD~

365 90

128 Characters Standard. 256 Optional

ww:. - . ·.a.J,JhtW~·l·ldleoOW

921, VTU, Learlleglef

anctMlcro-Term'I

Ha.._ ACT-IA. the EMO 201 °'°~extremely

wel In rnOlt ADOS and

environments.

Standard Equipment lncludel:
· 16 holt delhlble or w. programmable func. tlon keys to provide .a f\n:llonl. Uw program-
mable func:lkn are programmable from the ~rd and saved In non-volallle memory.
·* "MT" video atlrbute control means the ERGO
201 can dllplay 17 combinations cl reYel'le, ~ derllne, hal, bllr* and bla'* on the same screen wllhout Ullng a character space.

· CUiiom mode allows the operator to define the
term1nar1 control codel and ..cape aequences
and 1C1Ye dellgnatlons In non-volatle memory.

Al ttMMe feature1, plul a bull-In tit mechanllm, 7 x 9 character matrix, greCll"I, non-glare acreen. Check the comparison chart at left and you wtll agr. . that ERGO 201 II the performance leader.

MICRO-TERM, inc.
Terminals are our only product. and we put more Into them.
CALL OR WRITE: 512 RUDDER ROAD, FENTON (ST. LOUIS COUNTY), MISSOURI 63026
(314) 343-6515. TWX: 9107601662, MICROTERM. sn.
On sne service avallable at over 450 locations through Western Union.
VT52, Esplrlt II, ADDS Viewpoint, TeleVldeo 925 and ADM3A are Registered Trademarks.

CIRCLE NO. 43 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Mini-Micro World
CORPORATE AND FINANCIAL

Fortune revamps management, aims for value-added resellers

Chris Balley, Western Editor
Buffeted by misfortune in the second half of 1983, Fortune Systems Corp. , Redwood City, Calif. , is working on a comeback. Its strategy includes new management, improved product performance and greater reliance on value-added resellers (VARs) such as system houses. James S. Campbell, president since December, believes Fortune's major problems are solved and that the company will be profitable by mid-year. Fortune has not been profitable for a full year since its founding in 1981.
"Fortune's multiuser systems did not achieve the performance levels demanded by typical customer applications, and, as a result, sales suffered during 1983," Campbell says. "But the company acted decisively to solve the performance problems and has added new products that make the systems compatible with Wang [Laboratories Inc.] and IBM [Corp.] office-automation products, and the changes have paid off."
In addition to personnel changes, Fortune has revamped its 32:16 product, a 68000-based multiuser system, by improving the hardware and its FOR:PRO operating system. Because multiuser UNIX makes heavy demands on the disk system, due to swapping pages of memory back and forth from RAM to disk, Fortune upgraded the system. The company's systems now use a Control Data Corp. Winchester disk with a 35-msec. average access time. This compares favorably with the 90-msec. average access time of the previous systems.
The company also increased sys-

tern performance by optimizing the menu-handling, multitasking-scheduler and file-blocking portions of the UNIX Version 7-compatible

Competitors abound, with Convergent Technologies ' MiniFrame representing a threat to Fortune's /ow-end system. Although the two companies rarely compete directly-Convergent's main thrust is OEM and Fortune's is VARs and direct sales-the MiniFrame is priced at less than $5,000, and its OEMs can effectively compete with the Fortune resellers. The eight-user MiniFrame boasts a virtual-memory capability and UNIX System V compatibility.

FOR:PRO operating system. The result is a system that supports six to eight users--or as many as 13 in non-VO-intensive applicationswith little performance degradation, the company says. Previously, the Fortune system was hardpressed to support five users.
Fortune achieved industry compatibility by creating software products that can link 32:16 systems to Wang office-automation systems and IBM mainframes. Campbell points out that 75 percent of Fortune 1,000 companies have Wang or IBM mainframe installations. The new software will help Fortune link into corporate-wide information networks using these systems.
Sales reflect these improvements, with fourth-quarter 1983 results 40 percent higher than the depressed third-quarter figures. This momentum carried through to 1984, with

first-quarter sales surpassing $15 million.
Throughout its sales slump, Fortune continued to spend heavily-in the neighborhood of $12 million-on research and development. Thanks to the $100 million raised on its initial public offering, the company had a cash position of more than $53 million as recently as May and a total working capital balance of more than $92 million. "This healthy financial position will enable us to continue to support our systems and customers and refute those observers who may feel that Fortune might go the way of Osborne [Computer Corp.] or Victor [Technologies Inc.]. We're committed to spending over 15 percent of annual revenues on R&D," explains Campbell. While company officials are reluctant to project sales or earnings, analysts predict sales of more than

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Mini-Micro World
CORPORATE AND FINANCIAL

$80 million for 1984, compared to sales of $26 million in 1982 and $54 million in 1983.

FORTUNE LOOKS FOR BETTER TIMES

Customers llke the new systems
While agreement on Fortune's future is far from unanimous, many observers like the changes they've seen. Jean Yates, president and founder of Yates Ventures, the leading market research company specializing in UNIX, predicts Fortune will be among the top UNIX-based system manufacturers in 1984. Notes Yates, "Fortune definitely had performance problems in 1983, but they seem to have turned it around. I expect Fortune to release a more powerful system in 1984 and remain a serious competitor in the UNIX arena."
More important, customers are lining up to purchase the revised systems. BellSouth of Atlanta took delivery of more than 800 systems this year. Because of the system's hardware and software improvements, BellSouth can run 13 users on the Fortune 32:16 XT30. Other large Fortune 1,000 companies, such as Ford Motor Co., the Crocker Bank of San Francisco and Crown Zellerbach Corp., Oakland, Calif., have major installations. Privatelabel OEMs such as Bunker Ramo Information Systems, Trumble, Conn. and France's Thomson-CSF are major contributors to sales.
One area in which sales are not expected to improve is at the retail computer store level. States Robert Ruebel, senior vice president of marketing, "In the past, Fortune expended a lot of energy with storefront dealers. Unfortunately, these outlets were ill-equipped to handle sophisticated multiuser systems. They lacked software knowledge and the support needed to be successful." As a result, he says, Fortune is steering away from retail outlets and taking aim at VARs,

20
Vz i :.0.:.:.:.; 10 i
~
0

SALES NET INCOME

·10 ------'40--1-'-o--2-'-o--3-'-o--40'-----'10--2-'-o------'

1982

1983

1984
SOURCE: FOR TUN/; SYSTCMS CORP.

After shaky mid-1983 results, Fortune is back on track. With a revamped product and new marketing strategy, sales have recovered, and the company expects profits by midyear.

Fortune 1,000 companies and OE Ms.
Besides directing efforts at dealers who can add support and application software, Fortune has created a direct sales force to sell to large companies. Also, Ruebel has created a customer-support center with company-wide responsibility for customer satisfaction. As part of that effort, the company is attempting to duplicate in-house customer configurations that can be used to track problems faster.
Making Inroads on AT&T
While Fortune is making progress, its competitors have also been active. In particular, Convergent Technologies Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., has announced an OEM agreement with AT&T Information Systems to release a Convergentdesigned system this year. Although details of the system and the quantities involved are not yet

known, the system is expected to be a variant of Convergent's Data Systems Division's MegaFrame and MiniFrame systems. Both are multiuser systems based on the 68000 processor family, as is the 32:16 system, and can support as many as 128 and eight users, respectively.
The MiniFrame, featuring an OEM price of less than $5,000, runs the CTIX UNIX System Vcompatible operating system and, in its more advanced configurations, can support as many as eight users. Unlike the Fortune FOR:PRO operating system, it supports demandpaged virtual memory through the use of the 68010 processor. It does not come with a built-in display unit like the Fortune system, but Convergent offers a high-speed RS422 intelligent terminal that can reduce VO-processing overhead in the main CPU-a traditional problem with single-processor UNIX-based systems. It also allows the use of win-

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CO·ITIED TODEC?
So are we . And, we 're committed to the individual systems buyer, too . We give the little guy the edge he just can 't get anywhere else. We understand the system builder's time constraints , and we 're flexible enough to work with them .
We bring the latest technology to our added value DEC systems long before anyone else . And , we relieve you of the complex, time-consum ing task of searching for and evaluating new highperformance products and system possibilities.
Plus , we give you considerably faster turnaround . With the Cambridge Digital " Edge" you can get many fully integrated , PDP or VAX systems in as little as 10 days . And , your system will be up and running upon delivery with your entire complement of fully supported software and peripherals . The best. most advanced products on the market today. All tested and ready to go .
So, whether you want a fully integrated prepackaged system or you want to mix and match system components, Cambridge Digital can give you the performance you need in an economical package, ready to go the day you get it . That's what the Cambridge Digital "Edge," is all about.
To receive our DEC PDP-11 based system catalog including a description of the seven guarantees you get when you get The Edge, call or write. Main Office, Dept. 7401 , P.O. Box 568, 65 Bent Street , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139. Telex 92-1401 /COMPUMART CAM . 800-343-5504 . In Mass. call 617-491-2700. New York District Office 516-935-3111 .
rI-w-a-n-t-T-h-e- E- d-g-e-:- - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,
Name_ _ __ _ _ _ Ti tle_ _ _ _ __
Organ1zat1on/Company_ _ _ _ __ _ _ __
Address_ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __
City_ _ _ _ _ State/Province_ _ _ __
Zip/Postal Code_ _ _ _ _ Country_ _ _ __
Phone No. _(- -- - - - - - - - - - -
7401 ~--------------------------~
Cambridge
la~AA,Digital
The F.dge in System Integration
800-343-5504
In Massachusetts call 617-491-2700
CIRCLE NO. 44 ON INQUIRY CARD

Your future is ensured when you make Western

WH AT'S IN F0R ffI

Digital your partner in stora~e management tech-

'~ 11o1 RE

nn.oolno-gsyt.oWp}envneovleadtitoh~e, fwraoymwthitehfirst
smgle chip floppy disk controller

nearly a decade ago to the broad-

DISK STDRAGE? est offering of chip and board-level floppy, Win-

chester and tape controllers today.

Systems in Silicon.

What makes us unique are our extensive VLSI

capabilities. Designing and manufacturing our own
THE FUTURE proprietary chips enables us to 1) pack more performance into our controllers than is ossible using · · · general purpose LSI, 2) continuousfy integrate more

and more functionality into fewer and fewer

devices, 3) and provide you with an unending path

to lower cost and higher performance as we ride the

experience curve.

Chip-to-board synergy.

Solutions are what we offer systems builders.

Having us build you a board-level disk controller

based on our chips does more than get you to mar-

Take control of the future.

ket more quickly. It enables you to make us your

More leading manufacturers of personal com-

technology partner at the systems integration level. puters and office automation systems buy storage

Whether you choose one of our standard

management controllers from Western Digital than

boards, with more than a dozen combinations of

from any other company. Make us your source for

host and drive interfaces, or have us design and

disk and tape controllers and you get more than

build a custom, proprietary version for your system's high technology products. You get a corporate com-

special needs, our engineers work as a virtual

mitment to do all we can to see you succeed. Take

extension of your own engineering capabilities.

control of the future. Call our Controller Hotline,

Leading edge manufacturing.

714/863-7827. And ensure your success.

To meet your high volume needs, we've invested

.STARTS HERE. in new, state-of-the-art automated board manufac-
turing and test facilities in the U.S. and Europe. To keep you competitive, we're constantly · ·

integrating more functionality onto our boardlevel products, driving down cost while we boost per-

For the complete story of ou r storage management capabilities and a poster-size reproduction of the illustration above, send your business card

formance . Our investments in surface-mount tech-

to Western Digital. SM Literature, 2445 McCabe Way, Irvine. CA 92714.

nology, and commitment to stay at the leading edge

llVESTERN DIGITAL of this revolutionary approach to board manufacturing,

will accelerate the integration process, enabling us to pack dramatically more into dramatically less space.

C 0

T I

_ _ _NET
(fill in blank)

ultiple Choice

a eEasy.

Confused about which Local Network to choose? You 're not alone. In today's personal computer environment, new LANs seem to pop up daily , adding even more choices. And more questions.
Questions about performance. Price. Security. Expandability. And software availability. It isn't hard to see that multiple choice has become multiple guess.
We Provide The Answer. At Novell , we offer a unique new approach. An approach which answers the multiple choice question. We've taken our fieldtested network operating system and made it work on all of today's LANs . ARCnet. Ethernet . OMNINET . proNET . PCnet. G-NET . Even tomorrow's Anynet.
We call it NetWare.TM NetWare is designed to bring the user and software supplier together for maximum performance, security and functionality. No matter which LAN hardware you choose.

Software, Software And More Software. Because each LAN is different , today's leading software companies view NetWare as the single unifying answer to the multiple choice question. Many have become NetWare "Do It Once and For All " affiliates, adapting their software for application in multiuser NetWare environments.
Quickly. Easily . Uniformly . And only once for all LANs.
Novell Means Service. To serve the LAN market better, we've initiated a series of benchmark tests on all the major LAN configurations-both with the supplier's native operating system and with NetWare. The results are available now.
Interested? Give us a call to order your copy of the "LAN Benchmark Report. " It's free . We'll also try to answer any questions you might have about personal computer networking . Call us at 1-800-LANKIND.

NetWare. Dedicated to serve all LANkind.

CIRCLE NO. 45 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Mini-Micro World
CORPORATE AND FINANCIAL

dows similar to those gaining popularity on the IBM PC.
A companion product to the MiniFrame is PCworks, a software package from TouchStone Software Corp., Seal Beach, Calif. PCworks links IBM PCs and compatibles to the MiniFrame by making the MiniFrame a UNIX file server, thus allowing PCs to be networked and to transfer data files, mail and messages, and print reports. Steve Blank, vice president of marketing for Convergent's Data Systems Division, underlines Convergent's enthusiasm: "PCworks provides the

first available MS-DOS-to-UNIX

link and opens an enormous market

in the base of PC users for Conver-

gent."

Fortune president Campbell dis-

counts the significance of the Con-

vergent/AT&T agreement. He

notes that AT&T is also marketing

its own UNIX-based OEM systems

and believes that there will be room

for everyone. Confirming that is a

Yates Ventures study that predicts

that the UNIX system market will

grow from $4.5 billion this year to

nearly $7 billion in 1985.

James S. Campbell, president since December, has made changes designed to turn around Fortune's fortunes.

Financings
Computerworks, Westport, Conn., has acquired $5 million in venture capital to finance nationwide expansion of its corporate sales, service and retail operations. Participating in the funding were General Electric Venture Capital Corp. and Harrison Capital Corp.
Davox Communications Corp., a Merrimack, N.H., supplier of data and voice workstations, has secured $6.4 million in venture financing. Hambrecht & Quist led the group of investors. Just before the financing, Daniel Hosage, formerly of IBM Corp. and Datapoint Corp., was named president as part of a corporate reorganization. President John Tincler, previously president of Centronics Data Computer Corp., and founding chairman Rubin Gruber have left Davox.
Portland, Ore., start-up Sequent Computer Systems has completed a $7.5 million second round of venture funding. Sequent is developing computers for OEM customers based on National Semiconductor Corp. 16032 and 32032 microprocessors and running the UNIX operating system. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Hambrecht & Quist participated in the financing.
Fault-tolerant start-up company,

Sequoia Systems Inc., recently garnered $8.4 million to help introduce its transaction-processing systems. Investors in the Marlborough, Mass., company include Sperry Corp. and Citibank Investments.
Wet ink
Apollo Computer Inc., Chelmsford, Mass., recently signed an 18month agreement with Racal-Redac Inc. The agreement, worth as much as $10 million, involves Apollo's Domain workstations, which will be sold with Racal-Redac's new CIEE electronic-design-integrated software. . . . Arete Systems Corp., San Jose, Calif., will sell $3.6 million worth of its transaction-processing computer systems to field marketing Inc. over the next 18 months. ... Control Data Corp. (CDC) has announded what it believes is one of the largest single OEM contracts for peripherals in history. Under a $540 million, multiyear agreement, CDC will supply AT&T Technologies Inc. with disk drives, tape drives and media to be used with AT&T's 3B computer line.... Western Digital Corp., Irvine, Calif., has received a multimillion-dollar contract from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan. Western Digital will supply custom Winchester con-

troller boards for Matsushita's new Sr. Partner IBM PC-compatible portable computer, which was introduced under the Panasonic label in May at Comdex. Western Digital says the contract is its largest for custom Winchester controllers sold to the Japanese market.
Quarterly reports
Centronics Data Computer Corp. has reported losses for the second quarter in a row. The Hudson, N.H., printer manufacturer suffered a net loss of $1. 9 million, or 17 cents per share, for the quarter ended April 1, compared to a gain of $200,000, or 2 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Sales for the quarter were $39.5 million, compared to $43. 7 million a year earlier. In the quarter ended Jan. 1, the company lost $6.2 million, or 55 cents per share, on sales of $46.9 million.
Centronics president John Morrison points to two factors he hopes will help turn the company around. First is a corporate reorganization that added management from Control Data Corp., Digital Equipment Corp., Memorex Corp. and Data Terminal Systems. Second is a previously announced OEM contract that could garner as much as $100

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

The Big Apple Hosts The World's Largest Encl·User Business
Computer & Communications Show

Personal Business Computers Minicomputers
Mainframe Computers Computer Peripherals Work Stations/Computer Support Furnishings Data Communications Voice Communications
Software

Word Processing/Records Retention & Retrieval Systems
Electronic Mail Microfilm Equipment Duplicating/Copy Systems Services (education/training, facilities management, consulting, etc.)
Computer Supplies

Plan now to join over 40,000 corporate executives and MIS/DP professionals as they explore the world's largest exhibition of business computer systems.
SEE INFO/SOFTWARE···ASHOW WITHIN ASHOW.

The Eleventh International
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT EXPOSITION &CONFERENCE
NewYorkColiseum ·October 1·4, 1984

r-----------------------1

MAIL TODAY FOR REDUCED· RATE TICKETS!

D Send _ _ _ _ Reduced Rate Tickets.

D Send

Conference Programs.

N~E _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

TITLE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _~

COMPANY _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

DMSION _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
STREIT _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _~

CITY _ _ _ _ _ _.STATE _ _ _ ZIP _ __

D I am interested in exhibiting at INFO 84

Call meat(

)_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Mail to: INFO 84

Cahners Exposition Group

999 Summer Street, P.O. Box 3833

Stamford, CT 06905

L------~---------------- c1RcLE NO. 132 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

The difference is more than clear!

"Perhaps the finest quality 132 column display on the market today..." See for yourself. Send for your FREE unretouched, actual size photo of the TAB 132/15. Place it by any other terminal. Compare the non-glare 15 inch screen, the crisp, clear 132 characters per line with the large 7" x 11" dot matrix resolution . Even with just a photo print, you'll see the difference ... and more!
More productivity, more throughput. Give people a better tool and they'll produce more-whether they're the president, accountant, engineer or order entry clerk. An easier to read, easier to use terminal means more effective, error free throughput.
More data, larger screen. Display data in the same 132 column format you're used to seeing on your printer. Reduce or eliminate slow, expensive printed reports . Break away from the old 80 column display limitation. Whether you're involved with inquiry, interactive or word processing applications , the TAB 132/15 can give you the display flexi bility you need .
More than compatible. ANSI and DEC1 VT52 1 , VT1001 and VT132 1 compatibility, plus a special TAB mode for even more capabilities . All standard . The TAB 132/15 also gives you four page memory, 14 function keys , status line and

English prompts on the screen. With options like printer port and current loop. More capability with full graphics.TAB's optional graphics package is full featured and emulates Tektronix 40102 terminals and is compatible with PLOT 102 , TELLAGRAF3 , DISSPLA3, Template4 and Plot Pak5 software . Features include arc and vector drawing, point plotting, area fill , selective erase and more.
More desk space with internal modem. TAB terminals are now available with a new Internal Modem that is Bell 212A compatible. This 1200/300 Baud modem with memory is keyboard controlled to -initiate calls and automatically answer calls. Ten phone numbers can be stored for auto-dialing. For a free photo print or a demonstration of the TAB 132/ 15 Series Terminals , call or write TAB Products Co., 1400 Page Mill Road , Palo Alto , CA 94304, (415) 852-2400. Outside Calif. (800) 672-3109.

TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS

1 Tradema rks of Digital Equipment Co rporation 2 Trademarks of Tektronix Inc. 3 Trademarks of Integrated Software
Systems Corp .

4 Trademarks of Megatec 5 Trademark of Digital Engineering

CIRCLE NO- 46 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Mini-Micro World
CORPORATE AND FINANCIAL

million over the next three years. Centronics will not reveal the other party involved in that contract.
TeleVideo Systems Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., reported record sales of $48.4 million for its second quarter, ended April 30. Sales for the comparable quarter a year earlier were

$41.6 million. TeleVideo attributed the gain to volume shipments of its IBM PC-compatible computers,the Tele-PC and the Tele-XT, which were introduced this year.
Sales for the first and second quarter of this year rose to $91. 7 million from $80.5 million in the

same period a year earlier, while

net income increased to $11.4 mil-

lion from $10.5 million. As a result

of the company's initial public offer-

ing, earnings per share decreased to

27 cents from 28 cents between the

first two quarters of this year and

last.

GUEST FORUM
The voice for guest experts

Lee B. Kauffman is director of the Industry Analysis Center for The Office Systems Consulting Group Inc., Cambridge, Mass.

Users must carefully weigh PBX/office-equipment purchases

Lee B. Kauffman The Office Systems Consulting Group Inc.

The use of private-branch-exchange (PBX) systems as a conduit for office-automation communication has been evolving slowly (but noticeably) over the past few years. Several factors are responsible for a marked acceleration in this development in the past six months. Chief among them are the demand for voice/data network integration in the office-automation (OA) environment, the increasing number of desktop workstations and the need to "network" these systems, IBM Corp. 's postponed introduction of its local-area network-which forced some prospective buyers to stop waiting and seek other solutions-and the divestiture of American Telephone & Telegraph Co.
Three distribution channels from which to buy a PBX system have emerged. Most OA vendors either have or are forming relationships with the leading PBX vendors. The two best-known examples of this are Rolm Corp./IBM and Wang Laboratories Inc./Intecom Inc. Since the divestiture of AT&T, the Bell Operating Companies have also been anxious to market PBX equipment, thus assuming the role of system integrators. Finally, a main channel for PBX distribution is the PBX vendors themselve·s.
There are approximately 32 vendors scrambling for a market share in

the PBX industry. Most industry analysts predict a major shakeout, leaving only a few competitors. While from the buyers' perspective this might simplify the market, they will still have to contend with multiple distribution channels. The new question is: what is the difference in buying a PBX from a PBX vendor, from a Bell Operating Company or from an OA vendor?
All seven of the Bell Operating Companies have multiple-vendor distribution rights for PBX systems. Five of the seven have multiple-vendor distribution rights for OA systems as well. While this positions them well in terms of "one-stop shopping," prospective buyers must still scrutinize the level of integration these systems offer. A PBX may be compatible with an OA vendor's offerings, but this does not necessarily ensure that the PBX environment will provide full functionality-or enhancement of the OA system's functionality.
In the recent Wang/Intecom agreement, Wang purchased 1.5 million shares of Intecom stock and will acquire 3. 5 million more shares over the coming year (approximately 30 percent ownership). Both companies intend to share development and marketing projects.
Concurrently, Wang revealed its attitude toward the PBX industry as

a whole. It has created what it terms

"the four levels of connectivity":

· Wang intends to interface with

all leading PBX vendors to provide

the basic communication transport

between Wang and non-Wang equip-

ment,

· Wang will proVide the basic con-

nectivity plus value-added services

by integrating with the leading PBX

vendors,

· Wang will work closely with in-

terested PBX vendors to provide the

full features and functions of Wang

systems and to develop application

packages for selected market seg-

ments and

· Wang's strategic affiliation with

Intecom will enable it to pursue joint

development and marketing projects

and to share technology.

These levels of connectivity estab-

lish differing levels of integration.

As yet, there's little evidence of

products arising from the strategic

affiliations between OA and PBX

vendors, yet it seems clear that the

fully integrated (fully functional)

products will first become available

through these channels. This does not

imply that the Bell Operating Compa-

nies will not have a role in the indus-

try. Rather, it suggests that custom-

ers requiring high levels of OA-PBX

integration and functionality in the

near future will most likely find their

solutions from OA vendors that are

strategically affiliated with PBX ven-

~rs.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

VIVEsystem
VMEsystem

Your high-tech future is speeding toward you requiring you to combine technical and business considerations when making your design-in decisions. As a systems integrator, you face a major decision in your choice of a microcomputer system architecture.
Major because in order to utilize 32-bit microprocessors or 32-bit microprocessor based boards in the next five years you must choose between high performance system buses that support 32-bit machine functionality.Your decision will last throughout the computer system's lifetime. VMEsystem Architecture is the systems designers leading choice in providing high performance support of 32-bit designs, according to the Electronics News 1984 MPU Based Processor Study.
VMEsystem leads also with the broadest line ofavailable modules and support products for 8/16/32-bit applications.With over 400 products now available from over 90 manufacturers. The line continues to expand while providing smooth, planned growth for the future.
Rugged VMEmodules and standardized VMEsystem architecture coupled with a broad base ofmanufacturer and vendor support guarantee tomorrow's compatible growth.

7he VMEbus is part ofthe Motorola porated into the VME module system and the
VMEbus: the heart of
VMEsystem.
Originally introduced in 1981, VMEbus has become the standard high performance system interconnect structure through several years of intensive design activity It is the bus of choice for the present and future of microcomputer architecture, supporting data transfer rates as high as 30Mbytes per second with today's chip technology.
VMEbus has a master/ slave asynchronous nonmultiplexed data transfer structure, seven levels of priority interrupt, four levels of arbitration with rapid fault detection and control for bus,system and AC failures.
One of the many features of the 32-bit configured VMEbus system is that the bus dynamically senses whether 8-, 16-, or 32-bit data paths are needed and adjusts automatically.
VMEbus specifications were originally developed jointly by Motorola, Mostek, and Signetics/ Philips and have been accepted by close to 100 manufacturers worldwide.
In integrating 8-, 16-, and 32-bit system components VMEbus is innovative, publicly documented, and eminently adaptable to new technologies. LSI/VLSI technology is providing interface and peripheral chip functions that vastly increase the functionalityI cost ratio ofVMEbus modules.
Based on the most popular Eurocard formats with DIN pin and socket connectors, VMEbus is presently being formally standardized by both the IEEE (Pl014) and the IEC (47B) standards organizations.

ARCHITECTURE

-- - ....

. -

"' -

"""

~"'

- .,,,

Microsystem Arc/Jilecture. VMEbus is incor· VME/ /0 microcomputer system.
To the hundreds of present VMEbus users this is a formality. VMEbus has earned its position as the standard. through hard usage, not through mere speculation based on paper specifications. VMEbu~ is designed from the ground up for multip~ocessmg applications while still providing a high level offault tolerance. Consider its full 32-bit address and data paths, clear arbitration and intermpt schemes and diagnostic capability VMEbus is also the cost-effective system bus. It can be e~onomically configured according to design reqmrements for multiple processors and controllers-. Manufacturers now provide VMEbus compatible modules for many applications.
~us: high speed pnvate access.
~esi~ned for multiprocessing applications, VMXbus ts a high speed, parallel, private access bus that allows lo~al operation between the MPU and memory Its local mterconnection between processor and me~ory take~ the load off the main bus for rapid , efficient multiprocessing. In communicating to 1/0 or other functions over the dedicated VMXbus, the processor can carry out operations independent of the VMEbus. VMXbus has a 32-bit data path with a 16M byte address range. It handles up to six functional modules per "group" and runs on either a backplane or cable.

VMSbus: selfarbitrating

global access.

)

VMS~us is designed as a self arbitrating, serial global bus for short messages between processors while allowing for diagnosis and fault tolerance.
Its 3.2 Mbit/ second transfer rate allows rapid communicatio1~ of brief messages between system module.s usmg only two conductors (clock and data) to provide an efficient "party line" between ~ystem components. It provides urgent event message passing in both tightly and loosely coupled multiprocessing environments.

1/0 Channel: Motorola enhancement
The Motorola 1/0 Channel provides low cost modular 1/0 expansion on a local processor bus not tied to a specific board or enclosure.
It permits interconnection ofslower peripherals up to two megabytes per second directly with their respective processor, freeing the VMEbus to handle simultaneous high speed data exchange and multiprocessor activities.
1/ 0 Channel utilizes 12-bit address with 8-bit data bus and 4K byte memory mapped 1/0. Its asynchronous operation combines 4 levels of inter· rupt~. Module~ can ~e selected for a wide range of reqwremen.ts mcludmg analog conversion, discrete parallel , senal 1/0, plus mass storage.

VMEsystem vs. MULTIBUS II

There are significant business reasons for the systems integrator to make the Motorola VMEsystem design-in decision. In a comparison with the proposed MULTIBUS II the business advantages of wide industry support for VMEsystem Architecture become apparent.

Proprietary constraints.

VMEbus carries no patents or trade-

marks on tile bus nor are the bus

specifications copyrighted. A sound

business advantage.

1\11 rr,.

There are trademarkson tl1e

MULTIBUS II components, patents ,

pending on MULTIBUS II, copyrights on all specifications and licensing

! I

'y0

. 113( ";
/Jiq 111_('· 11'·'6o

ce ''/Jo\%/ . ni cfeener

l '"1

,\fl

/'~an
.ff1J1

\'s',\1ff1;.1,~)';'

and fees required by Intel to use ......................

011 er :i1 :1i/;i/)/,.

MULTIBUS II.

.................

TI1e VME system is free of licensing fees and other

....................

proprietary restraints. A truly open system geared
for ?ro:~based use tod~y. .

................ Users Group: ..................................

l I I
: :
I
i I i I

Rehabihty and the migration path.

talking it over.

................

nle VMEbus has shown no significant problems

The VMEbusUsersGroupisarapidly .................. /

since being originally released in 1981. It owes

growing voluntary organization coordi-

.......... !

much of this reliability to the orderly migration

nating user meetings in North America and cor-

path from its dependable precursor VERSAbus.

re.sponding with affiliates in Europe.

MULTIBUS II as specified is synchronous and highly multiplexed while its predecessor MULTIBUS I is neither. TI1ere is no orderly migration path.
VMEbus Manufacturers Group: getting together to promote compatibility.
'n1e VMEbus Manufacturers Group is an international association of independent manufacturers who support the VMEsystem standard. The purpose of the group is to create a forum for technical exchange to promote VMEsystem as a compatible industry standard. Key goals are to maintain and enhance the standard, encourage other independent manufacturers to produce compatible products and provide identification of compatible equipment.
TI1e active VMEbus Manufacturers Group has a mail list of over 500 individuals and convenes 4 times a year. TI1e Group publishes the VMEbus Compatible Products Directory listing vendors, addresses and products. To receive a copy of the Directory check the appropriate box on the request card.
TI1e Manufacturers Group also administers the VMEs-ystem specifications. A comprehensive VMEsystem Architecture Manual with complete specifications is available. Check the appropriate box on the response card.

TI1ere are active sub-committees on product compatibility, application support and distribution media. The group publishes application notes, and en~ourag~s detail~d presentations on VME applications at its meetmgs. For membership information on the VME Ma~ufacturers or Users Groups check the appropriate box on the request card. Future VLSI: The world continues to get smaller.
The major movers behind VMEsystem Architecture have announced additional bus support chips in various stages of planning and production;

Number Function 68452 Bus Arbiter 68153 Bus Interrupter 68154 Bus Interrupter 68155 Interrupt Handler 68172 Master/ Slave Interface 68174 Bus Arbiter and
Clock Driver 68171 VMSbus Controller 68173 VMSbus Interface

Company Motorola Motorola Signetics Signetics Signetics
Motorola Signetics Signetics

LSI is not available for competitive 32-bit buses. VMEsystem is well designed, well defined, solidly supported and publicly available.

The reasons are clear for a Motorola design-in decision.

r-. Specifications

VMEsystem MULTIBUS II

Comments

Transfer speed (theoretical)
Serial Bus Protocol
Flexibility
Bus Timing
Arbitration
Interrupt Request Lines

Asynchronous (except VMSbus)

Synchronous (Fixed at 10 MHz clock rate)

Today's technology exceeds lOMHz clock rate. The MULTIBUS II fixed clock rate degrades high performance processors.

VMEbus 57Mbyte/ sec.
VMXbus 80Mbyte/ sec. VMSbus 3.2 Mbit/ sec.

iPSB 40 Mbyte/ sec.

VMEsystem offers higher

total system throughput

iLBX II 48 Mbyte/ sec.

iSSB 2 Mbit/ sec.

MULTICHANNEL 8 Mbyte/ sec.

Sender self check Collision Tolerant
Asynchronous

CRC CSMA/ CD
Synchronous

VMS rate stabilizes under heavy usage. CSMA/ CD dedines under heavy usage.
VME transfer rate adjusts better to processor clock rate: 12.5 MHz with MC68000; 16 MHz with MC68020

Centralized or Distributed Control ( 4- level daisy chain) Priorities 4 (20 per level)
7

Distributed Control Parallel Contention Priorities 2 (20 per level)
0

Flexible arbitration and interrupt configurations of VMEbus simplify the use of multiprocessors.

Address width
Interrupt Request Structure Arbitration
Requester
Number of Address Spaces
Size

a.) 16 bits b .) 24 bits c.) 32 bits
Allows deterministic protocol on VMEbus
a.) Priority b.) Round Robin c.) Single level
a.) Release when done b.) Release on request c.) Release on BCLR d.) Release on AC Fail
64

a.) 16 bits b.) 32 bits Does not allow deterministic protocol on iPSB a.) Priority
a.) Release when done
4

Double Eurocard (233.3mm x 160mm)
Single Eurocard ( IOOmm x 160mm)

Double Eurocard (233.3mm x 220mm)
Single Eurocard (100mm x 220mm)

Only Multibus II reguires full 32-bit decoding logic in ALL applications. VMEbus offers significantly greater flexibility for the system designers.
VME card sizes are popular and accepted today and will maximize functionality/ cost tomorrow. MULTIBUS II card size is unpopular and hard to fit today and will be too cumbersome for tomorrow.

VM/::,/ IO Microcomputer can be custom configured through
rear-panel plug-in of VM£modules and I I 0 modules.
·

600 Series-Industrial 1/0 Modules
MVME 600/601 analog/ digital converter with 8, 16 input channels MVME 605 digital/ analog converter with 4 output channels MVME 610 AC sensing with 8 input channels MVME 615/61,6 AC switching with 8 output channels MVME 620 DC sensing with 8 input channels MVME 625 DC switching with 8 output channels
700Series-Non-Eurocard1/0
MVME 700*6U x 80MM wire wrap board MVME 701* 6U x 80MM DIN connector To DB25 and 50 Pin dual row header (Used with MVME 050) MVME 702* 6U x 80MM . Provides 50, 34 & 20 pin dual row headers for mass storage extension (Used with MVME 820/ 821)
800 Series-Mass Storage Support Products
MVME 820*6U (double high) plug-in mass storage module including 15 MByte Winchester
drive and 1 MByte DS/ DD 5J.4 " floppy drive
MVME 821* 6U (double high) plug-in mass storage module including two 1-MByte DS/ DD 5).4'' floppy drives

900 Series-Packaging Hardware
Backplanes MVME 920 20 slot VMEbus MVME 921 9 slot VMEbus MVME 922 5 slot 1/0 channel MVME 924* 3 slot 1/ 0 channel Extender Boards MVME 930 VMEbus extender MVME 932 VMEbus and 1/0 channel extender Wire Wrap Boards MVME 931-1 VMEbus wire wrap MVME 933-11/0 channel wire wrap MVME 940-1 chassis with 7 double-high VMEbus slots, 2 1/ 0 slots MVME 941 card cage with 9 double-high VMEbus slots and 2 1/0 slots MVME 942 card cage with 20 double-high VMEbus slots MVME 943· chassis with 8 double-high VMEbus slots, 6 I/O channel slots (front) and 16 I/O channel or 80MM double-high slots (rear) and accepts MVME 820/ 821 mass storage devices MVME 944· chassis with 20 VMEbus slots (front) and 16 I/O channel or 80MM double high slots (rear)
' In development. Contact your Motorola sales representative for current availability.

VMEmodul~:
Today's rugged standard.

VMS bus
VMEmodule System Networking. Thmugh the use ofthe VME330 module, the VMEmodule system, based on VMEbus, can be tied into Etbernet and in the nearjuture to the token bus.

tr,~n. Adopting the popular I" ...,.._ '-'-

Eurocard mechanical I :._

format, VMEmodulesTM are available in two

I ~
·:;

pin-out compatible sizes. · , -

Single-high and double-high board~re

used to afford a high degree of space flexibility for system configurations. Pin/ socket connectors, card cages,

backplanes, and plug-in power supplies

all meet rigid DIN and IEC standards.

The use of the Eurocard format insures

world-wide acceptance especially in

Europe where the advantages of this circuit card standard have been utilized

for over a decade. Superior performance

by pin/ socket connectors is especially

evident in applications where resistance

to shock and vibration is important,

including industrial automation and

mobile electronic systems.

VME products
by host MPU and
application
Single Board Computers - 68000,
68008, 68010, 16032,32032,Z80, Z8000, 80186
Operating Systems - UNIX, CPM,
VERSAdos, PVS, UNIPLUS, DSSDOS,

ADAX, PDOS, MSP168000 ,VRTX, MTOS-68K, PSOS-68K
Languages - Pascal,
C, FORTRAN, LISP, FORTH, COBOL, BASIC
Major Applications - Development,
Small Business, Process Automation, Multiuser, Evaluation, Digital Communications, Image Processing,
CADICAM ICAE, Data Acquisition,
Transactions Processing, Automated Test/ Inspection, Robotics
Memory - dynamic, static,
PROM , EPROM
Mass Storage - floppy, Winchester,
SM D, SASI
1/0 Expansion - serial, parallel Peripneral Controllers - IEEE-488,
GPIB,video, color graphics, Local Area Network (LAN), speech synthesizers
Industrial Controllers - AI D,
opto-coupled, stepper motor, power 1/0, relay, DC coupled
Bus Adapters - to VERSAbus, to
MULTIBUS I
Other Boards - SCM, floating,
point CPU, BASIC interpreter, real time executives, bus debug, EPROM programmer

- - ...J L - - ,

l ____ J

I I

Motorola VMEsystem module overview

100 Series-Monoboard Computers and System Controllers
MVME 101 MC68000 (8MHz) monoboard with 2 RS-232C serial ports and 2 parallel ports
MVME 110-1 MC68000 (8MHz) monoboard with RS-232C debug port and 1/0 channel interface
MVME 115M MC68010 (8MHz) monoboard with MC68451 MMU optional plus 2 RS-232C serial and 2 parallel ports
MVME 120* MC68010 (lOMHz) monoboard with 12.SMHz optional. MC68451 MMU optional. 4 KByte cache option with 128/ 512 KByte dual port RAM, plus RS-232C debug port.
MVME 128* MC68010 (12.5MHz) monoboard with 10 MHz optional; MC68451 MMU optional; 4 KByte instmction cache optional. 256 KByte dual port RAM and VMXbus interface plus RS-232C debug port
MVME 130* MC68020 (16MHz) monoboard with 512 KByte dual port RAM or MC68851 (16MHz) PMMU optional. MC68881 (16MHz) math coprocessor optional.
MVME 025 Used With MVME 115 and 120. Provides: bus arbitration, AC fail and system clock functions.
MVME 050 * Used with MVME 115, 120, 128 and 130. Provides: intermpt handlers, bus arbitration, system clock, time-of-day clock, plus eight 28-pin sockets.
200 Series-Memory Modules
MVME 200 64K DRAM
MVME 201 256K .DRAM
MVME 202/222 512K/ 2M DRAM

MVME 203/223* 512K/ 2M DRAM with VMXbus interface MVME 210 Up to 128 KBytes ROM and up to 32 KBytes static RAM MVME 211 Up to 1 MByte ROM and up to 128 KByte static RAM MVME 212* same as MVME 211 with VMXbus interface added.
300 Series-Peripheral Controllers
MVME 300 GPIB controller with up to 500 KByte/ Sec transfer rate MVME 310 Universal IPC with 4 channel OMA MVME 315 Intelligent SASI interface with floppy controller for 4 5)1,i' ' or 8" floppies MVME 316* 1/0 channel interface MVME 320 Winchester/ floppy controller for 5)1,i' ' drives MVME 330 Ethernet 2.0 compatible controller with MC68000 (IOMHz) and LANCE chip and SIA MVME 331 * 6-Channel serial 1/0 controller MVME 340* 6-Channel parallel 1/0 interface
400 Series-1/0 Channel Modules
MVME 400 dual channel serial port MVME 410 dual channel parallel port and Centronics compatible printer interface MVME 420 SASITM interface adapter
MVME 435 Yz " magnetic tape adapter

OEMVME/10 microcomputer system

VMEmodule 5. Through the use ofthe VME330 modul<:
can be tied into Ethernet and i

demanding applications encompassing robotics, control, CAD/ CAM/ CAE, and data acquisition.

Notes to the OEM marketer
Afull range of integrated products is of prime importance for the value added resale marketer. For the OEM, selecting a vendor that provides the full range of integration from chip, board or box is essential.
The Motorola choice can minimize your initial risk while maximizing your flexibility. Combine Motorola's half billion dollar R&D budget with its third party hardware and software and you have a complete vendor solution. From M68000 Microprocessor Family to Ethernet,VERSAdos to UNIX Operating Systems and VMEbus to 1/0 Channel, Motorola utilizes reliable, compatible and competitive products that remain, time after time, the smart assured investment for your future.
VME/ 10. OEM microsystems from Motorola.
M68000 performance, UNIXTM portability. VMEbus flexibility. Modern tools for the system integrator.
In a field overrun with specialized, dedicated, and limited OEM micro's, there is the VME/ 10 System alternative. It's the only VMEbus based userconfigurable OEM "engine" combining the highperformance mainframe capabilities ofthe MC68010 Microprocessor with standard VMEsystem Architecture and a choice of two powerful operating systems.
The VME/ 10 System is designed to allow OEMs and system integrators to harness a wide range of

OEM configurations to meet your application.
The VME/ 10 Control Unit starts with 384K Bytes of RAM, a6SSK Byte floppy disk drive, and SM, ISM or 40M Byte Winchester disk drive unit. High resolution color graphics system is also standard. An optional keyboard, plus separate color or monochrome display unit mean you use only what you need for your application.
And the VME/ 10 goes far beyond simple "one-onone" applications. As a Level II supervisory control computer, multiple VME/ lOs may be networked together for large-scale distributed control usage.
Mainframe performance, micro simplicity.
At the heart of the VME/ 10 OEM system is the MC68010 MPU - the latest addition to the upwardcompatible, 16/ 32-bit M68000 microprocessor familyl11e combination of the MC68010 MPU and the MC684Sl memory management unit provides processing power permitting multiple tasks to proceed simultaneously with full protection for program code and data in each task. You get fast, efficient application development on the VME/ 10 System.
VMEbus, global standard.
VMEbus makes the VME/ 10 System highly configurable. The bus structure is currently being approved as a global, standard, 16/ 32-bit microsystem architecture by working committees of both the IEEE (P1014) and the International Electrotechnical Committee ( 47B). Increasingly widespread adoption ofVMEbus means that you can customize your

The intangible extras... from Motorola.

Since the earliest days of semiconductors, Motorola has earned for itself an enviable reputation as a frontrunner in both technology and support.
Its Leadership, first in discrete devices ... then in integrated circuits .. . has quite naturally expanded to encompass the still-infant field of microcomputers where the M68000 microprocessor family has become an internationally-sourced 16-, 32-bit standard.
First with the component "chips;' then with boardlevel microcomputer modules, finally with box-
· Field-proven Motorola quality and reliability ... backed by the Motorola warranty
· Field application assistance ... available through an extensive network of over 50 Motorola semi conductor sales offices in North America.
· Comprehensive technical training seminars .. .on a wide variety of hardware, software, and systems topics ...at the factory, at diverse locations throughout the world, even at your own plant site'
· Field and factory service arrangements ...on-site installation and repair .. .in over 125 cities nationwide ... maintenance contracts .. .factory repair/ exchange services.

level system entries ... Motorola offers equipment manufacturers both the appropriate building blocks and advanced development support instrumentation to streamline the implementation of their endsystem products.
And beyond these direct benefits, Motorola offers the following unique combination of advantages to users ofVMEsystem products.
· Third party software support.. .a continuing program of assistance to independent software vendors, to encourage development of both systems and applications packages for VMEsystem products.
· Commitment to VMEsystem architecture ... with Motorola's active participation and support of the YMEbus Manufacturers Group, and of the VMEbus IEEE and !EC standardization activities.
· Comprehensive reference documentation ... covering all hardware and software elements of the VMEsystem product offering.

MOTOROLA SEMICONDUCTOR SALES OFFICES

MOTOROLA SE MICONDUCTOR

AMERICA'S DISTRICT OFFICES

A~ABAMA , HuntS'.'ille

(205)830-1050

ARIZONA, Phoenix CALIFORNIA, Encino/

(602)244-7100

Sherman Oaks

(818)706·1929

(213)872-1505

CALIFORNIA, Los Angeles CALIFORNIA, Orange

(213)417-8848

(Orange Exch)

(714)634-2844

(LA Exch).

(213)445-5585

CALIFORNIA, San Diego

(714)560-4644

CALIFORNIA. San Jose COLORAOO, Colorado

Spn~gs

(408)985-0510 (303)599-7404

COLORADO, Denver

(303)773-6800

CONNECTICUT, New Haven/ Hamden

(203)281-0771

FLORIDA. Pompano Beach/

Ft Lauderdale .

(305)491 -8141

FLORIDA, Casselberry/ Maitland (305)831-3422

FLORIDA, St Pel ersburg

(813)576-6030

IGLELOINROGISIA, ,CAh!ilacnatgao/.Schau~b~r9

(404)256-0222 (312)576-7800

INDIANA, Fort Wayne INDIANA, lnd1anapolts INDIANA, Kokomo IOWA, Cedar RaptdS

(219)484-0436 (317)849-7060 (317) 457-6634 (319)373-1328

KANSAS , Kansas C1ty/M1ss1on KANSAS, W1ch1ta , ... , . .
MASSACHUSETTS, Berlin MASSACHUSETTS, Burlington MICHIGAN, Detro1t/Wes1land MINNESOTA. Minneapolis

(913)384-3050 (316)721-2449 (617)562-3856 (617)273-5020 (313)261-6200 (612)545-0251

MISSOURI. St Lows

1314)872-7681

NEW JERSEY, Hackensack NEW YORK. Poughkeepsie/
Fishkill
NEW YORK, Long Island/

(201 )488-1200 (914)473·8102

Hauppauge

{516)231-9000

NEW YORK , P1ttsl ord

(716)248·5494

NEW YORK, Syracuse

(315)455·7373

NORTH CAROLINA, Raleigh

(919)876·6025

OHIO, Cleveland

(216)461-3160

OHIO, Dayton

(513)294-2231

OHIO, Columbus/

Worthington . .

{614)846-9460

OKLAHOMA, Tulsa .

(918)664-5227

OREGON, Portland . .

(503)641-3681

PENNSYLVANIA, Philadelphia/

Horsham

(215)443-9400

TENNESSEE, Knoxville

(615)690-5592

TEXAS, Austin

(512)452-7673

TEXAS, Dallas .. .

(214)931-9222

TEXAS, Houston . ..

(7 13)783-6400

UTAH, Salt Lake City

(801)539-1190

VIRGINIA. Charlottesville

(804)977-3691

WASHINGTON, Bellevue

(206)454-4160

Sea111e Access .

(206)622-9960

WASHINGTON, DC/ MARYLAND,

Hya11sv 1lle

.. (301 )577-2600

WISCONSIN, Milwaukee/

Wauwatosa

(414)476-5554

Field Apphcat1ons Engineering Available Through All Sales Offices

MOTOROLA SEMICONDUCTOR - CANADA

MANITOBA , W1nn1peg

(204)8'89·0693

ONTARIO, Oownsv1ew/ Toron!o ONTARIO , Ottawa

(416)661 -6400 (613 )235-4388

OUEBEC, Montreal

(5141i31 · 6881

MOTOROLA SEMICONDUCTOR

INTRA·CDM PAN YOFFICES

ARIZONA, Sco1tsdale FLORIDA, Fl Lauderdale

(602)949-3811 (305)475-6120

ILLINOIS, Schaumburg

(312)576-2788

tlLINOIS, Schaumburg

Automotive

(312)576 - 7800

TEXAS, Ft Worth

(817)232·6255

MOTOROLA SEMICONDUCTOR

INTERNATIONAL SALES OFFICES

AUSTRALIA, Melbourne

. (03)561-3555

AUSTRALIA, Sydney

438-1955

439-2242

AUSTRIA, Vienna

(0222)65 01 26

BRAZIL, Sao Paulo

(011 )572 3553

DENMARK, Gladsaxeve1

(01)67 44 22

ENGLAND, Wembley Middlesex 01-902-8836

FRANCE, Grenoble

(076)90 22 81

FRANCE, Pans

(01)555-91-01

FRANCE, Toulouse

(061)41 11 88

GERMANY, Langenhagen l

Hannover

(0511)78-20-37

GERMANY, Munich

(089)92 481

GERMANY, Nurenberg

(0911)65761

GEA MANY, Sindelf1ngen GERMANY. Wiesbaden HONG KONG , Hung Hom
Kowloon
ISRAEL , Tel Aviv ITALY. Bologna ITALY, Milan
ITALY, Rome JAPAN, Osaka JAPAN, Tokyo KOREA, Seoul MEXICO, D F NETHERLANDS, Utrech! NORWAY, Oslo SCOTLAND, East K1lbr1de SINGAPORE SOUTH AFRICA, Bramley SPAIN, Madrid SWEDEN, Solna SWITZERLAND, Geneva SWITZERLAND, lunch TAIWAN. Ta1pe1

MOTOROLA SYSTEMS REPRESENTATIVES

ALABAMA. Huntsville EMA
c:~!~cOSRy~::~~nC~~g~adt1on
CALIFORNIA, San Diego Basic Systems Corporation
CALIFORNIA, Santa Clara Basic Systems Corporal1on
CONNECTICUT, Goshen Northern Computer Sales
GEORGIA, A!lanta EMA
ILLINOIS, Northbrook Markelech Assoc Inc
1NOIANA. Carmel Carter. Mccormic & Peirce

{205)830-4030 (213)673-4300 ~714)999-6566 (408)727-1800 (203) 491-3585 (404 )329-0530 (312)291-0315 (317)844-4175

MASSACHUSETTS, Westwood Northern Compu l ~r Sales
Mh~~~~~ci~;:;;11~it°P~17~~s
MINNESOTA, Minneapolis PS I Company
MISSOURI, Independence Dy-Tronix Inc
NEW MEXICO, Albuquerque IM Systems
NEW YORK, Elmont Crane & Egert Corporation
NEW YORK. Fairport Bla1re Data Systems . Inc
NORTH CAROLINA, Raleigh EMA

{6171326-3454 {313)477 -7700 (612)944-8545 (816)373-6600 (505)293· 2440 (516)872·0800 (716)223-8765 (919)781 -9369

OHIO, Cleveland Caner McCorm1c & Peirce
OHIO. Dayton Caner McCorm1c & Peirce
OREGON, Beaverton Thorson Co Northwes1
PENNSYLVANIA. Monroeville Carter McCorm1c & Petree
PENNSYLVANIA. King o! Prussia KS I
TENNESSEE. Jonesboro EMA
WASHINGTON, Bellevue Thorson Co Northwest
WISCONSIN, Germantown Marketech Associates

(216)779-5100 (513)836-0951 (503)644-5900 (412)372-4415 (215)783-6440 {615)753-5844 (206)455-9180 (608)628-3663

(07031)83074 (06121 )76- 1921
3-632201-8 3-336211 -22
3-388-388 (051)533 446 (02)824 2021
824 -2046 (03)831 4746 106)305 1421 03-440-3311
261 - 7137 (525)596-84-28
(030)443 808 (02)671467
(03552)39 101 2945438 786 1184
(01)279 0802 08··82 02 95
(022)991 111 101)73040 74
7528944 - 9

MOTOROLA Semiconductor Products Inc.
PO BOX 20912 · PHOENI X, ARIZONA 85036 · A SUBSIDIARY OF MOTOROLA INC.
I

I I

r- - J L_ - ,

.__Tl-~

I I
I I

ystem Networking. " the VMEmodule system, based on VMEbus, n the nearfuture to the token bus.

VME/ 10 System for your particular applications with a broad array of over 400 VMEbus based hardware and software products avai lable today from over 90 manufacturers worldwide. You avoid the high cost of specialized custom system designs while still tailoring the VME/ 10 to your individual situation.

Two powerful operating systems

With the VME/ 10 microcomputer you can choose between two powerful operating system packages, both fully supported by Motorola.

For the expanding UN IXTM environment, select Motorola's SYSTEM V/ 68 Operating System, the first vaJ.idated by AT&T through exhaustive functional

testing against the origi nal UNIX System V source code. For the system integrator, the emerging

standard of UNIX means increased "application

portability." UNIX System V applications are now

portable from mainframe or minicomputer to the

,:~::::;;;··-~::: M68000 micro world ... quickly, efficiently, reliably.

For real-time applications, take VERSAdos - the

original M68000 Family operating system. Jt has all

you need to control multiple real-time application

tasks, even in a multiuser environment.

Total VME/10 support: A Motorola pledge
TI1e VME/ 10 System is supported by Motorola's professional field service network, with facilities in over 125 cities nationwide offering technical assistance, parts, repair services, regular software updates, and a problem-reporting hotline. Our comprehensive user documentation and technical training seminars are complete and available.
Quality, standards, performance and support. Important reasons why you should make Motorola your OEM Systems vendor.

Broad based support: A league of interdependent vendors.
Continuing support by Motorola,Mostek and Signetics/Philips insures that VMEbus and its supporting bus structures VMXbus, VMSbus and Motorola's 1/0 Channel undergo further refinements in response to market needs.
VMEbus compatible manufacturers*
AEG-TELEFUNKEN CORP. AMP INC. AMPHENOL NORTH AMERICA ASfRAEA COMPUTER CORP. AUGAT INTERCONNECTION SYSTEMS GROUP
BFE FERNMELDE + ELEKTRONIK KG
BICC-VERO ELECTRONICS INC. BURR BROWN DATARAM CORP. ELTEC ELECTRONIC GmbH FORCE COMPUTERS INC. HEMENWAY CORPORATION HUNTER & READY INC. MOSTEK-UNITED TECHNOLOGIES MOTOROLA INC. PANDUIT CORP. PHILIPS SIGNETICS CORP. VECTOR ELECTRONIC COMPANY XYCOMINC.
' This is a partial list of over 90 manufacturers. For a complete list check the VMEbus Compatible Products Directory box on the response card.

MC68000: quality right from the start.
Motorola's full line ofVME integration starts with the MC68000 Microprocessor. From this preferred building block for systems design come VME processor and support modules, VME module chassis plus the all-in-one VME/ 10, the emerging leader in user configurable OEM microcomputers.
The MC68000 is preferred for multi-processing applications where performance and reliability are required. Its asynchronous interface to the system solves bus arbitration problems in large configurations and its powerful instruction set allows automatic execution of repeated program sequences for reducing high level development efforts.
The M68000 Family includes the economical MC68008 with its 8-bit bus, the MC68010 with virtual memory capabilities and, the latest addition, 32-bit MC68020 with co-processing and cache memory.
Direct object code compatibility up the M68000 line allows utilization of previously developed code. This allows the use of modular software designs that minimize development costs.
The cutting edge of technology is a double edged sword. Ifsome outdated elements of an integrated system are replaced, adjustments ripple through the system, translating into cost and lost benefits of being "state-of-the-art:' With Motorola's M68000 Family you won't be backed into a corner by a design that can't be upgraded.
VMEsystem Architecture is the only standard allowing full utilization of the impressive power of the M68000 Family.
VERSAdos, VME/ 10, VMEmodules, and SYSTEM V/ 68 are trademarks of Motorola, Inc.
EXORmacs is a registered trademark of Motorola, Inc.
IX is a trademark of AT&T Be ll Laboratories.
SASI is a trademark of Shugart Associates.
Ethernet is a trademark of Xerox Corp.
MULTIBUS, iPSB, iSSB, iLBX, MULTICHANNEL are trademarks of Intel Corp.

Motorola reserves the right to make changes without further notice to any products herein to improve reliability, function or design. Motorola does not assume any liability arising out of the application or use of any product or circuit described herein; neither does it convey any license under its patent rights nor the rights of others . The software described herein will be provided on as "as is" basis and without warranty. Motorola accepts no liability for incidental or consequential damages arising from use of the software. This disclaimer of warranty extends to Motorola's licensee, to licensee's transferees and to licensee's customers or users and is in lieu of all warranties whether expressed, implied or statutory, including implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Motorola and ® are registered trademarks of Motorola, Inc. Motorola, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

Mini-Micro World
INTERNATION AL

European PC users demand high-quality, on-site maintenance

Keith Jones, European Editor
European companies using multiple personal computers will not accept depot maintenance only; they also want the kind of same-day, on-site arrangements enjoyed by large computer users, according to a new survey published by Lyons Associates, Reading, England. Coincidentally, IBM Corp. recently changed its personal computer service policy in Europe to allow its engineers to provide customers with on-site maintenance as an alternative to depot service.
Lyons surveyed about 500 users in Britain, France and West Germany, most of whom are employed in companies with annual revenues of more than $1 million. Nearly half of those questioned said they planned

PC USERS EXPECT

QUICK ON-SIT E MAINTENANCE

% RESPONSES

40 33
30
20

10 6

1.2

o ..__.__.._._~..._..IO.,;;;;;;~_._~.._

1-4

5-8

9-12 13-16

HOURS

SOURCE: LYONS ASSOCIATES

to buy 10 or more personal computers over the next two years.
The survey also indicates that personal computer users often dislike dealer maintenance. Lyons

·principal David Lyons understands this attitude. He says many dealers have only one service engineer, so the user may end up without maintenance if that engineer becomes ill or quits. He notes that the quality of dealers' service engineers can vary considerably, even when the manufacturer provides training. Another danger users see in dealer maintenance is that many dealers have the right to cancel their agreements with manufacturers within three months of signing.
Third-party maintenance can solve the service problems of personal computer manufacturers lacking large, established field engineering staffs. However, research company Input Ltd., London, sees a shortage of third-party maintenance companies in Europe, except

Bell and Howell seeks partners for maintenance deals

Bell and Howell Service Co., Ashford, England, is seeking European, Japanese and U.S. computer manufacturers needing third-party maintenance in West Germany, Britain, France and the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg). One of the first indepen-
dent companies to serve most of Western Europe, Bell and Howell offers nearly 300 service engineers.
"A big attraction of Bell and Howell is that it does not compete in the computer business," declares Richard Bemholt, marketing and sales manager of the new company. Bernholt points to the considerable experience of Bell and Howell engineers in maintaining the computers incorporated in its micrographics and document-handling systems. The machines serviced include Digital Equipment Corp. and Data General Corp. minicomputers.
General service manager Mike

Brereton says the activities of Bell and Howell Service will largely parallel those of a similar enterprise set up last year in the United States. He says equipment the company maintains there includes personal computers from Eagle Computer Inc., Los Gatos, Calif., and Columbia Data Products Inc., Columbia, Md. Brereton explains that Bell and Howell is looking for products sold to commercial users, such as computer system manufacturers.
He stresses that Bell and Howell is seeking long-term agreements in accordance with its intended commitment level. It will appoint an account manager to handle relations with each client manufacturer and with the manufacturer's distributors. The manufacturer must train Bell and Howell's instructors and supply spare parts at agreed-upon prioes.
Before the company can strike a deal with a manufacturer, both sides

must agree on the rates Bell and Howell will charge. Rates will vary , depending on type of equipment and Bell and Howell's estimate of maintenance requirements. Each country will have a separate price list, although Brereton expects charges to be roughly equal in all countries.
Bemholt assumes that most users will want on-site maintenance, and the company plans to provide resident engineers if required.
Bernholt notes that the Bell and Howell service will cover all types of minicomputer and microcomputer systems and peripherals, except for repairing head/disk assemblies of Winchester disk drives. The repair of these assemblies requires the cleanroom facilities offered ori a panEuropean basis by specialist companies such as Memory Maintenance Ltd. , Swindon, England, and Kode Services Ltd., Caine, England (MMS, October 1983, Page 126).

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

101

Mini-Micro World
INTERNATIONAL

for Britain. Input estimates that 70 percent of the 150 third-party organizations in Europe are based in Britain.
Compounding manufacturers' problems is the lack of pan-European third-party maintenance service similar to that covering the United States. One of the few maintenance groups operating in more than one country is Euroserve, an association of five third-party companies covering Northern Europe. They offer their services jointly to large multinational users and thus compete with the maintenance organizations of large vendors such as IBM Corp. A spokesman for Euroserve's British member, Computer Field Maintenance Ltd., Hitchin, England, notes that Euroserve is also interested in maintenance deals with manufacturers needing service for customers in Britain, West Germany and Scandinavia.
Andy Thomas, principal consultant of Input, notes that a number of large U.S.-based companies have expressed an interest in European third-party maintenance business opportunities. One company has already taken the plunge: the European service organization of Bell and Howell Corp., Chicago.

MEAN TIME BETWEEN FAILURE EXPECTED FOR SYSTEM COMPONENTS
MTBF (months)
16.6 13.5 10.0 8.7 6 .3
Source: Lyons Associates
7 percent to 8 percent of purchase price rates traditionally charged for large computer maintenance. Users expect to pay similar percentages for maintenance of personal computers, even though the amount per machine is far less. Lyons estimates the average cost of one on-site service call to be $200, about equal to the charge of maintaining a low-

priced personal computer, so a

maintenance vendor could lose

money if its engineer has to repair

the s~me machine more than once a

year.

The 20 personal computer ven-

dors Lyons surveyed charge on-site

personal computer maintenance

fees of 7 percent to 15 percent-.

more than the charge for depot

maintenance.

A spokesman for IBM's European

Personal Computer marketing cen-

ter in Feltham, England, notes that

IBM's service charges vary from

country to country, but he reveals

that the new on-site service will be

priced 50 percent more than the

existing carry-in depot service.

Each country will decide whether to

offer on-site service; it is available

in the Netherlands and is in its final

implementation in other countries,

he says.

DG ANNOUNCES RELATIONAL DBMS
Data General Corp. recently announced the DG/SQL relational databasemanagement system (DBMS) targeted for technical applications on Eclipse MV series minicomputers that run the AOSNS operating system. The DBMS is based on the SEQUEL data sub-language and stores data in a collection of tables. DG/SQL features system-wide referential integrity. That prevents mistakes such as deleting a customer record when order records exist for that customer. The system has COBOL, FORTRAN 77 and PU1 interfaces. Initial licenses are $20,000. Subsequent licenses are $15,000.

Distributors also offer service
Another possible maintenance solution Lyons identifies is the distributor-owned organization. One example is Geveke Electronics B. V., Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which operates a service division in the Benelux countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Eagle Computer Inc., Los Gatos, Calif., has appointed Geveke to sell and maintain Eagle's IBM PC-compatible microcomputers.
The Lyons survey identifies a price dilemma affecting all personal computer vendors in Europe. Lyons says the vendors are trapped by the

AT&T FORMS ISV PROGRAM
AT&T has started an independent software vendor (ISV) support program to encourage vendors to write applications for the company's UNIX System V and 3B computer line. The company will offer both discounts and training to qualified ISVs and will publish selected packages.
PRINTRONIX SUES MANNESMANN TALLY
Printronix Inc., Irvine, Calif., has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, against Mannesmann Tally Corp., New York. The suit alleges patent infringement by Mannesman Tally in the design, manufacture and sale of the MT630, MT660 and MT690 dot-matrix line printers. Printronix is seeking damages and an injunction against further infringement.

102

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Leadership certainly has its advantages. As well as its problems.
Consider a corporate name change. Problem is, most people expect a long-winded rationale. Full of "new commitment" and "new dedication" and other such profundities. Boring stuffto be sure.
But one ofthe rewards ofleadership is that you don't have to create excuses. Ifyour heart is true. And your products are outstanding.
So good-bye Data Systems Design. Hello Qualogy. We didn't really like the old name. And we've become quite attached to the new one. Qualogy represents where we've been. And where we're going. It stands for the quality OEMs have banked on for over nine years. Quality that's sold through to customers. And supported for the life of a system. It also represents technology. Practical. User-oriented. And reliable. The Qualogy name will appear on the industry's foremost line of DEC'-compatible mass storage devices. Products that are currently shipping. And others that are being developed to meet market demands. The name will also appear on our complete family of MULTIBUS®products. Our current line. With innovations to help you compete. And win. Look for some surprises on the way, too. Products that will fit very nicely into your future profit picture. Products that are being readied for introduction in the very, very near future. Ifyou'd like to know more about our products and services, call the sales office nearest you. The phone numbers haven't changed.
QUALOGV
Eastern Regional Sales: Norwood. MA (617) 769-7620. South Central Regional Sales: Dallas. TX (214) 980-4884. North Central Regional Sales: Chicago. I L (312) 920-0444. Western Regional Sa les: Santa Clara. CA (4081 727-3i63.
Distributors Worldwide. Corporate Headquarters: 224i Lundy Avenue. San Jose. CA 95131 9 DEC is a registered trademark of Digital Equipment Corp. MULTIBUS is a registered trademark of Intel Corp.
PSMOT means Pl ease See Me On This. © i 984 . Qua logy.
CIRCLE NO. 47 ON INQUIRY CARD

Mini-Micro World
INTERNATIONAL
Olivetti acts as AT&T's counterpart to push AT&T micros in Europe

Keith Jones, European Editor
Olivetti & Co. SpA, Ivrea, Italy, is paralleling AT&T Technologies Inc. by moving AT&T's recently introduced 3B microcomputers into Europe (MMS, June, Page 34). Olivetti is seeking OEM customers and value-added resellers as the main sales channels for the 3.2-bit 3B computers built by AT&T Technologies' Lisle, Ill., computer division. AT&T Co. acquired 25 percent of Olivetti late last year; the 3B computers are among the first AT&T products Olivetti has made available in Europe.
The 3B machines run under the UNIX System V operating system, the version of UNIX that AT&T Technologies is promoting as a standard. AT&T formed AT&T Technologies last year to take over most of AT&T's manufacturing activities. AT&T's group also includes Bell Laboratories, which developed UNIX in the late 1960s.
Olivetti micros use 32-bit chip
The three machines Olivetti offers center on AT&T's 32-bit WE32000 microprocessor. The two larger models sold as the OlivettiAT&T 3B5 line compete with the VAX superminicomputer family from Digital Equipment Corp., says Giovanni Gurrieri, director of sales and marketing support for minicomputers and microcomputers at Olivetti's international marketing headquarters in Milan, Italy.
The 3B5 machines are both floorstanding units. The 3B5/100 is configured around the 7.2-MHz version of the WE32000, and the more powerful 3B5/200 employs the 10-MHz WE32000 chip. The third machine is

Olivetti-AT&T's 382 32-blt microcomputer attracted crowds to Olivetti's booth at the recent Hannover Trade Fair in West Germany.
the 3B2, a desktop computer that is the size of a personal computer. It incorporates the 7.2-MHz WE32000. All the models should be available in high volumes by September, says Gurrieri.
Gurrieri underlines Olivetti's strategy of selling the machines only to customers who can add value: "Olivetti will provide just the hardware and UNIX System V. We are leaving our customers to add the rest of the hardware and software, including languages and databasemanagement systems." Customers can add their own workstations or use the terminals offered by Olivetti, such as the AT&T graphics terminals and the DEC VTlOOcompatible WS584.
Gurrieri notes that Olivetti is preparing a local currency price list for each European country and that the translation of prices for each country is Olivetti's problem. How-

ever, to give a rough idea of prices, he quotes $15,000 as the single-unit price of an entry-level 3B2 with 0.5M bytes of main memory, a lMbyte integral floppy disk drive, an integral !OM-byte Winchester disk drive and two asynchronous communication ports. The single-unit price for an entry-level 3B5 is $67,000, including IM byte of main memory, an SK-byte cache memory, eight asynchronous ports and a 48M-byte hard disk drive.
Gurrieri says Olivetti plans to manufacture the 3B machines when volumes are high enough and that Olivetti will maintain end users' hardware when required.
UNIX specialist Sphinx Ltd., Maidenhead, England, is one European software house readying packages for the 3B machines. Sphinx's software catalog should be avail!lble by September, says Sphinx managing director Dr. Pamela Geisler. It will include database-management, spreadsheet, word-processing and accounting software. Geisler says some of Sphinx's packages, written in C or a high-level language such as COBOL, run under System V on other manufacturers' machines.
Olivetti owns a minority share in Sphinx, but Geisler stresses that the link between the two companies did not inspire Sphinx to become interested in the 3B. "The AT&T machines were always a prime target for us," Geisler declares.
AT&T Technologies and Digital Research Inc., Pacific Grove, Calif., are jointly preparing the UNIX System V Certified Library of Pirograms (MMS, March, Page 33). The library will support programs for the WE32000, says a spokeswoman for AT&T Technologies, as well as

106

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

ABIAEs ATTACH customers enjoy their spaghetti in the dining room,
not the computer room.

ABLE's ATTACH, the breakthrough multi-host
tenninal switching system for DEC UNIBUS computers
that eliminates the spaghetti;like mes.s of cables in your computer room.
One ATTACH host board and a single cable replaces 16 DEC interfaces, and their as.sociated "spaghetti'.' And it still supports up to 128 tenninals on your system without the endles.s tangle of cables that tie-up your computer room.
One ATTACH host board does the work of many multiplexers. The immediate advantage is a dramatic reduction in mounting space and expansion cabinetr)! resulting in significant cost savings. And ATTACH can be located up
to a kilometer away from your computer room. Cook up a system to meet your present data communi-
cation requirements with ATTACH. At the touch of a keyboard, tenninals can be dynamically switched among any
combination of VAX and PDP-ll UNIBUS systems. And,

ATTACH is compatible with RSX, RSTS/E, VMS and UNIX operating systems.
Expanding your capabilities, or adding terminals is easy with A'.ITACH. As your requirements gro~ simply add modular ATTACH units to your system.
Whether you have 28, or 128 or more terminals, ATTACH has the right recipe for cost-effective connectivit)I
ABLE Computer's ATTACH is the most efficient terminal interconnection system on the table.
Contact the ABLE representative near you, or call ABLE toll-free at 800-332-2253.
~~~ ~~ ~ ~~ llt·M I:JJj i 3;1
The communication specialists

1732 Reynolds Avenue, Irvine, California 92714. In the Irvine area: (714) 979-7030. Or; TWX: 910.595-1729.
DEC, PDP, RSTS, RSX, UNIBUS, VAX and VMS are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories. AITACH is patent pending. CIRCLE NO. 49 ON INQUIRY CARD

Mini-Micro World

INTE RNATIONAL

for the MC68000 processor family from Motorola Inc. and the 80286 chip set from Intel Corp.
Paul Bailey, vice president of Digital Research European Operations, Newbury, England, says machines configured around the MC68000 and 80286 will be the most popular hosts for UNIX System V. "All of the major European computer companies are working with the MC68000, and there will be a significant num-

ber of 80286 machines by the end of Research will offer the programs on

1984," he claims.

8-inch floppy disks, but, Bailey

Bailey says the library will in- notes, value-added resellers can

clude packages from both European change the disk format.

and U.S. software houses. A Digital Logica UK Ltd., London, which

Research team in Palo Alto, Calif., distributes Microsoft Corp.'s UNIX-

which is compiling the library, is based operating system, XENIX, in

evaluating the packages. Bailey Europe, does not plan to port

hopes the first European titles will XENIX to the WE32000, according

be available by the beginning of to Hector Hart, commercial manag-

1985; the first 30 U.S. packages are er of the software products group of

expected by the end of 1984. Digital Logica.

OVERHEARD OVERSEAS

Honeywell takes a bold step toward helping start-ups

Tim Palmer, European Contributor
U.S. and European companies wishing to break into foreign markets, but afraid of the high investment, have a new vehicle to consider. Honeywell Inc. is opening its entire marketing operation, including premises, people, distribution facilities and stores, to third-party products.
Major U.S. manufacturers, led by NCR Corp., Xerox Corp. and Control Data Corp. (CDC), already offer their maintenance networks and personnel to a host of small new businesses with limited resources. But the Honeywell venture is a bold initiative that could prove to be of great benefit to system integrators.
Last September, Honeywell announced plans to establish Honeywell High-Tech Trading Inc. Although the company was officially born on Jan. 1 and is now 250 people strong, little has been heard of it. Its first two contracts in Europe were negotiated quietly.
High-Tech is looking for appropriate products from small- and medium-sized U.S., European and Japanese companies and is offering to market, distribute and-importantly -t1ervice the products worldwide. The full range of services offered by the new company start with product

evaluation. High-Tech president and general manager Bjorn Bjornstad reckons that even aggressive Japanese traders who are clamoring for
new electronic products to distribute do not have the same ability to assess a product's potential that Honeywell
does. Evaluation will be followed by mar-
ket research, arrangement of export financing and worldwide distribution and service. If the client wants its products manufactured abroad, Honeywell is prepared to offer space in its own plants if it has one in the right location with the capability. HighTech will also repackage European products for the U.S. market.
But High-Tech does not have a hard-and-fast rule about the services offered to a company; each case will
be handled separately. Honeywell will arrange, rather than provide, financing; unlike CDC and Xerox, Honeywell does not have a strong financial-services arm. Agreements will vary. In some cases, Honeywell will share the risk of product failure; in other cases, it will guarantee a certain revenue over a given number of years.
Ideally, High-Tech's products should complement Honeywell's own. High-Tech has outlets in 50 countries but plans to sell Honeywell products

to markets in which they are not

already sold. And, since it is ready to

sell competitive products such as

those from Future Technology, it

seems that "complementary" will be

loosely interpreted.

The European offices of High-Tech

in Brussels, Belgium; Milan, Italy;

Athens, Greece; and Vienna, Aus-

tria, are two-way operations; they

take in new European products for

marketing within the rest of the net-

work, and they sell products from the

rest of the world. The U.S. offices are

in New York and San Francisco.

There are also offices in Singapore

and Tokyo.

People who know only the comput-

er side of Honeywell's business may

be surprised at the Continental cities

chosen for High-Tech's operation,

since they appear to compete with

operations of Groupe Bull of France.

(Groupe Bull represents Honeywell

Information Systems Inc.'s computer

operations throughout the Continent,

except Italy.) But, since High-Tech is

not part of Honeywell Information

Systems, Honeywell has opened a

back door into all the markets cur-

rently within Bull's province. This

makes the move by Honeywell not

only bold but also beneficial to third

parties needing access to foreign

markets.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

109

If you've been pondering whether you need a streaming tape drive to back up your Winchester, or a start/stop tape drive, or maybe both, we have good news. You no longer have to decide.
Because now there's a drive with the capabilities of both. Rosscomp's Double Drive. It saves you the agony of decision. And an incredible amount of money at the same time.
There Are Two Sides To Our Story
When our engineers set out to design the Double Drive, they too had a decision to make. Quarter-inch tape? Or half-inch tape? But then they found that, even by pushing quarter-inch technology to its absolute limit, they wouldn't be able to give us the capabilities we wanted.
So half-inch became the only choice. That also meant they could assure us of something else we demanded. Reliability. For instance, they could design-in the industry's highest quality read/write half-inch heads. Meanwhile, they could make the system stream at unbeatable speeds.
And do practically everything a large start/stop machine can do for a fraction of the cost.

Side One

One of the fruits of their labors is, you get a Winchester oackup that does something no other can . It scoops
190 MBytes of data onto standard half-inch tape that's housed on our BackPacTM four inch self-threading reel. (Which costs less than a cartridge.)
That translates into the lowest cost per byte of any tape drive, anywhere.
And it streams at a blazing 90 ips standard.
In fact the Double Drive's electronic speed and caThe Back-PacTM self-threading pacity are matched by
reel stores 190 MB on Yz"tape. only one thing we know of.
Costs less than ii " c artridges. Its mechanical reliability.

That comes from its having the simplest and most

dependable tape-handling

method yet devised.

Threading is automatic.

The tape travels a path of

proven design, kept on

course by both

spring - loaded

andball-

bearing

guides.

Tension

control is

Sp ring equally precise. loaded A single capa nd ball stan motor drives

b earing both supply and tape takeup reels with g uid es. one belt while

an advanced controlling

Simple, d ep endable

device main-

automatic ta pe threading .

tains identical tension between them. So you experience very little ISV As well as lower power dissipation. The motor uses less than 15W.

Single c apstan motor.

Side Two

64 KB c~che n;emory in its inte rface ma kes 1t look like a start/ sto p d nve.

For your selective flle search and backup jobs, the Double Drive acts as a start/ stop unit. Because it has 64 KBytes of cache memory right in its interface.
That means no time loss. An optimized 1/ 0. And apparent real time operation for every user.
Plus more efficient use of your tape, covering a full 95% of it.
Online, it gives ample secondary storage for flies during

restructuring and in hierarchical memory manage-

ment schemes. Now, if the Double

s .
e nes

80 t0

. ht ng ·

Drive sounds like it Senes 50 be low.

might be just what you need, here's
more good news. It will flt your system.
Or rather, one of our Double Drives
will. Our Series 80 fits an 8" envelope, our Series 50 a 5)4" envelope.
They'll each hold 190 MBytes of data, stored on 24 serpentine tracks.
Both are available with standard industry interfaces. So one of them is right for you.
Which means there's no painful decision to make. Just put the Double Drive to work. Doing double duty.

.
'
:: · r .
. .
~ "

. ~ '

' 411 ·.

. ~ -· :
- --1..~ ~ ............' : ~

Availa ble formatters inc lude QIC -02. SCSI and 9-tra ck.

16643 Valley View Avenue. Cerritos. C a lifornia 90701. Phone (213) 926-5533
ROSSC=ZMP

The way with tape.

,,,

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 50 ON INQUIRY CARD

TheTeleVideo PC
The best hardware for

TeleVideo versus IBM. Make a few simple comparisons and you'll find there is no comparison.
RUNS IBM SOFTWARE.
With the TeleVideo" IBM Compatible line-PC, XT and portable computers -you'll get the most out of all the most popular software written for the IBM" PC- more than 3,000 programs.
Because every TeleVideo Personal Computer offers the highest level of IBM compatibility on the market and

Features

Tele-PC

Monitor

YES

Screen Size

14"

Tilt Screen

YES

Quiet Operation

YES (NO FAN)

Memory

128K

Graphics Display (640 x 200 resolution)

YES

Printer Port

YES

Communications Port

YES

MS~DOS/ BASIC"

YES

System Expansion Slot

YES

RGB and Video Port

YES

IBMPC OPTIONAL
12" NO NO 128KOPTION
OPTIONAL
OPTIONAL OPTIONAL OPTIONAL
YES OPTIONAL

Tele-XT YES 14" YES YES 256K
YES
YES YES YES YES YES

IBMXT OPTIONAL
12" NO NO 256KOPTION
OPTIONAL
OPTIONAL YES
OPTIONAL YES
OPTIONAL

compatibles. the Oest so

has the standard - not optional features your people need to take full advantage of every job their software can do.

Study the chart at the left. It proves thatTeleVideo-not IBM-offers the best hardware for the best price.

Note thatTeleVideo's ergonomic superiority extends from fully sculpted keys and a comfortable palm rest to a 14-inch, no glare screen that tilts at a touch.

THE BEST MICROCHIPS.
What is perhaps most impressive about the TeleVideo IBM PC Compatible can be found deep within its circuitry. We use the same 8088 central processing unit that runs an IBM PC. But we also employ new VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) microchips that are designed and built exclusively
for TeleVideo. These interface more efficiently with the powerful 8088 and yield numerous benefits.
For example, our tiny custom chips do the work of many of the larger, more expensive circuit boards in an IBM PC. So we can offer a computer system that comes in one attractive, integrated case, is ready to run and occupies less desk space. A computer that edges out IBM's added-cost component system for reliability, ease of service and purchase simplicity.
Fewer circuit boards to cool also allowed us to eliminate the noisy, irritating fan IBM and most other PCs force you to put up with . And TeleVideo compatibles accept any

THE BEST PORTABLE FOR THE BEST PRICE.

Features

TPC 11-S

IBMPC

High Capacity Storage Quiet Operation Display Memory Graphics Communications Port Printer Port
MS~DOS2.11

YES YES (NO FAN)
YELLOW 256K YES YES YES YES

YES NO AMBER 256K YES OPTIONAL OPTIONAL OPTIONAL

IBM hardware options without modification.
THE BEST LINE.
But the Tele-PC is only one element of theTeleVideo IBM PC Compatible line.
The TeleVideo XT is the best hardware for users of popular IBM XT software who would appreciate an extra 10 megabytes of storage capacity along with the advantages listed on the preceding chart.
As the chart above demonstrates, our portable IBM compatible computer, the TPC 11, is far and away better hardware than IBM. Better hardwarestandard-at a better price.

THE BEST MANUFACTURER.
The TeleVideo IBM PC Compatible line is made by the world leader in multi-user computer systems and the number one independent manufacturer of terminals.
So not only can you count on the service and support of an established industry leader, you can get it all-desktop, hard disk desktop and portable computers-from one single vendor.
Contact the TeleVideo office nearest you. You' ll find that TeleVideo-not IBM- has the best hardware for the best software. At the best price.
For more information, call 800-538-8725 (in California, 800-345-8008).
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines. MS is a trademark of MicroSoft Corporation. CW Basic is a registered trademark of MicroSoft Corporation.

CIRCLE NO. 51 ON INQUIRY CARD

The Interpreter
An analysis of news, issues and trends affecting the computer industry

Software vendors zero in on marketing
It takes more than product quality to score a hit
in the crowded microcomputer software field

Marjorie Stenzler-Centonze, Associate Editor
In the early days of selling microcomputer software, suppliers could count on product quality alone to produce a hit. Now, they must solve a jigsaw puzzle with pieces as diverse as customer needs, technological expertise, distribution channels, support and-to a growing extent-marketing strategy.
As the base of microcomputer users grows, the software field is blossoming. Sales of microcomputer business software should reach $2.2 billion this year and swell to $8.1 billion by 1989, predicts market research company Future Computing Inc., Richardson, Texas. But high-quality software is also easier to find, making competition fiercer.
"Today, having a good product is not enough," says Rod Turner, vice president of sales for Ashton-Tate, Culver City, Calif., a leading supplier of application packages. "There's no way that a product is going to be successful in 1984 without a strong marketing campaign behind it."
With even successful companies under pressure and rethinking their strategies, some look toward diversifying as a path to long-term survival. Two of the bestknown suppliers of operating systems--Microsoft Corp. and Digital Research Inc. (DRI)-are making a strong push into the application software domain. Microsoft, Bellevue, Wash., is the developer of MS-DOS, and DRI, Pacific Grove, Calif., is the developer of CPIM.
DRI views system software as a narrow segment of its business but one that the company will continue to address, says Mark Duchesne, director of marketing. DRI plans to release a major addition to its operating software line this summer. The company claims the addition, Concurrent PC-DOS, will support concurrent CP/M and PC-DOS applications, offer built-in windowing capability and run as many as four tasks simultaneously.
In an effort to diversify further, the company is making major moves into applications this year. DRI is stressing presentation graphics with its DRI Graph and DRI Draw programs. In addition, the company an-

nounced a joint venture with AT&T Co. to publish a UNIX System V application library comprising packages licensed from independent software vendors. The first 10 of 30 applications due out this year will be licensed to OEMs starting in September, Duchesne says.
Similarly, Microsoft plans to make significant strides in applications this year while maintaining its strength in system software. Supplying system software is a high-risk, high-return business in which companies have either a large share of the market or almost no share, contends Steven A. Ballmer, vice president of marketing at Microsoft. "Although competition is intense in the applications side, it's still a lot easier to have, say, a 20 percent market share," Ballmer says. "In the operating-system business, it seems your market share is under 4 percent or over 90 percent." In an effort to leapfrog the competition, Ballmer says, Micro-

APPLICATION SOFTWARE WILL FAR OUTSELL SYSTEM SOFTWARE FOR MICROCOMPUTERS

735

_700

Q SYSTEM SOFTWARE

600
3Izii
_, 500

~ 400

(/)

~
w

300

i:i

a: 200

· SINGLE-USER APPLICATIONS · MULTIUSER APPLICATIONS

100

1983

1984

1987
SOURCE: FROST & SULLIVAN

Software vendors look toward applications for the biggest growth opportunities, even though microcomputer system software
remains a viable and growing market. Application packages for
single-user micros will make up the fastest-growing market segment,
predicts research company Frost and Sullivan Inc.

114

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

soft is directing significant application-development resources toward Apple Computer Inc. 's Macintosh computer. These packages will take advantage of the advanced graphics the machine incorporates in its user interface.
Diversifying may hold dangers
The software community greets the diversification efforts of its competitors with mixed reactions. Companies throughout the industry are desperately trying to broaden their product lines, says Burt Bralliar, director of strategic marketing for Peachtree Software, Atlanta, a leading supplier of microcomputer application software. But, he warns, companies moving from system software into applications may have to watch out for new obstacles.
In moving from system software into applications, a company such as Microsoft may face a backlash from application suppliers, Bralliar explains. "Now, these [application] companies are going to have to re-evaluate their incestuous relations with Microsoft because the

"Today, having a good product Is not enough," says Rod Turner of Ashton-Tate. He
speculates that a software supplier might sell 5,000 units a year without a good marketing campaign but emphasizes, "to be successful today, you have to have a much higher unit volume than that. "
company is starting to produce packages that are in direct competition with their own applications," Bralliar asserts.
Ashton-Tate's Turner points to another problem. While the market may have room for a company that develops only system or utility software, such a narrow focus might limit a company's growth to the point that it becomes uncompetitive. Ashton-Tate is expanding into productivity software with its introduction of Frame-
work, an integrated package that includes word-processing, spreadsheet, file-management and graphics functions. However, Turner cautions, over-diversifying can put a company in a precarious position. "It's unwise to

MULTIFUNCTION PACKAGES WILL GAIN BIGGER SHARE OF U.S. APPLICATION SOFTWARE MARKET

UNIT SHIPMENTS

1983 2.4 MILLION

1988 13.4 MILLION

RETAIL VALUE

1983 $540 MILLION

1988 $2.9 BILLION

SOURCE: FUTURE COMPUTING INC.

Users will turn Increasingly toward multifunction software by users had to purchase separate packages to perform functions such 1988, predicts research company Future Computing. In the past, as spreadsheet and word processing.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

115

The Interpreter

"It's very Important to make strategic alllances with companies llke IBM and AT&T," says DRl's Mark Duchesne of marketing systems software. "Small companies like DR/ and Microsoft don't create standards."
.....

"We need to emphasize the design of products that people

want," stresses Microsoft's Steven Ballmer. "It's easy to spend

a lot of money advertising, but it's hard to design the kinds of

products that people really need."

,._

diversify too far because the main line of the company can become secondary to other less important lines," he says. "It's difficult to be a winner in everything."
With diversification, companies must re-define distribution channels and realign marketing strategy. Suppliers that once sold most of their software to OEM customers are now expanding into the retail area by adding application 'packages to their offerings.
Successfully selling software to OEMs, value-added resellers and retail dealers involves developing marketing tools that include support, demonstrations and advertising, vendors say. "There are different marketing considerations in addressing OEMs as opposed to retail dealers, but they must work in parallel," says Nick Roche, vice president of sales and marketing at Perfect Software, the Berkeley, Calif., supplier of a popular word-processing program and other application packages.
Perfect Software funnels nearly 85 percent of its sales through OEMs but is trying to move 50 percent of
Two of the best-known suppliers of operating systems are making a strong push into the application software domain.
its sales into the retail area, Roche reports. He sees the retail sales channel as his company's biggest opportunity for growth. "You have to be successful in retail marketing to give a perceived value of your product for the OEM market," Roche says.
Product identity must remain strong
Most vendors agree that an essential part of selling application software is creating product identity among end users and throughout the distribution network. DRI's Duchesne maintains that even best-selling packages had to build their reputations among end users before they became popular with OEMs. "If Lotus had gone out to sell its 1-2-3 product to OEMs without first

having created an identity, there would not have been a very high demand for the product," he argues. "After it becomes a known brand, which is done through the retail channel, it becomes a highly desirable product for the OEMs."
Microsoft's Ballmer supports this view, although he contends that a supplier can make some headway among OEMs before a package establishes a strong identity. "You can develop some strength in the OEM business, but if [a product] doesn't prove [itself] on the retail side, you could be in for a very tough time." Ballmer points to Microsoft's success with Multiplan as an example. "We have a much stronger position with Multiplan in the OEM market than in the retail business, but it would not have retained its strength if it weren't the number-two selling spreadsheet on the IBM PC."
Ashton-Tate's Turner agrees: "A computer manufacturer is nothing more than a value-added distributor of software for us. They are not interested in creating a demand, they are interested in satisfying~ demand and making a profit." To reach the OEM customer, a software supplier must recognize the OEM's need to differentiate itself from competitors, he says. That differentiation usually comes from addressing vertical markets and specific areas of business. But it can also come from software bundling: including software in the purchase price of a machine to make hardware seem less expensive.
Perfect Software's Roche thinks the practice creates an excellent market for software suppliers: "Bundling allows us to optimize a particular product for a machine, which in many cases enables significant improvement in the overall performance of the product in terms of speed and functionality."
Peachtree's Bralliar believes the software-bundling market will continue to grow because manufacturers

116

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Now Local Multiplexing is as Easy as Plugging in a Lamp

Within minutes you can put Line Miser"' multiplexers to work handling your local data traffic. Line Misers allow you to network your terminals. word processors. PC's and other data terminal equipment with minimal cabling requirements. The line savings can be tremendous! And now there are three types to choose from.
The popular Line Miser DOVs can

tum your ordinary phone system into a versatile local area network supporting simultaneous data and voice communications. Everywhere you have a telephone you can quickly and easily add a terminal.
The new Line Miser GLM 528 combines T-1 speeds with large capacity. You get 128 async channels over a 1.544 Mbps T-1 link.

And for low cost local multiplexing you can't beat the new Line Miser GLM 510. In less than 3 minutes. you can add the GLM 510 to your private wire network to handle up to 8 async channels at 9600bps.
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CIRCLE NO. 52 ON INQUIRY CARD

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The Interpreter

are clamoring for it. But, he reasons, as software becomes the computer industry's driving force, bundling will become less attractive to software suppliers. "Software companies are going to feel they don't have to offer the extortionate discounts to sell through this channel when they go out and sell through distributors and dealers," he explains.
Ashton-Tate's Turner views the bundling market as risky, cautioning that it could snuff out demand for a product at the retail level. "If we were to focus too heavily on hardware manufacturers for bundling, we would quench retail demand, and OEMs would no longer find our products exciting," he says.
Bundling presents risks for hardware manufacturers, too, points out Microsoft's Ballmer. Other software vendors may lose interest in supporting and selling
'In the operating system business, it seems your market share is under 4 percent or over 90 percent.'
software for the machines, afraid their market will be taken away. "I don't see bundling as a particularly viable long-term approach," he says. "Take Apple, for example. Early on, they said they would bundle the Macintosh with MacPaint and MacWrite [software packages], but they intend to unbundle later on because they want to get other quality word processors on their machine. "
One area in which bundling may remain viable in the future is in bulk sales of standalone personal computers. Dan McGee, director of marketing for Lotus Development Corp., Cambridge, Mass. , points out, "Hardware manufacturers are now getting serious about the bulk selling of microcomputers. As you see more massive purchases in the multiple-thousand-unit range, companies are trying to standardize by having everyone work on a similar package."
Marketing becomes sophisticated
Whatever the marketing approach, software vendors agree that launching and maintaining a software product today is expensive. Expensive advertising campaigns are becoming the rule since Lotus spent $1 million to launch its 1-2-3 program. Lotus plans to spend even more launching its latest software product, Symphony, than it did for 1-2-3. "The money you need is a function of the market share you are looking for,'' comments McGee.
An important part of such a campaign is product

positioning. "If people cannot understand in common

terms what the product is and what benefits it delivers,

they will not try the product,'' McGee says. Peachtree

Software's Bralliar underlines the importance of posi-

tioning, especially for an intangible product such as

software: "You have to define for the potential customer

what the package is and what it is supposed to do. Many

technically sound products have not succeeded simply

because of bad marketing. "

Many other software companies agree that custom-

ers don't buy what they don't know-and that it takes

big money to lift a product above the noise in the

market today. In many cases, companies must prepare

to accept early losses and to defer profits. And the ante

is constantly rising: vendors say launching an integrat-

ed productivity package today can cost $2 million to $5

million.

Ray Boggs, a consultant with the research company

Venture Development Corp., Wellesley, Mass. , sees a

hefty advertising budget as essential for software

success today. "It's a function of what it takes to sit at

the grown-ups' table. You need to invest at the same

level at which other major companies are spending,"

Boggs says.

But the more money it takes to market and support a

product, the more smaller software companies are

overshadowed by major competitors. There are con-

cerns in the market about whether small companies

with sound software offerings can succeed. Perfect

Software's Roche believes there is room for new compa-

nies and that ongoing opportunities still exist: "I think

the retail market is still very open. As it matures, it will

be more and more competitive, but if a company does a

lot of things right and has a good product, they will find

their niche."

Microsoft's Ballmer expects effective marketing to

give companies the ability to focus on customer needs

rather than on technology alone. He emphasizes the

importance of introducing a product, letting customers

use it and then refining and improving it repeatedly

based on customer feedback. "Designers too often have

a concept in mind, and they code it up, give it to a few

people to test, and then they say, 'ship it,' " Ballmer

says. Neglecting customer input will catch up with the

software community, and customer needs will grow in

importance, he believes. "But it requires good software

development tools to make these changes efficiently, or

you'll never get to market," he concludes.

Interest Quotient (Circle One) · High 801 Medium 802 Low 803

118

MINI- MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

World's largest local distributor with 48 locations ;tocking the finest lines of electronic components and omputer products

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FOR OEMs, THE GREATEST STRENGTH OF OUR TOWER IS OUR
TOWERING STRENGTH.
To build a successful system, OEMs need more than just a strong product. You need a strong product backed by a strong company.
A company like NCR. NCR designed and manufactures Tower 1632 especially for OEMs. But that's only the first of many reasons why you should put your name on our famous shape. NCR is a high volume, high speed, high reliability manufacturer. We're deeply committed to 16 and 32-bit VLSI technology. With truly significant R&D expenditures that only a multibillion-dollar, international corporation can sustain. And long-term dedication to the UNIX* market. That means you can rely on getting all the product you need from us, when and where you need it. It means that you get quality control from a company that knows real quality and can afford to build it into every product. For example, our field engineers participate in the design of our products to ensure exceptionally cost-effective serviceability. Our award-winning design engineers packed Tower's 7"-wide cabinet with up to 2MB of ECC memory, 7 controller slots, standard interfaces, power-fail recovery and 92MB of Winchester disk storage. Not to mention maximum software compatability and flexibility. But the real reason Tower is becoming the industry standard for multi-user, 16-bit and 32-bit UNIX-based systems is the strength of NCR. Which proves that the shape you're in is determined by the company you keep.
*UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories.

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The Interpreter

IBM's LAN: To wait is the question

Should system integrators wait years for IBM's LAN or take the plunge with solutions from other suppliers?
Opinion is divided

Marjorie Stenzler-Centonze, Associate Editor

IBM Corp. recently broke its silence on plans for local-area networks (LANs). It introduced a star-wired LAN cabling system, which connects wall outlets in offices to wiring closets, and announced its intention to implement a token-passing ring LAN based on that system-but not for two to three years.
Industry observers greeted the token-ring aspect, tucked into a press release on the cabling scheme, with mixed reactions. Some insiders weren't surprised, having anticipated IBM's commitment to token-ring technology as a natural extension of its work on LAN standards (MMS, January, Page 31). Others claim the announcement is premature.
Some see the announcement as an attempt to stymie sales by LAN vendors over the next few years. Still others see it as an impetus for customers to buy sooner, since they now know how long they'll have to wait for IBM's version. IBM watchers agree, however, that companies considering networking will have to evaluate their plans seriously before deciding whether to wait for IBM or go with an alternative LAN scheme such as Ethernet.
Despite the uncertainty, most feel IBM's announcement adds credibility to this fast-growing market. Nonetheless, many expressed disappointment that the long-awaited announcement contained no new technical details about IBM's projected LAN.
Randall L. Sherman, vice president of telecommunications and office automation for Creative Strategies International, San Jose, Calif., echoes the disappointment. He notes that IBM announcements are usually more exciting. "This was sort of a Band-Aid to what we'd like to see." He contends that IBM needs a LAN for its System 34, System 36 and System 38 equipment that integrates a controller for a PC network, not just a pipeline between the different classes of equipment.
''Wang [Laboratories Inc.], Xerox [Corp.] and Hewlett-Packard [Co.] are moving right ahead," Sherman says, "and IBM is left with a little dust on them." He argues that, rather than basing its strategy on innovation, IBM has a predatory philosophy: "It prefers

The IBM cabllng system Is Installed permanently, just like tele-
phone lines. The company claims that such a system will eliminate most of the expense of moving workstations within a building.
that markets mature and show some potential; then it learns from others' mistakes, so it doesn't have to make the mistakes itself."
Ethernet vendors applaud IBM's announcement, according to Bill Krause, president and chief executive officer of 3Com Corp., Mountain View, Calif. He views IBM's announcement as a triple win: "It's a win for IBM, it's a win for the customer, and its's a win for the independent local network vendors."
3Com and other Ethernet vendors believe the two- or

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

125

The Interpreter

A close look at the cabllng system

IBM Corp. 's cabling system, available this fall, is permanently wired and connects to outlet plates in office walls. The single cabling system can be used instead of coaxial or twinaxial cable, existing twisted-pair wiring or other special cabling, according to IBM. The system enables connec-

tions to be made between devices with a common cable consisting of twisted pairs of copper conductors.
The system connects wall outlets to distribution panels in wiring closets, with cables fanning out from each closet in a star-shaped pattern. Each distribution panel can accept as many

as 64 cables from different devices. Most currently available IBM work-
stations and small- and intermediatesized computers can be connected to the cabling system, claims IBM. It announced that customers could begin ordering cables and accessories this month.

three-year delay in the introduction of IBM's network could push many fence sitters off their perch. "Now, the customer knows what's coming. If he can't wait that amount of time, he's going to buy something-and that's the win for the vendors," Krause maintains. "If he can wait the time, then that's the win for IBM."
Customers have many factors to weigh in the buynow-or-wait-for-IBM game, and much is likely to hinge on how much legwork they have done already. Leone Pease, research analyst in the office-automation division of Venture Development Corp. , Wellesley, Mass., says that, from many an end user's perspective, IBM's intentions have come none too soon. She admits a three-year wait for IBM can seem a long time for a company that needs networking. But, she argues, companies have waited a lot longer than that for IBM. "Unfortunately," Pease says, "in today's marketplace, people see many companies in trouble and stil! others going bankrupt. They may just be likely to say, 'Maybe we'd better wait for IBM.'"
Maureen Fleming of the research company International Resource Development, Norwalk, Conn. , says customers need to look at what's on the market right

THE BIGGER A COMPANY, THE MORE LIKELY IT IS TO OWN A LAN

36.5 Uz l
<( ..J

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:i:: I-

~ 20-----------

14.6

:::;;

0 0 10----~
LL
0

'S-

$20M $100M MORE

TO THAN

$100M $250M $250M

ANNUAL SALES REVENUES ( 1983)

SOURCE: VENTURE DEVELOPMENT CORP.

Only the biggest companies possess LANs in any significant percentage, according to Venture Development.

now, rather than at what they imagine is coming.

"After the PCjr bomb, with its keyboard problems,

performance limitations and disappointing sales, IBM

has to be careful too," she says. "Two blows, one after

the other, wouldn't be too smart either." Fleming feels

that delaying its LAN may affect other IBM products

as well-particularly the expected supermicrocomputer

dubbed "Popcorn," which she thinks will be a LAN-

based system. She speculates that the LAN delay will

in turn hold up the Popcorn's introduction.

3Com's Krause says his company already is seeing

more interest by customers who cannot wait--or

choose not to wait-for IBM. He doubts that today's

Ethernet buyers are necessarily making the decision to

cast aside IBM. Instead, Krause predicts that many

companies are likely to end up with both Ethernet and

IBM installations. ''We have felt for some time that

there would be more than one standard," he says.

"There are at least two companies that have the mar-

keting muscle to set de facto standards; those two

companies are AT&T and IBM."

Krause believes that IBM's choice of the token-ring

architecture will establish that technology as a de facto

standard, but making it standard is proving harder than

the company would like. Indeed, he says, IBM has

received a strong message from customers that its

token-ring network must be accepted as an industry

standard to be successful. "It appears that customers

have said to IBM that it's not enough just to be IBM,"

says Krause.

Creative Strategies' Sherman says of IBM that an

announcement is simply not enough to establish a

token-ring LAN as a standard. "It's a bit like chasing a

shadow. The fact that they've said it does establish a

kind of 'phantom' de facto standard, but I don't think it

locks them into a particular type of architecture." He

believes the company could still change course for any

number of reasons: "Two years down the road, technol-

ogy will evolve. "

Interest Quotient (Circle One) High 804 Medium 805 Low 806

126

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

The dual tray ASF 522, like most BDT sheetfeeders, installs in seconds.
You mustbe putting us on

A BDT sheet feeder belongs on every office automation system you make.
Simply, because your customers demand it.
BDT sheet feeders are
the largest selling sheet feeders in the world, with more models, for more printers, than any other manufacturer.
Our line includes models with single and dual bins, as well as a triple unit with envelope capa-
bility. And best of all, BDT
sheet feeders are designed for easy integration into virtually any office automation system.
Reliability through simple design
People who buy office

automation systems want reliability.
When you put on a BDT sheet feeder, you're installing the most reliable sheet feeder ever made.
Its tested mean time to failure of 5,000 hours, and misfeed rate of less than 1in1,000 sheets.are the best in the history of the industry.
Through twenty-five years of design innovation in paper handling technology, we've continuously sought to create products praised for reliability, with no limit to their useful life.
Lowest Cost Some people find it
hard to believe that the most reliable sheet feeders are also the least expensive.

Thatis, until they talk with us, and find out how inexpensive a sheet feeder can be.
And that makes your systems just that much more profitable.
So isn't it time that you consider putting us in our place, on your system? Call us today, (714) 660-1386.
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lilfe a BOTsheetfeeder
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MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 57 ON INQUIRY CARD

127

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Full Duplex Prlvate/LHHCI Line Orlglnate/An1W8r Alync
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CIRCLE NO. 58 ON INQUIRY CARD

Warm8111DnSysMms a..oc..,

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Announcing the WY-75.

Our new WY-75,VT-lOO*software-compatible terminal is specially fitted for use with your DEC*computer.
It offers a combination of features you can't find in any other VT-100 software-compatible terminal. Like a compact, ergonomic design. A finely sculpted, low-profile keyboard. And a swivel and tilt non-glare 14" screen, tailored with an 80/132 column format.
At a price of $795, the WY-75 won't cost the shirt off your back.
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*VT·lOO and DEC are trade marks of Digital Equipme nt Corporation.

CIRCLE NO. 59 ON INQUIRY CARD

130

MINI-M ICRO SYSTEMS/Aug ust 1984

Hyo\l're a major league VAR,
we want you on our team.

IBM is scouting for the most valuable of VARs: those with outstanding new ideas and a
great batting average. If you're one of them, you could become a
Value Added Remarketer of IBM products. And what could that mean to you?
First, IBM can add clout to your marketing
efforts. For example, we can help with product literature, direct mail and business show sup· port. To add to your skills. IBM offers a wide rang_e of professional classes for VARs.
Furthermore, thanks to the online referenc· ing system used by our own sales force, we can direct prospects with special needs right to
VARs with appropriate solutions. And, as one of the finest of VARs, you'll be
~llihg the finest equipment: some of IBM's most ~m~titive products. Our VARs can apply for
the IBM 4300 s1stems, System/ 36, Series/I.
~stem/38, the IBM Personal Computer and the System 9000 family.

To find out more about the advantages of

becoming an IBM VAR, sim_p_ly send in the cou·

-- --==---=--=--=- pon below or call 1800 IBM-VARS, Ext. 96.

If you think your company =~= =~

can qualify., now's the time to touch base.

=: =-= ":' =

r----------------------1

Larry Humphreys

I 9618-84

IBM Distribution Channels

P.O. Box 76477

Atlanta, GA 303 58

Please send me your free booklet, "'Looking for Leaders?'

l\a me,_ _ _ _ _ _ _'litle_ _ _ _ __

II Compan ) - - - - - - - - - - - - -

\ddress_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ I

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It's easy to see why our n
series is an improvement down

Improvements that give our HD-100 Series the good-looking features you expect from a quality CRT. You get sharper, cleaner lines and characters, plus improved focus and stability- even in the corners. And you can display over one million pixels on 15- or 17-inch screens, vertically or horizontally. In your choice of standard video or inverted displays, with line
rates from 26 to 36 kHz. In effect, you can have enhanced visibility any way you want it, no matter whether your customers are processing words or graphics.

Our CRT line includes a number of other significant improvements. The HD-100 Series displays are 33 % lighter than our previous HD Series. That adds up to easier handling, integrating and lower freight costs.
We also built in an efficient switch mode power supply that reduces power consumption for your customers while enabling a stable display over a wide voltage input range. In addition, our new HD-100 Series features an advanced CRT /yoke combination for better focusing. All our improvements are packaged neatly in
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CIRCLE NO. 80 ON INQUIRY CARD

The Integrator
Applying integrated systems in industry, engineering and commerce
Technology continues to define leaders of CAD/CAM and CAE market

Sales of computer-aided design, manufacturing
and engineering systems rebounded from a slow start in 1983,
may reach 40 percent growth in 1984

Charles M. Foundyller, Daratech Inc.
Although 1983 began with only modest revenue gains for the computer-aided-design/computer-aidedmanufacturing (CAD/CAM) and computer-aidedengineering (CAE) industry, it ended with a recordbreaking final quarter for market leaders Computervision Corp., Bedford, Mass., IBM Corp., Intergraph Corp., Huntsville, Ala., and Calma Co., Santa Clara, Calif. Revenues topped $1. 7 billion in 1983, representing a 32 percent annual growth rate-up from the 28 percent growth rate recorded in 1983 but still below 198l's phenomenal 40 percent growth rate.
A buying surge in the last two months of 1983 increased estimated 1983 industry revenues by $100 million and raised predictions of this year's growth to a bullish 40 percent annual rate. Supporting this optimism are forecasts from economists, who estimate that 1984 corporate earnings will rise more than 22 percent, spurring investment in plants and equipment.
Vendors continue to enter the CAD/CAM and CAE market in record numbers. By Daratech Inc.'s count, the number of vendors selling CAD/CAM and CAE systems in the United States has increased fivefold, from about 20 at the end of 1980 to more than 100 in 1983. The shakeout of weaker companies, predicted by many observers in 1983, never materialized.
In the battle for market share, IBM, Intergraph, McDonnell Douglas Automation Co. (McAuto) and Control Data Corp. (CDC) all gained ground last year. Intergraph, the fastest-growing vendor in 1982, was again the growth leader in 1983. With 1983 revenues projected at $252 million, Intergraph grew 62 percent to capture 14.6 percent of the market. Its growth places Intergraph only 8. 5 percentage points behind Computervision and 4.6 points behind IBM. Intergraph continues to benefit from being the first to market systems with 32-bit superminicomputer power and advanced, high-performance raster displays, while

competitors Computervision, IBM, Calma and Applicon were unable to offer comparable systems until the second half of 1983.
Computervision, the industry sales leader, increased its revenues by 23 percent to an estimated total of $400 million in 1983, giving it a 23.1 percent market share. Computervision's relea,se last September of the CDS 4000 system, which incorporates the company's longdelayed proprietary 32-bit processor, rallied sales after a slow first six months. Almost 74 percent ofComputervision's 1983 growth took place in the second half of the year.
Also contributing to Computervision's 1983 revenue
AVERAGE PRICES OF ALL SYSTEMS FALL
(WORKSTATION PRICES,$ THOUSANDS)
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988
SOURCE: DARA TECH INC.
Prices of CAD/CAM and CAE systems should continue to fall,
reflecting a trend established by most computer-based equipment.
Although price reductions were most dramatic in the early 1980s, they should continue to decline steadily until the end of the decade.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

133

The Integrator

growth was its first-quarter acquisition of Cambridge Interactive Systems (CIS) Ltd., Cambridge, England, developer of Medusa, a CAD/CAM software system marketed in the United States by Prime Computer Inc. With sales of $20 million, CIS accounted for 26 percent of Computervision's 1983 revenue increase.

HIGH-PRICED WORKSTATIONS LEAD THE MARKET FOR MECHANICAL APPLICATIONS
($ MILLIONS)

OVER $ 6 0 ,000

$738

UNDER $60 ,0 0 0

UNDER $ 2 0 ,0 0 0

0 MECHANICAL
0 ELECTRONICS/ PCB/IC

0 ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING I CONSTRUCTION

0 OTHER

SOURCE: DARA TECH INC

Mechanical applications dominate the high end of the market. Such applications frequently include software for solids modeling and interfaces to automated manufacturing equipment. Although they can be quite complex, systems for electronics applications usually include only 2-D graphics.

Having consistently lost market share since 1981principally to IBM and Intergraph-Computervision might be on the verge of accelerated growth. The company has had problems bringing products to market on time; for example, the company's new 32-bit computers, which power the CDS 4000 system, were more than a year late. Now, Computervision insists it is determined to step up R&D and bring new products to market more quickly. Recently, in a departure from past practices, Computervision began looking outside the company for hardware, software and expertise to speed new systems to market.
Two examples of the new direction are new Comput-

ervision systems based on IBM 4300 computers and the high-performance workstations to be developed jointly by Computervision and Sun Microsystems Inc. If completed on time, they promise to give Computervision competitive, up-to-date systems at the high- and low-priced ends of the market. Once the company starts shipping these advanced systems in volume, its revenues will grow. But Computervision may not gain market share until 1985 because of strong competition and because it lost customers while it lacked a leading-edge product.
IBM, with 1983 sales of CAD/CAM and CAE systems to end users that grew a little faster than the industry norm, will probably pass Computervision to become the industry's leading supplier in 1984. IBM's growth was slow for most of 1983 because its model 3250 workstations had shortcomings that limited applications in areas such as solids modeling and electronic design. Nevertheless, IBM's CAD/CAM and CAE sales reached an estimated total of $332 million, giving the company a 19.2 percent market share. This year, innovative products such as the newly announced model 5080 high-performance raster workstation, scheduled to be shipped in the second quarter of 1984, should improve IBM's position. With its aggressive pricing, attractive leasing options and well-known marketing skills, IBM should capture a dominant share of the end-user CAD/CAM and CAE market.
In addition to direct sales, IBM's Distribution Channels Unit is becoming a major OEM supplier of computers and workstations for CAD/CAM and CAE. Moving into a market long dominated by Digital Equipment Corp., Data General Corp. and HewlettPackard Co., IBM is re-establishing itself as a supplier of computers to the engineering community-a role it gave up in the late 1960s. So far, Computervision and Matra Datavision have announced plans to become IBM value-added remarketers (VARs). Computervision systems will incorporate the IBM model 4300 series of superminicomputers for database management; Matra's Euclid software will run on model 4300s using IBM's model 5080 workstations.
Other contenders fill market niches
McAuto, St. Louis, the sixth-largest CAD/CAM and CAE vendor, made impressive gains in 1983. In spite of increasingly strong competition from IBM and Computervision, McAuto's sales grew 48.2 percent to reach $70 million, giving the company a 4 percent market share. McAuto owes much of its market strength to the depth and range of its CAM software. Although sales of its highly regarded solids-modeling package have been

134

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

BMHz Z·BOH Single Board Computer. Outperforms All Micros I Most Minis

DON'T PAY MORE TO GET LESS You get more for your money with the Wave Mate Super Bullet. Much more than any micro on the market. It outperforms most minis, too. You just can't find a better value. OEMs and systems integraters are finding that they pay less for Super Bullet and offer more to their customers. This makes better business sense, and bigger margins, too!
TIIE ONLY 8MHz Z-80H MACHINE OF ITS KIND Sup<i!r Bullet is unique. Wave Mate 's exclusive enhancements of the basic Z-80H architecture offers 8MHz operation with flexible DMA facility, enhanced C-BIOS,

fully interrupt-driven I/O and highspeed floppy disk controller. The CPU is utilized with a full complement of Zilogcompatible peripheral chips. Never so much sophistication and flexibility on a single board.
POWER/FLEXIBILITY For years, the Wave Mate Bullet SBC has been recognized as the most sophisticated and cost-effective Z-80A, CPM-based single-board microcomputer on the market. A truly unbeatable price-performance package for the single user. Now, the "Super Bullet" adds a new dimension to Wave Mate's state-of-theart technology. Our new 8-bit, 8MHz

machine beats every 16-bit micro we've tested it against and there's documentation to prove it. "Super Bullet" has been designed especially for multi-user systems.
MULTI-USER ORIENTED You get both CP/M3.0 and MP/MII operation. You get an exclusively enhanced Z-80H-based CPU at a full 8MHz. You get 256K RAM and four serial ports. Highspeed floppy disk with track-buffered controller. Plus SCSI port and LAN option. All of the above and more with the tested and proven Super Bullet. It's an unbeatable value.

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138

CIRCLE NO. 62 ON INQUIRY CAR D

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

The Integrator

slow, McAuto remains a leader in CAM. This position and an increased emphasis on the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) market, should help McAuto continue to gain overall market share in 1984.
After losing ground for two years, Auto-trol Technology Corp., Denver, rebounded in 1983 and may finish the year with two consecutive profitable quarters-its first since 1980. Although the company is still far from regaining the 8 percent market share it commanded
CAD/CAM/CAE VENDORS SHARE $1. 7 BILLION MARKET

four years ago, its revenues grew an estimated total of 20.5 percent to $53 million, topping the 1980 high of $51 million.
Auto-trol's turnaround was mainly due to the success of its AGW line of systems for mechanical and AEC applications, which are based on workstations from Apollo Computer Inc. The mechanical system, released in mid-1982, and the AEC system, released in the first quarter of 1983, account for 80 percent of Auto-trol's system sales. Indications are that the company will continue to do well in 1984.
CDC, Minneapolis, is making considerable progress establishing itself in the CAD/CAM and CAE industry. In 1983, the company posted revenues of $82 million from all CAD/CAM- and GAE-related sources. An estimated total of $49.2 million from the sale of systems and related services represented a 46.4 percent increase over the previous year's sales. The company's good performance came mainly from stronger-thananticipated acceptance of its low-cost ICEM/120 series of design/drafting systems introduced in late 1982.
CDC appears committed to expanding its CAD/CAM and CAE operations. In November 1983, the company

250·-

,__...., INTERGRAPH 14 .7%

200-

150_

CALMA ~o

100_ 50-

APP LICON 6%
r-MCAUTO 4%
.-- AUTO- TROL
.--3.1%
.--
CONTROL DATA 2.8%

o_.___._.___._.___._,___.__.___._,___.__.__.__.~,__-
(1983 SALES, $ MILLIONS)

CAD/CAM AND CAE MARKET SEGMENTS

MECHANICAL 48%

ELECTRONIC PC BOARDS/INTEGRATED
CIRCUITS 27%

9% AEC 16%

SOURCE: DARA TECH INC.

SOURCE: DARATECH INC.

Computervision is the CAD/CAM and CAE industry leader,
although it has lost the dominance it held just a few years ago. IBM and Intergraph, second and third, respectively, now account for a
third of industry revenues.

Mechanical applications account for nearly half of the CAD/CAM and CAE market, partly because the mechanical and industrial
engineers comprise a majority of engineers and partly because the value of systems tends to be higher than that of systems in the other market segments.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

137

WORK FAST. BUT WORK SMART.
You've got to work fast to get ahead in the systems and subsystems business. But you'll just spin your wheels if you don't also
work smart. That's why disk drive vendor selection is so important.
And VERTEX is the smart choice. We work fast. In our first full year of production we will
deliver over 30,000 30MB, 50MB and 70MB VlOO 51.4" Winchesters. That's because the VlOO was designed intelligently with a low parts count, simple assembly procedure and "off the shelf" components. This design approach provides greater manufactureability, but it also means higher reliability and margins.
Our new V185 85MB 51.4" Winchester is an extension of this design philosophy. The V185 family is
based upon our VlOO family. By increasing the number
of tracks and track density, and maintaining the ST412 interface (with 5Mbit/second transfer rate} we've maintained our four-platter, eight-head configuration. So you get lower cost and higher reliability.
And since few changes were made to upgrade the VJOO family to the V185, we'll be able to get up the high volume production ramp faster.
Speaking of fast ... the V185 also has a 30msec average access time (including settling} and a microprocessor interface that starts head arm movement at the first seek pulse.
Every VERTEX drive is backed by the best Winchester engineering and manufacturing team in the business. So get
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MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 64 ON INQUIRY CARD

139

The Integrator

formed a division to integrate its CAD/CAM and CAE and manufacturing-support activities. Called the Computer-Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) Division, the unit will help CDC coordinate its CAD/CAM and CAE development, marketing and support efforts. Citing product introductions scheduled for this year, a spokesman for the CIM Division estimates that CDC's 1984 revenues from CAD/CAM and CAE system sales and related services would reach $75 million. If this projection proves accurate, the company will probably pass Auto-trol to become the industry's seventh-largest vendor with a 3.3 percent share of the 1984 CAD/CAM and CAE market.

CAD/CAM AND CAE INDUSTRY REVENUES

TRENDS AND PROJECTIONS

$MILLIONS 4,500

MARCH 14, 1964

PERCENT 110

100

I I

' '

1975 76 77 76 79 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
SOURCE: DARATECH INC.
Revenue growth In 1984 should equal and may even surpass the recent high of 40 percent experienced in 1981. Despite a fluctuating growth rate, industry revenues have climbed steadily since the mid-1970s and should continue to increase through the 1980s and early 1990s.

Three price categories divide the market
Today's CAD/CAM and CAE products are a confusing patchwork of systems based on mainframes, superminicomputers, minicomputers and microcomputers that have 16-, 16-/32- and 32-bit processors. They are sometimes connected by local-area networks and can include high- or low-resolution displays, digitizers and any of hundreds of software application packages. But beginning to emerge from this pandemonium are appplications and price ranges to suit an increasing number of industry needs. Applications address me-

chanical and electronics design and manufacturing and AEC. Prices fall into three ranges: more than $60,000 , less than $60,000 and less than $20,000.
Systems selling for more than $60,000 per workstation, including computers, plotters and software, are generally host-centered systems based on a mainframe , superminicomputer or minicomputer. These highperformance systems usually support large-scale applications such as solids modeling, finite-element modeling, logic simulation and associative database management.
Systems selling for less than $60,000 per workstation usually have system processors built into the workstations and are frequently limited to drafting applications. Performance, measured by the time needed to respond to operator actions, is poorer than that of the more expensive systems, although performance is improved for workstations based on 16-/32-bit microprocessors.
Systems selling for less than $20,000 are based on personal computers. This fast-growing market segment is beginning to make inroads into the sales of more expensive systems and will become more important in 1984. Software for personal computer-based systems, initially restricted to 2-D drafting, is becoming more sophisticated. Packages for solids modeling, electronics design and mapping have recently been introduced, and indications are that additional sophisticated software will follow.
Although performance of personal computers is still limited CAD/CAM systems based on the next generation of personal computers may emerge as a major industry force. In the meantime, innovative companies such as Summit CAD Corp., Houston, which adds 16-/32-bit coprocessors to the IBM PC XT to improve performance, obtain impressive results.
New companies advance technology
In late 1982, small companies began to take the lead in CAD/CAM and CAE technology. They include Daisy Systems Corp., Mentor Graphics Corp., Apollo, Metheus Corp., Orcatech Inc., Cadnetix Corp., Cadlinc Inc. , Cadtrak Corp., CAE Systems, Engineering Automation Systems Inc., Avera Corp., VLSI Technology, Formative Technologies Inc. and Graphic Horizons Inc. These companies and others started marketing systems based on networked workstations that incorporate 32-bit microprocessors with multiple coprocessors, very large memory and disk capacities and highresolution color displays with picture memory sizes measured in megabytes. These systems deliver a lot of performance at far lower prices than the high-end

140

MINI -MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

To add markets swell as profits to your business, add Zaisan to your system.

The ES . I voice/data workstation offers single-key access to simultaneous voice, data or text.

With the touch of a button, users can also access internal and external databases, PBX functions,

and electronic mail.

The ES. I is also upgradeable. So you can add application and communication software to tailor

the ES. I to the individual information needs of your users. Which can add sales to your business.

.AISAN'" Another plus is the price. And the wide range of service options .

7 Add these all up and you'll see the formula for success is rather &.l"".I elementary. Add Zaisan.

13910 Champion Forest Drive. Houston,Texas 77069. 713.580.6191. Thenewdirectioninbusinesscommunications.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 65 ON INQUIRY CARD

141

Kimtron is building the# 1 terminal company and proudly presents its KT-7 Display terminal.
KT-7 provides not only technological excellence, but also True Ergonomics, Highest Value and Unique Features to improve user efficiency and comfort.
True Ergonomics
· Height Adjustability · Tilt and Swivel · Low Profile Keyboard with three
level tilt and easy touch · Sharp Display with High
Resolution · Green or Amber Phosphor
Small Size and Light Weight
· Less than 18 inches deep and fits in a Secretarial Return Desk
· Less than 22 pounds net
142

Unique Features
· User-Selectable Hidden or Embedded Attributes
Best Features
· 9 X 13 Cell Resolution · 25th Status/Set-Up/Message Line · Set-up, 20 Programmable Func-
tion Keys and Answerback stored in Non-Volatile Memory · 4 International Character Sets · 94 Business Graphics Characters · Block Mode and Protect Mode · Up to 4 Pages of Memory Optional · All the Smarts
Compatibility
Standard· TeleVideo· 910, 920, 925. Option: ANSI X3.46 or DEC*· VT*· 52/ 100/ 132 (80 column), orDG··· DlOO, or OEM Customization for other terminal emulation available
CIRCLE NO. 66 ON INQUIRY CARD

Only $595
for all these features. Call us or your terminal supplier for more information
Kimtron
2225-1 Martin Avenue Santa Clara, California 95050
(408) 727-1510
OEM/Systems Integrator/ Distributor/Dealer Inquiries Invited
·TdcVidco is a trademark of TckVidco Systems. Inc. ..DEC and Vf arc tradanarlcs of Digital Equipcmcn1 Coq>oration ·· ·ix; is a u-adcmark of Data Gcncn.I Corpon.ckxt
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

The Integrator

systems. Software for these workstations is usually based on the UNIX operating system and includes extended engineering-analysis functions that are impractical to run on 16-bit, minicomputer-based systems.
Leading the pack in graphics workstation technology is Silicon Graphics Inc., Mountain View, Calif., which in mid-1983, introduced a workstation capable of computing shaded images fast enough to display complex, shaded models of solids moving in real time. To do this, the workstation performs 7 million floating-point operations per second-five to 10 times as many as a VAX-111780 can perform. With a top-of-the-line model priced at $59,500, these workstations promise to make .today's solids-modeling software substantially more useful and to open a wealth of CAD/CAM and CAE applications.
Although only one or two vendors were selling IBM PC- or PC XT-based CAD/CAM and CAE systems at the end of 1982, 13 companies have entered this market segment, and more are on the way. The systems they offer range from simple 2-D drafting packages for AEC applications to printed-circuit-board design systems and a solids-modeling system capable of producing complex shaded images.

CAD/CAM AND CAE INDUSTRY ESTIMATED MARKET SHARE

PERCENT 40

JANUARY 15, 1984

Suppliers of PC-based systems are marketing the

systems in three principal ways: directly from software

developers to end users, indirectly through manufac-

turers' representatives and through system integra-

tors. System integrators purchase software from

developers, buy hardware directly from hardware

manufacturers or from dealers and sell the entire

package-hardware, software, training and mainte-

nance-to end users. System integrators tend to have

an affinity for their market niches. Integrators selling

to the AEC market, for example, are often spin-offs

from architectural and professional engineering compa-

nies .

Prices in the low-end market segment start at about

$1,000 for simple 2-D drafting software. Price of a

solids-modeling package installed on a 19-inch, 4,096-

color (from a palette of 16.8 million), 512-by-512-pixel,

30-Hz interlaced graphics display with lM byte of pixel

memory is $16,000. A 2-D mechanical design/drafting

system with numerical-control capability can be priced

as high as $25,000. Revenues from the sale of IBM

PC-based systems will probably grow 400 percent this

year-from $5 million in 1983 to more than $25 million

in 1984-representing a 1 percent market share.

Companies marketing IBM PC-based systems include

Autodesk Inc., CadCal Products Inc., Carrier Corp.,

FutureNet Corp., Integrated Computer Technologies

Inc., Micro Control Systems Inc., Personal CAD

Systems Inc., Summit CAD, T&W Systems Inc. and

Cubicomp Corp.

.... ·····

·····.·····.···

IBM COMPUTERVISION

Charles M. Foundyller is president of Daratech Inc., Cambridge, Mass., a market research and publishing company specializing in the CAD/CAM and GAE industry.

... ·········· INTEAGAAPH
····· 0 APPLICON · · · · · · · · · · ·········· MCAUTO
SOURCE. DARATECH INC.
IBM should pass industry leader Computervision to capture the largest market share in the CAD/CAM and GAE market by the end of 1984. Among other leaders, Intergraph and McAuto should increase their market shares, while Computervision, Ca/ma and App/icon should each lose share.
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

This article is based on material contained in Daratech lnc. 's publication, CAD/CAM, GAE: Survey, Review and Buyer's Guide. The $199 survey contains detailed information on 209 CAD/CAM systems and 105 vendors. For more information on this publication, contact Daratech, 16 Myrtle Ave., P.O. Box 410, Cambridge, Mass. 02238, (617) 354-2339.
Interest Quotient (Circle One) High 807 Medium 808 Low 809
143

Computer dreams.
TllJJLf CCJM/lA rl8l&. ,/JNs All 17/e l'Ofvt.A-12 5DFr.v,4~
200 -WArr fo/J/e/( SVPl'Lf
MD SIX '3Xf,4>J~/ON SL.t>T~
/21 K iO b'IOK 144M ON
5YSTEM !JoAtzb
~--VP 'TD lbuR l/ALF-1/EIGl/I
5TD!ll+Ge l>tvtt:.eS

I ntroducing the new COMPAQ DESKPRff COMPAQ combined the best features of the best desktop computers. And then added exclusives you worit find on others. Today they're together in one personal computer. The COMPAQ DESKPRO.
The COMPAQ DESKPRO is the most expandable desktop you can buy. It can grow as you grow. with up to six available expansion slots and four storage devices. including a unique fixed disk drive backup-all inside the computer instead ofout, saving your desk from clutter.

It's the most rugged desktop, too, because it's the only desktop with a shock-mounted mass storage compartment to help keep disk drives in alignment and help protect you from losing data downtime. and dollars.
It's also the most compatible desktop. giving you true hardware and software compatibility with the industry's most popular personal computers. The COMPAQ DESKPRO runs thousands of programs written for the IBM"PC and XT right off the shelf. Which brings us to the next point.

0 1984. COMPAQ' is a Registered Trademark and COMPAQ DESKPRO'" Is a Trademark of C011PAQ Computer Corporation. IBM" Is a Registered Trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.

Dream computer.
The industry leader in compatibility.

lbwer and space for almost unlimited
expansion

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expan-

---

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Runs software 2X to 3X faster. - ~--.:.___
10!1B fixed disk drive 10!1B fixed disk b a c k u p - - - - - _ _ ;:..; Two diskette drives
Exdusive tape backup helps protect data.

Unique shock mounting helps protect your data and hardware investment

Familiar layout enhanced

with LED's on caps and num- ---':'"""

lock keys.

f~iii'iiiiii~-iiiiiiiiiiiiii

The COMPAQ DESKPRO is the fastest truly compatible desktop you can buy. It's two to three times faster than the industry standard. That saves time now. And in the future. as software becomes more sophisticated and integrated. it will save you even more time as well as protect your personal computer investment.
But there's more. We gave the COMPAQ DESKPRO one other feature not found on any other machine. You can choose between an amber or green dual-mode monitor that displays high-resolution text and graphics with equal

brilliance. saving you the cost and clutter of a second monitor. See the Dream Computer. Then pinch yourself. It's for real. for the location of the nearest Authorized COMPAQ
Computer Dealer. or for a free brochure. call 1-800231-0900. Operators or Telex #795437 COMPAQCOMP HOU.

It simply works better.

IF IT WEREN'T FOR UNIX WE NMR COULD HAVE
BUILT THE PYRAMIDS

Ordinary computers, yes. But not a Pyramid Technology 90x.
After all, here's a supermini not just capable of running UNIX:" but born to run it.And run it up to four times faster than the most popular UNIX host. For a lot less money.
The secrets of this Pyramid are a thorough understanding of UNIX, a few fundamentals of RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) theory, more registers than 30 VAXs, and a 32-bit proprietary architecture that outperforms a roomful of micros.
All combined to speed up UNIX just where it likes to slowdown.

For example, gone are 85% of performance-robbing memory references. The endless parameter shuffling of yesterday's technology has been replaced with a hardware register window. Even context switching takes less than one percent of the CPU's time.
It's amazing what hardware architects can do, given the chance. It's almost as startling as what our software wizards did.
They crafted OSx,a dual port of Berkeley's 4.2 BSD and Bell's System V Because you can switch environments at will, no UNIX port offers more capabilities. With absolutely no loss

of compatibility. Well, almost. We do admit to one feature
not compatible with other UNIX systems. Our single-source support.
One telephone number instantly connects you to both hardware and software experts. In-house pros, who spend thei r energy pointing you towards solutions. Not pointing fingers at each other.
So no matter how you see your requirements shaping up, contact Pyramid Technology, 1295 Charleston Road, Mountain View,California 94043. Or call (415) 965-7200.
Because when it comes to running UNIX, a Pyramid looks good from any angle.
-::;--- PYRAMID ....::::::=::TECHNOLOGY

146

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

The Integrator

Automated testing and material handling streamline production and raise yields

Faced with choice between moving overseas or automating, disk drive maker opts to automate

Joseph Smith, Priam Corp.

AUTOMATION MOVES PARTS THROUGH

Early in 1982, Priam Corp., a San Jose, Calif., manufacturer of hfgh-capacity Winchester disk drives, recognized the need to increase productivity and achieve lower manufacturing costs. With sales doubling annually, we realized that limited production capacity was keeping us from growing. The goal was to increase manufacturing capacity fivefold-from 250 to 1,200 drives per day-without sacrificing quality standards.
We considered moving production overseas but determined that the drawbacks, including substantial management and support costs, training of foreign workers and lack of contact between technical and production groups, outweighed the benefits of lower labor costs. By carefully studying and implementing automation, we have achieved production goals while maintaining

ASSEMBLY AND TEST OPERATION
,~

WAREHOUSE

INSPECTION

RECEIVING ..

· SHIPPING

-...-

---

FRAME AND

PRINTED-CIRCUIT BOARD

ADDED TO HD~

.. ,i,

--..

GRAY ROOM

CLEAN ROOM· HEAD/DISK ASSEMBLY

J
TESTlNG

I
L .......
TESTING AND
RUN-IN

(HDA)

tighter control over manufacturing processes.

Priam's manufacturing operation consists of assembling and testing 5¥4-, 8- and 14-inch Winchester disk drives. To achieve the production volume initially targeted, the logical first step was automating material handling and testing. For material handling, we pre-

Starting in the receiving area, parts travel on automated materialhandling equipment. Ultrasonic cleaning takes place in the gray room, and assembly of delicate components takes place in four clean rooms. In the final stages, both testing and material handling is automated.

sumed that decreasing human contact with components

during assembly would help eliminate contamination was in May 1983, and, by December, disk drives were

and lead to higher yields. We also presumed that traveling along the newly installed conveyor system.

workers would be more productive if parts were continually available. Automating the testing of disk drives Material moves efficiently but gently

also offered more than increased efficiency. Because Automated material handling begins when compo-

testing amounts to 60 percent of Priam's manufacturing nents arrive in the receiving area and continues

process, we looked to automation as a means of collect- through assembly, testing and shipping. Currently,

ing additional data about the drives.

warehousing is not automated, although delivery of

After a year of investigating equipment for the new parts to and from the warehouse is automated. Compo-

facility, Priam settled on three main suppliers: Litton nents, including printed-circuit boards assembled at

Unit Handling Systems, Florence, Ky. ; Rapistan Co. , another Priam facility, motors, media and heads, move

Grand Rapids, Mich., a division of Lear Siegler Inc.; on conveyors to and from inspection stations and the

and Dreyden Engineering Co., Santa Clara, Calif., a warehouse . Workers then move parts manually from

supplier of modular clean tunnels from Integrated Air storage to "gray rooms," where components for the

Systems (IAS) Inc. The reputation of each supplier-its head/disk assembly (HDA) are initially assembled and

track record and overall expertise-and the support . cleaned. An HDA consists of magnetic heads and disks

each supplier offered were critical considerations. Once for writing, storing and reading data, a spindle and

we chose the equipment, a new building was designed. spindle motor for spinning disks and a linear voice-coil

Ground-breaking for the 142,000-square-foot facility actuator for positioning heads.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

147

The Integrator

Once workers assemble the parts kits, Rapistan's production-management system routes material to and from assembly workstations within four clean tunnels. Workers place parts such as drive spindles and disk platters into totes designed to transport these delicate assemblies. The Rapistan conveyors move material in a predetermined sequence from one set of stations to the next as assembly progresses. Sensors tell the system which stations are open and able to receive parts and, by keeping a 6~-foot "window" between totes, allows it to track each tote's origin and destination. Assembly workers also have control boxes at their stations to indicate routing information.
Even though the facility is in only the first months of operation, yields are up more than 25 percent because there is less dropping and jarring of parts. In addition, productivity has risen dramatically as workers spend more time on actual assembly and less time looking for parts.
Particularly important are the gentle divert mechanisms of the conveyors. We need a smoothly operating material-handling system that doesn't jar the sensitive drives-so gentle that it won't break a gravitational force of 2G's. We are also impressed by how easy it is to use the Rapistan computer. Instructions are easy to input, and overall the system is easy for the production people to troubleshoot. And, because the system is

modular, it can be re-configured to meet changing production needs.
We also plan to take advantage of features that allow us to collect information about the assembly process itself. The material-handling system has distributed process-controVcommunication functions that offer a real-time window on the assembly process, providing information such as the number of units in assembly, assembly completion times and pass/fail rates. Local devices plug in at various workstations and are linked to a supervisory-le~el microprocessor, the tote director controller (TDC).
Supporting the TDC is a combination Winchester/ floppy disk subsystem that stores basic parameters, operating programs and operation data. Once operators are comfortable with the material-handling system, we plan to use it to collect data and will eventually tie it into a mainframe to allow more fully integrated computerized manufacturing.
Priam chose clean tunnels from IAS because of the company's reputation for high-quality air systems and because of the support IAS offered. Our deadline for getting the facility up and running was a major consideration, and Dreyden Engineering, the supplier of the IAS system, was able to meet it.
In addition to guaranteeing that 1 square foot of air has no more than 100 particles that measure 0.5 µm. or

Inside the clean room, a worker completes a head/disk assembly. Delicate parts move from station to station on conveyors, minimizing accidental dropping and jarring.

148

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Modems and stat

bility. Our statistical

muxes, to go.

multiplexers handle

lnfotron offers a

from 4 to 32 channels

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in a range of models-

with our unique dis-

with full provision for

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To find out more. Your lnfotron distributor. There are lnfotron distributors nationwide, ready to give you more information, provide equipment and offer expert advice on the best way to meet your needs. For the name of the distributor near you , dial toll-free 1-800-345-4636 and ask for ISO. Or write lnfotron Independent Sales Organization , 9 North Olney Avenue, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003.
lnfotron. First in performance and reliability.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 67 ON INQUIRY CARD

Lear Siegler
Qualityand ReliabilityYou Trust. High TouchmStyleYou'll Prefer.

This new generation of Lear Siegler video display terminals brings elegant High Touch'" style to our American Dream Machine (ADM'") tradition. The family features three new ergonomic terminals designed to meet the needs of OEMs and end users alike: the ADM 11, the ADM 12 and the ADM 24E.
Here is a whole new way for terminals to relate to people. Dozens of little touches add up to the convenience and comfort of High Touch.
For example, we put the power "on/off' switch and contrast control knob in front where they're easy to reach.
The monitor not only tilts and swivels, it stops positively in almost any position.
The clean, crisp display features a large character matrix on an easy-toread green or amber non-glare screen made even easier to read by the hooded bezel. Screens are available in 12" or 14" sizes.
You get the best in style and ergonomics, plus all the outstanding performance features you'd expect from Lear Siegler (see chart).
Lear Siegler High Touch terminals are backed by the broadest network of full service centers anywhere, serving 3000 cities nationwide. And they're made in America - designed, engineered, manufactured and shipped from Anaheim, California to provide you with the best local support
Place your order today by calling your local Authorized Distributor or, for quantities in excess of 500 units, your Regional OEM Sales Office.

Spacious, ---------~
uncluttered layout

Low-profile, tapered, DIN-standard keyboards with Selectric layout feature logical key groupings and adjustable tilt for comfort and efficiency. ADM 11 shown above.

Programmable Function Keys Non-Volatile Function Keys Function Key Legends on 25th Line No. of Pages of Display Memory Display Memory Configurations (Plus 25th Message/Status Line) Scrolling
Transm ission Mode Editing
Visual Attributes : Reduced Intensity, Blink, Blank and Reverse Video. Underline also on ADM 12 and ADM 24E OEM Flexibility
Terminal Compatibility

ADM 11
Co nv e r s a tional 4 (Shiftable to 8) Optional From Host
24 Lines by 80 Characters
Standard Scrolling
Conversation Mode Limited
3 Embedded 1 Non-Embedded
Modifiabl e Set-Up Characteristics
ADM 3A, ADM 5, ADDS Viewpoint & Regent 25, Hazeltine 1400, 1420 & 1500, DEC VT-52

ADM1~
Editing 16 (Shiftable to 32) Standard From Host
(2) 24 x80 or (1) 48 x80 or (1) 24x158 Smooth. Jump or Horizontal Scrolling Split Screen Conversation or Block Mode Full Editing & Protected Fields 4 Embedded, 1 Non-Em bedded or All Non-Embedded. plus Full Screen Reverse Video Modifiable Set-Up Characteristics & Personality
ADM 3A, ADM 5, ADM 31, ADM 32

ADM 24E
Host Programmable
16 (Shiftable to 32)
Standard
Standard Non-Volatile
4
User Definable up to 96x80
Smooth or Jump Scroll Split Screen
Conversation or Block Mode
Full Editing & Protected Fields
5 Embedded, 1 NonEmbedded or All NonEmbedded, plus Full Screen Reverse Video and Highlight
Modifiable Set-Up Characteristics. Add to Program in ROM or Down-Line Load in RAM (56K ROM or RAM. Up to 22K Display Available) Room for additional Logic Boards.
ADM 3A, ADM 5, ADM 31, ADM, 32, ADM 42

Lear Siegler's new VersaPrint'" 500 Series printers combine with Lear Siegler video display terminals for hard copy output

Call Lear Siegler at 800/532-7373 for the phone number of an authorized distributor near you: Advanced
Technology· Continental Resources ·The Datastore · Data Systems Marketing· David Jamaison Carlyle, Inc. · Digital Source · Dytec/South · Gentry Associates · Hall-Mark Electronics · Inland Associates · Kierulff Electronics · M/A Com Alanthus, Inc.· Marva Data Services· M.T.I. ·National Computer Com munications· Pioneer (Standard, Harvey, Gaithersburg) · 2M Corp. · Wyle Electronics
Distributor Sales & Service: Boston (617) 456-8228 · Chicago (312) 279-7710 · Houston (713) 780-9440 ·
Los Angeles (714) 774-1010, ext. 219 · Philadelphia (215) 245-4080 · San Francisco (415) 828-6941 · England (04867) 80666 · From the states of CT. DE, MA, MD, NJ, RI , VA and WV (800) 523-5253.
OEM Sales: Chi cago (312) 279-5250 · Houston (713) 780-2585 · Los Angeles (714) 774-1010, ext. 582 ·
New York (516) 549-6941 · San Francisco (415) 828-6941 · England (04867) 80666
®
LEAR SIEGLER, INC. DATA PRODUCTS DIVISION
901 E. Ball Road, Anaheim, CA 92805 (714) 774-1010

Selectric is a regi stered Trademark of fBM . Vi ewpoint and Regent are registered Tradema rks of Applied Digital Data Systems, Inc. VT-52 is a registered Trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation.

CIRCLE NO. 68 ON INQUIR Y CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

151

* PROBLEM AREA
* MTBF * COST TO REPAIR
CPU BOARD ~AI L URE ANALYSIS

Read The Fine Print.
Letters. Numbers . Charts. Graphs . Fine curved or straight lines. Engineering drawings and presentation materials. On paper or film. The CH 5201 puts high quality color hard copy in your hands. With amazing consistency. Ask for 100 copies and the last one looks as good as the first. No wash-out . And no color deviations . Lines remain parallel.Curves look like curves . And details don't tum into blobs. Whether you 're using plain paper or transparency film . There are no long waits, either. Because

the 5201 is fast. In the time it takes most other copiers to produce a sheet, the 5201 can produce a stack! Its built-in frame buffer captures the image and lets you make up to 99 copies. Without operator attendance . Plus. it frees your terminal. Which frees you from wasting a lot of time .
Finally, the 5201 is a system manager's delight. Our Adaptable Video Interface (AVIF) accepts a wide variety of video inputs. making interface a breeze.
For a demonstration of this rather inexpensive miracle contact your Seiko Instruments representative , or us at 1623 Buckeye Drive, Milpitas. CA 95035, (408) 943-9100.
You'll be amazed at how easy and inexpensive it is to read the fine print .
SEIKO
INSTRUMENTS-
&< 1984 Seiko Instruments U S A .. Inc .. Graphl.c Devices & Systems Division

CIRCLE NO. 69 ON INQUIRY CARD

152

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

The Integrator

more in diameter, these Class-100 clean tunnels provide laminar airflow at 100 feet per minute through wall-towall ceiling filters. Air travels downward and is recirculated through return air walls in which it is filtered again. The improvement in yields is largely due to the conditions of the clean tunnels. Because temperature and humidity can be controlled, working conditions have also improved for assembly workers, who must don nylon outerwear to work in the clean tunnels. Greater humidity control has also added to the increase in yields.
Drives move through automated test setup
After an RDA is assembled and just before it leaves the clean room, it is placed in a "hot pallet," a plastic carrier designed for use in the Litton test system. An elevator then moves the pallet onto the conveyor that takes it to the Litton ToteStacker, a computerized storage-and-retrieval area. An automated crane, similar to a forl\lift, moves in the aisles between rows of shelves. Two storage-and-retrieval systems handle each of the four clean tunnels. The front end of each tunnel is dedicated to initial testing, and the back end is used for run-in and final testing.
The pallets' bar-code labels are an important part of the tracking and test procedures. Once an RDA is placed in a pallet, a worker uses a bar-code reader to enter the pallet identification number and the drive's part number into the Litton system. This procedure tells the system whether the pallet contains a 14-inch,

8-inch or 5114-inch drive and allows it to track the drive and compile a history of its test results. The pallet also serves as part of the test system and was designed and wired to Priam's specifications.
We evaluated equipment from a number of vendors before automating our testing process, and we liked the fact that Litton already had a prototype burn-in scheme similar to the procedure we wanted to implement. Litton also offers a light crane that can move pallets quickly. We also like Litton's hardware and software support. Both Rapistan and Litton have installed modems at the facility to help us troubleshoot software used in their systems.
The front end of the Litton system stores RDAs and delivers them to test stations, where workers perform initial functional tests such as contamination testing and surface analysis. As an RDA passes a test, it is sent back into the storage-and-retrieval equipment, in which it remains until the pallet can be delivered to the next test station. If a drive fails, it's sent to an RDA debugging station.
The back end of the Litton system is used for run-in and final testing. After the RDA passes its initial tests, the crane delivers it to a drive-assembly station. There, an assembly worker puts the HDA and disk drive electronics into a frame. From framing, the assembled drive is sent into the second stage of the storage-andretrieval system for run-in and final testing. The storage compartments in the second ToteStacker are fitted with fans and extensive wiring so that run-in and final

MINI-M ICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

At the heart of the automated test area is a computerized crane that stores and retrieves disk drive assemblies from racks. The pallets on which the assemblies rest contain cables for automated testing procedures.
At the automatic material-induction station, part of the computerized conveyor system, an operator enters information used by the system to route components through the clean room for assembly.
153

The Integrator

testing can be performed automatically. When the pallets leave the framing area, they contain
the completed drive and a power supply along with a standalone test (SAT) card developed by Priam that contains instructions for run-in and final test. Each drive is plugged into a hot pallet and sent back into the system, which brings it to an open test slot. There, they plug themselves in and begin run-in and testing.
The SAT card can send messages about the status of a drive to the Litton system or to a mainframe computer, as well as record data on the disk itself about the drive's performance. A network of communication loops lets test equipment share data and report results to a mainframe. Once the drive completes final testing, it receives a last quality check and travels by conveyor to shipping.

Since testing is 60 percent of Priam's
manufacturing process, we looked to
automation as a means of collecting
additional data about the drives.

Workers perform contamination tests on the head/disk assembly
before putting it into a frame with the printed-circuit board assembly
and sending it into the automated test system for run-in and final
testing .

Learning to use the systems
In designing the facility, we tried to simplify overall manufacturing by making it unnecessary for employees to move heavy, bulky materials. We kept workers informed from the beginning and showed them slides and a videotape that explained both the Rapistan and Litton systems.
The Rapistan equipment is fairly easy to understand. An industrial engineer spent a week on each shift, training workers to use the conveyors, and key people who operate the computer got more extensive training. Litton provided all operators and key workers one month of extended training in areas such as maintenance and test engineering and trained the workers at each workstation. We initially had a few problems with people working around the system, but they cleared up quickly as employees realized that the system did indeed do what it was designed to do.
Should problems occur in the Rapistan system, materials can be moved manually so that production can continue. Malfunction of the Litton system, on the other hand, could affect production because drives are difficult to retrieve once they're inside the system. We don't anticipate problems because we've installed backup computer systems and have stocked spare parts for both systems, which should limit downtime. And, since we designed production lines to be flexible, they can

handle production of any size drive if a line goes down.

Both the Rapistan and Litton systems provide exten-

sive data-collection capability that will determine

where a drive failed in the manufacturing process, how

many drives of a given size are available at any time and

much more. We may choose to install wand readers at

every assembly station to track the drives even more

closely. The availability of data is critical in helping

reach another goal: centralized information manage-

ment.

Automation and clean tunnels have decreased two

major sources of errors in the manufacture of disk

drives: contamination and rough handling of parts.

With the information automated systems can provide,

we can further refine and control the manufacturing

process.

Joseph Smith, vice president of operations at Priam Corp. , joined the company in 1981. Former vice president and general manager of rigid disk drive operation for Shugart Corp., Smith has spent 17 years in the manufacture of disk drives, including five years at IBM Corp. and five years at Memorex Corp.

154

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

YOU'LL NEED A PARTNER WHO CAN CUT IT.

How We Look At The Future. Designing information systems for the business office of the future is a lot like planning the flawless performance in ice skating. '
Choosing the right printer partner can be critical.
Are the same strong goals for success shared? Is the necessary talent. commitment. and dedication to meeting and exceeding those goals present?
As a major designer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art printers. worldwide. Okidata knows the importance of goals and commitment. And living up to them.
What We're Doing Today. For Tomorrow. Right now. our dedicated
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

research and new product design teams are pushing and testing the limits of present technology to find better ways to build better printers.
Through an on-going and expensive commitment to robotic assembly, we're assuring smoother and fasterthan-ever product flow.
And. elsewhere. we're streamlining our customization and modification turnaround times to respond even more quickly to your rapid startups.
We'll Be There When You Need Us. In OEM system building. just like in the Olympics. commitment is everything.
If your audience will be looking to you for more flawless performances in the future. we're the printer com-
CIRCLE NO. 70 ON INQUIRY CARD

pany who'd like to join you. In fact. we're already working on it. Call 1-800-0KIDATA. Or write OKIDATA. Mt. Laurel. NJ 08054.
155

8" Winchester Drives
· SMD INTERFACE · SCSI INTERFACE

Yes! Our 212 MB, 8 inch Winchester drives are available in either SMD or SCSI interfaces immediately.
Just send us your purchase order and we will ship your drives today. By the way, if 212 MB is just too large for your needs, we can ship 166 MB or 83 MB just as fast.
Call today:
ULT
... a safe place for data
6431 Indepe ndence Avenue, Woodl a nd Hills, C A 91367 (818) 884-7300 O utside Califo rni a 1-800-MEGAVLT

156

CIRCLE NO. 71 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS

EXTENDED TRIPLE-HEIGHT EUROCARD 366 .7 x 280 mm

FUTURE BUS NUBUS

SINGLE-BOARD COMPUTERS: Although microcomputer manufacturers have said incompatibility is necessary to achieve high performance levels, a new single-board computer from Advanced Computing Technologies Inc. incorporates a 16-bit processor that is faster than the 8086 and 68000, yet is 100 percent object-code-compatible with the industry-standard Intel 8080. For a closer look, turn to p. 159.

EUROCARDS: In the first of a two-part series on microcomputer bus standards, Senior Editor Rick Dalrymple explores 8- and 16-bit buses, with a close examination of the Eurocard/DIN-based STE-bus and CIMbus and the edge-connector-based Multibus, Q-bus and STD-bus. For more details, see p. 171.

DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE: Software developers find their job much easier these days with the variety of tools available to themtools that includes optimized language compilers, operating system environments and sophisticated fault finders, and which can even help to create other tools for more complex applications. See p. 183 for more details.

IBM PC-COMPATIBLE WORKSTATIONS

MICROCOMPUTERS: System integrators are incorporating singleuser micros into networks that allow multiple users to pool programs, data and peripheral devices. North Star Computer Inc.'s Dimension includes multiple processors that communicate through shared memory using an architecture that incorporates aspects of both loosely- and closely-coupled networks. More information appears on p. 195.

PERSONAL COMPUTERS: A significant and growing market for personal computers in applications normally served by system integrators and OEMs has emerged. This market is catching the eye of almost all of the major participants in the personal-computer arena. If it's caught yours as well, turn to p. 205.

Top layer traces

WORKSTATIONS: Designing a 32-bit desktop computer with 1-MIPS power requires innovations spanning component chips, physical packaging and even a ~emperature-control system. A close look at HewlettPackard's top-end model 9000, starting on p. 217, reveals why it's billed as the machine that can compete with superminis at a fraction of their price.

Plated holes

Inner layer traces

TERMINALS: Because the major advantage of a computer-integrateddesign (CID) terminal is the virtual elimination of communications delays, internal throughput is a primary design consideration. Megatek Corp.'s Merlin 9200 achieves that goal at an affordable price. Seep. 233.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMSfAugust 1984

157

Howevet trs defined, quality has a way
Of being reoogni7.ed. For some of our customers, it might
be product versatility. Two years ago we began making a 68000- b~ 16/32 bit CPU board that could operate with or without the popular UNIX operating system, depending on whether the customer had system- or real-time needs.
For others, performance is important. We designed a memory management unit that protects
multiuser programs with no wait states. That's when we discovered that performance and versatility become
interconnected. For instance, Congress needed some
method of debugging the networking system currently used by the Members'

staffs. We packaged our CPU board with the necmary periphet'lls, and from this computer system we discovered even more applications. Our board now helps the U.S. Geological Survey analyze minor quakes from the Atlantic seafloor, while ac~ the ocean the Prime Minister's Office uses the same product to edit correspondence.
To increase performance even further we later designed a feature known as "dual porting". This allows two or more processors to work together in tandem. Like a bicycle pedaled-by-two, the speed is impressive. So too is its versatility. M.I.T. uses our new "D" board to study astronomy; General Electric uses it to control a robot for welding jet turbines.
Versatility and performance aside, we like to think that our list of "Who's
CIRCLE NO. 72 ON INQUIRY CARD

~ i$ ~ attratted to our untque br3ocf ef personal service Padtic sales representtttves provide pre-sales consultation and we pride
ourselves on our post-sales service and support ... no matter who you are.
For additkmal information, contact Sherrell Harper Pacific Microcomputers, Inc. 160 Chesterfield Drive Cardiff, caltfornla 92007 (619) 436-8649

Single-board computer
merges 8-, 16-bit
performance

Minicomputer strategy packs power on a single board: 3 million instructions per second, 8080 object-code compatibility and supermicrocomputer operation

Robin Fosheim and Douglas R. Grundman Advanced Computing Technologies Inc.
In the race to get to market with higher-performance processors, microcomputer manufacturers have frequently neglected to make their new processors objectcode-compatible with earlier machines. The result for OEMs and system integrators has been costly delays in new product introductions as software is translated from the current processor to a new one. Attempts to sidestep the compatibility problem have met with various degrees of success. High-level languages ease the transition from one computer to another, but, in practice, few languages are totally portable across machines. Some companies offer dual-processor systems that typically include an 8-bit processor for continued access to 8-bit software, and a 16-bit processor for the use of new products. This strategy, however, does not allow system integrators to port their 8-bit code to the higher-performance 16-bit processor without substantial modification.
Though microcomputer manufacturers have justified incompatibility as necessary to achieve current performance levels, a new single-board computer (SBC) from Advanced Computing Technologies Inc. (ACTI) incorporates a 16-bit processor that is faster than the 8086 and 68000, yet is 100 percent object-codecompatible with the industry-standard Intel 8080. By providing an integrated 16-bit extension, the processor solves the problem of merging 8-bit compatibility with 16-bit performance, without the drawbacks of dual-

processor architecture. The extended instruction set, ability to address as much as 16M bytes of memory and a hardware-supported Zilog Z80 emulation scheme make this processor a logical 16-bit upgrade consideration for 8-bit users.
Three key goals were met
The ACT-3 processor was designed with three main goals in mind. First, it had to be fast enough to qualify as a supermicrocomputer in order to compete with other high-performance 16- and 32-bit machines (Table 1); the specific design goal was an average throughput of 3 million instructions per second (MIPS). Second, it had to be upwardly object-code-compatible with a popular 8-bit microprocessor family to ensure immediate (and continued) access to a large base of field-proven code. The Intel 8080 family was chosen because of the impressive amount of development and application software written for it. And, third, the ACT-3 processor had to have true 16-bit functionality to provide a growth path for future applications.
The performance goal of 3 MIPS was accomplished with superminicomputer design strategies, including use of the latest high-speed logic. The ACT-3 is implemented entirely in Fairchild Space and Electronics Co. 's FAST family of transistor-to-transistor logic (TTL) chips, the same technology chosen for Digital Equipment Corp.'s recently announced VAX-111785. The processor is clocked at 15 MHz, achieving a microcycle time of 67 nsec. This extremely short microcycle time (the VAX-ll/780's is more than 200 nsec.) is made

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

159

SINGLE-BOARD COMPUTERS

possible in part by use of multilayered printed-circuit boards. These boards permit shorter lead lengths and thus minimize trace propagation delays and capacitive loading. The ACT-3 processor is horizontally microcoded with a microword width of 96 bits. This microcode organization requires less decoding circuitry than vertically microcoded machines, thereby minimizing attendant gate delays. The microcode is pipelined to allow parallel control of certain overlapped functions. While one microinstruction is being executed, the next microinstruction is fetched. On-board memory consists of 64K bytes of RAM incorporated directly into the processor (see "Mini on a board," Page 162), enabling the ACT-3 to access on-board memory for both 8- and 16-bit instructions in only two microcycles (134 nsec.).

( H'

( L'

A'
B D H

?
I

A
c
E L

I"' BANK f

SP PC

0 CTRL

~ D FLAGS

Complete 8080 compatibility, the second design goal, was achieved by adding the entire set of 8080 instructions to the ACT-3's instruction set. This approach distinguishes the ACT-3 from the Intel 8086. Although the 8086 can perform operations that the 8080 performs , it does not offer instruction-set compatibility.
Therefore, the software must be modifiedsometimes extensively-to be executed on the 8086. The ACT-3 also differs from machines like the 80286 and the VAX, which use a "mode bit" to indicate whether the processor should run compatibly with its predecessor or run in an extended mode. The advantage of an integrated instruction set, suc;h as those provided by Data General Corp. 's Eagle or ACTl's ACT-3, is that the machine is always compatible with its predecessor~ven when the extended features of the processor are exploited.
The ACT-3 processor is a full 16-bit machine in all aspects. New instructions support this architectural extension to the 8080 to provide true 16-bit functionality. It is worth noting, however, that the 16-bit nature of the machine improves the performance of the basic 8080 instruction set as well. Widened 16-bit data paths allow the ACT-3 to fetch 2 bytes at once, cutting the number of clock cycles for each instruction to half that of the 8080. To store the accumulator, for example, the 8080 requires 13 states, whereas the ACT-3 requires seven; the instruction "exchange top of stack with HL''

Fig. 1 The ACT-3 register set is a straightforward enhancement of the 8080. Five new registers (shown in color) support the ACT-3's 16-bit instructions and 24-bit addressing scheme. Register A' serves as the high byte of a 16-bit accumulator for doubleprecision instructions. Byte-sized instructions do not affect register A'. Register L' is used in tandem with registers H and L to perform an indirect access to data stored at a 24-bit address. Programs that do not require more than 64K bytes of memory can use H'L'
as a second pointer register. The BANK
register determines the default high-address byte for original 8080 instructions. It therefore supports bank-oriented and multiuser operating systems. The CTRL (control) register contains bits that activate or deactivate several special features such as Multibus arbitration override, Multibus LOCK, interruptprocessing mode selection and Z80 compatibility mode.
Sample execution times (in nanoseconds) show the ACT-3's performance advantage over other processors.

Table 1

Operation Add register byte to Accum Add register word to Accum· · Add memory word to Accum · · Add immediate word to Accum .. Add register pair to HL

ACT-3 (nsec.)
267 267 400 333 267

Load Accum direct with word '·

467

Load Accum indirect with word ..

333

Load HL direct

467

Load immediate register pair

333

Push register pair on stack

400

Pop register pair on stack

333

Branch

333

Branch on carry (avg .)

300

Jump to subroutine

533

Return

333

Return on carry

Multiply (signed) .. (max) Multiply (unsigned) .. (max) Divide (signed) .. (max) Divide (unsigned)'· (max)

5 ,667 5,800 9,400 9,467

Swap DE and HL

400

Swap top of stack with HL

533

·Requires multiple instructions. ··eoas uses HL.

8080A 2MHz (nsec.)
5,000 15,ooo· 10,000·

8085 SM Hz (nsec.) 800 2,000 6,ooo · 4,000' 2 ,0 0 0

8086 10 MHz (nsec.)
300 300 1,400 400
300

68000 10 MHz (nsec .)
400 400
800 800 400

8,000 12,000'
8,000 5,000

3 ,200 4,000 ' 3,200 2 ,0 0 0

1,400 1,300 1,400 1,000

1,200 800 1,200 800

5,500 5,000
5,000 5,000 8,500 5 ,000 4,000
?· ?' ?' ?'
2,000 9,000

2,400 2 ,0 0 0 2,000 1,700 3 ,600 2,000
?· ?' ?· ?·
800 3,200

1,000 800 700 600 1,100 8,000
14,000 12,400 17,700 15,500
400 2,000·

900 800 1,000 900 2,000 1,600
7,000 7,000 15,800 14,400 1,200 · 2,100·

Source: Advanced Computing Technologies

160

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Spec summary
· Name: aSBC 80/300 singleboard computer
· Manufacturer: Advanced Computing Technologies Inc. (ACTI), 1214 Eisenhower Place, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48104,(313)973-2762
· Price: $2,651 in 100-unit quantities
·Main features: 15-MHz ACT-3 CPU (3 million Instructions per second, 8080-compatlble, 8-/16-bit instruction set, 16M-byte addressing), 64K-byte RAM, 64K-byte electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM)/electrlcally erasable PROM (EEPROM) space, one serial 1/0 port, eight levels of vectored Interrupt control
· Market: OEMs and system integrators with installed base of 8080, 8085 or Z80 software and/or computation-Intensive applications
·Operating systems: CP/M 3.0 (available from ACTI) and all other 8080 operating systems (CP/M 2.2, MP/M, OASIS, etc.)
· Development tools: ACTI relocatable macro assembler and linker, machine-level debugger in EPROM, ACTI Pascal and C compilers, realtime kernel for multitasking applications plus all existing 8080/8085 development tools.

Programming the ACT-3

ACTl's ACT-3 instruction set contains 68 new instructions that ease the job of assembly-language programming and provide efficient support for high-level languages (see "Software tools ready for new product development," Page 163). Word-wide operations reduce the number of instructions needed to perform a task, and extended addressing instructions directly access large amounts of memory without worrying about bank switching or segment registers. The

ACT-3 mnemonics need little explanation: Instructions appended with a "W' operate on words, mnemonics with an "F'' indicate far-reaching addresses, and Instructions with "WF" operate on words located anywhere In the 16M-byte address space.
To demonstrate the power of the ACT-3 Instructions, two program examples are given. The first program is a simple 16-bit subtraction of two words in memory, symbolically illustrated by "X := Y - Z':

ACT-3
lrpi addd movw movw stw

h,2 d h,m a,m LOCAL

bytes/cycles 3/5 ; HL : · offset of p2 1/4 ; add DE to HL 215; HL: · p2 2/5; A'A: · j 4/7; store A'A into LOCAL
12126 · 1.7 ,.sec.

8080A
lxi dad mov inx
mov
mov mov inx
mov
mov shld

h,2 d a,m h h,m l,a a,m h h,.m l,a LOCAL

bytes/Tstates
3/10 1110 1/7 1/5 1/7 1/5 1/7 1/5 1/7 1/5 3/16
15184 - 42 ,.sec.

The ACT-3 code is easier to under-
stand, primarily because it handles the task in a straightforward manner and contains fewer instructions. The main benefit of concise code is that it is less likely to contain bugs and is more likely to be easily modifiable in the future. Note that the 8080 code on the right runs on the ACT-3 in 2.9
µsec. but takes nearly 13 times longer or 38 µsec. when run on an 8080A.
The second program example comes from a common method of passing parameters, expecially in

FORTRAN. Register DE, In this case, holds the address of a memory region that contains pointers to actual data objects. Pictorially,

Assuming the pO, p2, p4 and p6 are of 0, 2, 4 and 6 from DE, the assign16-bit pointers with respective offsets ment "LOCAL = j" is coded:

ACT-3

ldw

ldd

subw stw

x h

bytes/cycles 417 ; load Y into A'A 317 ; load Z into HL 2/4; subtract HL from A'A 4/7; store A'A into X
13/25 - 1.7 ,.sec

8080A
lhld Ida sub Sta Ida sbb sta

y
z x I
Z+1
h
X+1

-
bytes/Tstates
3/16 3/13 1/4 3/13 3/13 1/4 115
17/76 - 38 ,.sec

The 8080 code executes in 3.5 times faster than on the 8080A runµsec. on the ACT-3, or more than 10 ning at 2 MHz.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

161

SINGLE-BOARD COMPUTERS

(XTHL) takes 18 states on the 8080 but only six on the ACT-3. The ACT-3 is also able to fetch odd words in a single memory cycle, saving clock cycles on all 3-byte 8080 instructions that contain 16 bits of address or data on an odd boundary.
Instructions simplify software development
Taking advantage of the opcode space not used by the ·8080, ACTI created a comprehensive superset of instructions that allows straightforward access to and manipulation of 16-bit data. Each 8-bit instruction of the 8080 has a 16-bit analog on the ACT-3. The instruc-

tion CMP, for example, compares a byte to the accumulator; the instruction CMPW compares a word. The 16-bit register and register-indirect instructions take the same amount of time as their 8-bit counterparts; (instructions SUB and SUBW, for instance, both take 267 nsec.). In addition to extending all the 8080 instructions, several entirely new instructions have been added. Most notably, the 16-bit multiply and divide instructions were implemented to ensure maximum support for computation-intensive applications. The ACT-3 register set (Fig. 1) supports these extensions in a logical way: the accumulator was widened to 16 bits

Mini on a board

rotator. 1118 ALU path can perform a
byte-swap/slgrHtXtend 16-blt artthmetlc operation and bit-rotate atl in one
mlcrocycle. The proc11aor la con-

= on-board er...-~!·mmable
read-only memory (EPROM) epace sapndeetdheRtA4MK. ~ont-hbeoaRrdAMhighIs-

trolled by a plpellned microprogram Integrated dl"1olly Imo the procHaor,

control unit (orange) that has a basic memory aac.1111· occur With zero

mlcrocycle time of 87 nsec. Walt wait atates. Thi ~ awapper per-

states are generated only during ac- fonns ~ felches from even or

cesses to slow external devices.

odd boundaltee with no performance

Blue represents the 64K bytes of penalty.

SERIAL llO

DATA/ADDRESS PATHS

CONTROL
REGISTER STACK

BYTE SWAPPER
SIGN EXTENDER

16-BIT ARITHMETIC
LOGIC UNIT

ROT ATER

EXTENDED
ADDAE8SING
LOGIC

8
MEMORY ADDRESS REGISTER

32K X 16 ON BOARD
RAM
64X8 EPROM

BYTE SWAPPER

8259A PROGRAMMABLE
INTERRUPT CONTROi.i.ER

MULTIBUS ADDRESS
SWITCHING
24

MULTIBUS DATA SWITCHING
16

8 MULTIBUS

ODD WORD FETCH
LOGIC

162

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

for word-wide manipulations on data, and the HL register was doubled in width to allow large-scale memory addressing.
Using the ACT-3's 16-bit instructions, software can be written that averages more than 20 times the speed of ordinary 8080 code running on a 2-MHz 8080 (see "Programming the ACT-3," Page 161). Note, however, that unmodified 8080 code already runs as much as 13 times faster on the ACT-3, depending on the clock rate of the current processor. In many cases, this improvement in performance is sufficient. However, system integrators with more stringent speed requirements

need only modify a critical portion of code-for instance, an often-used subroutine-to realize further substantial gains in performance.
The ACT-3's extended instructions improve code density as well, primarily because fewer instructions are needed to perform a given task. On the average, a program coded in ACT-3 assembler takes 80 percent of the space it would occupy if coded in 8080 assembler. Thus, programs that employ the ACT-3's extended instructions can include more features (than pure 8080 programs) and still be accommodated in a 64K-byte memory space.

MICRO.JAM LOGIC
WAIT STATE GENERATOR

15-MHZ CLOCK

10-MHZ CLOCK

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Software tools ready for new product development

Because ACTl's ACT-3 Is 100 percent compatible with the 8080, all development tools written for the 8080 run on the ACT-3 without modification. Executed without change, these programs average more than 13 times their former speed on a standard 8080A. To pull stlll more performance out of the ACT-3, a full line of development tools take advantage of the ACT-3's extensions to the 8080. Among the software packages avallable is the ACTI Pascal compiler, which makes full use of the ACT-3's 16-blt capabilities and also transparently exploits the processor's ability to address more than 64K bytes of memory. In other words, It allows programs In memory to be much larger than can be accommodated on the 8080 without requiring fancy programming tricks.
The ACTI Pascal compiler Is also

user-friendly. Advanced error-recovery techniques ensure that compltetlme errors are reported succinctly and Informatively. The most Important feature of the compiler, however, Is Its output quality. The accompanying bar chart compares the performance of this compiler with offerings by other manufacturers In a popular Pascal benchmark. Using ACTI Pascal under the CP/M 3.0 operating system, the ACT-3 's 80/300 outperforms the8086, 68000, 80286 and the VAX-1117~ all by at least a factor of two.
Other support software now available Includes a relocatable macro assembler and linker, a machine-level debugger, and CP/M 3.0, already configured for the ACT-3. Upcoming software tools Include a C compiler (fall '84 delivery), a real-time kernel for multitasking applications and datacommunications software.

PERFORMANCE RELATIVE TO THE ACT-3

1.0 - r

.5_,

.4_,

.3_,

.25

.2_, (4.52 SEC.)

INTEL .1.., PASCAL·86

0.0

V2.0

8086

10 MHZ

.37 (3.00 SEC.)
PASCAL M768ooo
68000 12 MHZ

1.0 (1.11 SEC.)
AC71 PASCAL
V1.0 ACT-3 15 MHZ

.48

(2.31 SEC.)

.43

( 2 .5 6 S E C .)

PASCAL T1 .2-80
VAX 11/780

INTEL PASCAL-86
V2.0
80286 7.7 MHZ

The Emosthenes Sieve benchmark program computes prime numbers from 3 to 8,190. Performance figures reflect compiler efficiency, CPU memory organization and processing power. Object-code lengths for this program are Intel Pascal-86: 274 bytes;
ACT/ Pascal: 184 bytes; Pascal MT 68000: 410 bytes.

163

SINGLE-BOARD COMPUTERS

More memory is accessible
Larger programs, increasingly sophisticated application and growing databases make memory addressability a critical issue for system integrators. Another design goal for the ACT-3, therefore, was to extend its addressing beyond the 64K-byte limit of the 8080. In doing so, the main criterion was to provide a straightforward means of accessing large amounts of memory. Segmented addressing schemes increase the total amount of memory space available, but only 64K bytes of data can be directly addressed at a time. And memory-management hardware is required to move the 64K-byte window around within the larger memory space. To avoid these restrictions, the ACT-3 was designed with a linear addressing scheme much like the 68000's. Figure 2 illustrates the implications of this design for programming.
The ACT-3's scheme is implemented with instructions that allow programmers in a single step to move data or transfer control to or from any location in a 16M-byte memory space. For instance, the instruction
16M BYTES
I

64K BYTES
~

BOBO

BOB6

ACT-3 AND 6BOOO

BRF branches "far" to any 24-bit physical address, and the instruction LDWF loads the widened accumulator (A'A) with a 16-bit word from anywhere in the extended memory space. Large-scale indirect addressing is facilitated by the ACT-3's L' register, which is used with registers H and L to form a 24-bit indirect address. Instruction STINF, for example, indirects through the L'HL registers to store the accumulator.
Even with this 16M-byte addressing scheme, 8080 programs run compatibly on the ACT-3 due t o the BANK register, which forms the default upper 8 bits of a 24-bit physical address. Two new instructions specifically alter the BANK register to select the 64K-byte boundaries on which the 8080 programs should reside. The BANK register also supports multiuser and bankoriented operating systems.
Hardware supports ZOO emulation
The ACT-3's compatibility with 8-bit software goes one step further to include emulation of Z80 code. A bit in the ACT-3's CTRL register determines whether the processor is in the ACT-3's extended mode or in the Z80 compatibility mode. Both modes run the standard 8080 instruction set as a matter of course. When the machine detects a Z80-specific opcode (Fig. 3), the program counter is automatically pushed on the stack so that t he emulator program is able to access the opcode. The address of the emulator program, which resides in t he upper 8 bits of the CTRL register, is then loaded into the PC register, transferring control to the emulator program. The emulator program then pops the PC register's contents off the stack and fetches the Z80 instruction. It then branches to the appropriate emulation routine, performs the operation and returns control to the main program.
One reason for the ACT-3's fast execution of Z80 code is that over 90 percent of the opcodes encountered in a typical Z80 program are 8080 opcodes that require no emulation. For those opcodes that do require emulation, speed is attained by using the full power of the ACT-3's 16-bit instructions in the emulation routine. The Z80's block instructions (for example, LDIR, LDDR and CPIR) are particularly efficient on the ACT-3. In its emulation of the LDIR instruction, for example, the ACT-3 moves lK byte of memory in less than 3 msec.; a 4-MHz Z80 takes more than 5 msec.

Fig. 2. Single-Instruction addressing capabilities of the 8080,
8086, ACT-3 and 68000 are illustrated for a program running at the
bottom of memory (blue). Green regions are accessible via flow-of-
control instructions (jumps, calls, etc.); yellow regions are accessible
via data-access instructions (loads, stores, etc.) Note that the segmented approach allows access to only 64K bytes of data at a time,
whereas a linear addressing scheme (employed by the 68000 and
the ACT-3) gives direct access to the full 16M-byte address space.

Immediate benefits for applications
The ACT-3 processor is already at board level on the aSBC 80/300 SBC with RAM, PROM and serial I/O, allowing immediate integration into existing systems. The SBC supports the complete IEEE-796 Multibus interface protocol, including full multimaster capabili-

164

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Microbar. Your future system is our current project.

At Microbar, we're working today on the MultibusTM single-board computer (SBC) you'll need

tomorrow. We specialize in developing SBCs that put OEMs and system integrators in front ofthe

competitive pack-in technology, in time-to-market, and in cost. Doing that means maintaining a clear

focus on the future and anticipating your needs- maybe even before you do.

Keeping you ahead means we've got to stay flexible. We refuse to lock in to particular CPUs and

technologies. Because we're independent, we continuously-and objectively-evaluate the newest micro-

processors, busses and operating systems. So you can count on getting the best fully-integrated SBC

solution for your application. And on getting it early enough to make that critical difference.

Today, we're exacting maximum performance from the leading 16- and 32-bit microprocessors

implemented with the industry-standard Multibus. We do it by applying systems engineering concepts to

board-level design. And through special architectures leading to speed and efficiency far beyond typical

Multibus capabilities.

One thing we don't-and won't-do is compete withyau. Our business is high-performance CPU

boards, not systems. So our resources are 100% committed to developing and producing SBCs that

makeyour systems successful, that give you a real edge in the market.

Microbar. We're working on your next system-today.

8fl. MICROBAR
~SYSTEMS.INC.

1120 San Antonio Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 (415) 964-2862

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 73 ON INQUIRY CARD

TMMultibus is a trademark of Intel Corporation. 185

SINGLE-BOARD COMPUTERS

USER INSTRUCTION STREAM 8080 INSTRUCTION 8080 INSTRUCTION
zao INSTRUCTION
8080 INSTRUCTION

HARDWARE SP-SP-2
(SP)-PC
PC (HI) -CTRL (8..15) PC(LO)--

INTERPRETER

zao Fig. 3. The ACT-3's mode is enabled by setting a bit in the CTRL
register. When the processor subsequently encounters a ZBO opcode
(orange) in the instruction stream, special microcode (blue) is exe-
cuted to trap to the emulator program, the address of which lies in the

upper 8 bits of the CTRL register. The emulation software (red) performs the ZBO instruction using extended instructions to maximize performance. A simple return (green) sends the processor back to the main program to execute the next instruction.

ties. System integrators who need to minimize Multibus memory accesses can extend the 64K bytes of on-board no-wait-state RAM to 256K bytes, using a high-speed expansion connector.
Because of its 8-bit compatibility and high rate of throughput, the best applications for the aSBC 80/300 are by those who are struggling with the memory and processing constraints of the 8080, 8085 or Z80. Industrial-automation applications, for example, are a prime target for the aSBC 80/300 because increasingly sophisticated tasks are requiring computational capabilities beyond the abilities of 8-bit processors.
Exploiting the aSBC 80/300 in high-end business systems provides an interesting opportunity. Although business applications are requiring more speed and memory space for efficient manipulation of growing databases, many companies are avoiding the sacrifice that higher-performance processors require-namely, losing access to their installed 8-bit software. More businesses are also confronting the impracticality of equipping each employee with a personal desktop computer, because such computers do not allow users to share files easily. Multiuser systems are therefore regaining popularity, though processors such as the Z80 and 8080 are not fast enough to support multiple workstations. The aSBC 80/300 thus fills a niche in

business systems because it has the throughput and memory space required to support multiple users and at the same time allows companies to maintain their 8-bit software investment.
Data communications is another application area in which the aSBC 80/300's speed is valuable. Today's 8-bit processors, commonly used for implementing datacommunications products, do not have the throughput for handling sophisticated jobs. Although the 8080 is sufficient for a single-station communications device such as an IBM Corp. 2780/3780 remote-data-entry station or an IBM 3275 display terminal, it does not have the power to emulate a multistation device such as an IBM 3276 cluster controller connected to multiple terminals. Many applications can also employ the ACT-3 processor's fast interrupt-response time. In t he EDN/Carnegie Mellon benchmarks, for example, the ACT-3 handles the 110 interrupt kernel in just 28 µsec.
D
Robin Fosheim is product manager and Douglas R. Grundman is senior systems programmer at Advanced Computing Technologies Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich.
Interest Quotient (Circle One) High 813 Medium 814 Low 815

166

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

The Perfect Match

Davonghasa beautiful way to solve
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combines gooCI ~= ·1ooks with hard for IBM®PCs.

disk and tape. We offer a full range of disk sizes, all including a hard disk drive plus tape backup unit. And the capability of using the tape as a start/stop systems device.

In fact, this Davong DataSystem has a lot of other beautiful benefits, too. Like com-

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pressed or full-volume backup with file-by-file or full-volume
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media interchangeability.

®Multi-OS is a registered trademark of Davong Systems. Inc. ®IBM is a registered trademark of IBM Corp.

168

CIRCLE NO. 75 ON INQUIRY CARD

Our full XT compatibility actually offers performance a cut above other XTs. And
if you want even higher performance and password protection, you can use our
Multi-OS®software.
To top it off, there's the sleek, contemporary styling
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Davong DataSystem
for IBM PCs.
Davong Systems, Inc. 217 Humboldt Court Sunnyvale, CA 94089 (408) 734-4900 Telex : 176386
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

VALUE ADDED RESELLERS
Write your own success story . with Epson:

resolution graphics. Of course these are only a sample. But if you're interested, Epson has an up -to -date directory of VAR applications using our machines. Just another way we can help you develop your own successful system.

You've had the idea for years. Or maybe you just got it. But no matter what application you have in mind, Epson has the hardware to make it work And the sales and technical support to make it a success. Whether you want a portable, like the HX-20, or a desktop, like the QX10. Or printers and other peripherals. When you build your system around Epson hardware, you get more than just machines. You get the support of a $3 billion company, one ofthe worldwide leaders in the computer industry, and the number-one manufacturer of printers in the world. A company that has committed the human and technical resources you need. One that will be in business, and maintain our commitment to yours, over the long term.
WEVE ALREADY INVESTED IN YOUR SUCCESS.

of Epson machines. There's no runaround, just answers.
OTHER SUCCESS STORIES ARE ALREADY BEING WRITTEN.

WE'Il. 1REAI' YOU LIKE A PAR1NER
Epson has put together a complete development kit for each of o ur machines.The kit includes all the detailed technical specifications you need to develop your software around our directory Our VAR rep will continue to work closely with you and your programmers until the job is done. If neces-
sary, he has ready access to a VAR technical group back at Epson headquarters.

No matter what application you have in mind, Epson has a machine to make it real.
To put Epson's VAR support to work for you, just mail this coupon to Epson today. Send it to Epson America, VAR Program, 3415 Kashiwa St., Torrance, CA 90505. Or call us at (800) 421-5426 (in Calif., call 213-539-9140).
Epson is registered trademark of Epson America.
I~St-art-wr-itin-g-he-re:------MM.-8/84 ,I

Within

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I ~ VAR. sUPPORTCEITTERSI

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...

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 76 ON INQUIRY CARD

169

How Can We Do It?
Our confidence in the product you receive from Omnibyte begins with a solid, well thought-out design. All nonsocketed components are pre-burned-in and pre-tested.
All our boards pass these extensive tests: · A thorough visual inspection of all
completed P.C. board assemblies. · Bed of nails testing on our Zehntel
Troubleshooter Automatic Testing Equipment (more complex boards) . · In-circuit Functional Testing. · 72 hr. burn-in at 65 °C. under power. · A second in-circuit Functional Test following Burn-in.
Each Omnibyte board level product must pass these tests before shipping.
Is it worth it? The results speak for themselves. · Less than 1% of our boards are returned
for repair.

· In over 90% of the cases where a return is necessary, your board is repaired, tested and sent back to you within 24-48 hours.
Reliability is only one of the benefits of our board level and system products. They are loaded with state-of-the-art features like those on our OB68K 1A shown above.
The OB68K 1A is an extremely powerful stand-alone microcomputer board. It is designed for applications requiring high performance at lowest cost.
Important features include: · 1OM Hz 68000 16/32 BIT CPU. · 32K/ 128K/S 12 K-bytes of dual-ported
zero wait state on-board RAM. · Up to 192K-bytes of EPROM. · (2) RS232C serial ports. · (3) 16-BIT timer/counters. · (7) prioritized-vectored interrupts. · Switch selectable memory mapping.

· Software/hardware selectable baud rate generator (50-19.2K Baud).
· Directly addresses 16M~bytes. · IEEE-796 (MULTIBUS)** compatible
(MASTER/SLAVE Dl 6 M24 116 VOL). · Low noise multilayer design.
SOFTWARE SUPPORT
A variety of software packages are available for the OB68K 1A. They range from the optional VERSABUG * or MACSBUG* monitor/debuggers to Realtime Executive and Target Operating Systems in silicon.
At Omnibyte, quality control is extremely important, resulting in performance so reliable we back each and every board level product with a 2-year warranty.
For more information, ask for our free summary sheets or send $10 for a detailed technical manual. Contact Peter Czuchra, Marketing Manager.

~~~~ CIRCLE NO. 77 ON INQUIRY CARD D l""OMNIBYTE CORPORATION 245 W. Roosevelt Rd. West Chicago, IL 60185 (3 12) 231-6880 Intl. Telex: 210070 MAGEX UR

Eurocard/DIN single-board computers signal era
of international standards

Debate surrounding interface bus standards highlights trends in system integration

Rick Dalrymple, Senior Editor
Although the Eurocard/DIN-based VMEbus is now one of the four dominant board-level buses in the U.S. market, it may be several years before it and other Eurocard/DIN buses gain a domestic market share rivaling the edge-connector-based Multibus, Q-bus and STD-bus. These three popular U.S. standards have a track record of adapting to current application requirements. This fact, coupled with the wide variety and availability of tried-and-true support boards, leads many system integrators to conclude that these "old" standards deserve their continued loyalty.
In this article, the first of two, the emphasis is on those three popular 8- and 16-bit buses and two new 8-bit buses, the STE-bus and the CIMbus. Both the STE-bus and CIMbus incorporate the Eurocard/DIN mechanical specifications. The reason for this packaging standard's popularity goes beyond its reliability. As a family of boards and connectors, it offers the flexibility to keep pace with new architectures and performance requirements for many years to come (see "Eurocard's two families," Page 172). That is why all bus standards now in the proposal stage have incorporated the Eurocard/DIN specification.
The Multibus, Q-bus and STD-bus date to the mid1970s, when 8-bit, single-processor systems with 64Kbyte addressing represented the state of the art. Over the years, each of those buses has taken advantage of available technology to meet market demand. That process continues today as innovative board-level manufacturers find new ways to extend the capability of these old buses.
This is the first installment of a two-part series on microcomputer bus standards. The second article will focus on 32-bit buses, such as the VMEbus, the Multibus II, the NUbus and the Futurebus .

STD VS. STE

IEEE no. Board size Connector/pins Data transfer Data lines Address lines Multiple processor architecture Interrupts Daisy chain

STD P961 6.5x4 .5 in . edge/56 synchronous
8 16 (24 by multiplexing)
unspecified 2 1

STE P1000 100x160mrn Eurocard DIN 41612/64 asynchronous
8 20
master/slave 4 2

Perhaps the most limited of the three popular buses, the STD-bus, was conceived for control applications using 8-bit microprocessors. The STD-bus now has the capacity to compete in high-performance applications such as image and speech processing. It is found in fast-Fourier-transform (FFT) machines and flight simulators-all a far cry from the simple process-control tasks usually associated with the STD-bus.
Extending STD-bus performance
The STD-bus' new-found computational power comes from 16-bit microprocessors with 8-bit I/O, such as the 8088, 68008 and Z800. By coupling these devices with math coprocessors, number-crunching applications are improved as much as 100 to 1 in calculation speed. Also, new STD-bus, single-board computers overcome 64Kbyte addressing limitations by sharing four lines between memory address and data. This scheme creates the necessary 20 lines to address IM byte of memory.
Jim Eckford, marketing manager at Ziatech Corp., San Luis Obispo, Calif., considers his company's 8088/ 8087 board as a product that can compete with the Multibus in certain applications. "What we offer the

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

171

EUROCARDS

Eurocard's two families
The key difference between Eurocards and the mechanical specifications of other buses is that Eurocards are a family of cards coupled with a family of connectors. This system allows system integrators to take advantage of several different card sizes and connector configurations without leaving the Eurocard family. This results in a mechanical specification that has the flexibility to keep pace with new architectures and performance requirements for many years.
Within the Eurocard family, system integrators can use single-height (100 by 160 mm.) cards as compact modules or take advantage of the maximum board area accommodated by the Eurocard system by using the four-connector cards (500 by 400 mm.). This family of compatible card sizes allows system integrators to mix cards in the rack. For instance, they could use a combination of doubleheight, high-performance processor cards and lower-cost, single-height 1/0 modules.
Although the two-piece, pin-insocket DIN 41612 connector offers a gas-tight, environ mentally secure seal, reliability is just one facet of its appeal. Again a family, it offers compatible units with a range of accessories that includes ribbon and coaxial cable connections. The DIN connector's 96 pins provide the high pin density required to place all bus lines on a single connector. So, as technology allows a card to shrink from, say, double height to single height, no connector modifications are necessary.
Because the Eurocard is an open international standard, plenty of Eurocard hardware is on the market. And, because all new bus standards are adopting the Eurocard system, Eurocard hardware volume will increase and competition will keep prices down.
Eurocard sizes range from 100 by 160
mm. to 500.05 by 400 mm., based on a
grid system that allows card sizes to be configured in standard increments. Stacking cards from several bus standards side by side demonstrates the flexibility of the Eurocard specification and how STD's and Multibus' card sizes compare to Eurocards. .
172

EUROCARD CONFIGURATION GRID

:--.---:----- -----:- ----1 I I I I' 500.05mm.

366.7 mm .

233 .35 mm .

100 mm .

r~ ~

ta- f - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

E I

I~ E

r~ ~

~ lgj E - - - - -

TRIPLE-HEIGHT WITH EXTENSIONS

t-=:- t - - - - - -
1~ E

-----

DOUBLE-HEIGHT SINGLE-HEIGHT

lL -t- t-3~ -1- ~ I- t-3~ -1- ~ ~t------

t-3~ ~ 1~ E

BUS 4 or 1/0

-- -- -
BUS 3or1/0

t------
BUS 2 or. 1/0
t-3~ - ~

::v

BUS 1
:v

CONNECTOR 4

CONNECTOR 3 CONNECTOR 2

CONNECTOR 1

EXTENDED TRIPLE-HEIGHT
EUROCARD
366.7 x 280 mm .

FUTURE BUS NU BUS

172 x 305 mm (6'1· x 12 in.)

VME

SINGLE-HEIGHT EUROCARD 100 x 160 mm.
STE CIMBUS

MULTIBUS I

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

customer," states Eckford, "is a 16-bit product that is half Multibus' size and half Multibus' typical price." He therefore sees the STD-bus' small form factor-4112 by 6112 inches-and the availability of many low-cost boards well-suited to test and measurement functions as his company's edge over Multibus boards. ''Where we can do well," notes Eckford, "is in compact, dedicated, computation-intensive applications such as blood analyzers, oil-well loggers and spectrum-analysis systems."
Users shouldn't confuse processing power with VO capability. The STD-bus is an 8-bit bus that does not perform well in VO-intensive operations. Both the 16-bit Multibus and the 32-bit VMEbus are better suited to VO-intensive applications. Therefore, the STD-bus continues to pose no threat to buses used on commercial data-processing systems.
Distributed processing on STD-bus
Another trend benefiting all board-level products is the ever-increasing amount of function that will fit on a single card. With each new generation of integrated circuits (!Cs), board manufacturers can place more processing power on peripheral cards. At the system level, this means that peripheral processing tasks can be offloaded from the CPU card and that operations on several different peripheral boards can run concurrently.
In the case of the STD-bus, this concept has been applied to peripheral cards that could be called "intelligent slaves." These modules are single-board computers that function as intelligent VO cards acting as slaves

to one master CPU card. Ziatech offers STD singleboard computers with a second connector that interfaces to the Multibus' iSBX Multimodules, thus allowing each slave processor to have dedicated ;memory or I/O. These cards suit the one master/multiple-slave configuration because they allow the slave to address its own memory or other VO card without using the STD-bus.
Smart VO cards also help alleviate the STD-bus' VO limitations. As Matt Biewer, vice president of research and development at Prolog Corp., Monterey, Calif., points out, "The concept of distributed processing uses hardware to achieve the multitask environment in a parallel, rather than serial, mode of operation. The use of smart VO cards eliminates the need for a more sophisticated multitasking operating system because the host processor is relieved of most of the peripherals' task." Shifting the software load onto the peripheral card means that adding VO functions does not add significantly to the CPU's load. This approach allows performance features to be added without seriously impacting the operating system software.
The STD-bus has yet to be adopted as an IEEE standard, but it carries a working group number, P961. In moving toward a standard, the STD Manufacturers Group has developed an arbitration scheme that allows a two-master/two-slave configuration. The latest item, however, is a proposal from Ziatech, suggesting an additional surface connector on STD boards positioned so that iSBX Multimodules from the Multibus can be used in conjunction with the STD-bus.
Despite its improvements, the STD-bus is missing several features found in the newer bus standards.

MICRO CONTROLLER

MULTIBUS ARCHITECTURE

iSBX MULTl MODULE

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

173

EUROCARDS

Another IEEE working group, the PlOOO committee, has formulated a bus specification dubbed the STE-bus. While it retains STD's simple, low-cost interfacing, it is a fundamentally different 8-bit bus. The STE-bus offers system integrators an asynchronous, multimaster scheme on standard single-height or optional doubleheight Eurocards.
STE-bus committee circulates spec
According to committee chairman Bill Shields, president of Seaport Computers Inc., San Diego, committee members and other interested parties are now reviewing version 3.1 of the STE specification. Following this comment stage, the committee will print and submit a final specification document to the IEEE for approval.
The STE-bus' Eurocard standardization allows cards designed around it to function in Eurocard-based dualbus systems. In such a system, a high-end 32-bit bus, such as the VMEbus, uses STE cards as low-cost I/O. An STE board interfaces neatly with the two-connector VME scheme because the STE scheme uses only the outside two rows of the P2 DIN connector.
The STE-bus offers six improvements over the STDbus, including:
·processor independence, · asynchronous operation, · master/slave daisy-chained bus arbitration, · improved interrupt structure, · extended addressing range, · higher system integrity. These improvements, along with the lines to address IM byte of memory, accommodate the latest generation of 16-bit processors such as the 8088, 68008 and Z800. However, any 8-bit processor, including complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices, can be used on the bus. With regard to bus arbitration and improved interrupts, the STE-bus defines two daisy chains to the STD's one, and four prioritized interrupt lines to the STD's two. In the STE spec, one daisy chain serves bus
iSBX MULTIMOOULE
~~-- iSBX MULTIMODULE
-~.;-- .~C'I)
?"1:?

arbitration, and the other assigns priority to interrupting slaves. The STD's single daisy chain can be used for bus arbitration or interrupts-but not for both.
The items that provide the STE-bus with greater system integrity. are the more reliable DIN connectors, careful provision of grounds and the added safety of using a bus-error line to monitor data transfers and arbitration. In addition, extra OV lines around the data-transfer strobes provide greater data-transfer integrity and the possibility of ribbon-cable connection for remote I/0.
The big problem now facing the STE-bus is the lack of support from major board manufacturers. The STEbus needs a champion with the marketing clout to rally board manufacturers and system integrators to the STE standard. Without this support, the STE-bus may languish until enough products come onto the market to make it a real alternative to other 8-bit buses.
The first STE products are coming from the United Kingdom. Several British manufacturers have planned products, but only one-GMT Electronic Systems, Wimbledon, England-is shipping STE boards. Several small U.S. companies are interested in the STE-bus, but none has announced products.
Enthusiasm runs high for CMOS
One technology that may boost the STE-bus is CMOS. The STE specification takes the interfacing requirements of CMOS devices into account, and board manufacturers incorporating CMOS devices into their products may find the STE-bus attractive. But a big CMOS promoter, National Semiconductor Corp., Santa Clara, Calif., has chosen to offer its own CIMbus specification around which the company has built its Series/800 line of CMOS indm1trial microcomputers (CIM). Also, many STD manufacturers are now introducing CMOS STD boards.
Why all the CMOS activity? CMOS prices are coming down and are expected to start pushing transistor-totransistor logic (TTL) out of the market. In addition, new CMOS devices offer higher clock rates, thus answering the other major objection to CMOS--:..clevice speed.
CMOS boards offer high noise immunity, a much wider operational temperature range and low power dissipation. These features mean that CMOS boards are well-suited to harsh operating environments, cost less to operate and maintain and lend themselves to inexpensive, uninterruptible ba<!kup power or battery power sources.
According to National Semiconductor CIMbus marketing manager Steve McGinness, no effective CMOS bus standard existed at the time the company was developing the CIM product line. National rejected the idea of adapting to previous standards because the

174

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

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CI RCLE NO. 78 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

175

EUROCARDS

CMOS CIMBUS COMPARISON
-1

IC technology Board size

CIMbus CMOS 100x160mm

STD-bus NMOS
4.5x6.5 in .

~- 1

Multibus

-I

NMOS 6.75x12 in.

-I

Eurocards

Connector

DIN 41612

edge

Data transfer synchronous

synchronous

asynchronous

Temperature -40°C to 85°C 0°C to 55°C

0°C to 55°C

range

( -40°f to 185°f) (32°f to 131°f) (32°f to 13·1°f)

Power supply 10VDC to 17VDC +SVDC, ± 12VDC +5VDC, ± 12VDC

voltage

(unregulated)

(regulated)

Power dissi-

pation (watts)

7.5

Bus speed 1MHz to 4MHz 2MHz to 5MHz 2MHz to 5MHz

Source: National Semiconductor Corp.

drive/sink translation logic would take up valuable board space and power. Therefore, the company designed a new bus-a synchronous bus based on singleheight Eurocards with DIN 41612 connectors. No efforts are under way to make the CIMbus an IEEE standard. If a CMOS bus evolves, it's a safe bet that it will adhere to the Eurocard/DIN mechanical standards. As to a CMOS bus itself, it remains to be seen whether STE, a derivative of the CIMbus or a new effort altogether will result in an effective CMOS bus standard.
Meanwhile, system integrators can choose from CIMbus, STD-bus and Multibus products. The Multibus CMOS board manufacturer is Diversified Technology Inc., Rigland, Miss. Notes board products manager Bill Long, "Part of our success has been based on retrofitting old Multibus designs to make them more reliable." CMOS boards work well in sealed enclosures, allowing system integrators to move computers out of protected areas onto the factory floor or to other harsh environments.
Q-bus products pace market demand
The Q-bus, oldest of the U.S. bus standards, and Multibus, the standard now holding the largest U.S. market share, have been head-to-head competitors since the mid-1970s. During the last couple of years, the Q-bus has lost market share. However, recent Q-bus product introductions are stemming the flow of Q-bus customers to the Multibus. A key product is Digital Equipment Corp.'s 11173, a higher-performance singleboard computer offering a fully compatible upgrade path for DEC 11/23 users. Alcyon Corp. , San Diego, was the first to offer DEC 11/23 users an upgrade replacement board; DEC followed with the LSI-11173. Either product slips neatly into the DEC PDP-11/23 CPU slot.
According to Gene Banman, director of marketing at Data Systems Design Inc., San Jose, Calif., a disk drive supplier to both Q-bus and Multibus integrators, "Be-

fore the LSI-11/73, design wins for the Multibus included Q-bus customers. Now, Multibus design wins continue at a rapid pace, but Q-bus integrators are not among them." Banman observes that products like DEC's MicroVAX I superminicomputer and JFEPll board from MDB Systems Inc., Orange, Calif. (MMS, June, Page 269), are providing the performance improvements and upgrade paths that are keeping the Q-bus integrators happy.
The strength of the Q-bus lies in the large volume of developed software. As Q-bus integrators move to the MicroVAX I, a two-board product with prices starting at less than $10,000, they must also move up to VAX software to take advantage of features such as a 4G-byte virtual-address space, a 32-bit word size and full memory management. Once again a large library of VAX programs is available to system integrators, many of whom have programming experience on VAX systems.
The battle for market share in the single-board computer market pits DEC against semiconductor giants Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif., and Motorola Inc., Phoenix, Ariz. Each comes to the market championing different bus standards: DEC, the Q-bus; Intel, the Multibus; and Motorola, the VMEbus. Historically, DEC has been the leading single-board vendor. Intel has been second, and other single-board computer vendors lag far behind. But there is movement in this horse race. When 1984 sales figures are tallied, the leader could be Intel.
According to Dataquest Inc., a Cupertino, Calif., market research concern, 16-bit single-board computers will continue to dominate the market. The most popular 16-bit bus is the Multibus. A number of other high-performance 16-bit Multibus boards that promise to boost system performance well into the superminicomputer range are on the way.
Multibus offers configuration wealth
By adding a bus here and tacking on another there, the Multibus has grown from one bus to five. More than 200 manufacturers produce Multibus products. Multibus integrators are confronted with a wealth of configuration possibilities.
The first addition to the Multibus was the iLBX execution bus. This architectural extension allows a processor board to access as much as 16M bytes of off-board memory as if it resided on the processor board. This effectively removes local memory traffic from the Multibus. The benefits of this scheme quickly become apparent in multiprocessor configurations. With each processor board using a separate bus for local memory, the Multibus is free for VO operations or processor-to-processor communications.
Intelligent I/O cards also free the Multibus to handle

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

177

EUROCARDS

more processor and I/O ports. With a dedicated microprocessor and memory located on the I/O card, the need to hold a dialogue between host processor and peripheral is greatly reduced.
Among the single-board computer manufacturers exploiting the benefits of the iLBX extension is Central Data Corp., Champaign, Ill. The company is offering two high-performance processor board&-one based on the Z8000; the other, on the 68000. Neither board contains RAM or serial I/O devices. Instead, these boards feature full demand-paged, virtual-memorymanagement circuitry, an interface to both the Multibus and iLBX extension that includes bus-vectored inter:r;:upts and a powerful state sequence machine that handles all processor cycles on the board. It also leaves room for as much as 32K bytes of programmable read-only memory (PROM) for bootstrap and on-board diagnostics.
Both boards are intended for use with Central Data's cache memory board. By using the cache board, the effective memory access time totals 160 nsec. for an average cycle. Clearly, this powerful combination aids Multibus-based multiuser systems.
The next addition to the Multibus was the Multichannel I/O bus. This architectural expansion allows the
Single Board Computer
Fast, Powerful and Compact Microcomputers · 4 or 6 MHz zao· CPU
· 2Kto64KROMorEPROM · Expandable RAM from 64K to 256K · OMA for Floppy and Hard Disk Data Transfers · 2/4 RS-232 Serial Ports · Centronlcs Parallel Port · 50 Pin Expansion Bus for Additional 110 Capability · CP/M Operating System and Networking Available · Custom Systems and Private Label Packaging Available

Multibus to accommodate high-speed I/O transfers-as fast as 8M bytes per second-at distances as long as 15m. Typical applications include I/O bus communications with graphics processors, data-acquisition modules and Multibus system-to-system links. The bus provides block transfers across an 8- or 16-bit-wide data path using a simple asynchronous IEEE-488-like protocol.
The Multichannel is an alternative to the IEEE-488 bus, which is limited by a IM-byte-per-second transfer rate. However, the 488 bus does stretch to 20m. and has the advantage of ready-made links to peripherals and instruments with ports for the 488.

Small Items offer large benefits

The most recent Multibus additions include the iSBX

modular I/O bus and associated Multimodule. These, in

turn, connect to Intel's Bitbus and new distributed-

control modules (iDCMs). Each of these small items

could offer large benefits.

The iSBX bus and Multimodules allow the addition of

a small, low-cost board that attaches directly above a

full-sized Multibus processor board. This allows system

integrators to configure each processor board to its

application more precisely by adding functions such as

high-speed math, memory management, voice synthe-

sis and a board-level modem. Because each of these

functions can be accomplished using smaller Multimod-

ules, system integrators save the expense and space of

full-sized Multibus boards. There are two other advan-

tages: first, Multimodules can be accessed as quickly as

on-board memory, and they free both the Multibus and

iLBX bus for other tasks.

The Bitbus opens new vistas in control applications.

The key item in the Bitbus is the microcontroller, an

Intel term for a single-chip microcomputer on a small

board that includes the necessary drive circuitry.

Microcontrollers are dedicated to specific control de-

vices such as temperature monitors, motor controllers,

heating/air-conditioning system controllers, badge

readers and door and window alarms. All these dedi-

cated systems can be connected to a Multibus computer

system via the Bitbus, a serial bus with a maximum

data rate of 2. 4M bits per second using the synchronous

data-link-control (SDLC) protocol. The Bitbus extends

to 2 km., compared with tl~e RS232C at 50 feet and the

RS422 at less than 1,000 feet.

To review single-board computers now on the mar-

ket, refer to Mini-Micro Systems' Comrruter Digest,

June 15, Page 23.

~
_ _ __.___ ·zso is a registered trademark of Zllog

1951 ColonyStreet,SulteX Mountain View, CA 94043 (415)964-9497

Interest Quotient (Circle One) High 825 Medium 826 Low 827

CIRCLE NO. 80 ON INQUIRY CARD 178

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Now OEMs and systems integrators can sleep better at night. Because one company has taken the worry out of buying the right software.
RDS. The company that produces a family of database software designed to take on the future.
Incompatibility Is a thing of the past. INFORMIX®and File-it!'" are compatible
with UNIX~ MS'"-DOS, PC-DOS~ and PC/IX systems (over 60 micros and minis* at last count) .
INFORM IX is a true relational database system designed to take full advantage of the power of UNIX. It includes the most widely used report writer on the market.
Then there's File-it! The first easy-to-use UNIX file manager. Together. they have the flexibility to accommodate novices and experts alike.
INFORM IX and File-it! are fully integrated. Users can upgrade from File-it! to INFORMIX or access data from one program or the other without re-entering data, retraining employees or reprogramming.
Applications can also be moved from MS-DOS to UNIX and vice versa without having to rewrite the application.
Simplify program development. RDS offers C-ISAM~ the de facto standard
IS.AM for UNIX. It's a library of C subroutines with a B+-Tree based access method that stores, retrieves and modifies data from indexed files. It's embedded in INFORMIX and File-it! Or is available as a standalone product.
Software good enough for AT&T. AT&T, inventor of UNIX, has co-labeled
INFORM IX, File-it! and C-ISAM to run on their full AT&T 3B Computer line (from micros to minis).

Hewlett-Packard, Altos, Zilog, Siemens, Cromemco, Perkin-Elmer. Sydis and General Automation have selected RDS as well.
In fact INFORMIX has an installed base of over 6,000 copies. And RDS has sold over 35,000 licenses for all their products to date.
But before you make up your mind, check the facts one more time.
There's only one database software family that's UNIX-, PC-DOS-, MS-DOS- and PC/IX-based. It runs on more than 60 systems. And it's ideal for both novice and expert.
Now it doesn't matter where the future's headed. You're already there.

*RDS products are available for the following systems:

Altos 586, 986, 8600,68000 Apollo DN300 AT&T 3B2, 3B5, 3B20,
AT&T Personal Computer BBN C machine (all models) Bunker Ramo Aladdin 20 Charles River Data Systems
Universe 68 Convergent Technologies
Miniframe and Megaframe Corvus Systems Uniplex Cromemco System I DEC 11/23, 11/34, 11/44, 11/60,
I1/70,VAX I 1/730, I1/750, 11/780 Dual Systems System 83 ERG Mini System (all models) Fortune 32:16 Forward Technology 320 General Automation Zebra (all models)

Hewlett-Packard 9000 Series 200, 9000 Series 500
IBM PC, PC-XT Intel System 86/330 Masscomp NC 500 Momentum Hawk 32 NCR Tower Onyx C8002, C8002A Perkin-Elmer 3210, 3220,
3240, 3250 Pixel JOO/AP. 80 Supermicro Plexus P/25, P/35, P/40, P/60 Pyramid Technologies 90X Radio Shack Model 16 SCI Systems IN/ix Wicat System !SOWS, 160,
200 Zentec 2020 Zilog System 8000
(all models).

Demos of INFORMIX and File-it! are available. Demonstration software and complete manuals included.
<~01"""'\TMRELATIONAL DATABASE SYSTEMS, INC.
2471 East Bayshore Road, Suite 600, Palo Alto, California 94303 (415) 424-1300 TELEX467687

a INFORMIX is a registered trademark of Relational Database Systems. Inc. RDS. File-it/ and C-ISAM are trademarks of Relational Database Systems, Inc. UNIX is trademark of AT& T Bell Laboratories.
MSis a trademark of M icrosoft and PC-DOSis a trademark of International Business Machines.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 81 ON INQUIRY CARD

181

,,.. · he nature of the instrumen-
tation we use and the speed at
which we need to acquire data
created the need for a compiler that
would let us push our PDP-11 to
the limit. H
Glenn Jennings Senior Engineer, Programming Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena, California

Mature software tools speed development tasks

The latest software tools provide a mature environment for the development of complex applications, allowing greater productivity

Carl Warren, Western Editor

Software developers now have a robust set of tools. These include optimized language compilers, operating system environments that aid software development and sophisticated fault finders (debuggers).
With these tools, software writers can make a better product in less time. Although in most cases the tools are used to create application programs, they also lend themselves to the creation of still other development tools, or to the establishment of a fertile development ground.
One example of a tool used to create tools is Modula 2 for the 8086, developed by Logitech Corp., Redwood City, Calif. According to company president Pierluigi Zappacosta, Logitech's version of Modula 2 is a true compiler. It generates native code rather than p-code that must be interpreted. ''We aren't pushing Modula 2," says Zappacosta. "Rather, we are more interested in creating a programming environment and providing tools to the software developer similar to those used by hardware designers."
Modula 2 is an extension or, more correctly, a robust version, of Pascal. Logitech believes Modula 2 offers the right environment because it is many tools within a tool. Moreover, it permits the creation of other tools by using modules that can be used to define operationspecific libraries. "We have essentially addressed the problem of real-time programming," says Zappacosta, "but we have no illusions about supplanting the C programming language."
Another company embracing Pascal is Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif., with its .Pascal-286 compiler. It employs a version of Pascal conforming to the standards established by the International Standards Organization (ISO). The code produced is transportable to any

APPLICATIONS

OPERATING SYSTEM INTERFACE WRITIEN IN MODULA 2

OPERATING SYSTEM

WINDOW MANAGER

HARDWARE
Logltech's Modula 2 is designed to match applications with the operating environment by providing a software interface to the operating environment. Much like the hardware interface, the software link is written by the system integrator.
other ISO-standard Pascal environment. By offering Pascal-286, Intel hopes that · software
writers and system integrators will develop a host of products around its powerful 80286 microprocessor. Pascal-286, sold as iMDX-324, is priced at $3,900 and includes enhancements that take advantage of support chips such as the 80287 numeric coprocessor. Like Logitech's Modula 2, Pascal-286 also produces native object code.
Softech Microsystems Inc., San Diego, offers the UCSD Pascal and p-system. Softech has added a little extra in the form of a window manager called Insight

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

183

DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE

Window Designer. The entire package-with the window manager, UCSD Pascal and the p-system for IBM Corp.'s PC, Digital Equipment Corp.'s Rainbow and Apple Computer Inc.'s Ile-sells for less than $500.
Prospero Software Ltd., London, may have taken the language extension further with Pro Pascal and Pro FORTRAN. Both of these products are for 16-bit microcomputers using the Intel 8086 or 8088 microprocessor and the CP/M-86 operating system from Digital Research Inc. (DRI), Pacific Grove, Calif. Support for the Intel 8087 matching coprocessor is built-in.
To relieve software writers of the tasks of crossreferencing modules and performing cumbersome linking operations, Prospero provides a full set of command files that handle these tasks dynamically. To ensure conformity of the source-level code, Pro Pascal conforms to the ISO 7185 standard and is certified by the British Standards Institution for meeting international standards. Pro FORTRAN is a complete implementation of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) X3.9-1966 (FORTRAN 66) standard, but it incorporates a number of the features defined in the later FORTRAN 77 standard as well.
Besides adhering closely to international standards, Prospero has made provisions to combine the codes written in both compilers. Software writers can use the best features of each and couple the results.
UNIX establishes a solid base
Although Pascal provides an alternative to software writers, the C programming language is currently favored by many software companies. For example, dBase III, from Ashton-Tate, Culver City, Calif., is written in C to provide maximum portability across many machines. According to an Ashton-Tate spokesman, the goal is to use C's portability to make the product as beneficial to system integrators as possible.
Robert Anton Byers, an independent software consulting engineer in LaCrescenta, Calif., says system integrators can use C because UNIX provides a plush environment in which to build software. "In UNIX, you have literally rafts of libraries to choose from. Therefore, software writers have the tools at the touch of a button."
The C language lends itself well to producing other tools. One company, Digital Information Systems Corp., Sacramento, Calif., has used C to create Data Business Language (DBL). This "new'' language is a superset of the DIBOL-11 business language from DEC, Maynard, Mass. As the name implies, the $449 DBL-4 is written to support business applications. Existing applications can get easily transported due to compatibility with the DEC product. Furthermore, DBL-4 operates in a variety of operating-system envi-

Extending the operating environment of the IBM PC can be
achieved using DRl's Concurrent CP/M-86 and a Star/ink expansion
add-on to support as many as five users.
ronments including MS-DOS; thus, source code can be created on the IBM PC or a compatible microcomputer and up-loaded to a DEC PDP/11.
Tools locate data
Byers contends that, in reality, what computers are used for is managing databases. "The trick is to figure out a method of getting to the data quickly. Sophisticated tools now provide the programmer with that ability.''
One such tool that aids software writers in handling
databases is Trio Systems' C-INDEX +. This package,
priced at $400, links into C language applications and provides variable-length data-storage and -indexing functions. Moreover, company president Alan Bartholomew says that indexed sequential access method (ISAM) techniques are used to keep track of the data and to provide quick access to it. Although Trio does sell the object-code version, it also makes available a source-code OEM version for system integrators.
For developers who are creating applications for the IBM PC world, XOR Corp., Minnetonka, Minn., provides a tool kit of 50 C routines for $99.95. "This is a superior set of extensions to the standard C library," says vice president of research and development Michael de St. Hippolyte. "The standard C library doesn't have built-in input/output commands but uses general functions. Our C Tools is a set of functions for I/O specifically optimized for the IBM PC; thus, a programmer can quickly have keyboard and sound routines by simply specifying a library call in the source code.''
Taking a different approach to C compilers is Boston Systems Office, Waltham, Mass., with an optimized Motorola 68000 microprocessor BSO/C compiler. The compiler, priced at $5,000, is designed to run on the DEC VAX to produce microprocessor target code, turning the powerful minicomputer into a microprocessor development system. BSO also plans versions for

184

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

The new Canon·

Handy Terminal 5000 is \

the portable unit that lets

you gather and process

information out of the office.

With a maximum 32K internal

user RAM plus up to 64K optional

file memory, it's perfect for jobs like

retail audits, warehouse inventories,

order-taking anywhere in the field

or any one of hundreds of business

applications.

It can be programmed to perform of hard knocks.

almost any task, adopting BASIC and

Also available is the 5000P (shown

Assembler languages.

above) which has a built-in thermal

And can even relay information to printer that can print one original and

your computer via phone hookup.

a copy.

Portability is also the key word of

And both terminals can incorporate

the 5000, because Canon's Handy

an optional bar code reader.

Terminal was especially designed for

So why not widen your computer

traveling light.

horizons with Canon's new Handy

At a weight of less than 2 lbs., it can Terminal. It lets you go as far as you like.

operate on a rechargeable battery and can be carried by neck strap or in an attache case. Yet it's highly durable, water resistant and shock resistant. Which means it can take its fair share
© 1984 Canon US.A.. Inc.

For more information: Call 1-800-323-1717, Ext. 302. (In Illinois call 1-800-942-8881, Ext. 302.) Or Write Canon U.S.A., Inc., Systems Division/Handy Terminal, P.O. Box CN 11250, Trenton, N.J. 08638.
Canon S~stems Division

CIRCLE NO. 83 ON INQUIRY CARD

DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE

LANGUAGE PORTABILITY - COMMON CODE CONCEPT

UNIX SYSTEM V PC-DOS, MS-DOS ~-~
CP/M, CCP/M r---r--~-~---,.,._--T
C BASIC

P BASIC
c

PU1

FORTRAN
~--+---+---t<----+---t
COBOL

PASCAL

BOBO Z80

BOB6 B02B6 6BOOO OTHERS 8088

SOURCE: DIGITAL RESEARCH INC.

be pushing the state-of-the-art with Concurrent CP/M86-but it does open up a new environment for the software writer."
Even though DRI has traditionally skirted the UNIX issue, it is now aggressively developing a series of tools and applications in concert with AT&T Technology Systems, Summit, N.J. Specifically, under the aegis of AT&T, DRI is developing products in three distinct areas: professional programming library, which includes compilers and other development tools; office automation-spreadsheets, word processors and graphics; and engineering scientific, with statistics, finite analysis and surface representations. "The products are primarily for the AT&T B-series of minicomputers, but it is an open-architecture scheme to permit portability across a variety of devices and to allow developers to increase the value of the base product."

The basic concepts of DAi's common code are to provide a common syntax on the front-end (languages), a link to the various processors and common links to the operating systems. This 3-D approach means that code generated on one machine type tor a given operating system can be used in a completely different environment with little or no changes.
the Intel 8086/88 and 8087 microprocessors as well as Motorola's 6809 and Zilog's Z80 family of processors.
The BSO development series includes the necessary software interfaces to allow linking to a variety of microcomputer operating systems. In addition, a runtime math library is incorporated to institute floatingpoint capability.
Tool makers are challenged
Because computer systems, minicomputers and microcomputers and the attendant applications grow increasingly more sophisticated, software tool makers are continually challenged to provide better widgets. DRI, one of the mainstays of the operating system and tool business has recognized the need to bolster developers' tools. "The biggest challenge we see is to provide source-level portability across a number of processors," says Fred Langhorst, vice president of DRI's corporate planning and development. He admits that this isn't news. "It may be the single most important factor, however," he says.
Accordirig to Langhorst, because of the number of chips with 32-bit power being produced by the semiconductor industry, the software has to be available to take advantage of it.
Due to the diversity in the various chips, Langhorst says, the new generation of development tools are designed to remove "bit-twiddling," thus ensuring that they meet the portability demands of the industry. ''We match the code to maximize the processor-and we may

Ease of creation sought
To achieve portability and ease of creation, DRI uses the common code-compiler generator. This is a technique whereby the compiler has a front end and a back end. The front end always has the same syntax regardless of the CPU, and the back end makes it CPUdependent. An intermediate translator from the source code to the chip-specific generator serves as the communications vehicle. "This doesn't mean multiple steps are required; we handle all the translation in a transparent manner at compile and link time," Langhorst says.
Still another company that is working with AT&T to provide developers with tools for the powerful computers is Feith Systems and Software Inc., Bala Cynwyd, Pa. Its contribution is UX-BASIC. "This is a product we distribute for UXSoftware Inc., Toronto, explains company president Don Feith. "This is a superset of BASIC and contains statements such as TRIM, DAY and DATE and even has Pascal-like constructs such as WHILE and WHEN. This language allows software writers to quickly create applications that will run on a host of UNIX-based machines."
One company that has tak~n an aggressive posture in providing high-performance software, especially for the graphics industry, is Megatek Corp., San Diego, with the Template graphics package. "This is a powerful tool that lets yQu develop sophisticated graphics that are usable in a variety ofenvironments, ranging from large-scale, computer-aided design workstations to the IBM PC," claims Template director of operations Robert W. Adams. The newest version of the package for the IBM PC, priced at $300, aims at OEMs, system integrators and sophisticated end users.
Basically, Template is a library of FORTRAN programmer routines--a graphics development tool kit.

186

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

High speed and high quality in one whatever character fonts your host

functional, compact unit. That's computer can create. As well as a

what Canon's Impact Matrix

choice of four different character

Printers offer you.

styles (all printable on the same

They print hard copy at a rapid line) that you can enlarge or

160 characters per second. While in condense.

the double pass mode you get an

The Impact Matrix Series

impressive, high-density 23 X18 Printers give you a convenient

dot matrix that gives near letter choice of special paper widths-the

quality printing suitable for word PW-1080A for SO-character

processing.

column printout and the PW-1156A

Canon's unique technology has for 156-character column.

also dramatically reduced

Exceptional quality and high

bothersome clatter down to a

speed.

muted noise level of less than 60dB. The Canon"' Impact Matrix

Even at high speed.

Series Printers give you the best of

And that, unlike many other

both worlds.

impact matrix printers, makes them a pleasure to work with.
Plus there's limitless flexibility with the optional down-loading function that lets you print

For more Information: Call 1-800-323-1717, Ext. 300. (In Illinois call 1-800-942-8881, Ext. 300.) Or Write Canon U.S.A., Inc., Printer Division, P.O. Box CN 11250, li'enton, N.J. 08638.

Canon Printer Division

CIRCLE NO. 84 ON INQUIRY CARD

DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE

Included are 21 font styles and device drivers to handle various input and output devices. As with the C libraries, Template's FORTRAN routines can be coupled into a total development environment.

Operating environments important

Because power, portability and ease of development

are important to software writers, they are naturally

looking for the most productive environment they can

find. Craig S. Jelinek, president of Micro Business

Applications Inc., Burnsville, Minn., runs one such

company. "Because we have products that are aimed at

being generic in the business world using the IBM-PC

and look-alikes, we need an environment that doesn't

restrict us to a predefined set of rules. Thus, we

decided that we could satisfy a lot of needs by using Micro Focus' Level II COBOL is designed for ease of application DRI's Concurrent CP/M-86 with PC-DOS emulation. " creation by providing structured mainline coding techniques.

Jelinek refers specifically to the capability of CP/M-86

to switch dynamically between operating modes (CP/M or PC-DOS). When linked with DRI's new Starlink, a COBOL remains an Important tool

multiport add-on to the IBM PC that uses Concurrent's The Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL)

capability to support as many as five users, multiuser is proving to be a powerful mainstay for a variety of

capability is automatically provided. "Essentially, all business applications. Developed in the early '50s as a

the background work is done for us. We can spend most tool to handle batch business applications, it has

of our time developing the application. "

emerged as a useful tool in interactive applications

typically found on most microcomputers and business

minicomputers.

USE OF LANGUAGES

Because COBOL does offer software writers a ma-

LARGE SITES

(STAFF GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO 20) RPG

FORTRAN

1.5%

9.5%

BASIC

ture environment to create applications, a number of companies are actively supporting the language. Among these are Ryan-McFarland Corp., Rolling Hills

PASCAL 1.8%
ASSEMBLER _ ____.,.c..,_
11 .8%

1.2% PU1 8.4%
---'~- OTHERS 9.2%

Estates, Calif.; Micro Fbcus Ltd., Palo Alto, Calif.; and Microsoft, to name a few. Micro Focus, however, is the only company that has built a complete development philosophy around the language and created a host of

products to support the development process.

Among the products Micro Focus offers are: Level II

COBOL, which conforms to ISO standards, ANIMA-

COBOL _ _~ 56 .6%

TOR, a program that analyzes and debugs COBOL source-level code, and Personal COBOL, which is essen-

SMALL SITES

tially a fast version of the large-scale COBOL.

PASCAL

(STAFF LESS THAN 20)

BASIC

o.9% _ _ _ _ _ . . . . . . - - - - - - - 8.6%

PU1 2.1 %

ASSEMBLER 5.9%
'---FORTRAN
8.4%

Although Level II COBOL is priced at a hefty $1 ,995, it does support code written in mainframe environments, thus easing the translation process. Moreover, users of smaller systems such as the IBM PC can use

Personal COBOL, priced at $395, and develop code that

--+--OTHERS 9.1%

can be easily ported to the more robust Level II. Even with most of the industry appearing to stress

other languages, International Data Corp. , Boston,

sees COBOL as retaining the lion's share of the soft-

ware market with an average of about 45 percent across

SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL DATA CORP. large and small systems. This represents about $100

Across large and small systems, COBOL still remains the most billion in worldwide investment. Thus, the profitability favored development language. (Source: International Data Corp.) of COBOL-oriented products is easily assessed.

188

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Take a look at the beautiful clarity of the.Canon ~ PJ -1080,A;s color ink-jet printing. Then discover that Canon's color printer actually costs well under a thousand dollars. You'll be hard-pressed to decide which is more amazing.
What makes the quality so incredible? Features like:
· The advanced drop-on-demand printing system. Canon's patented ink-jet technology gives a sharp 640 dot-per-line scan mode, for dazzling high-resolution color and exceptionally clean, crisp printouts.
·Whisper-quiet operation of less than 50dB and an impressive speed of 37 c.p.s.
· A choice of seven bold colors for bright, imaginative graphics.
· A special dual-ink cartridge system that gives cleaner
© 1984 Canon U.S.A., Inc.
CIRCLE NO. 85 ON INQUIRY CARD

resolution on blacks and saves you money, because when black is used up only the black cartridge need be replaced. · The ability to print high-fidelity characters and images on transparencies for overhead projection. ·Compatibility with most computers you can buy. And how much does all this cost? Far less than a thousand dollars. So what's more incredible about the PJ-1080A color ink-jet printer? There's only one way you'll really be able to find out. And that's to buy one and decide for yourself.
For more Information: Call 1-800·323-1717, Ext. 300. (In Illinois call 1-800-942-8881, Ext. 300.) Or Write Canon U.S.A., Inc., Printer Division, P.O. Box CN 11250, ll'enton, N.-J. 08638.
Canon Printer Division

.------------- - -- - - · - · - - ----- ·.,
I I Please Send Me More Information on the Following Zitel Products:

I D Multibus ® Memory

D Series 20 Microcomputer Building Blocks

I D Series 90 Family of Bulk Memory

D Custom Microcomputer Cards

I I D VME/Versabus TM Interface D Special Interface D Other

I I o Custom Memory Cards

Multibus is a registered trademark of Intel Corp. Versabus is a trademark of Motorola Inc.

I I My application is

CIRCLE NO. 86 ON INQUIRY CARD

Ill ~:::any :~~ne ZI. te I 1.·

..----------------------------~ Division Address _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _~

City, State

Zip _____

Zitel Corporation · Attn : Applications Manager · 399 W. Trimble Road · San Jose, California 95131

Zitel International: 53 Boulevard, De Waterloo, bte 2, 1000 Brussels, Belgium.

DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE

To speed COBOL programming, Bytel Corp., Berkeley, Calif., has COGEN 6.0. This powerful front end to COBOL allows software writers to define COBOL code lines interactively by using screen definitions. Bytel's COGEN isn't limited to either micros or minis but is available for MS-DOS/PC-DOS systems as well as UNIX-based systems. An MS-DOS version is priced at $950; the microcomputer UNIX version is $1,250. Minicomputers supported include those from Texas Instruments Inc., NCR Corp., Prime Computer Inc. and DEC and range in price from $2,900 to $7,500 plus an annual maintenance fee.
Another company offering a 74 COBOL-compatible compiler is S&H Computer Systems Inc., Nashville, Tenn. The company's COBOL Plus, which ranges in price from $2,000 to $3,500, depending on licensing arrangements, is optimized to run under DEC's RT-11 and RT-llXM single-user operating systems, and S&H's TXX-Plus multitasking/multiuser operating system. Moreover, the package includes facilities to allow applications written under other versions of COBOL to be transported with minor modification.
Other tools emerge
Not all development strategies involve just the software. Digital Datacom Inc., Laguna Niguel, Calif., for example, has developed a complete workstation concept for increasing programmer productivity. Called the WorkForce Development System, it comes with a custom COBOL code generator that matches ANSI requirements for the 74 COBOL standard. This generator, claims the company, permits the creation of structured, consistent code.
Working in concert with Nastec Corp., South Field, Mich., Spectrum International Inc., Culver City, Calif., has developed the LifeCycle Manager, which integrates standard development methods and design tools for software development on Nastec's CASE 2000 workstation.
The total system, including software and workstation, is priced at $29,000. But the developers claim that it speeds software development and cuts costs by providing a fully automated tracking-auditing-system for the entire process.
Because software development can be cumbersome and the management difficult, Oregon Software Inc., Portland, Ore., has developed SourceTools. This series of programs, which runs on the DEC PDP-11 under RSX or RSTS operating systems, manages the development and maintenance of software projects.
The SourceTools system operates with any language and consists of three groups of programs that work together to create a development environment. The first group, Source Control (SOURCECON), is made

PROJECT MODULES

A detailed view of Oregon Software's SourceTools components
in both the host and target operating environments shows a set of
project-control modules from which the working files are called. Notice that each working file can share the control modules, so many applications can be looked at concurrently. MAKE accesses the
modules only through the SOURCECON by executing description-file commands to retrieve the working files, which are text source files. The arrows depict the flow of operations.

up of four programs that control the creation and

modification of source files. The second group is a single

program called MAKE, which handles the rebuilding of

programs from control modules. The third module is

made up of two programs: TXTCOM, a file-comparison

utility, and SEDIT, a stream editor that reads the

TXTCOM script and applies changes to a parallel

source file. This latter group serves as the management

audit trail for keeping track of changes.

' Basically, SourceTools ensure that proper testing and

documentation are updated. Moreover, various ver-

sions of the code are kept and compiled as changes are

made, thus eliminating time-consuming recompilation

of the complete system.

Even with sophisticated tools becoming available for

microcomputers, most of the powerful tools still reside

on minicomputers and mainframes. Industry experts,

such as DRI's Langhorst and independent consultant

Byers, believe that it will still be another two years

before many of the functions find their way to micro-

processors. "The semiconductor industry is providing

more power in microprocessor technology," says Lang-

horst. "Even with 32-bit devices emerging, it will still

take us 18 to 24 months to create the software tools to

maximize the use."

Interest Quotient (Circle One) High 819 Medium 820 Low 821

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

191

HOW
TOOK ADR
OVERS

Over five years ago,Tandon made one of the boldest moves in the drive industry when we established manufacturing and assembly facilities overseas.
It was all part of our commitment to toss protocol aside, break the rules and do anything possible to make a better drive at a lower cost.
Well, just look where it got us. Now we're all over the world. Our prices have dropped by more than half. We've made quality control an art form. We're keeping up with the highest volume product demands without a hitch. Of course, not everything is going over-

seas.We've been rather judicious about selecting the right tasks to make the move.
And happily, our manufacturing success over there has made for some important achievements over here, too. We've kept our most advanced technology and research and development at home where it belongs. Right where we have a large, stable, experienced group of high-tech experts.
As a result, we're stronger than ever. So now when you look at drive companies, there's one other characteristic you should keep in mind. Foresight. At Tandon, it's never been a foreign idea.

lanaon
TIE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE SMALL COMPUTER INDUSTR\!
Tandon Corporation, 20320 Prairie, Chatsworth, CA 91311. (818) 993-6644, TWX: 910-494-1721,Telex: 194794. Regional Sales Offices: Boston (617) 938-1916 · New York (201) 851-2322 · Atlanta (404) 934-0620 · Ch icago (312) 530-7401· Dallas (214) 423-6260 · Irvine (714) 669-9622 · Santa Clara (408) 727-4545 · Frankfu rt ,West Germany 6107-2091,Telex: 411547 ·London, England (0734) 664-676,Telex: 848411. Distributors: Hall-Mark, Kierulff, Schweber.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 87 ON INQUIRY CARD

193

The

of getting

graphics on your old

terminal. . . BUY a Selanar

Graphics Enhancement Board.

DEC TELEVIDEO
OUME LEAR SIEGLER

Bring your old terminals to life with Selanar's Graphics breakthrough . Selanar has done something no other graphics technology company has done. We've developed retrofit graphics boards with pen plotter interfaces that provide high resolution hard copy no matter what the screen resolution of your terminal ls-and we've done it for some of the most popular terminals.
Selanar Quality, Selanar Service
There's a Jot to say about Selanar's retrofit graphics boards-Tektronix 4010/4014'Memulation, exclusive

Selanar features. compatibility available graphics software, a variety of hard copy output options, for instance. You trust Selanar's fast and fair service. And you appreciate Selanar's low prices and low operating costs.
Low CPU Overhead
With completely independent graphics memory. Selanar graphics boards provide a range of local terminal functions . Reducing transmission between terminal and output devices. and between terminal and CPU, means lower processing overhead. higher efficiency-and lower operating costs.
Easy To Install And Use
The Selanar graphics boards are easy to install-in just minutes your

alphanumeric terminal becomes a powerful graphics terminal. And the graphics functions you gain are easy to access. Now you can create charts, graphs, plots. histograms and other complex monochrome images with a minimum of training- and make presentation-quality hard
copies on your pen plotter.
Buy Selanar For Graphic Answers Call us today. Whether you 're an OEM or end-user. we're ready to tell you just how Selanar can provide solutions to your need for high quality. low cost graphics upgrades-with Selanar's top-flight quality and support.
· Call now 408·7Z7·Z81t

CIRCLE NO. 88 ON INQUIRY CARD

Low-cost multiuser system exploits PC-compatible workstations
By incorporating several processors and emulating the IBM PC 110 system, a microcomputer allows as many as
12 users to run concurrent applications

Mark Greenberg and Stephen Kanzler
North Star Computers Inc.
Hardware manufacturers and system integrators increasingly are incorporating single-user microcomputers into networks that allow multiple users to pool programs, data and peripheral devices. One such multiuser system is Dimension from North Star

Computers Inc., which includes as many as 12 IBM PC XT-compatible workstations at a price of approximately $2,500 per station. The system achieves this per-station price by having multiple processors communicate through shared memory using an architecture that is a compromise between a loosely coupled and a closely coupled network.
Most multiuser microcomputers employ a single

IBM PC-COMPATIBLE WORKSTATIONS

Fig. 1. A star network links as many as 12 Dimension workstations, each a maximum of 325 feet from the server. Each workstation is functionally equivalent to an IBM PC XT.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

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Spec summary
· Name: Dimension multiuser mi-
crocomputer
· Manufacturer: North Star Computers Inc., 14440 CataUna St., San Leandro, Calif. 945n, (415) 3578500
· Architecture: multiuser, multiprocessing, star-type network with an 80186 server processor and as many
as 12 8088-2 workstation processors
· Memory: 128K to 512K bytes per workstation, 256K to 512K bytes with the server
· Diak atorage: 15M to SOM bytes per system
· Video dlsplay: 12-lnch monochrome screen, 640-by-200-plxel or 640-by-400-plxel resolution
· Software: runs MS-DOS and IBM PC-compatible applications
· Price: $7,000 to $23,000 per system

195

MICROCOMPUTERS

processor and a timesharing operating system. This structure provides an economical way to achieve multiuser capability, but it can result in sluggish system performance because of heavy demands on the CPU. Dimension solves this problem by giving each user a dedicated workstation that is functionally equivalent to an IBM PC XT (Fig. 1).
Each workstation incorporates an 8088 processor that runs an independent copy of Microsoft Corp. 's MS-DOS 2.0 operating system with a basic I/O system (BIOS) that emulates the IBM PC XT ROM BIOS. This emulation, combined with IBM PC-compatible keyboards and video displays, enables Dimension to run most off-the-shelf PC-compatible applications. The workstations contain their own RAM and connections

for user-specific printers, plotters and mice. Each workstation also maintains its own logical file system. However, Dimension stores user files on a shared hard disk, rather than on multiple private disks-a difference that is transparent to programs and users.
An Intel Corp. 80186 processor on a central server board coordinates access to shared system resources (Fig. 2). A real-time multitasking kernel schedules the 80186's workload. The server board includes as much as 512K bytes of main memory, controller interfaces for hard disks and a PC-compatible floppy disk drive, one parallel and two serial ports and a clock/calendar. The server also controls a PC-compatible system bus, which contains 13 slots for the workstation boards. The bus and backplane are mechanically compatible with the

Fig. 2. The 80186 processor on the server board coordinates data flow throughout the system. The 8088-2-based workstation boards plug into a 13-slot IBM bus connected to the server. The bus

backplane accommodates IBM-compatible add-in boards such as controllers for communications and tape backup.

SERVER BOARD

80186

IBM BUS INTERFACE IBM BUS INTERFACE

SPEAKER

196

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

From
' to

Nobody puts ideas on paper so niany ways.

If you're using your printer with

But let's say you're running a

printers. non-impact printers. high-

a personal computer, you probably big computer and it's hundred-page security printers for the government.

need one that can.handle a variety reports you need. Pronto. Or docu- and more.

of functions.

ments by the millions.

In fact. we make more different

At the same time. the price

The printer on the right finishes kinds of computer printers than any

should be in line with the computer a full computer printout page in less other independent printer company

itself. Low.

time than it takes to sneeze. At 2,000 in the world.

The pint-sized Dataproducts

lines a minute. it prints much faster

Very likely we make one that

printer in the picture costs about as than you can see. Three shifts a day. fits your needs exactly.

much as one good software package. Year after year.

Write us at 6200 Canoga Avenue,

It prints spreadsheets, graphics

In between these two special- Woodland Hills. CA 91365. Or phone

and illustrations, labels, multi-part duty Dataproducts printers are

(818) 887-3924. In Europe, 136-138

forms-evenlettersthatlooklikethey whole families of other Data-

High Street. Egham. Surrey. TW 20

o;~products c;;;;;y;~nt~;~n~nd I tP I

MINl·MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 89 ON INQUIRY CARD

197

CIRCLE NO. 90 ON INQUIRY CARD

MICROCOMPUTERS

processor address space it requires. A closely coupled network that provides each of I2 workstations with IM byte of address space would require a server processor with much more address space than the IM byte of the 80I86.
The solution to the address-space constraint is to allow the workstation processors to operate independently except when they need to access syi;;tem resources. A

Fig. 3. Dimension's price per user is less than that of IBM PC networks such as Santa Clara Systems Inc.'s PCNet and 3Com Corp.'s EtherUnk. The low price stems from shared peripherals and the use of one cabinet for all processors, disk drives and power supplies .
IBM PC, so users can allot spare slots in the bus to a tape-backup controller or to IBM-compatible add-in boards such as an Ethernet or a 3270 communications controller.
Integrating multiple processors yields efficiencies. Workstation processors run programs and manage files, while the central server processor handles system I/O. Throughput of the workstation processors increases because the server relieves them of such timeconsuming tasks as writing data to the hard disk.
Communications between workstation processors and the server processor occur via I/O ports and shared-memory data transfers. This approach incorporates features of both loosely coupled and closely coupled networks.
A loosely coupled network such as Ethernet links multiple processors by cable connected to the processors' I/O ports. The disadvantage of this architecture is that serial data transmission by cable is inherently slow. Because multiple processors contend for the communications medium, collisions and retries cause delays. The risk of errors in transmission requires elaborate protocols for detecting errors, so that software overhead reduces effective bandwidth by as much as 90 percent. With the exception of a few very expensive systems, therefore, loosely coupled networks have low throughput.
In a closely coupled system, multiple processors communicate through shared memory. Reading and writing to memory are operations a processor performs rapidly. Moreover, memory-to-memory transfers entail a low risk of error. The results are that software overhead is minimal and throughput is high. The major disadvantage of a closely coupled system is the

Throughput of the workstation processors increases because the server relieves them of such time-consuming tasks as writing to the hard disk.
workstation initiates a request for system resources by interrupting the server and setting a service-request bit in an I/O port. When the server processor is ready to respond to the request, it uses the I/O port to establish a closely coupled relationship with the workstation processor. The processors transmit data through an area of memory that both can access. When data transfer finishes, the server restores the workstation processor to independent status.
Dimension uses shared memory in two ways. First, the server processor learns the details of a service request by mapping the top quadrant of a workstation's memory into the server's address space. This quadrant contains the system overhead area of 32K bytes that each 8088 processor uses to define its requests for system resources. The 80I86 writes to this area to return the status of these requests. Second, when .the 80I86 needs to read data from or supply data to a workstation processor, it maps in the appropriate quadrant of workstation memory, copies the data to or from the server's cache RAM and then maps the quadrant back out again.
Segregating shared-memory areas protects their contents. No workstation processor can access the server's memory, so the programs and data stored there are protected from interference. Workstation RAM is accessible to the workstation processor and the 80I86 server but not to any other workstation in the system.
Although workstation memory is accessible to two processors, it is not dual-ported. In a dual-ported arrangement, the memory arbitrates access by the processors. In Dimension, the server controls access to shared memory. Before the server can access an area of workstation memory, it must suspend the operation of the workstation processor and take control of the private workstation bus. It does not relinquish control until it has completed the transaction. In short, the

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

199

MICROCOMPUTERS

Each Dimension workstation incorporates an 8088 processor that runs an independent copy of MS-DOS.
server functions as master of not just the system bus but also the bus on each workstation board. This setup increases the server's efficiency because the 80186 does not need to compete with the 8088 processors for access to workstation memory, and it does not have to wait for arbitration on each cycle.
Dimension uses most of the server's 512K bytes of RAM as a cache memory for selected data from the hard disks, reducing the need for physical access to the disks. This configuration increases system responsiveness because the system can retrieve data from the cache in 1 percent of the time it takes to access the hard disks. The system reduces hard disk seek time by processing seek requests in the same kind of sequence an elevator uses to order its movements between floors, and it expedites the data transfer between the disk buffer and the server's cache RAM by dedicating one of

the two direct-memory-access (DMA) channels on the

80186 to the hard disks.

A network of five Dimension workstations with 30M

bytes of disk storage sells for much less than five

standalone PC XTs with an equal amount of hard disk

storage. The main reason for the lower per-station

price is that shared disks cost less than multiple

user-specific disks. This network also realizes econo-

mies by incorporating the processors, memory and disk

drives into a single cabinet, eliminating the need for

separate power supplies, cooling mechanisms and

enclosures (Fig. 3). Also, the workstation keyboard and

video display are standard, high-volume items that are

relatively inexpensive, and the cost of hardware

overhead in the server processor is spread across the

network.

Mark Greenberg is vice president, research and development, and Stephen Kanzler is Dimension product marketing manager for North Star Computers Inc., San Leandro, Calif.
Interest Quotient (Circle One) High 822 Medium 823 Low 824

More power
than a
Thunderchief.

When it comes to choices in tape transports, Innovative Data Technology puts unprecedented power arru

technology in your hands. Its Series TD-1012, TD-1050 and TD-1750 tape transports offer full 7- and 9-track

IBM/ANSl/ECMA/ISO 1/2-inch magnetic tape compatibility and can be configured for a variety of data

transportation, data logging and data back-up. Integrated with these tape transports are a complete line of

controllers for: RS-232C, IEEE-488 (GPIB), Unibus/Q Bus, Intel Multibus, Parallel 1/0 and the new Small Computer

Systems Interface (SCSI).
The TD-1012 operates at 12.5 ips Start/Stop and 100 ips Streaming, 1600 bpi (PE) . Dual mode, 800 (NRZI) and 1600 bpi (PE), operation is offered at 45 ips Start/Stop for the Series TD-1050 and 75 ips Start/Stop for the Series TD-1750 . The Series TD-1750 represents even more advanced engineering-an active tension arm technique that eliminates noisy vacuum

I -

columns-a first in 75 ips tape transports to take advantage of this

technology. IDT's family of tape transports. They'll give you more power

than a Thunderchief.

111111111

INNQ\ATIVE

DATA

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

TECHNOLOGY

General Offices:

P.O. Box 178160 · 4060 Morena Blvd. · San Diego, CA 92117

(619) 270-3990 ·TWX: (910) 335-1610

Eastern Regional Office:

P.O. Box 1093 · 6845 Elm St., Suite 608 ·Mclean, VA 22101-1093 (703) 821-1101 ·TWX: (710) 833-9888

Solutions

for !c7Q@Eg{ip

AND BEYOND

Aircraft photo courtesy of Squadron Signal Publications from "Air War over Southeast Asia"

IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines Corp.

200

CIRCLE NO. 91 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

See So
Dick is a programmer. Dick gets caught in tedious testing. Drowned in printout. Never to know the sweet smell of success.
Jane has the perfect programming environment. Because it speeds applications to market. It's
See s specially tailored to the IBM®PC. It's from Micro Focus.
Sen. Writing programs is fast with integrated PERSONAL COBOL':' Jane gets powerful editing. Syntax checking. Interactive source code debugging. And forms painting. Plus support for IBM PC keyboard and display functions.
Compiling is also fast. And running too. Thanks to High Performance LEVEL II COBOL~ With native code generation. And it's certified at the highest federal level.
Maintenance and enhancement is a snap with ANIMATOR'." So Jane's applications are the latest. The greatest. And Jane's the fastest, most effective programmer around.
This software vendor has just gone public. Because programmers are productive. Customers are contented. And dealers are delirious. All thanks to Micro Focus.

MICRO

FOCUS
2465 East Bayshore Road ,Suite 400 P a lo Alto, CA 94303 , ( 415 ) 856·4161
Cl 1984 M icro Focus Inc. A ll Rig hts Reserved. I BM is a registered tradem a rk of International Bus iness Machines Corporation. PERSONAL COBOL, High Performance L EVEL II CO BOL, AN IM ATO R , VISUAL PROGRAMMING, MICROFOCUSandthe MICRO FOCUSLogoaretrademarksofMicroFocusLtd.

Name _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ Title _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Com pany_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Phone_ _ _ _ _ _ __ Address _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ __ City_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ Sta t e _ _ _ Zip _ __

CIRCLE NO. 92 ON INQUIRY CARD

Take one remarkable ESP 6310, a fully-featured, ASCII terminal. Add the remarkable ESP 9310
computer module (Patent Pending). Now, you have it-a fully IBM®*PC compatible workstation with one footprint.
In the ESP 6310 terminal mode you have all these features:
·Seven menu selectable emulations: Esprit II®, TVI 925/910 + ®, Hazeltine 1500®, ADM3A®, ADDS Regent 25® and Viewpoint®· Hidden attributes. Positions not taken up on screen · Unique feature: compatibility to both hidden and non-hidden attributes · Menu-selectable set-up mode in non-volatile memory, line drawing graphics and smooth scroll· 14", high resolution, high contrast, non-glare screen · Small footprint, tilt and swivel display · Low profile sculptured DIN standard keyboard · 22 nonvolatile, programmable function keys
*(IBM"' and PC-DOS"' are the registered trademarks oflntemational Business Machines, Inc. TVI 925/910 + <I> are the registered trademarks of
Televideo Systems, Inc., ADM3A® is the registered trademark of Lear Siegler, lnc., ADDS Regent 25® and Viewpoint® are the registered trademarks of Applied Digital Data Systems, Inc. MS-DOS"' is the registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.)

CIRCLE NO. 93 ON INQUIRY CARD

In microcomputers
today, UniSoft sets the
standard.
AT&T has recently been advertising that their UNIXTM operating system will be the standard OS for microcomputers. That's true. But if you want AT&T's UNIX software on micros today, talk to UniSoft Systems.
UniSoft has been delivering AT&T's UNIX adapted for 68000-based microcomputers for two years. More than 75 different computer systems run the UniSoft software, UniPlus+.TM At each Bell release level, all thes~ systems are object code compatible. This means that applications software developed on any UniPlus+ system will work on any' other. This is where software portability pays off.
UniSoft enhances Bell's vanilla UNIX with the best features from the Berkeley BSD research version of the UNIX operating system. IP/TCP networking, record and file locking, and virtual memory from UniSoft turn UNIX into a commercial product. All this added value is still Bell-compatible.
Don't wait six months to get System V running on your hardware. UniSoft's cu~tomers can ship it now.
If you're building or selling a 68000-based UNIX system, your operating system should come from UniSoft Systems, the UNIX experts.

_ =s==:y___ S I E M S
THE BERKELEY PORT AUTHORITY

·UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories

739 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94710 · (415) 644-1230 TWX II 910 336-2145 ·UUCP ucbvax!unisoft!unisoft

204

CIRCLE NO. 94 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Value-added resellers pursue business markets with support and services

Led by IBM and Apple, personal computer vendors are seeking to penetrate vertical markets
with sales organizations that provide solutions to problems, not just products

Chris Bailey, Western Editor
The burgeoning personal computer market has attracted wide attention, particularly in the area of retail computer store sales. But a significant and growing market for personal computers in applications normally serviced by system integrators and OEMs has emerged. This market is catching the eye of almost all of the major participants in the personal computer arena and provides an attractive channel for the smaller start-ups as well.
A healthy market forecast for personal computers
According to Erna Arnesen, senior analyst for personal computer market research concern Future Computing Inc., Richardson, Texas, personal computer sales will reach $12.2 billion this year in the United States. Of this figure, value-added resellers (VARs) will contribute over 17 percent of the hardware sales and 7 percent of the software sales. Sales through these channels-including system integrators, OEMs and independent sales organizations-are expected to grow to $5 billion by 1989.
While these figures are impressive, in the opinion of some analysts they do not take into account much of the added-value application software sales that will accompany the sales of hardware and standard software packages by VARs. These analysts believe that the typical VAR will add more than 10 percent to product value through software.
Steven P. Korn, product manager of PC Network
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

RETAIL STORES DOMINATE PERSONAL COMPUTER MARKET
(HOW PRODUCTS ARE SOLD-1984)

DIRECT 17%

CONSUMER ELECTRONIC

r------'~~--_/

STORES 4%

-oTHER 2%

HARDWARE
DIRECT 6%,

MASS MERCHANDISERS 3%
i EDUCATIONAL DIRECT 3%

SOFTWARE

SOURCE: FUTURE COMPUTING INC.

205

PERSONAL COMPUTERS

Operations at General Electric Information Services Co., Rockville, Md., says it is imperative for VARs to develop unique software products that make their systems more attractive than those sold through retail channels. GE Information Services historically has capitalized on selling mainframe-based application software and services through timesharing networks.
In 1982, GE began marketing IBM Corp. PCs to its customers along with a wide range of application programs utilizing the data-sharing and access capabilities of its network. A typical PC installation with 20M bytes of hard-disk storage, a modem, surge protectors and several application packages might sell for approximately $15,000. "These special applications programs make our systems more valuable and justify a greater cost than a simple PC system with standard software. Because our systems solve difficult end-user problems that aren't addressed with standard software, our customers aren't lured by the widespread discounting by retailers," says Korn.
VARs compete with systems
Unlike the retailers who compete primarily on price and delivery, VARs depend on their ability to provide a hardware and software system solution. All major personal computer vendors now solicit and support VARs. Research companies such as Future Computing have begun tracking this sales channel. Notes analyst Arnesen, "Everyone has now realized that this is an important sales channel in addition to the retail stores. But to date, no firm data was available on VARs in the personal computer field. We are making this effort because our clients want to better understand this area." Ralph Gilman, vice president of InfoCorp, Cupertino, Calif., concurs: "The VAR sales channel holds great pot~ntial for those companies capable of supporting and attracting the better sales organizations. Tradi-
SALES BY VARS GROW AT 22.20/o ANNUAL RATE
($ BILLION SALES)
C==:J HARDWARE 4 WllZllllJ SOFTWARE

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

SOURCE: FUTURE COMPUTING INC.

GE Information Services is selling IBM PCs as value-added workstations. End users access a variety of corporate databases with applications ranging from just-in-time inventory scheduling to claim processing and financial services.
tional minicomputer VARs are well-tracked, but many of the personal computer turnkey system suppliers are new to the computer business and thus not as wellunderstood."
Even before IBM officially announced their valueadded dealer (VAD) program, it was negotiating with resellers eager to formalize a relationship based on PC and XT products. In 1983, IBM formed a new division, the National Distribution Division (NDD), to focus sales efforts in new directions.
In addition to responsibility for the IBM product centers, this new division has responsibility for the VAR channel that primarily supports IBM small-system products other than the PC and the VAD channel for PC and related products. Notes NDD representative Nadine Fletcher, "The purpose of this division was to bring single-management focus... for IBM's small computers. " The new division focuses non-retail sales (except for IBM product centers) through a single organization based in White Plains, N. Y.
A pool of IBM machines is available for VARs or VADs participating in business shows. A direct-marketing kit with mailers, prospect forms and suggested telemarketing strategies is available. A national remarketer database is on-line for IBM field representatives with information on services offered by VARs and VADs nationwide. Seminars and special classes for resellers-focusing on handling the business problems -are part of a professional-enhancement program. There are also several classes of technical support, some free and some offered on a fee basis. These include call-in help as well as on-site training, service and consulting. Additionally, there are regional customer system centers for handling product questions. Finally, special VAD advisory councils have been formed to improve communications with IBM.

206

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

The Peripherals Digest is the Indispensable selection guide to computer peripheral equipment for systems Integrators and high volume end users. The Peripherals Digest consolidates, categorizes and Interprets each offering with extensive data and comprehensive text. Mini-Micro Systems magazine has helped define the value-added market for mini and microcomputers and related peripheral equipment on a monthly basis for over 15 years. The Peripherals Digest adds regularly updated reference cover· age to our monthly news and features In Mini-Micro Systems. The Peripherals Digest, a reference source to keep handy throughout the year.
For advertising Information, please contact your regional sales manager.
CIRCLE NO. 136 ON INQUIRY CARD

LMC's 32-bit MegaMicro provides mainframe or super-minicomputer performance at prices competitive with today's far less powerful 8- and 16-bit microcomputers. This is made possible by use of the next generation of logic chips-the National Semiconductor 16000-series. LMC MegaMicros incorporate: the NS16032 central processing unit which has true 32-bit internal logic and internal data path configured on the IEEE 796 multibus; demand-paged virtual memory implemented in hardware; and hardware 64-bit double-precision floating-point arithmetic.
The LMC MegaMicro is supplied with HCR's UNITY* which is a full implementation of UNIX** and includes the Berkeley 4.1 enhancements to take advantage of demand-paged virtual memory. Also included are C and FORTRAN. Typical multiuser systems with 33 megs. of fast (30 ms. average access time) winchester disk storage, a half meg. of RAM, virtual memory, hardware floating-point arithmetic, UNIX, C, and FORTRAN 77 are available for $20,000 (and even less with quantity or OEM discounts).
· UNITY is a Trademark of Human Computing Resources . .. UNIX is a Trademark of Bell Laboratories.
LMC MegaMicros The LogicalAlternativeTM
INC
The Logical MicroComputer Company
......... 4200 W. Diversey, Chicago, IL60639 (312) 282.9667
i "rMi A member of The Marmon Group of companies
CIRCLE NO. 135 ON INQUIRY CARD

PERSONAL COMPUTERS

The IBM PC and XT configurations lead the "most-wanted list" for VARs. The PC is the most widely emulated computer system in history.
Product and program options abound
IBM, Apple Computer Inc. and Tandy Corp. pioneered development of personal computer system integrator sales channels. According to Apple's manager of VAR market research, Bill Broderick: "In the early days of personal computers, it was Apple and Tandy battling it out. Originally, Apple had better success with hardware OEMs because of its tremendous flexibility in supporting hundreds of add-in hardware products. Tandy, meanwhile, often did well with software geared for professional and business markets."
Apple's success with the Apple II product line significantly influenced the traditional minicomputer vendors in their system houseNAR marketing efforts. It also spurred them to provide competing personal computer products. In the past two years, minicomputer vendors Digital Equipment Corp., Data General Corp., Wang Laboratories Inc., Texas Instruments Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. have introduced personal computer products and programs geared toward VARs.
One of Apple's strengths has been its willingness to work with potential software vendors before officially announcing a new product. Apple won high praise for

its support of software vendors before February's introduction of the Macintosh. More than 100 software vendors received technical documentation, and 50 or so systems were in place at developers as early as nine months before the official introduction. These efforts paid off. Apple expects Macintosh software to have a large and growing market in its first year.
Particularly attractive to software application developers is the ease of interfacing with the Macintosh's internal ROM-based software drivers for screen and menu manipulations. Handcrafted for speed in use with Apple's Desk Manager software, the ROM code contains "hooks" for external software to access routines driving the screen and other input/ouput devices. This relieves software developers of the burden of analyzing the internal workings of the Macintosh hardware and creating their own driver routines.
Like IBM, Apple qualifies potential VARs before they are approved to resell Apple products. According to VAR program manager Matt Slavik, a strong business plan is a must. "Of course, they must add value in the form of a software application or hardware addition to the system, but foremost in our minds is whether the potential VAR can actually achieve its sales goal. This is usually revealed in a good business plan."
HP makes Its move
Long a respected OEM and VAR supplier in the minicomputer arena, Hewlett-Packard struggled with its initial personal computer offerings, especially at the retail level. But its systems were highly regarded by traditional scientific and technical OEMs. This year, the company made a four-pronged attack on the mainstream personal computer market with the introduction of the HP150 desktop computer, the Portable, and the Thinkjet and Laserjet printers.
With these products, strategists believe, the company is poised not only to penetrate the general retail personal computer market but also to provide attract-

HP's Portable weighs 9 pounds, features a 16-line-by-80-character Apple's Lisa and Macintosh computers sport high-resolution display, built-in application software like word-processing and
graphics, interactive mouse interfaces and menu-driven operation. spreadsheet programs, and terminal-emulation capabilities.

208

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

1cat1on

Introducing the WorkForce Development System. A powerful hardware/software combination that lets you take custom turnkey systems to market faster, easier than ever before. Thanks to WorkForce- a 68000-based, multi-user system that's built for dependability and expandability.

And thanks to a software system with an advanced COBOL program generator and built-in word proces-

sing, DBMS and spreadsheet packages. Packages that

integrate perfectly with the custom programs you

design yourself.

With this combination, you can create consistent

code, making custom-designing faster and simpler. You

can spend more time developing and less time pro-

gramming. You can offer the most comprehensive solu-

tions your customers will ever use. And because the

code is so consistent, it's easy to maintain.

The WorkForce Development System. Put our

Workforce application programmer to

work for you. And watch it sell

itself, ambitiously.

Good helpisn'thardtofind.

Workforce by Digital Datacom, Inc., 27721 South La Paz Road, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 (714) 831-8470.
CIRCLE NO. 96 ON INQUIRY CARD

PERSONAL COMPUTERS

VARs, VADs, ISOs-what are they?

Few agree on how to define VARs, VADs and ISOs. IBM Corp.'s National Distribution Division (NOD) defines a "VAR" as a value-added remarketer. It's an organization that buys a computer from IBM and resells it to the end user after adding software products that turn the computer into a turnkey system.
The rest of the industry uses the term "VARs" to mean value-added resellers . These are system houses or

system integrators. This term originally applied to minicomputer turnkey suppliers who received the "iron" or plain-vanilla computers from the minicomputer vendors, added application software or operating systems and sold the bundled system to the end user complete with support / service.
Organizations that resell IBM PCs are called " VADs," or value-added dealers. These groups are entitled to buy and resell products in the IBM PC

family if they pass stiff qualification standards. In this group are resellers who add software and hardware to create turnkey systems.
The term " ISO," or independent sales organization, can mean large dealers who buy systems wholesale and resell them to smaller dealers, distributors or system houses, making a profit on the markup. But often they add value in training , support, software and other services, too.

ive alternatives for VARs and OEMs. HP commercial OEM market manager Vince Mancuso explains, "The OEM and VAR portion of sales is a large part of the overall personal computer business. In the past, we have done well with the scientific and technical OEMs, but with our new products we have a much more appealing general-purpose product line."
One of HP's strengths is its long-term relationships with traditional minicomputer system houses. These companies are especially interested in applications that tie personal computer workstations to existing minicomputer-based information networks. Analysts such as the Yankee Group have given HP high marks for its office-automation product strategies, and the personal computers are designed to fit in information networks.
The HP150 has built-in hardware and software to support standard HP block-mode terminal emulation. Versions without disks are available to provide a lowcost avenue for connecting computers to networks.
Tom Anderson, general manager of personal software operations at HP, says the company has improved many standard software packages and added proprietary software that helps broaden the appeal of its small computers. Proprietary software includes deskmanager functions and communications links to other systems, including the IBM PC. Improvements to existing third-party software include a user-friendly shell around the MS-DOS operating system and utilization of soft function keys for programs like MicroPro International Corp.'s WordStar.
Extra hardware features have been added to the HP small-systems lineup. In particular, the HP150 sports a touch-screen interface that eliminates the need for keyboard input of many commands. The Portable features a 16-line liquid-crystal display and a batterydriven electronic RAM disk that allows users to access a minifloppy-equivalent, mass-storage device without rotating storage drives.

Anderson explains that system integrators are very

important to HP's personal computer program. He sees

the most activity in two areas: use of a personal

computer as a productivity tool-primarily in stand-

alone applications-and use of a personal computer as a

low-cost network workstation node. HP's large busi-

ness computers serve as ideal back-end database man-

agers in such a configuration. The built-in communica-

tions facilities of the HP personal computers help them

serve as easy-to-use front-end systems.

This communications effort is part of HP's Advance-

Net communications strategy that integrates data-

communications capability with data-management ca-

pability. Based around the International Standards

Organization (ISO) Open Systems Interconnect (OSI)

model for a layered approach to open system architec-

ture, the AdvanceNet idea is to develop communic:i,-

tions protocols that allow computers, terminals, person-

al computers and other workstations to communicate,

even when manufacturerd by different vendors. In-

cluded in the AdvanceNet umbrella are communica-

tions products supporting access to IBM, DEC and

IEEE 802.3 and IEEE 802.4 standards.

Like HP, TI is pursuing an MS-DOS product strate-

gy that is not fully compatible with the mainstream

IBM PC. But it hopes to attract VARs and OEMs by

offering better product features than IBM does.

Tl says its Professional computer offers better

screen resolution, more colors, a more familiar IBM

Selectric-oriented keyboard and a number of special-

ized peripherals that provide natural-language and

speech-command capabilities, as well as mainframe and

Ethernet communications.

Interest Quotient (Circle One) High 834 Medium 835 Low 836

210

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Ampex announces
more of a good thin.
The demand for small discs in 1984 alone will reach 6 million units.
Thirty percent of these discs will be thin film media. A technology we pioneered at Ampex.
One we will continue to lead the way in. Which is why our new $15 million automated ALARTM disc thin film facility is continually stepping up production quantities. So your disk drives can have more of the good things thin film has to offer. More storage capacity. Greater performance. More durability. More of what you need to build the best little disk drive in the world.
AMPEX
[I] Ampex Corporation · One of The Signal Companies
Oise Media Operations, Media Products Division, 960 Rincon Circle, San Jose, CA 95131,
(408) 945-5600, TWX 910-378-5920, TLX 34-84-64
m ALAR is a trademark of Ampex Corporation.
«:> 1983 Ampex Corporation
CIRCLE NO. 97 ON INQUIRY CARD

THEMOSTIMPORTJINTFEATURE YOU'LL FIND IN DIGITAL'S TELEPRINTERS IS THE
COMMITMENT BEHIND THEM.

When Digital pioneered the teleprinters,you can count on

concept of interactive comput- Digital to fulfill that need.With a

ing some 25 years ago,an inter- product specifically designed

esting side benefit occurred . for the job.

Out of necessity, we had to develop our first teleprinter.
But rc.therthan simply approaching the task as a sideline,we genuinely committed ourselves to the job of

THE DECWRITER Ill. THE IDEAL TERMINAL FOR HIGH DUTY CYCLES AND RUGGED ENVIRONMENTS.

developing a truly outstanding

Even the briefest glance

product. The end result was the LA36 '" teleprinter.Asystem

explains why the DECwriter Ill '" (the LA120) teleprinter has

that provided far more fea-

established Digital's long-

tures, capabilities and durabil- standing reputation in the ter-

ity than most people needed minals market. This heavy duty

just then .The fact that over

teleprinter is every bit as tough

200,000 LA36 teleprinters

as it looks.

remain in active duty across

It gives you exactly what

the country today is a true tes-

tament to the careful thought

and foresight that went into the

original design.

Each new model intro-

duced since the LA36 tele-

printer has been yet another

demonstration of our commit-

ment to the needs of the mar-

ketplace. And an equally

strong demonstration of the

market's commitment to us.For

the popularity of our products,

in several cases, has actually

helped drive the industry to

adopt new standards. With the

introduction of the LA36 tele-

printer, for instance, came the

wide acceptance of the 300

baud communications rate.

And the LA120'" teleprinter

helped popularize the faster

1200 baud rate.

Oigital's commitment to the

teleprinter market remains

rock-solid. Our terminals man-

ufacturing plant in Arizona

currently produces more

teleprinters than ever before.

So as long as there's a need for

you want. Fast draft speed printing at 180 characters per second .Fanfold paper capabilities in widths up to 15".A choice of 8 character widths. And extensive communications support,including auto answerback and auto disconnect.
Most importantly,the DECwriter 111 teleprinter is a true master of forms. Some 45 features, like horizontal pitch, leturight and top/bottom margins,as well as horizontal and vertical tabs, are all summarized right on the keyboard, allowing you to set up formats in an unusually quick and sim-

pie manner. Then, once set,all can be stored in non-volatile memory.And the DECwriter 111 teleprinter can provide crisp , legible forms up to an impressive 6 parts.
DIGITAL'S LETTERWRITIR 100. THI BEST ENGINEERED TELEPRINTER FOR THI OFFICE.
Flexibility is the word that best describes the Letterwriter 100'" teleprinter. For starters, you have a choice of multiple print speeds. You can print a draft copy of aone page proposal in just 1Oseconds.Then ,

by simply pressing a single is the one teleprinter that finally

button,you can shift from a lives up to the requirements of

high speed 240 characters per your whole office.

second to a high quality 30 characters per second ,with printing that'sdifficult to distinguish from true letter quality. There's even an optional 80 character per second memo mode that'sideal for interoffice correspondence.

THE DECWRITER CORRESPONDENT. THE ONLY FULL-FEATURED COMPAU YOU'LL FIND.
In many situations,the applications themselves suggest aclear solution .

For further versatility,the Letterwriter 100 teleprinter lets you select from 8 different character widths,multiple character sets and a wide variety of typefaces.Infact,you can store 5 different typefaces resident within the teleprinter, and the selection can include Courier10,12,and Italics, Gothic 1Oand12,Orator 10,

But just as often,the solution isn't quite so clear.
That'swhen you need Digital'sCorrespondent ·· teleprinter.It'sthe closest thing to an ideal,all-around terminal.
Consider its wealth of features.The Correspondent teleprinter allows you to use ordinary single sheet,roll, or fanfold paper for high quality

and APL,so you can select the

style that suits the job as easily

as pressing akey. And,in the

event you'd like to illustrate a

particular point,bit map

graphics help you do just

that.

The Letterwriter 100

can handle the paper that

best suits your needs.

Sheet, fanfold or roll, in

any width up to 15'.'

Finally, the Letterwriter

100 product tackles all

your forms. Setup is simple,

and the high quality dot

matrix printhead provides crisp ,

legible copies through 4 part

forms .

In short,the Letterwriter 100

output that won 't fade over time can function as aconsole or as

like thermal paper.It also gives atransportable terminal that

you the flexibility to print multi- can move from desk to desk or

ple part forms and labels And office to office,ready to com-

you may customize the text municate in whatever mode is

output to your own particular available.

style by selecting from awide

No matter how you look at

variety of character sets,widths it,the Correspondent tele-

and sizes alone or in conjunc- printer gives you alot of capa-

tion with bit map graphics.

bility in asmall package.

But what makes the Correspondent teleprinter truly impressive is that you get all these features in a compact

BEST ENGINEERED MEANS ENGINEERED TOA Pl.AN.

little 20-pound package.A

Digital'steleprinters, like all

package complete with three Digital hardware and software

communications interfaces. products,are engineered to

Not just the usual RS232-C

conform to an overall comput-

port,but a300 baud acoustic ing strategy. This means that

coupler and a300/1200 baud our products are engineered

modem as well. That means to work together easily and

the Correspondent teleprinter expand economically.Only

Digital provides you with a

single,integrated computing

strategy direct from desktop to

data center.

For more information and

the name of the Authorized

Terminals Distributor or Digital

Representative near you ,call

1-800-DIGITAL,extension 700.

Or write Digital Equipment

, Corporation,2 Mount Royal

Avenue,UP01 -5,Marlboro,

MA01752.

THE BESTENGINEERED COMPUTERS IN THE WORLD.

©Digital Equipment Corporation 1984.Digital,the Digital logo,LA36.LA120,DECwnter,DECwmer Ill.Lellerwnter 100and Correspondent are trademarksot DigitalEquipment Corporation.

CIRCLE NO. 98 ON INQU IRY CARD

214

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Take advantage ofour learning curve with the STD BUS.

Sometimes, there's just no substitute for experience. And that's why so

many smart designers continue to develop new ideas with our MD SeriesT\'

STD,Z80 BUS,compatible boards. For energy, environmental and process

control. Test and measurement equipment. Computer peripherals. High,

speed printers. Medical electronics. Data communications. And an ever,

expanding list of applications too numerous to mention.

Because for a wide variety of situations, our compact boards provide all

the power designers need. At a price that's powerfully cost,efficient.

Not only that, our boards are already designed and proven in thousands

of applications. Plus, they're assembled. Tested. Debugged. And modular,

ized by function so you only have to buy what you need. And there are

more than 30 boards to choose from. Available through Mostek or your

local Mostek distributor.

We also offer development software and operating systems, plus a com,

plete array of card cages and sub,system enclosures to ease and speed

your design and packaging.

What's more, the STD, BUS is fully expandable. Which makes it sim,

ple and economical to add, delete, or interchange boards when you want

to redesign or upgrade.

Take advantage of our learning curve experience with the STO,Z80

BUS. It's a time,proven course that can add a degree of success to your

own system designs. For more information, contact Mostek, 1215 W.

Crosby Road, MS2205, Carrollton, TX 75006, (214) 466,8816. In Europe,

(32) 021762.18.80. In Japan, 03/496'4221. In the Far East (Hong Kong),

5,68115 7.

MD Series is a trademark of Mosrek Corporation.

mUNITED TECHNOLOGIES MOSTEK

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 99 ON INQUIRY -CARD

215

AMARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE.

INTRODUCING THE FIRST MULTIFUNCTION MULTIBUSSCONTROLLERS FOR SUPERMICROS WITH SIMULTANEOUS DISK/TAPE TRANSFERS.

The marriage ofyour syst.em with Xylogics'

Advancedchannelcontrol using proprietary

new 420 Series controllers results in a level ofuser

Xylogics DMA and ECC gat.e arrays and separat.e

convenience and speed never before available in a

buffersfor disk and tape give the 421 and 422 the

supermicro.

lowest DMA overhead and highest data transfer

Now your supermicro can support either the

rat.e in the industry-leaving oonsiderably more

SI'506 or ESDI 5%" disk andQIC-02 %"tape int.er-

bus bandwidth available to the CPU and other I/O

fares-simultaneously.

devices.

AtDMAratesofupto 2.5MB/sec.

And because Xylogics employs the industry's

Other controllers allow access ofonly disk or

most rigid qualityoontroland testing procedures,

tape at one time, and require significantly great.er

the 421 and 422 come with an infant mortality rat.e

bus capacity to do it.

ofvirtually zero, and an

The Xylogics 421 simultaneously controls two SI'506 disks and up to four QIC-02 tape drives. The 422 provides even great.er throughput, supporting two ESDI

- .-. m D -==-

Ill

---

...
-... ·- .:i:=-
--

MTBF approaching 100,000 hours.
Little wonder that Xylogics has built and sold more high performance Multibus peripheral controllers to more

disks and up to four QIC-02 tape drives. And both

major OEMs than any other manufacturer.

the 421 and 422 controllers require only

Call or writ.e for more information on the 421,

one card slot in your syst.em.

)xylogicsl 422 andotherXylogics products.

The Peripheral Performance Leader.

144 Middlesex Turnpike, Burlington, MA 01803 Tel: (617) 272-8140 TWX: 710-332-0262 (800) 225-3317 outside of Massachusetts Xylogics European Headquarters: (Slough, U.K.) Tel: (0753) 78921 Telex: (851 )847978
MULTIBUS is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. MULTIBOOST is a trademark of Xylogics, Inc.

216

CIRCLE NO. 100 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

HP's model 9000:
squeezing a mainframe into a shoe box
HP's top-end desktop system, a 32-bit
micro, · has as much as 2.SM bytes of
RAM and runs at 1 MIPS

0000

-,i: ')-"'< ::~··.,

!',.?

;:-w: ..

.. ¥ ;:;M~t(f·~~"

Chris J. Christopher, Hewlett-Packard Co.
Designing a 32-bit desktop computer with 1 millioninstruction-per-second (MIPS) power requires technological advances and innovations spanning component chips, physical packaging and even a temperaturecontrol system. A close look at Hewlett-Packard Co.'s HP 900~its CPU, 1/0 and memory architectures and software environmen~reveals why it's billed as a machine that can compete with superminicomputers at a fraction of their price.
The HP 9000 is available in three models: the desktop model 20 (above), the model 30 (above, right) and the cabinet model 40 (right).
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

WORKSTATIONS

Heart of the system: the HP-32 CPU
The 9000 system's microprocessor, which is not available to the commercial market, is fabricated in HP's NMOS-III technology with 1.5-µm. lines and 1-µm. silicon-gate circuitry on three and one-half layers of interconnect. The microprocessor chip measures 6.3 mm. on a side, has 83 pins and comes bonded directly onto a 4%-by-7-inch board. The processor comprises seven major sections (Fig. 1). Its microcode control store ROM has 9,216 38-bit words arranged in 38 sections, each a 32-by-16 array of 18-bit "series field effect transistor" (FET) strings. Program instructions address the microcode ROM and access microinstructions that are transmitted to the chip's programmablelogic-array (PLA) section. The PLA decodes the microinstructions, which drive the control lines that determine the operations of the chip's 32-bit register stack and its arithmetic logic unit (ALU).
A sequence controller with nine 14-bit registers handles the instruction flow sequence. The controller has a microprogram counter, a set of incrementers, a machine instruction operator code (OP code) decoder and three registers for microcode subroutine return addresses. The op code decoder generates the starting address in control store for the microcode routine that implements each machine instruction. For conditional

........ ·D '-.t'-'A
Mt···==:······································ I· I· II II II
l:i~r=-=··
Fig. 1. Floor plan of the CPU. The overlay indicates the seven major sections of the chip: the arithmetic logic unit (A), the general registers (B), the program logic array (C), the sequencer (D), ROM (E), test circuitry (F) and the multiprocessor bus interface (G) .
jumps and skips in the microcode, a test condition multiplexer uses a 6-bit microcode field to select one of

MEMORY PROCESSOR BUS

CPU

IOP

SYNC

CLK

DODOO DD

DODOO OD

DODOO DO

20 RAMs

8ROMs

The memory processor bus (MPB) is the backbone of the HP 9000 system architecture. The bus has 32 parallel lines for data and 12 for control and can handle as much as 36M bytes per second. All subsystems interface with one another via the MPB. They are closely coupled and transfer data synchronously to the beat of the 18-MHz clock. As many as 20 RAMs and eight ROMs containing 128K bits each can be accessed via the memory controller (MC) chip. The CPU, 110 processor and RAM boards plug into connectors on the memory/processor module, a card cage for as many as 12 boards.

218

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

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Why interactive videodisc?
Interactive videodisc training combines the power of the computer, the speed ofa laser disc and the personality oflive classroom instruction. To involve, to motivate, to excite.To capture and hold a student's interest in a way no other mediumcan.

Is Vision cost-effective? Ifyour company uses UNIXsoftware, or sells UNIX-based prod-
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MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 101 ON INQUIRY CARD

219

Tally Technology Works Great On Paper.

No other 600 LPM line printer is engineered like a Tally. So nothing else performs like a Tally. Or prints like a Tally. .... The proof's on paper. .... Everything from high volume report printing to high resolution graphics. And a quality, fully formed look for correspondence. .... All in one machine. All the result of Tally technology. Like the MT660's innovative hammer bank and linear "shuttle" system that perfectly positions every impression and prints with uniform impact.

..,.. There's also more than enough resident intelligence and paper handling versatility to make programming shortcuts easy. For operator convenience, status reports are illuminated on a scrolling display. And it's quiet enough-at 60 dBa- to go almost unnoticed. .... Precision printing at its reliable and repeatable best. From Mannesmann Tally. ..,.. For more information on the world's most advanced, most productive line printers call now:
(2o6) 251-5524. MANNESMANN TALLY

Precision dot placement and innovative engineering make Mannesmann Tally today's leader in computer printer technology.
220

CIRCLE NO. 102 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

WORKSTATIONS

55 qualifiers that originate in different portions of the chip.
The HP 9000 uses a stack-oriented architecture--a set of 28 32-bit registers and two buses. Each register comprises 32 identical bit cells, and each cell receives
data from or dumps data to the two data buses, according to the PLA output codes.
The ALU cycles in 55 nsec. and consist of an N-bit shifter, a 32-bit logical selector and a 32-bit full look-ahead adder, which is used with special hardware for integer multiplication and division. ALU results are stored in four internal result registers. The ALU, under microcode control, can perform a 32-bit integer addition in 0.39 µsec. and a 64-bit floating-point multiplication in 10.4 µsec.
In addition to the CPU functions, the chip includes a section dedicated to inter-chip communications. The memory/processor bus (MPB) interface section is the communication channel between the internal chip data buses and the external MPB data bus. This section of the chip uses seven 32-bit registers for addresses and data entering and leaving the CPU.
Chips are mounted on "finstrate" (cooling fin substrate) boards. The finstrate boards cool as well as connect the chips, contributing to the CPU's low power dissipation of 4W (see "Cooling off," Page 22·2).
The system can support as many as three CPUs, offering 2. 7 times the performance of a single CPU. The CPUs are mounted in a card cage that can house as many as 12 finstrate boards. Because multiprocessing is software transparent, the user program need not reflect the actual number of operating CPUs. The operating system treats each CPU as an allocatable resource.
1/0 interface functions are classified as dependent or independent of peripheral hardware. The system's 1/0 processor performs non-hardware specific, or independent, functions. Separate I/o cards that interface to direct-memory-access (DMA) channels handle hardware-specific, or dependent, functions, such as device drivers.
One card handles the 8-bit parallel HP-IB (IEEE-488) interface, which serves as the host interface for a local-area network (LAN) controller. HP-IB-based instruments can communicate with the HP 9000 at rates as high as 500K bytes per second. The card also supports disk storage systems with data-transfer rates as high as lM byte per second. A general-purpose I/o · (GPIO) serial interface has a lM-bit-per-second (bps) rate, a programmable handshake interface and local data-sense-inversion facilities. It interfaces asynchronous peripherals, such as keyboards and displays, using the asynchronous serial I/o card with remote-terminal support, RS232C compatibility, half- or full-duplex

SYNC CLOCK

MEMORY SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM
MEMORY PROCESSOR BUS

20 RAM

Fig. 2. The RAM board contains 20 RAM chips and a memory-

controller chip.

channel support and baud rates as high as 19.2K bps. A programmable serial interface card that lets OEMS
tailor its characteristics to proprietary computer adjuncts or special I/o devices accommodates special peripherals. A color video interface card with 512-by512- or 576-by-455-dot resolution, four display memory planes and a performance of 1,000 50-pixel vectors per second supports color video displays. An asynchronous eight-channel multiplex card brings eight terminals to one I/o slot. HP 9000 systems share data and resources via an Ethernet-based LAN control card.
At the heart of the I/o system is the host-independent I/o processor with eight DMA channels. Each .channel can handle data bursts of as much as 6M bytes per second. The I/o system is message based: the I/o processor buffers data into message blocks and then

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

221

WORKSTATIONS

sends them to the CPU or to memory. The result is low CPU 1/0 overhead, freeing the CPU for computation.
Memory system self-tests and 'heals'
Each memory subsystem contains one memory controller chip and 20 RAM chips storing 128K bits each (Fig. 2). The RAM chips feature 165-nsec. pipelined access and 110-nsec. cycle times. Each memory controller has a 256K-byte memory space and provides self-test, memory test and mapping. Multiple processors access the memory controller via a pipelined MPB port.
The controller automatically performs error detection and correction. It can "heal" as many as 32 memory locations suffering from single-bit errors by correcting the error and transparently copying the corrected word into a memory controller healer RAM location. Whenever the original location is addressed, it is automatically routed to the new location on the memory controller. The memory controller halts the system when it detects

a double-bit error (Fig. 3). The HP 9000 memory system is pipelined, and
controller and RAM chips are structured so that memory accesses and returned data words are overlapped. For example, the system accepts three accesses during the first data-word interval (Fig. 4). Similarly, instructions are overlapped. so that fetch, decode, execute and cleanup operations occur simultaneously.
The software environment
The HP 9000 features a choice of system software environments: a single-user environment based on the HP BASIC operating system for the desktop model 20, which includes an integral keyboard, a display and a floppy disk drive. The HP-UX operating system runs on any shared HP 9000 family computer.
HP 9000 BASIC is a memory-based, multiprogramming system limited only by the amount of physical memory available. Each program runs in its own "virtual" machine, or partition.

Cooling off

"Finstrates" take their name from cooling fin substrates. The copper
substrate at the center of the finstrate multilayer sandwich is the key heat sink for the chips, which are bonded to the substrate with a heat-conducting epoxy adhesive ( left). Two layers of insulating Teflon separate the two gold trace interconnection surfaces on each side of the copper substrate. The finstrate board plugs into the memory/processor module. A variable-speed oc ~ a cooling

stream of air over the finstrate surface to remove heat dissipated by the chips.
There are nine layers on the finstrate board (right). All conducting surfaces are coated with Teflon. A special material is plated to the conducting layers to create a rougher surface, to which the Teflon adheres. The first two Teflon layers are applied on either side of the substrate and held ~Y a combination of heat and mechanical pressure. The two con-
ducting surfaces are then laid on top

~board- The

comprises an all-copper substrate and two layers of metal

interconnect on each side of the board. The chips are wire-bonded to the board.

of the first Teflon coatings and are then etched and drilled.
After the second layers of Teflon are applied, the second conducting surfaces are laid down, etched and drilled. Insulated plated-through holes are fashioned by laser-drilling a large hole, filling it with Teflon and then drilling and plating a smaller hole. This creates connections between the outer and inner conducting surfaces without shorting the central copper substrate.
The side view of a flnstrate board shows the nine layers.

TOP LA YER TRACES

GOLD TRACE INTERCONNECT ON COPPER SHEETS

COPPER

TEFLON

SUBSTRATE INSULATION

PLATED HOLES

INNER LAYER TRACES

CHIP WITH WIRE BONDS

222

CHIP . (BONDED TO
COPPER)
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

rRCIT
_ ,uea dlaracters r portrait fonnat 'dblheten~Jto display the informa-111.:....·full-page layout The flickerfree screen with superb video quality allows any number of positioning possibilities. Added features include a super-slim, ergonomically designed keyboard and a strikingly small footprint. When comparing terminals, think professionally. Contact Facit -we'll introduce you to our whole family of video terminals.
Facit 4420 and Facit 4431 Smart Video Terminals are other Facit VDT alternatives with numerous user-oriented
features for optimum operator comfort.
CIRCLE NO. 103 ON INQUIRY CARD
FACIT
Head office: P.O. Box 54 S-172 22 Sundbyberf(, Sweden. Phone:(8) 282 720.
USA: 235 Main Dunstable Road. P. 0. Box 828, Nashua, NH. 03061. Phone: (603) 883-4157.

When Bridge Communications first opened for business, we took a good look at what the computer age was creating.
We saw computers that couldn't talk to other computers. LANs that couldn't link up with other networks. Data PBXs so slow they could stop an entire organization in its tracks.
And we said, "Let there be MAN'.'
MAN: The Multiple Area Network.
MAN is more than just another LAN or Data PBX. Much more.
It's a highly intelligent, high performance communications system designed from Day One to link multiple devices, multiple networks, and multiple locations.
MAN can link all kinds of devices from multiple vendors to Ethernet. And Ethernets to other Ethernets, remote nets, X.25 public nets, and SNA.
Computers, printers, terminals, personal computers, and mainframes all become one transparent system with MAN.
The MAN who has everything.
Our Terminal Servers, Host Servers, and Gateways have the capacity to serve even the most demanding user. And they can grow to meet the needs of the largest organizations.
MAN systems use multiple 68000 microprocessors to move information faster and easier than any other network. There's no single failure point, and our expansion capability beats all other LANs or Data PBXs.
People who really need and depend on powerful communications systems have already gotten their MAN. People like Honeywell, Motorola, GTE, U.C.L.A., The U.S. Forest Service, and NASA.
Call 415-969-4400 or write Bridge Communications, Inc. , 1345 Shorebird Way, Mt. View, CA 94043, and get the story of MAN.
It's the Genesis of a whole new way of networking.
The Multiple Area Network
CIRCLE NO. 104 ON INQUIRY CARD

Personal computers have become a valuable asset in busi-

and 3404 models give you a full 136 column width , and

ness. The problem is that most personal computer systems

offer color printing as well.

are originally sold with "personal printers"... printers built for

Each printer is easy to use, lightweight, functiona lly

home use. not for heavier business work.

styled and attractive. And you can choose optio ns from

These "personal printers" are too slow for many busi-

pedestals and paper racks to document inserters, sheet

ness needs. They can tie-up your computer for extended

feeders and 8K character buffer expansion, plus more.

periods of time ... time you could be using to do other work.

Genicom 3000 PC printers feature switch selectable

Another problem is durability. In business. you need a printer that can produce high volume output over a long duty cycle . The common "personal printer" will often just

hardware. dual connectors and dual parallel or serial inter-

aces. Plus the 3014 and 3024 emulate popular protocols or

quit under such continuous operation.

both Epson MX with GRAFTRAX-PLUSTMand Okidata Micro-

That's why Genicom has created the 3014. 3024. 3184. 3304 and 3404 ... professional printers built for personal computers.
Price/ performance matched for small business sys-

line 84 Step 2TM, while the 3184, 3304 and 3404 emulate popular protocols for Epson MX with GRAFTRAX-PLUS '~ So your current system is most likely already capable of working with these Genicom printers without modificati on.

terns, the Genicom 3000 PC printers are designed to in-

Most important, the Genicom 3000 PC printers are

crease productivity and maximize the value of your personal computer.

quality-built, highly durable printers designed for rapid, continuous duty cycle printing. So take some personal advice.

G...NI ,..- . . . . _ M The 3000 PC printers provide 160-400 cps draft,80-200
cps memo, and 32-100 cps NLQ printing ... performance for both high productivity and high quality printing.
The 3014/ 3024 models print

Get a Genicom professional printer for your personal computer today.
Genicom Corporation ,OneGeneral Electric Drive,Dept.
C421 ,Waynesboro ,VA 22980 . In

132 columns. The 3184, 3304

~/Ir " '

Virginia, call 1-703-949-1170.

Ci l\..Ui I
TM

The New Printer Company.

For the solution to your printing needs call

TOLL FREE 1-800-437-7468

In Virginia, call 1-703-949-1170.

226

Epson MX with GRAFTRAX -PLUS 1s a trademark of Epson Amenca , Inc Ok1data M1crohne 84 Step 2 1s a trademark o f Ok 1data Corporation
CIRCLE NO. 105 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/Aug ust 1984

WORKSTATIONS

The CPU uses a round-robin discipline to allocate programs of equal priority on five priority levels. Users can support inter-program synchronization with event semaphores. -To guarantee uninterrupted access, devices can be "locked" to a particular partition. Within a program, a user controls task execution via the keyboard, another program or external interrupt.
The BASIC run-time compiler combines the interactive program-development environment of an interpreter with the performance of a compiled language. Line-by-line compilation of the code begins when a user runs a program in source-code form. The code executes as it is compiled, and both the source and object code remain in memory. Because the object code is stored, it has to be compiled only once. Thus, an iterative loop routine is compiled and executed the first time. If the combined source and object code exceed available memory, a portion of the previously compiled code is "thrown away" to make room for a new compiled routine. This process gives the "throwaway compiler"
its name. The compiler also stores the source code, so all BASIC
debug and development capabilities, such as trace, pause and edit, are available to the programmer. Furthermore, each subprogram can be completely compiled before program execution by appropriate
directives. With HP 9000 BASIC, a user can divide a CRT display
into separate screens, or windows, attached to various system functions such as PRINT or INPUT. Windows are defined as "public" (always displayed) or "private" (displayed only when the CRT is "attached" to the defining partition or virtual machine).
Three mass-storage file system directory formats can

N
Fig. 3. The memory controller automatically performs error detection and correction. The diagram illustrates the method for "healing" single-bit errors as well as the flag subroutine for double-bit errors.
be selected: a hierarchical file format called structured directory format (SDF), a logical interchange format (LIF) and the 9845 desktop computer format (DCF). LIF and DCF provide a convenient growth path with HP 9845 and 9826/9836 desktop computers.

Fig. 4. The memory cycles in the HP 9000 are pipelined. The three-stage pipelining shows the overlapping of functions in each 55-nsec. cycle. The functions in orange are in the first stage of the pipeline, those in yellow are in the second stage, and those in green are in the third stage.

MEMORY PROCESSO~
BUS

READ ADDRESS

READ DATA

MEMORY ADDRESS
BUS

ADDRESS ADDRESS ADDRESS ADDRESS ADDRESS ADDRESS

READ DATA

CHIP SELECTS

READ SELECT

MEMORY DATA BUS
I I 55 NSEC.
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

READ DATA

READ DATA
227

WORKSTATIONS

SDF is HP 9000 BASIC's default system and is used mainly for managing large mass-storage media. It includes a multiple-directory function for organizing file systems into hierarchical format. It also supports password read/write access to files, offering file security to users sharing a large mass-storage system.
LIF is a standard for transporting ASCII source code and data among HP computer products via removable mass-storage media. It is also a convenient information transport format for tying desktop computers to HP 1000 and HP 3000 computer families. For example, one could take a data diskette from an HP 86 personal computer and read it on an HP 9000 disk drive. With the 9845 DCF, conversions between binary-coded decimal (BCD) and binary numeric representations occur automatically, simplifying program writing for sharing data between HP 9000 and HP 9835/45 computers.
The HP-UX operating system is based on Bell Laboratories' UNIX System III. It is a single-user or multiuser system that supports multitasking, virtualmemory management and engineering tools, such as graphics, database management, data communications and local-area networking.
A prominent feature of HP-UX is its ability to program all Ilo transactions between files, directories, processes and devices using identical read and write

Spec eummary
· Madel: HP 9000 (models 20, 30, 40)
· Mloroproceleor: 32-bit HP-32 · Clock cycle: 18 MHZ · Main memory: 258K to 2.5M bytes · lpMd: 1 MIPS · Opemlng eyaleme: HP BASIC, HP..UX
· Unguage9: BASIC, FORTRAN 77, Pascal, C
statements. This facility is further enhanced by the HP-UX command interpreter, which lets the programmer declare an input and an output as standard when programming in FORTRAN or Pascal. This means that programs can be copied without directing I/o toward a specific object. The command interpreter lets users specify the I/o objects at run time, a productivity booster for programmers modifying, testing and reusing software.
HP-UX supports as many as 59 concurrent processes using UNIX system m's "pipes" and first-in, first-out (FIFO) files. These two features permit inter-process communication, in which data can be passed asynchro-

Benchmarking the HP 9000

One standard for comparing scientific and engineering systems is the Whetstone 01 o, which is expressed in thousands of double-precision instructions per second. Using this benchmark, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s HP 9000 Series 500 (single CPU) with HP BASIC system software is rated at 130. The same hardware using HP-ux rates 340, and a dual-CPU Series 600 rates a 680. A three-CPU Series 100 (and HP-ux system) garners the

highest rating-1,01 o (left). In contrast, the Digital Equipment Corp. VAx-11 /750, running the VMS operating system, is rated at 150, and, equipped with a floating-point accelerator, at 490.
Other parameters can be used to gauge a system's performance (right). The HP 9000 CPU, for example, has a 230-instruction repertoire. A 32-bit LOAD instruction takes 0.3 µSec. It performs a 32-bit addition in

WHETSTONE BID RESULTS

HP 9000
SERIES 500

~1 CPU, 130j_BASIC OS

SERIES 500

340 l~~:u~

1--~~~~~--'-----~~~~--,
SERIES 600 1--~~~~~~~~~~~~~H ss~ojP 2 C~·PUU~sX, ..__~~~-.

SERIES 700

1'010]3HPC.:P!J.UXs,

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1,0oo

0.3 µSec., a 32-bit multiplication in 2.9 µsec. and a full 32-bit division (with a 64-bit dividend) in 9.4 µSec. CPU performance is measured at 1 million instructions per second (MIPS).

Data path width
Instructions
Memory access time
Memory cycle time
32-bit addition
32-bit multiplication
32·bit division
32·bil load instruction
64-bit f loating-point multiplication

32 bits 230
165 nsec.
110 nsec.
0.3 '"sec. 2.9 '"sec.
9.4 '"sec.
0.3/Lsec.
10.4 '"sec.

228

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

COMDESIGN SWITCHING STAnsncAL MULnPUXERS: TS-600 SERIES

WE SOLVE

THESE

Get everyone into the act with the new

PROBLEMS TS-600 Series. Ifincreasing demand for com-

EVERYDAY. puterportsanddistributedresources has your system in a stranglehold, there's no limit to the breathing space you could eajoy with the TS-600 Switching Stat

Mux.

NEW YORK

The newest addition to the ComDesign family ofnetworking pro-

~ ~

ducts, the TS-600 Series provide the same cost savings and network control as the popular TC-500A.

With no limit to the number of

users who may contend for any

16(( TERMINALS PRINTERS P.C. 's

available ports, the TS-600 offers all the features ofa data switch, port contention unit and intelligent statistical multiplexer in one.
When used individually, a TS-600

acts as a port selector and front-

end processor, permitting local

resource sharing. Connected in

pairs, TS-600's become the central

point ofcontrol in a powerful

transparent switching network,

concentrating up to 32 devices

over a single communications link

ComDesign's modular hardware

and firmware plan allows for easy

network expansion and access to

the latest software developments.

The TS-600 Series multiplexers

are designed for ease ofuse,

and are available with integral

4800 or 9600 bps modems. For

more information on the new

TS Series or for help with any data

comm problem, call us. Toll-free

(800) 235-6935, or in California

(800) 368-8092.

Struggling w tie everything and everyone wgetherwithout sacrificing performance or breaking the bank?Let your stat muxdo itfor you!

751 South Kellogg Avenue Goleta, California 93117

WORKSTATIONS

nously between two tasks using a high-level language's implements the full SIGGRAPH CORE standard and

read and write commands.

supports the IMAGE/QUERY database-management

HP-ux's virtual memory allows program code package used with the HP 3000, HP 1000, HP 250 and HP

segmentation and data segmentation or paging. Each 9845 computer families. Graphics/9000 on the HP-UX

process has a maximum virtual address space of lG system consists of two sets of procedure libraries, both

byte, half of which can be used for local code and data of which can be called from application programs: the

and half for shared system code.

advanced graphics package (AGP) and device-

The minimum HP-UX operating system occupies 300K independent graphics language (DGL). DGL provides

to 400K bytes of memory. A demand-loading feature fundamental graphics functions and device support;

lets users choose between loading an entire program AGP builds on DGL to provide 2D or 3D viewing

into memory before execution or only those segments transformations with parallel or perspective projec-

needed for execution, leaving the remaining segments tions and picture segmentation for rapid, interactive

in mass storage.

graphics image manipulation.

The HP-UX file system is hierarchical and supports The HP 9000 can be used as a general-purpose

large mass-storage media, making it well-suited to a computer, but its strengths are in engineering and

multiuser software-development environment. Each scientific applications. Application-software support is

file is set up with controlled access for read, write or mainly in the electrical, mechanical and software

execute to tailor the system to each project team engineering areas.

member. HP-UX also includes utilities for converting

and copying files to LIF ASCII files, allowing information Chris J. Christopher is research and development manager

exchange between a wide variety of HP computers.

of Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Systems Division, Fort Collins, Colo.

HP-UX supports FORTRAN 77, Pascal and c, and both system software environments support graphics and database management. HP 9000 BASIC 3D graphics

Interest Quotient (Circle One) High 828 Medium 829 Low 830

Delta DASH" delivers the same day to over
90 cities across the U.S and abroad, covering 10,000 communities. Why get that small package
delivered tomorrow when you can DASH it today? DASH (Delta Air Lines Special Handling) delivers
packages up to 70 lbs ... to over 10,000 communities.
So give us a ring at the Delta Marketing Office in the

.
Nassau
SanJu:n
city nearest you. Or call DASH at (800) 638-7333 for pick up or delivery.
For top priority shipments over 70 lbs., use
Delta Air Express. It guarantees your shipment gets on the flight specified. For full details, call your nearest Delta Marketing Office.

DELTA AIR CARGO. READY ALL·AROUND.

230

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

TeleVideo corrects
theVf220 key mistakes.

The new TeleVideo" 922 shares but one feature

with the VT220": full DEC"-compatibility. The

1 similarity ends there.

Take our keyboard, e for example. The

RETURN key is within direct, easy reach. But

VT220 users must stretch over an additional

key to hit RETURN. Or have the hands of a

concert pianist.

4 Our SHIFT key is exactly where it · should be, so it does exactly what it should do-shift. Their SHIFT key is shoved over
by the <and >key to create lots of <and ) on the
CRT. Of course with a little practice, you could relearn their keyboard . But why, now that you've seen our 922?

2 DECVf220 Our ESCAPE key · is located above the TAB key,rightwhereyou'd expect to find it.
Theirs isn't. In fact, you have to go hunt for the VT220 ESCAPE key halfway across the rowoffunction keys.

Where's the Vf220 ESCAPE key?

3 Take a look below · at the 922 key-

board. That's a true accounting keypad , complete with a Clear

Entry, Double Zero and a TAB key. Not merely the numeric keys

you get with the VT220.

Vf220 Display Screen.
5 And after we built a better keyboard, we built a bet· ter terminal. With exceptional reliability. Quality. Advanced ergonomics. Everything you'd expect from the industry ANSI leader.
The new 922 is available now and priced to move now. And it's backed by a worldwide sales and support network. Which means doing business with TeleVideo is yet another key difference.

Here are 6 more advantages to the 922 . TeleVideo 922 DECVf220

Programmable Function Keys
True Accountant Keypad
Plug-in Graphics Upgrade Option
Non-glare, Green Phosphor Screen
Full Tilt & Swivel
Enhanced ANSI Mode

15 (30 with shift)
YES
YES
YES YES YES

15 (shifted only)

! ·
(I

l
.ff

l .
1

]

]
t

I ~

$
~

800-538-8725.
In California, call 408-745-7760.

TheTeleVided922 elTeleVideo Systems, Inc.

CIRCLE NO. 106 ON INQUIRY CARD

No claims. No boasts. Just straight and provide greater drive durability. manufacturing and quality programs.

facts and commitments from

Jeffrey Liu, president of Micro-

science, on our growing family

of half-height Winchester disk

drives.

"By introducing the new

HH-725 20 MB 5.25" and HH-312

10 MB 3.5'' half-height Winchester

disk drives to our product line,

we now offer the proven quality

and performance most OEMs

need in volume today.

"Combined with our HH-612 10

MB 5.25" half-height disk drive,

Microscience now provides a

product family of

superior

quality

and better

perfor-

mance than

any other drives

available.

"Time after time, we have

proven that Microscience has the

performance, quality, and price

personal and portable computer

manufacturers demand.

"The secret is the way we design

and manufacture drives for you.

"Microscience disk drives have

extremely low

voltage require-

HH-612 TYPICAL STARTING CURRENTS

ments

S t--t--+--t---+--+--+--+-----<

3 because
sbmusainll ess

~.,
c

243"~i-".~."7~ ~~~ef~.ho~:£>i~l!>~!!

t~iti~~"

and portable

"A buffered seek mode and highly accurate proprietary micro-
processor-con trolled closed-loop servo positioning system keeps the head precisely on track. This maintains data integrity through a wide range of operating conditions regardless of thermal expansion, system hysteresis, or long-term wear.
"Microscience drives are not limited to functioning horizontally. Because of the growing use of portable computers and increasingly compact packaging, we designed our Winchester drives so you can use them in almost any position .
"While volume production is important, what you're really concerned about is the quality of product you use in your system or application. We have made a major commitment to

"Microscience test equipment

and tooling have been carefully

~~1'.;¥ir~i·:s~r::t o$urlex~act~ i~ ng

M1crosc1ence

/lb

ships only zero

defect half-height

Winchester product that does

not eat away at your profits ...

and your reputation.

"There's a lot more I could

say about the Microscience half-

height Winchester disk drive

family. But what will convince

you is using a Microscience drive

in your application.

"For more straightalk regarding

your half-height Winchester

needs, cal I or write us today."

President, Microscience International Corporation

computers

2 4 s s 10 12 14

don't have TIME AFTER TURN-ON (Seconds)

the luxury

of excess power or cooling

capacity.

"We've used procedures and

components that will be power

misers, yet they still provide long-

term performance and reliability.

"Our drives feature a thermally

isolated stepper motor for precise

head alignment and optimum

seek performance. A proprietary
· · · Microscience linear actuator assembly was em-
ployed to ensure data reliability

· · · International 575 E. Middlefield Road

e ·

Corporation Mountain View, CA 94043 (415) %1-2212

Area Sales Offices: Orlando, FL (305) 339-8283 · Boston, MA (617) 229-5823 · Mountain View, CA (415) 961-2212 International Sales Office: Munich, West Germany, Tel. 0894315669, TTX 5213442 Distributors: U.S. - Gulf Stream, Weatherford, North East Peripherals, Orion · International - Multilek, Canada · Pericomp, Australia · Dataguild,
U.K. · Wide Trade Foundation Ltd ., Hong Kong
CIRCLE NQ_ 107 ON INQUIRY CARD

Computer-integrated-design graphics terminal
incorporates local database

CID terminal combines a graphics engine, a hierarchical graphics database
and a local processor to reduce host intervention in graphics applications

Stephen H. Van Horn, Megatek Corp.

Unlike most graphics terminals, computerintegrated-design (CID) terminals combine a graphics engine with a local database and a local task processor. CID terminals perform most of the real-time database updates and transformations traditionally handled by the host, thus providing faster response to input data and a corresponding reduction in design time. Incorporating a local database reduces delays resulting from lengthy queues that can develop when a host is supporting a large number of users.
Because the major advantage of a CID terminal is the virtual elimination of communications delays, internal throughput is a primary design consideration. But price is a consideration, too. In the case of Megatek Corp.'s Merlin 9200 CID terminal, achieving the required level of performance at an affordable price meant a new approach to graphics-terminal architecture.

The Merlin 9200 computer-integrated-design graphics terminal
combines a graphics engine with a local database and a local task
processor.

Communicating within and between terminals
To provide maximum throughput, the 9200's internal functions are distributed among several independent logical units. Partitioning internal functions simplifies resource sharing among units in a multiterminal installation and improves throughput via a pipelined architecture.
The basic 9200 CID terminal contains dedicated processor boards that handle peripheral interfacing,

the local graphics database and the graphics display. An optional Ethernet interface with a dedicated Intel 80186 is also available (Fig. 1).
Logical units on the same processor board communicate with each other over standard parallel microprocessor buses. Because there is only one processor on a board, there are no local bus-contention problems. However, arbitration can be added should it become necessary for expansion.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

233

TERMINALS

Board-to-board communications take place over a benefit is its compatibility with existing application

32-bit, 32M-byte-per-second, synchronous transmit- software.

receive message bus. The use of byte-by-byte multi- The LTP has a local memory consisting of 32K bytes

plexing and a rotating priority that interleaves messag- of bootstrap and diagnostic code in ROM and 256K

es and provides "concurrent" communications bytes of program and user memory in dynamic RAM,

eliminates contention between logical units for access to expandable by lM byte with a plug-in local task exten-

the inter-board message bus.

sion (LTE) board. A modified Multibus handles commu-

To facilitate communications, the system transmits nications between the LTP and LTE boards.

data in 512-byte packets specifically addressed to the The LTP board also includes a gateway to the inter-

destination logical unit. A real-time executive controls board message bus, as well as a Centronics-compatible

communications. When a logical unit needs to transmit printer interface and a floppy disk controller that can

data to another logical unit, it requests a block of local support two drives. The Merlin includes at least one

memory from the local executive's memory manager, S:Yi-inch, lM-byte drive because, with the exception of

forms as many packets as are needed to contain the data the bootstrap and basic diagnostic routines, the system

and adds a header that contains the logical address to is completely soft-loaded. The decision not to follow the

which they are to be sent. The executive's communica- conventional practice of loading graphics-terminal

tions utility then examines the pointer, determines how operating instructions in firmware was based on the

to route the packets and begins the data transmission. amount of code involved. A typical 9200 comes with

An optional fourth processor board, the extended more than 400K bytes of functional and diagnostic code,

communications processor (ECP), provides a gateway far more than is practical to put in ROM. Soft-loading

between the logical units and an Ethernet cable. The allows updating by replacing the system floppy disk.

Ethernet gateway facilitates high-speed communica- Users control the LTP via a local task language

tions between the Merlin 9200 and the host computer (LTL), a high-level language that facilitates the config-

and between logical units in different Merlins on the uration of, and provides access to, the system's logical

network.

'devices. With LTL, users can create and run small

programs that, among other things, can control graphics Local task processor links terminal to peripherals peripherals. One supervisory and eight subordinate

A local task processor (LTP) board provides the user tasks can run concurrently. The supervisory task

man-machine interface (Fig. 2). The LTP contains an controls the creation, initiation and suspension of the

Intel 80186 microprocessor because its architecture other eight user tasks.

facilitates handling numerous peripherals. An added To achieve application compatibility, the internal

LOGICAL 110
PROCESSOR

LOCAL TASK
PROCESSOR

(INTEL 80186)

.. (PINDRTAOETCALEB8SA0SS2O8ER6)

,__GE_(6NR4G_-BIANI-TEPH-1-CS__.·UOT

CUSTOM)

COMMUNICATIONS PROCESSOR (INTEL 80186)
t
ETHERNET INTEROEVICE NETWORK

Fig. 1. The Merlin 9200 multiprocessor architecture includes processors dedicated to local database processing, local task processing, communications and networking, peripheral control and graphics.

234

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

llE GREATER Gooa
foR THE LESSER NUMBER

Convert your IBM PC to full 3278 emulation. And back it up with Quadram Quality.

Now you can have all the features of the IBM PC (mass storage and peripherals) plus the incredible power of a mainframe right at your desk. Introducing the new Quad3278 from Quadram. The complete system that makes your IBM PC emulate the 3278 Display Work Station at the touch of a key.

The Quad3278 contains everything you need for converting your PC to total 3278 emulation: hardware. soft-
ware and full documentation. So you're quickly on-line: where the IBM mainframe
sees you asjust another 3278 terminal. But thanks to
Quadram. you're actually a high-performance. intelligent work station.

And with Quad3278 not only do you retain all the functions of your PC but you can recon-
figure your PC keyboard to personal taste. In addition. Quad3278 has its own high-
speed microprocessor to keep your PC's microprocessor from being burdened with
communications responsibility. And it incorporates the
32795 color mode to give you stunning color displays directly from the mainframe.

Make the connection from

micro to mainframe. And

back it up with Quadram

Quality. Ask for

Quad3278. It's

the logical step for the future.

'I.......,

4355 International Blvd./Norcross, Ga. 30093 (404) 923-6666/TWX 810-766-4915 (QUADRAM NCRS)
INTERNATIONAL OFFICES lnterquadram Ltd. 442 Bath Road. Slough . England SL16BB Tel 6286-63865 Thr 847155 Auriema G lnterquadram GmbH Fasanenweg 7. 6092 Kelsterbach, 'Nest Germany Tel· 6107-3089 Thi 417770 Seva G Jnterquadnm s.e.r.I. 41. Aue Ybfy. 92522 Neullly Tel 758-1240 Tix. 630842 tso Bur Chevco Computing 6581 K1t·mat Road . M1ss1ssauga. Ontano. Canada LSN-2X5 Tel 416-821-7600
IBM PC and IBM Information Network are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. © Copyright 1984 Quadram Corporation. All Rights Reserved .
CIRCLE NO. 109 ON INQUIRY CARD

TERMINALS

database has to use the same kind of data constructs and structures as those typically found in an application database. The 9200's freely structured database eliminates the need for a complex program to convert information in the application database into the graphics database needed by the graphics terminal. The Merlin 9200 can accommodate a hierarchical database, among others, in which information is stored in a pyramid-like tree structure consisting of a series of linked files.
Each file can be named by a 32-bit symbolic address that usually represents an entity's part number or a code number that identifies it. Some users tie the symbolic address to the numbers of the disk sector in which the file is stored.
The database processor (DBP) board contains the local database and comprises an Intel 80286 microprocessor and a 512K-byte database memory. A user can expand the DBP's memory by adding as many as four IM-byte plug-in database expansion (DBE)

boards. Communications between the DBP and DBE take place over a modified Multibus.
The database operating system inciudes a traverser and a filter function. Integrating the traverser into the DBP itself speeds data retrieval. The filter function enables the operator to restrict the information the traverser retrieves to items that meet certain criteria.
To minimize the amount of memory needed for a given application and to maximize transaction speed, the system uses a free-structured database language. Because the language is not bound by fixed-length memory structures, the Merlin can handle individual database entries, called entities, from a few bytes on up. Each entity fills only as much memory space as it needs. Equally important, the database processor retrieves and manipulates only the number of bytes needed to contain the required data.
Graphics engine paints the picture
The Merlin 9200 supports vectors, polygons, meshes,

ONE OR TWO

1M·BYTE

FLOPPY

DISK DRIVES

... MULTIBUS LINK

. TO EXPANSION

.-----'---'--. MEMORY BOARD

RS232 LINK

...

TO HOST OR MODEM

LOCAL TASK

PROCESSOR

(INTEL 80186)

Fig. 3. Sollds modellng on the Merlin 9200 is available with three types of shading: flat (left), Gouraud (right) and Phong (not shown).

RS232LINK

...

TO LOCAL KEYBOARD

RS232LINK

...

TO LOCAL GRAPHICS TABLET

RS232LINK

TO LOCAL USER-DEFINED

PHYSICAL DEVICE SUCH AS

JOYSTICK OR VALUATOR

CENTRONICS·TYPE PRINTER INTERFACE
Fig. 2. The local task processor includes an Intel 80186 microprocessor with 256K bytes of dynamic RAM. The task processor supports as many as eight concurrent user tasks and provides the man-machine interface via RS232 ports to peripherals, input devices and the host.

pixel data, run codes, hidden-surface removal, realtime shading and the ability to "wrap" a predefined pattern around a complex shape. The hardware needed to support these graphics functions comprises two processor boards and a number of frame-buffer memory boards. A raster display processor (RDP) provides the gateway between the graphics engine and the remaining hardware. The RDP is a 64-bit microcoded processor with dual memories and dual input buses. Microcoding enables the RDP to fetch two pieces of data from memory, perform a multiply and write the results back to memory within one 150-nsec. machine cycle. The RDP converts the information. contained in the database into X, Y and Z coordinates. It also provides perspective, and 3-D clipping and viewport transforms.
A digital vector generator/video timing and control (DVGNTC) board converts coordinate information from the RDP into the pixel map the monitor needs to paint the vector on the CRT screen. Pixel information

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

237

Key in on Your Hot Prospects
with Mlnl·Ml1ral111em113th Annual Mini-Micro Computer Market Report

T his year Mini-Micro Systems readers will spend $50 billion on minicomputers, microcomputers, peripherals, software and supplies. The 13th annual Mini-Micro
l - · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Computer Market Report outlines 8,511 sites (buying centers) representative of the explosive value-added market. Data is available in the following formats:

MAGNETIC TAPE OF COMPLETE DATABASE

PRESELECTED LISTS AND MAILING LABELS

13th ANNUAL MINI-MICRO COMPUTER
MARKET REPORT

F or those marketers who wish to rece ive al l the information and be able to generate their own ana lys is, the complete database is avai lable on magnetic tape. Data includes:
· 1983 Expenditures for minicomputers, microcomputers, peripherals, and software.
· 1984 Estimated Expenditures for minicomputers, microcomputers, peripherals, and softwa re.
· Geographical Regions · T ype of Organization · Minicompurers / Microcc.npucers purchased in
1983 and chose installed in prior years: Vendor name and model number Units acquired Major applications
· Minicompwers ! Microcompurers planned 1984 purchases: Vendor name and model number Units planned to be acquired Major applications Sites planning to cha nge major vendor Fai l-sa fe computer operation s Electronic office functions

AU selections are available as a listing or as
cheshire or pressure sensitive labels. Cross tabulations of categories are also available.

Sire Selection

Sire Count

· Total sites surveyed .. . ... . . .. .. .... 8,511 · Sites by planned 1984 expenditure levels
$50,000-99,999 ..... .. . .. . .. ..... 4,829 $100,000-249,999 ... .. . .......... .3,582 $250,000-499,999 ................ . 2,218 $500,000 or more . .. .. ..... ... . .. l,403

· Sites planning to install integrated electronic office functions in 1984 . . .... . ......... 1,642

· HOT PROSPECTS ... Sites planning to change major vendors in 1984 ........... . . .. . .. .. .. ... l,085

· Value-added OEMs and third parties .......... .... .. ... .. 3,110

· Value-added user sites ............. 4,813

All dat a is available in a 200-plus page
bound report for $495. In {ldditi"on to an executive sum mary, the report's tables include:
· 1983 Uni.t expenditures
· T ype of Organization
· Geographical Regions
· Current Computer Vendors
· 1984 plans for: sw itching vendors unit expenditures fail-safe computer operations electronic office functions
For more information on prices, li st selections, and the MINI-M IC RO SYSTEMS Market Repo rt, fill out and se nd the coupo n below.

· Boston (617) 536-7780 · Chicago (312) 635-8800 ·Dallas (214)980-0318 · Denver (303) 388-4511 · Los Angeles (213) 826-5818 · Mid-Atlantic (215) 293-1212 · in New York (212) 724-1790 · Orange County (714) 85 1-9422 · Northern California
& Northwest (408) 243-8838 · Southeast (404) 955-6500

Mini·Mi1ral1s1e·1
r------------------------------- -Piease send _ _ copies of the 13th Annual MINI-MICRO COMPUTER MARKET REPORT to the address below. (Please make checks payable to Mini-Micro Systems. $495.00/report.) Please send more information on . ... _ _ The complete Mini-Micro Computer Market Database _ _ Preselected lists and mailing labels
_ _ The 13th Annual Mini-Micro Computer Market Database

llcahners Publishing: Publishers of 33
specialized magazines in Building & Co nstructio n, Electronics & Compu te rs, Foodservice , Manufacturing, Health ca re
Mlnl·Ml1ral111R·1

Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Title - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Company - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Address _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

City - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ' - S t _ a _ t e_ _ _ _ _ _ _---'Z_,_ip_ _ _ _ _ _ __ Telephone (,_ __!_._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ MINl·MICRO SYSTEMS COMPUTER MARKET REPORT, ZZl Columbus Avenue, Boston. MA 02116

CIRCLE NO. 110 ON INQUIRY CARD

238

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

n't Oiet er 'IA~ WPOrhul·natte0thrld·SO3es50tiOCr PS YY·

o~~ ' Y ·

When you see what the Cl-3500 Serial Printer can do, you might not believe it's priced under $2,ooo.
Besides giving you data processing printing at
350 CPS, the Cl-3500 delivers letter quality printing at a rapid 87 CPS- more than twice the speed of most daisy wheel printers.
And you also get the capability for high resolution graphics, up to 240 X 144 DPI. The office fnendly Cl-3500 is as flexible as it is versatile,

Under $~ 000e

especially for a table top, workstation pnnter. For example, a convenient interface cartridge system allows you to change your printer interface simply by changing cartndges.

A DEC-LAlOO®compatible cartridge is standard, but additional

cartridges are available for interfacing with other systems, such as the IBM PC.
' A similar font cartridge system accommodates multiple fonts and character

sets, so you can avoid costly PROM installations.

The Cl-3500 Serial Printer for under $2,000. Whatever you n~ed in a printer, you

won't get over what it will do for you. To find out more, just write or call CIE Terminals,

2505 McCabe Way, Irvine, Ca.

92714-6297. (714 ) 660-1421.

Or call toll -free 1-800-854-5959. In California, call 1-800-432-3687.

OITllM/NMS A CITOH ElECTRCWICSC'Ol.f.A4NY

®DEC LA lOOis a Registered Tradema rk

of Digital Equipment Co rp.

CIRCL E NO. 111 ON INQUIRY CARD

239

TERMINALS

generated by the DVGNTC board is stored in the frame buffer memory contained on additional plug-in boards.
The RDP can directly address the frame buffer to load data already in pixel form. This data includes information such as photographs or schematic diagrams stored in pixel form in the database, as well as alphanumeric characters. The monitor can simultaneously display as many as 4,096 distinct colors from a palette of 16. 7 million.
The VTC reads the logic state of the bit in each of the raster planes at each pixel address to recreate the 12-bit color word. The VTC then refers to its video look-up table to determine the percentages of red, green and blue needed to produce the corresponding user-defined color. These percentages are applied to three on-board digital-to-analog converters that change them into the analog signals that drive the CRT 's guns.
The DVGNTC board contains four DVGs that perform interpolation functions. Three are used for shading and hardware pattern generation, and the fourth performs z-axis address generation. The hardware pattern generator provides a 64-by-64 or 128-by-32 arbitrary surface pattern.
Merlin provides three kinds of shading: flat, Gouraud and Phong (Fig. 3). Flat shading provides uniform intensity across a polygon surface. Gouraud and Phong shading provide realistic, smooth color shading, based on a light source via interpolation.
An important attribute of a graphics terminal is the ability to remove hidden surfaces when solids are modeled. The Merlin 9200 includes back face testing as
CENTER OF IDEAL LINE

standard; true z-buffer hidden surface removal is optional. The z-buffer and associated processor maintain depth information for each surface of the solid. To facilitate this, the terminal uses a DVG and a dedicated frame buffer connected directly to the RDP. The z-axis frame buffer contains 16 raster planes, each corresponding to one bit of a 16-bit z-axis "granularity" word. With 16 bits of depth information, the terminal can recognize as many as 64,000 distinct depth values.
The z-axis DVG provides the pixel data needed for depth cueing, a process in which depth is simulated by varying pixel intensity. Depth cueing can be used on solid surfaces as well as on wire models. When depth cueing is implemented, the user trades off the breadth of the color palette in the video lookup table for variable intensity. Typically, the 12-bit word read-out of the display raster planes is divided into a 4-bit color word and an 8-bit intensity word. With 8 intensity bits, Merlin can provide 256 distinct levels of intensity along its z-axis.

Pixel phasing reduces 'jaggies'

The CID terminal provides an economical display

that is virtually free of the staircase "jaggies" normally

found in raster displays. Jaggies are most apparent in

lines drawn at angles very close to one of the major

axes. They result from the inability of a raster display

to represent the small change in one axis that occurs

during a large change in the other axis.

Pixel phasing (patent pending) virtually eliminates

jaggies and involves the displacement of pixels from

their screen location into a 4-by-4 array. With precise I
beam steering, the center of each pixel can be shifted to

any one of the resulting 16 subpixel addresses in

accordance with data contained in four raster planes in

the frame buffers (Fig. 4).

To minimize the dark areas that would result if a pixel

were fully shifted to one extreme of its address grid,

the terminal elongates the affected pixels along their

axis of displacement. In other words, the pixel is

expanded on one side rather than simply displaced.

Although not as smooth as the lines drawn on a

calligraphic vector stroke display, the lines drawn with

pixel phasing exceed the best high-resolution r aster

scan monitors.

NOMINAL PIXEL CENTER

STAIRCASE EFFECT REDUCED BY INCREMENTING PIXELS IN AS UTILE
AS ONE-QUARTER PIXEL WIDTHS
Fig. 4. Plxel phasing eliminates jaggies by displacing pixels from their normal screen locations. Traditional raster display terminals produce jagged lines (top) . Pixel phasing divides each pixel's screen
location into a 4-by-4 array and shifts the center of the pixel (bottom) to get a smoother line.

Stephen H. Van Horn is a product specialist and technical liaison on the Merlin 9200 system at Megatek Corp., San Diego. He holds a B.S. in computer engineering from the University of California, San Diego.
Interest Quotient (Circle One) High 831 Medium 832 Low 833

240

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/Augus t 1984

The first thing ISi International put on this newMultibus·card was 2 megabytes...

And that was just the beginning.

Squeezing 2 megabytes of memory onto a single Multibus· card is quite an accomplishment in itself. But we believe it takes more than just memory to meet the increasing needs of today's systems. That's why our new MCB-2X Multibus card is designed with a number of significant special features. And why ISI International is truly a leader in Multibus memory products.

Superior Dynamic Memory Relocation.
The new MCB-2X can relocate up to eight 64K or 256K blocks MCB-364 independently-making it a very powerful tool for"RAM disk;' graphics display or multiple table look-up applications.

Expanded Error Correction Logic.

All single bit errors

are automatically scrubbed

during refresh cycles

without system

interruption.

And thanks

to the automatic

memory initializa-

tion feature, software

doesn't have to be pre-

conditioned.

McB-s!2

On-board ECC detects

all single and double bit errors, while providing 370ns
read access through standard 64K or256K RAMs.Plus, theMCB-2X has CSR and
ESR interrogation capability and software control of ECC enable/disable, allowing users to provide
comprehensive system-level diagnostics.
Flexible Addressing Capabilities.
Board addresses starting on any 4K boundary can be mapped
to cross 1 and 4 megabyte boundaries. TheMCB2X can also occupy a con-
tinuous 512K or 2048K memory space within its 16 megabyte range.

Look into ISI International's newMCB-2X. You'll find all the features you need ... plus up to 2 megabytes of memory for the largest capacity available on a single card. Or, for nonvolatile CMOS requirements, see our MCB-364 and MCB-332 modules. For simpler dynamic requirements, investigate our MCB-512.
Since 1970, ISI Inter-
, . , national has shipped over

10 billion bytes of memory cards, giving us a level of experience that's hard to match. Put it to work for you. For systems needs just call us in the West at (408) 743-4442, in the East (201) 272-3920, or in the Midwest call (513) 890-6450. For off-the-shelf products, contact your nearest ISI International distributor: Alliance, Anthem, Arrow, Future Electronics, R.A.E., Quality Components or Sch weber.
·Mulbbus 1s a Trademark of Intel Corp

1 N r 11 R NA r 1 o NA ' Formerly Intersil Systems
ISi International Corporation 1275 Hammerwood Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089 · (408) 743.4443

CIRCLE NO. 112 ON INQUIRY CARD

\ b u callt build tomorrowsI systems
withyesterdays drives.

You've seen one small disk drive, you've seen them all, right?. Not exactly. One disk drive stands above all the rest.
It comes from Maxtor. The company that refuses to produce disk drives merely as good as everybody else..Instead, we set new standards by producing the only 5!4" disk drives worthy of the next generation of superrnicros. Winchesters with 65 to 380 megabytes of storage. And average access times of less than 30 msec. And we don't mean prototypes. We mean full production. So, you can build the systems of tomorrow, today. And that can be a big advantage. For you. Or your competition.
Maxtor Corporation, 150 River Oaks Parkway, San Jose, California 95134, (408) 942-1700, TELEX: 171074. Eastern Regional Sales Office: (617) 872-8556. Southwest Regional Sales Office: (714) 859-3100.
CIRCLE NO. 113 ON INQUIRY.CARD

STAIE OF THE ART.

GUEST VIEWPOINT

Needed: new Winchester error specifications

James Adkisson, Executive Vice President
Vertex Peripherals Inc.
System integrators continually demand that Winchester disk drive manufacturers provide more capacity, lower cost, greater capability and greater volume, while maintaining high data integrity. Currently, highcapacity Winchester disk drive manufacturers maintain high data integrity and low defects even with densities of 1,000 tracks per inch (tpi) and greater than 10,000 bits per inch (bpi).
Acceptable system data integrity is determined arbitrarily more by disk technology capability than by pre-defined system requirements. Current 5114-inch Winchester disk drive products support error rates of one error in 1010 bits for recoverable, or soft, errors and one error in 1012 bits for non-recoverable, or hard errors. Acceptable system data integrity requires an error rate of one in 1012 bits transferred.
The increased cost penalty for high-capacity disk drives to maintain these error rates is not necessary for system integrators to achieve the specified system data integrity.
By definition, soft errors are recoverable by multiple read retries and therefore do not necessarily affect system data reliability. However, excessive soft errors might degrade throughput because of multiple read retries to recover data. On the other hand, hard errors occur primarily as a result of defects in the recording surface of a disk. Most drive manufacturers guarantee that no more than one defect per megabyte of storage will be allowed on a drive.
As disk drive capacity increases, particularly with higher tracks per inch and bits per inch, maintaining minimum defects per megabyte becomes increasingly expensive. A small disk defect that is not noticeable in a 300-tpi disk drive is a repeatable hard error in a 10,000-tpi disk drive.
Generally, hard errors or defects are mapped by disk drive manufac-

turers before disk drives are integrated into a system. These mapped defects are entered into -the system disk controller by the system integrator or OEM and then 'are omitted during disk-formatting operation. Thus, the system never sees hard errors (according to the specification, only one error in 1012 bits are read).
But what about the hard errors that were not mapped as they should have been? And what about hard errors that show up later? What does a system integrator do about them?
The solution requires the use of error-correction codes (ECC). The most common type of ECC are called Fire codes (named after their inventor). Fire codes are especially constructed to detect and correct singleburst errors. The new generation of ECC, sometimes called "computer generated," has improved detection capabilities for even multiburst errors.
With the use of ECC, both hard and soft errors are correctable. However, care must be taken in its use. ECC should not necessarily be invoked to correct soft errors, depending on the correcting code used, where a code's miscorrection is greater than the probability of recovery from multiple read retries. ECC solutions vary in terms of redundancy required, correction capability and miscorrection errors. The significance of ECC centers on its ability to detect and correct hard errors, thus maintaining high system data reliabil-
ity. An industry consultant or ECC,
Neal Glover of Data Systems Technology, believes that disk drive manufacturers unnecessarily carry the primary burden for maintaining disk system data reliability. According to Glover, "Disk manufacturers, by providing nearly perfect disk media and sophisticated read/write channels, have maintained very low disk drive error rates. If th~ controller manufacturers/designers were to improve the error-correction schemes with greater redundancy and a selection of ECC that increase correction capability while minimizing miscorrection,

then the system data reliability could be easily maintained, even with a significant increase in raw disk drive error rates. However, system manufacturers should implement ECC in any case to guard against error-rate variations among disk drives."
Larry Boucher, president of Adaptec Corp., a leading controller manufacturer, agrees: "With the use of the more sophisticated computer-generated ECC incorporated with new controllers, it is possible to maintain system data integrity of one in 1012 bits error even if the native disk drive error rate is several orders of magnitude higher."
Offering high storage capacities, optical disks are currently operating with inherent hard-error criteria of one in 106· However, with use of redundancy and ECC, the system data reliability from optical disks is maintained at one in 1012· The same is possible if magnetic-disk-inherent data errors are similarly reduced.
Now is an ideal time for the industry to review and reduce error and disk-media-defect criteria. Many alternative proposals offered for interface standards are still up in the air, and ECC schemes could be easily incorporated into any one of them. A reduction of error rates by two orders of magnitude could provide significant cost reductions in disk-drivemedia and read-channel implementation without jeopardizing system data integrity. Those emerging higher-performance disk drive interface proposals supporting higher data rates and more efficient encoding, such as run length limited (RLL) will make disk quality requirements even greater and, therefore, bring higher costs unless error criteria are reduced.
The market is demanding highercapacity/higher-performance disk driv_es in large volumes-but at lower costs. A cooperative effort between disk drive manufacturers, system integrators and controller manufacturers to maintain system data reliability and reduce disk drive error and criteria would offer benefits to all.

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

245

New Products
SYSTEMS

Display workstation features high resolution

The WY-lOOOxlO graphics worksta-

tion can be configured with windowing

software for business or CAD/CAM

applications. Containing all of the

features available in the company's

WY-1000 workstation, the WY-lOOOxlO

also includes a 15-inch, monochrome

monitor with a 1,000-by-800 bit-mapped

display, the GSX operating system and

a serial input/output port. The WY-1000

16-bit, 80186 microprocessor-based mi-

crocomputer provides two 51/4-inch

IBM-PC-compatible floppy disk drives,

128K bytes of RAM and three 110 ports.

Less than $5,000. Wyse Technology,

3040 N. First St., San Jose, Calif. 95134,

(408) 946-3075.

Circle No 300

also provide gray-scale monochrome

output. All models support basic,

smooth and jump scrolling modes.

Desktop systems are available in three

configurations with 5%-inch floppy disk

drives: a single-drive system ($2,699), a

dual-drive system ($3,099) and a

dual-drive system with one floppy disk

drive and one 10.6M-byte Winchester

disk drive ($4, 799). Desktop systems do

not include a monitor as standard

equipment. The two portable systems,

both with built-in 9-inch amber moni-

tors, are priced at $2,799 for the

single-floppy-disk-drive version and

$3, 199 for the dual-floppy-disk-drive

version. Zenith Data Systems, 1000

Milwaukee Ave., Glenview, Ill. 60025,

(312) 391-8744.

Circle No 301

Workstation meets engineering needs
The System One integrated workstation engineering and scientific package is based on a Motorola 68010 main processor and features virtual-memory support, high-resolution graphics and a multiwindow extension of BSD 4.2 UNIX. The package includes a 640Kbyte, 5%-inch floppy disk drive, a 24M-byte Winchester disk drive, a 14-inch, 1,024-by-768-pixel, bit-mapped display with 128K bytes of memory and a graphics processor, a general 110 processor with a mouse pointing device and a battery-backed clock/calendar. Standard software includes a UNIXderived operating system, a window manager, a software-integration shell and the C programming language. $15,475. NBI Inc., P.O. Box 9001, Boulder, Colo. 80301, (303) 938-2795.
Circle No 302

Multiuser UNIX system is VMEbus-based
The VME Matrix 68K is a multiuser, VMEbus-based UNIX system designed around the 68000 microprocessor. The product has seven VMEbus-compatible cards in a 10-slot card cage, 36M bytes of Winchester disk storage and lM byte of floppy disk storage. The system also has five serial ports, one parallel printer port (Centronics compatible) and 640K bytes of main memory (512K bytes on the two DRAM boards and 128K bytes on the MMCPU). Software includes the UniPlus+ UNIX System III operating system, 68000 assembler, C compiler and a system diagnostics package. The system firmware initializes the system and controls bootstrap loading. $16,500. Mostek Corp., 1215 W. Crosby Road, Carrollton, Texas 75006, (214) 466-6000.
Circle No 304

Microcomputers run IBM PC software
The Z-150 series desktop and Z-160 series portable microcomputers offer software and expansion-board compatibility with the IBM PC. Both series use the Intel 8088 processor, the IBM expansion bus and the MS-DOS operating system. The computers include two RS232 ports and a Centronics-compatible parallel port. They come standard with 128K bytes of RAM, expandable to 640K bytes. The products also have RGB color output and a redesigned, IBM-compatible, detachable keyboard. Desktop models

Multiuser microcomputer

is 80286-based

The system 816/F, an IEEE-696-

compatible multiuser microcomputer

based on a 6-MHz 80286 CPU with a 287

math processor, features 512K bytes of

16-bit static memory, 12 serial ports, a

Centronics printer port, a parallel port,

l.2M bytes of floppy disk storage, 40M

bytes of hard disk storage and l.5M

bytes of M-Drive/H solid-state disk

storage. The computer includes the

CP/M-86 and MP/M-86 operating sys-

tems. $14,995. CompuPro, 2506 Break-

water Court, Hayward, Calif. 94545,

(415) 786-0909.

Circle No 303

Hand-held microcomputer draws graphics
The Husky Hunter hand-held microcomputer measures 8112 by 6% by 1% inches and weighs 2 pounds. The waterproof unit incorporates an NSC800-4 microprocessor, SOK to 208K bytes of CMOS RAM, an RS232 port, an LCD and a 57-key QWERTY-style keyboard.

246

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

The product displays alphanumerics in

an 8-line-by-40-character format and can

draw 240-by-64-dot resolution graphics.

The microcomputer has a BASIC inter-

preter and l.'an run CP/M-compatible

software. Programs and data are stored

in battery-supported memory. Prices

start at approximately $2,000. Sar;tsota

Automation Inc., 1500 N. Washington

Blvd., Sarasota, Fla. 33577, (813) 366-

8770.

Circle No 305

Variable computer

offers flexibility

The Powerframe series of variablearchitecture computer systems offers a selection of processors, operating software and peripherals. Model 2340 employs a DEC PDP-11/23 Plus processor, a DEC operating system and an 8-inch fixed/removable rigid disk drive with 40M bytes of user storage. Standard equipment also includes 256K bytes of dynamic RAM, dual ports and an expandable pedestal cabinet. The freestanding cabinet contains a slide-out wire cage that provides access to internal components for exchanging logic and memory boards as well as storage subsystems. $13,990. Ford/Higgins Ltd., 4755 Walnut St., Boulder, Colo. 80301,

(303) 449-8803.

Circle No 306

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CTS Techn

eliabilH1

The high speed, di~ital signal processor m-'dbr
212AH modem was originally engineered for very complex, custom modem systems. We now have applied this advanced technology to a standard Bell

212A compatible product. You get clear, error free transmission despite varying phone line conditions. Other features include auto dial/answer, remote digital

loopback, full duplex 300 bps and 1200 bps asynchron-

ous operation and 1200 bps synchronous operation. In

a few minutes you'll discover our modem has all the

bells and whistles you could ask for. Yet, at a surpris-

ingly low price.

CTS Field Reliability
We warranty our 212AH modem for two years, and we demand our distributors service and support your needs immediately. Once in the field, our modems
operate with all data terminals, more than 100 types of
computers and are Hayes compatible.

CTS Brand Reliability
In 1896 CTS began manufacturing hand cranked, wooden, wall mounted telephones. Today, we offertfW
sophisticated 212AH modem. lfa taken us alm0$t ninety years of hard work, lntenslVe research and
innovative products to develop a reputation reliability. Take nine minutft, examine our modem, and find out for yourself.

CIRCLE NO. 115 ON INQUIRY CARD

247

New Products
DISK/TAPE

- / · ii. Ii!

IBM's 4-by-5-inch magnetic-tape cartridge inserts in a slot in the model 3480 subsystem.

Tape cartridges feature 20 percent more storage

The model 3480 magnetic-tape sub-

system employs tape cartridges instead

of standard tape reels. Approximately

one-fourth the size of a 101h-inch reel of

magnetic tape, the rectangular car-

tridges store as much as 20 percent

more data. Designed for large-machine

backup, the model 3480 contains dual

drives, each of which stores 200M bytes

unformatted and arranged in 18 tracks

with a packing density of 38K bytes per

inch. The subsystem transfers data at

3M bytes per second-more than double

the rate at which other IBM tape drives

read and write information. The 3-foot-

by-2-foot-by-39-inch unit moves the tape

at 80 ips in a streaming-only mode.

Decoupled control maintains steady op-

eration of the drive, freeing the host

from handling tape operation. A typical

configuration, consisting of one control-

ler and eight drives, is priced at

$237,910. IBM Corp., Information

Systems Group, 900 King St., Rye,

N.Y. 10573.

Circle No 307

Tape streamers pack SOOM bytes
The MT-2000 family of streamingtape drives packs 500M bytes on a booksized cartridge containing 1,500 feet of 1h-inch-wide tape. The drives operate at 200 or 50 ips in streaming mode and at 50 ips in start/stop mode. The devices

transfer data at 240K bytes per second at 200 ips and store data using a 24track, bit-serial, serpentine format with a 9,600-bpi packing density. An integral formatter encodes data in a 4/5 GCR format and is transparent to the controller. The head-stepping arrangement permits random access of stored files within an average of 30 seconds. The full-width model MT-2210, priced at $5,500, measures 19 by 8% by 171h inches. The half-width model MT-2220, priced at $5,750, measures 8.4 by 10.2 by 24 inches. MegaTape Corp., 1041 Hamilton Road, P.O. Box 317, Duarte, Calif. 91010, (213) 357-9921.
Circle No 308

Storage subsystems

enhance DEC computers

Employing the SCSI, Medley subsys-

tems provide software-transparent stor-

age and backup for DEC Q-bus and

Unibus computers. The subsystems

come in a 5114-by-19-by-22-inch RETMA

rack-mounted cabinet or an optional

desktop unit and include a 5114-inch Win-

chester disk drive, a CDC Sentinel 114inch cartridge-tape drive, power supply

and a cooling fan. The Winchester disk

drive offers 36M or llOM bytes of for-

matted data storage; the tape drive offers as much as 70M bytes of backup

storage, depending on block size. The

Medley is offered in a Q-bus version for the DEC LSI-11through11/23 Plus, the Micro/PDP-11 and the MicroNAX CPUs

or in a Unibus version for applicable PDP-11 and VAX-11 CPUs. The subsys-

tem package includes the appropriate host adapter: the vendor's UC02 for

Q-bus applications and UC12 for Unibus applications. The company's TC05

(Q-bus) and TC15 (Unibus) tape cou-

plers handle tape-control functions. Prices for the subsystem with llOMbyte disk and tape backup is $12,455 for

the Q-bus version and $12,855 for the Unibus version. Emulex Corp., P.O.

Box 6725, 3545 Harbor Blvd., Costa

Mesa, Calif. 92626, (714) 662-5600 or

(800) 854-7112.

Circle No 309

GCR tape product offers large-system performance
The 50-ips Shamrock model 9250, a start/stop, auto-load/auto-thread, vacuum-column tape drive, has an embedded GCR formatter. Standard recording densities are 6,250 and 1,600 bpi; an 800-bpi recording density is optional. The peak throughput rate at 6,250 bpi is 312.5K bytes per second. At 1,600 bpi, the unit transfers data at 80K bytes per second. It maintains a 0.3-inch interrecord gap and provides 3-msec. write and 3.4-msec. read access times. In GCR mode, the drive can store as much as 145M bytes of formatted data on one 2,400-foot reel of tape. It incorporates the Telex bus-structured standard interface. $7,399 (OEM quantities); deliveries begin in October. Telex Computer Products Inc., 6422 E. 41st St., Tulsa, Okla. 74135, (918) 627-1111.
Circle No 310
Winchester subsystem replaces four RL01 drives
The 4xRL01 disk system for DEC Q-bus microcomputers emulates four 14inch DEC RLOl cartridge drives. It incorporates a controller and two fixed/ removable 5114-inch Winchester drives, providing a storage capacity of 20.8M bytes. Data-transfer rate is 625K bytes per second; average seek time is 40 msec. $10,000. Winchester Systems, 400 W. Cummings Park, Woburn, Mass. 01801, (617) 933-8550.
Circle No 311

248

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Every department. every person in our
organization is dedicated to one goalto deliver the finest in disk memories. At Century Data Systems, we see quality as a pervasive, company-wide attitude. And our customers share this perspective.
Leading OEMs continue to rely on Century Data Systems disk memones fOr superb reliability, year after year. That's the real payoff from our total
approach to quality. At Century Data Systems, quality is much more than a memory. It's a living company commitment.
And it can work to yo'ur advantage.
Write or call for specifics.
( ) Century Data s~~
Mwketing CommunicatiOnS 1270 N Kraemer Boulevard Anahem, California 92806 (714) 999-2660
CIRCLE NO. 116 ON INQUIRY CARD

New Products
TERMINALS

Terminals feature

NTSC color signal output

The ID-200 series of graphics termi-

nals offers dual display architecture,

NTSC compatibility, 1,280-by-480-pixel

resolution and a display writing rate of

l.25M pixels per second. A dual video

generator can split and display alphanu-

meric and graphics images on separate

monitors. The terminal provides hard-

ware pan and 16 levels of zoom and can

display eight windows simultaneously.

A palette of eight or 16 colors with

selectable graphics pattern elements al-

lows users to create textures, patterns

and hues. The terminal performs poly-

gon fill and seed with fill-until and

-while algorithms. Users can draw vec-

tors by absolute, relative or concatenat-

ed coordinates. Other drawing primi-

tives include circle, bar, arc, pie and

polygon; programmable window and

scales; and four independent plane con-

trols. The unit also has graphics-

command compatibility with Tektronix

models 4010, 4014 and 4027 terminals;

VTlOO features; and VT132 multipage

editing compatibility. ISSCO, SAS and

Template software supports the series.

$4,295. ID Systems Corp., 4089 Leap

Road, Hilliard, Ohio 43026, (614) 876-

1595.

Circle No 312

Terminals support VIP-7800 protocols
The microprocessor-based TE-780x video display terminals support Honeywell VIP-7800 protocols. Model A replaces the Honeywell model VIP-7801 asynchronous terminal, model S replaces the Honeywell VIP-7814 synchronous terminal, and model V operates in a user-selectable DEC VTlOO or ANSI X3.64 mode. All models feature a 14-

inch green screen that displays 7-by-11-

dot-matrix characters in a 24-line-by-80-

column format. The terminals also offer

more than 60 menu-selectable setup op-

tions and an auxiliary printer port.

Other features include a detachable key-

board; a tilt-and-swivel monitor; 12

user-programmable non-volatile func-

tion keys; and blink, underline, reverse,

bold and blank video attributes that

require no display space. Model A:

$1,695; models S and V: $1,895 each.

Thomas Engineering Co., 1040 Oak

Grove Road, Concord, Calif. 94518,

(415) 680-8640.

Circle No 313

Terminal works

with DEC systems

The ADM 220 video display terminal

is compatible with the DEC VT220,

VTlOO and VT52 terminals. Ergonomic

features include a tilt-and-swivel moni-

tor and a detached, low-profile key-

board. The unit provides an 80- or 132-

column-by-24-line display (plus a 25th

status line), a split screen, double-

width/double-height line attributes,

vertical or horizontal scrolling and 15

function key.s. A 12-inch, green or

amber screen is standard. Users can

display the terminal's selectable setup

parameters in English, French or

German. $1,165. Lear Siegler Inc.,

Data Products Division, 901 E. Ball

Road, Anaheim, Calif. 92805, (714) 774-

1010.

Circle No 314

Rack-mount terminals suit process control
The R6210 family of rack-mountable color terminals for process-control applications measures 7 by 19 by 21 inches. The entry-level model R6210/01 ($3,495), features VTlOO emulation and extensions. Character attributes include eight colors, ·underscore, blink, bold, reverse and double-height/doublewidth lines. Users can design special fonts and symbols for charts and flow diagrams, locally store the fonts and

symbols and display them in as many as six page formats with a maximum of 160 characters by 48 lines. The terminal's communications protocol meets ANSI X3.64 standards. The top-of-the-line model R6210/21 ($4,995) has R6210/01 features plus an overlay with four planes of bit-mapped graphics at 640-by480 pixel resolution. The system displays as many as 16 colors from a palette of 64. Users can program in the company's Colorgraphic language or in Tektronix 4014 commands. User subroutines are stored in 40K bytes of RAM. A third configuration, model R6210/11 ($3,995), has the same attributes as the model R6210/21 in graphics mode. Ramtek Corp., 2211 Lawson Lane, Santa Clara, Calif. 95050, (408) 988-2211.
Circle No 315
Graphics terminals supply 16 independent windows
The Graphos II and III color graphics terminals feature shiftable cell architecture and 16 independently managed screen windows that can smooth scroll in any direction. The windows have individual color tables and can emulate the DEC VTlOO and Tektronix 4010 terminals simultaneously. An MC68000 microprocessor runs subroutines in a 130command set supplied in firmware. Both terminals offer user-selectable resolution of 640-by-480-by-4-bit pixels or 640-

250

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

by-384-by-4-bit pixels. Priced at $3,995 without a monitor, Graphos II runs at 6.25 MHz and displays 16 colors on a ITL monitor. It has a 128K-byte graphics RAM and a 128K-byte local-storage RAM. Priced at $5,495 without a monitor, Graphos III operates at a 12.5-MHz clock speed and generates 32,768 colors on an analog RGB monitor. It has 256K bytes of graphics RAM and 224K bytes of local-storage RAM. Ithaca InterSystems Inc., 1650 Hanshaw Road, Ithaca, N.Y. 14850, (607) 273-2500.
Circle No 316

grammable function keys. Based on the

Z80A microprocessor, the terminal in-

Displays use high-speed technology

corporates RS232C/RS422 and RS232C communication ports and is compatible with DEC VT132 and ANSI X3.64 stan-

Featuring a proprietary CMOS dards. The Ovation 1041 terminal fea-

graphics coprocessor working with a tures an 84-key low-profile keyboard

Z8002 16-bit microprocessor, HiScan with eight user-programmable function

graphics terminals achieve graphing keys, displays 24 lines by 80 columns

speeds of IM pixels per second. The with a 25th status line and offers 32

terminals are based on DEC VT200 se- graphics characters. Based on the 8085A

ries monitors and keyboards. They offer microprocessor, the product emulates

a non-interlaced display and deliver 800- the Lear Siegler ADM 31 and TeleVideo

by-600-pixel resolution on the · mono- "'925 terminals and contains 16K bytes of

chrome model 4210 and 800-by-300-pixel memory. Both models incorporate non-

resolution on the color model 4205. glare green or amber, 12-inch screens

Using two memory planes, HiScan mon- on a tilt-and-swivel base. Ovation 1051:

ochrome terminals provide a four-level $1,295; Ovation 1041: $1,095. Zentec

gray scale; using four memory planes, Corp., 2400 Walsh Ave., Santa Clara,

HiScan color terminals can display 16 Calif. 95050, (408) 727-7662.

colors simultaneously from a palette of

Circle No 318

64. The terminals support 80- and 132-

column formats, with characters formed

in a 10-by-20 cell. Standard features include DEC VT220 text and Tektronix

Terminal displays

4010/4014 graphics functions as well as large characters

buyer-specified Tektronix 4027, Tek- The Annunciator graphics terminal

tronix 4104 or DEC ReGIS protocols. can instantaneously draw large charac-

$2,195 and $2,995 for the models 4210 ters on its 19-inch video screen in re-

and 4205, respectively. Digital Engi- sponse to one ASCII code. Users can

neering Inc., 630 Bercut Drive, Sac- construct messages in a combination of

ramento, Calif. 95814, (916) 447-7600. eight colors, letter sizes as high as 3

Circle No 317 inches and blinking. Operators can also

store as many as 96 full-screen formats

Intelligent terminal can be customized

(including graphics diagrams) in the terminal's non-volatile memory and access the formats via simple codes. Graphics

The Ovation 1041 and 1051 terminals display resolution is 384 by 480 pixels.

feature soft setup using non-volatile The unit can display a maximum of 80

RAM, firmware customization and ex- characters by 48 lines with 114-inch-high

pansion capabilities to support custom characters and a minimum of 13 charac-

logic. The Ovation 1051 features 256 ters by 3 lines with 3-inch-high charac-

graphics characters and 128 alphanu- ters. RS232C and current-loop interfac-

meric characters and provides an 80- or es come standard. Prices start at

132-column display mode and 16K bytes $4,660. Mystic Valley Engineering Co.

of memory, expandable to 64K bytes. Inc., 400 W. Cummings Park, Woburn ,

The low-profile, detached keyboard has Mass. 01801, (617) 933-9383.

103 alphanumeric keys and 16 user-pro-

Circle No 319

Asynchronous terminal features ergonomic design
The model 7811 asynchronous terminal has a detached, low-profile keyboard and a non-glare, high-contrast, 12-inch display screen. The tilt-and-swivel screen features a 24-line-by-80-column format, displays a 128-character set and supports reverse video, underline and reduced-intensity attributes. The 93-key keyboard includes 14 function keys and a numeric keypad. The product provides 45 special characters for foreign languages and 64 graphics characters and transmits data over an RS232 asynchronous link at selectable baud rates from 300 to 19.2K. $695. Paradyne Corp., 8550 Ulmerton Road, Largo, Fla. 33540, (813) 530-2000.
Circle No 320
Video display is TeleVideo 950-compatible
Code-compatible with the TeleVideo 950, the Smart Link 150 terminal features a tilt-and-swivel display, a 12inch, non-glare, green or amber phosphor screen and a detached, low-profile, DIN-standard keyboard. The product furnishes four pages of memory that can be used as one 96-line page or four independent pages. Other features include 11 programmable function keys, soft setup, full editing, protected fields, smooth or jump scroll, 15 independent baud rates as high as 19.2K bps and business graphics. $895. Link Technologies Inc., 1887 O'Toole Ave., San Jose, Calif. 95131, (408) 943-0142.
Circle No 321

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

251

New Products
PRIN TE RS

at 300 lpm. It prints 80 or 132 columns

on one- to six-part forms and comes in a

freestanding, acoustically-damped metal

enclosure. Operating noise level is less

than 50 dBa. $5,495 for the 132-column

model. Innovative Electronics Inc.,

4714 N.W. 165th St. , Miami, Fla. 33014,

(305) 624-1644.

Circle No 323

Machine emulates

journal printer

Aimed at applications in which multi-

part, continuous forms are printed sin-

gly or in the demand-document mode ,

the 132-column Formwriter 9/132 dot-

matrix printer performs like a journal

printer and requires no special pro-

gramming or instruction codes for nor-

mal operation. Depressing the "tear

form" button advances the paper so that

the last line printed or the head-of-form

is brought to the tear bar for separation.

Releasing the button reverses the trac-

tors so that the head-of-form is again

aligned with the print head. This setup

allows handling of continuous forms in

demand-document mode while printing

within Vs inch of the top or bottom. The

printer operates at 165 cps. RS232C and

Centronics interfaces are standard.

$1,595. Digital Matrix Corp., 105 Fil-

ley St. , Bloomfield, Conn. 06002, (203)

242-3048.

Circle No 322

Line printer emulates IBM 2780/3780 devices
The Innovator 202-FC line printer provides IBM 2780/3780 emulation with its built-in printer and ASCII terminal port. It supports space compression/ expansion, processor-interrupt reception, conversational mode, reception of EBCDIC transparent data, verticalformat control and horizontal-format control. The device also features processor-interrupt transmission, switchselectable 2780/3780 modes, switched network/leased-line control, auto-an swer, switch-selectable ASCII/EBCDIC modes and built-in diagnostics. The printer uses chain technology and prints

Dot-matrix printers suit

text processing

The model H80 dot-matrix printer

features an 8-inch print line, 140-cps

draft printing using an 11-by-9-dot-

matrix pattern, 27-cps near-letter-

quality printing using a 23-by-16-dot-

matrix pattern, overstrike, condensed,

pica, elite and expanded print modes

and true superscript/subscript printing. Model H136 has the same print capabili-

ties as model H80 but features a 15.6-

inch print line. Both models include

built-in, adjustable tractors, pin-

addressable graphics in seven densities, down-line loading of character sets, ital-

ics, and resident international character

sets. The printers can handle cut-sheet,

fan-fold and roll paper. A Centronics

interface is standard; an RS232 interface is optional. H80: $699; H136: $899.

Centronics Data Computer Corp., 1 Wall St., Hudson, N.H. 03051, (603)

883-0111.

Circle No 324

Multimode unit prints at 220 cps
The DS220 multimode matrix printer provides correspondence printing for word-processing applications, draftquality printing for data-processing applications and dot-addressable graphics. In correspondence mode, the printer generates an 18-by-48 dot matrix for near-letter-quality appearance. Using a two-pass technique, the unit prints at 40 cps. Multiple type fonts can be selected from the operator panel or under program control. Features include two correspondence-quality fonts, two memo fonts, variable pitch draft fonts, a

micro-character set and seven international character sets. For print-intensive applications, the unit operates at 220 cps using bidirectional logic-seeking printing. In this mode, the printer uses a 9-by-7-dot matrix and offers selectable pitches of 10, 12 and 16 cpi. The unit prints as many as 217 cpl. An RS232 and a Centronics-compatible interface are standard. $1,995. Datasouth Computer Corp., P.O. Box 240947, Charlotte, N.C. 28224, (800) 222-4528.
Circle No 325
Portable matrix printers operate in multiple modes
The Riteman line of 9-by-9-dot matrix, bidirectional, logic-seeking, portable printers possess word-processing and graphics capabilities. The Riteman Plus ($399) prints at 120 cps ,offers 66 character modes and has Epson MX-80FT Type III Graftrax Plus software compatibility. The Riteman Blue Plus ($499) prints at 140 cps, offers 128 character modes and is compatible with the IBM graphics printer and Epson RX-80FT and Epson MX-80FT Type III Graftrax Plus software. This printer also prints in elite pitch, proportional spacing and 70-cps quiet modes . The Riteman II ($599) prints at 160 cps, offers 128 character modes and has Epson FX-80 software compatibility. It includes an 8K buffer, and prints in proportional spacing and 80-cps quiet modes. The Riteman 15 ($799) prints at 160 cps, offers 128 character modes and is Epson FX-100 software-compatible. This printer features a 15-inch carriage and adjustable tractor feed, and prints in elite and 80-cps quiet modes. The printer also has a character set of 256 units that can be re-defined as a 9-by-11 matrix for custom character sets. Inforunner Corp., 1621 Stanford St., Santa Monica, Calif. 90404, (800) 824-3044 or (800) 421-2551.
Circle No 326

252

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

OEM Decision Makers
"Only the Invitational Computer Conferences bring the latest OEM computer and peripheral products to your front door You'll fmd us there!"

A nd you'll find other top
fl. OEM manufacturers,
such as IBM, Control Data, DEC, Fujitsu, NEC and Seagate, to name a few.
In their 14th year, the "OEM Only" Invitational Computer Conferences bring you, the volume buying decision makers, together with the key suppliers of computer and peripheral products. The ICCs, a series of ten, one-day regional shows are convenient to where you live and work.The social business setting makes it easy for you to meet poten-

1984/85 U.S. ICC Locations

Sept. 6, '84 Newton/Boston , MA

Sept. 25, '84 Southfield/Detroit, MI

Oct. 10, '84 Cherry Hill, NJ

Oct. 23, '84 Englewood/Denver, CO

Jan. 8, '85 Irvine, CA

Jan. 29, '85 Houston, TX

Jan. 31, '85 Dallas, TX

tial suppliers one-on-one, and attend high tech seminars of your choice. As an

Feb. 26, '85 Mar. 19 , '85 Apr. 2 , '85

Ft. Lauderdale, FL Palo Alto, CA Nashua, NH I No. MA

invited guest, there is no

Callyour local OEM supplierfar

cost to you. Hear what the OEM manu-

your invitation orJill out the coupon and mail to:

facturers have to say, learn more about their products,

B. J Johnson & Associates, Inc.
3151 Airwqy Ave., #C-2 ~ Costa Mesa, CA 92626

and remember, you may

Phone: (714) 957- 0171 T

attend "by invitation only." le/ex: 188747 TAB IRJN l ~ ~

Yes! I need an invitation to your "OEM Only" ICC. The nearest ICC to me is:_ _ __ __ __ _ __

I buy in volume:
D Computers D Disk/Tape Drives D Controllers I Interfaces D Terminals I Graphic Displays D Software D Printers D Memory Boards D Modems / Multiplexers D Power Supplies

Na me

Title

Company/ Division

Address

City

State

Zip

Mail To: B. ). John son & Associates . Inc.. 3151 Airway Avenue. #C-2 . Costa M esa. CA 92626 Phone: (7 14) 957-0171 Telex: 188747 TAB I RIN

CIRCLE NO. 118 ON INQUIRY CARD

New Products
DATACOMM

Low-cost network shares resources

software for network-wide resource that has a 2.5M-bps data rate. It can link sharing and cabling. The network soft- clusters of PCs-typically two to four ware features exclusive access to per- per disk server. The PC that acts as a

The Plan 2000 system links IBM PCs, sonal work volumes, read-only access to file server is not dedicated to network

PC XTs and IBM PC-compatible com- program libraries or information owned functions; it can run applications while

puters, allowing users to access shared by other users, locks to implement mul- processing network functions. File

multiuser database applications and tiuser applications and passwords to printer server program: $750; interface

hard disk§ and printers. The network protect private information. Plan 2000 cards: $595 each. Nestar Systems Inc. ,

consists of interface cards for each PC, uses the ARCnet token-passing protocol 2585 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto,

-------------------------~ Calif. 94303, (415) 493-2223.

Circle No 327

THE IBEX MAINSTREAMER®

,' ' -

I I

I I
~ijj#~!>

. . ~..

:
,·,,
·

- ,\

Multiplexers work

with DEC computers

At $1850* the price is the least of the breakthroughs!

This IBM format-compatible 9-track tape drive weighs 60% less than any equivalent system available. And occupies 25% less space.(Save up to $200 on freight costs alone').
It's simple and reliable . Fewer moving parts. No automatic threading failures. No noisy blower. And look at all you get:

· Storage of up to 136M bytes per reel
· Transfer rates of 20K to 160K bytes I second
· 800 bpi NRZI ,1600 and 3200 bpi PE
· Cipher I Pertee interface
· Internal diagnostics · Mounting options: Door, Drawer or Table Top The IBEX MAINSTREAM ER. Right for the times.

Call.TWX or write today for the rest of the story. And for the telephone number of the sales office nearest you .

IB EX

Right for the times

'OEM quantities . 1600 bpi PE format . domestic prices.

IBEX CO MPUTER CORPORATION 20741 Manila St . Chatsworth. CA 91311

(818) 709-8100-TWX 910-493-2071

CIRCLE NO. 11 9 ON INQUIRY CARD

The CS02 series communications multiplexer for DEC computers has two configurations. The CS02/HA configuration works with LSI-11/23 and LSI-
11/23 Plus CPUs and comprises the model CC02 communications controller and the model CP22/B 16-line distribution panel that uses 25-pin connectors. The CS02/HB configuration works with Micro/PDP-11 CPUs and comprises the model CC02 communications controller and the model CP24 16-line distribution panel that uses nine-pin connectors with RS423 capability. The model CC02 printed-circuit board features bipolar microprocessor architecture that supports 16 terminals. The first four distribution lines provide full- or half-duplex modem support. The remaining 12 lines provide full-duplex-only modem support. The board features switchselectable emulation of the DEC DHVll or DHll multiplexers, allowing transparent operation with installed DEC software and diagnostics. Each of the 16 lines can simultaneously transmit and receive data at speeds as fast as 38.4K baud. The controller board installs in one Q-bus backplane slot of the resident CPU. The CS02/HA and CS02/HB sell for $2,300 each. Emulex Cor p. , 3545 Harbor Blvd., P.O. Box 6725, Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626, (714) 662-5600 or (800) 854-7112.
Circle No 328

254

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

New Products
SOFTWARE

Integrated software package runs on IBM PCjr, PC and XT

The Electric Desk, claimed to be the first integrated software productivity program for the IBM PCjr personal computer, combines spreadsheet, wordprocessing, database-management and communications functions. The program also runs on the IBM PC and PC XT computers. The product provides concurrent operations, a windowing feature, a macro programming language and context-sensitive help screens. Use of function keys simplifies program operation.
The word-processing program offers automatic page numbering, headers and footnotes; copy and insert text; continuous justification; on-screen center, bold and underline; and the ability to print six type styles with a dot-matrix printer. Users can insert information, such as from a database or a spreadsheet, into the document using Electric Desk's windowing and cut-and-paste facility. Users can also open as many as nine documents simultaneously.
The spreadsheet occupies 255 rows by 255 columns. It features variable cell widths, numeric formats, text formats and automatic recalculations. The spreadsheet's viewport (windows) function allows a user to see two views of a spreadsheet on the screen at once.
The database can have as many as 50 fields and 1,000 characters per record and as many as 65,000 records per file. Users can define as many as five index fields. Field types include alpha, numeric and capitalized. Field attr ibutes can

Alpha 's Electric Desk provides a windowing function that enables users to move screen information between spreadsheet and word-processing documents simultaneously.

be set as underline, reverse video and bold. The database can also automatically dial a phone number.
The communications service transmits information at eight baud rates from 110 bits per second (bps) to 9,600 bps. It provides electronic mail and enables users to access commercial databases and automatically dial telephone numbers stored in a Rolodex-like file.
Priced at $295, the Electric Desk for

the PCjr requires 128K bytes of RAM and one disk drive. Most of the program code resides on ROM cartridges, and the remaining code resides on diskette. The IBM PC and PC XT versions require 256K bytes of RAM and one disk drive and sells for $345. Alpha Software Cor p., 300 B St., Burlington, Mass. 01803, (617) 229-2924.
Circle No 329

BASIC language version displays program flow
The Professional BASIC language accesses the full memory of the IBM PC and can use the 8087 coprocessor. It contains a window-oriented system of more than 12 tracing and debugging screens. Users can view changes in variables or array elements and the progress of FOR. ..NEXT loops or GOSUBs as a program executes. The package provides a dynamic syntax-checking feature and permits labeled GOSUBs, cross-referencing and the setting of breakpoints. The product is written in

assembler and requires 256K bytes of RAM. $345. Morgan Computing Co. Inc., 10400 N. Central Expressway, Suite 210, Dallas, Texas 75231, (214) 739-5895.
Circle No 330
Software emulates many terminals
The Impersonator communications software package for IBM PC and IBM PC-compatible microcomputers featur-es emulations of seven CRT terminals, an

auto-dial directory and file-transfer and internal text-editing capabilities. With the Impersonator, an IBM PC can emulate Lear Siegler's ADM-3A, DEC's VT52 and VTlOO, Hazeltine's Esprit, IBM's 3101, DG's D210 and TeleVideo's 912 terminals. A macro command language allows users to custom - design additional emulations and to pre-define actions in handling data transfers. The package provides more than 60 contextsensitive help screens for creating a custom emulation program. $195. Direct.aid, P.O. Box 4420, Boulder, Colo. 80306, (303) 442-8080.
Circle No 331

M INI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

255

UNIX Ii a trademark of Bell Laboratorin. UNIFY la a trademark ofUnify Corporation. IBM IS a rcgisrcn.-J rrademark of lntcma11nnal Bu. inet.5 Machine;
Q,pvright () 1984, Unify Corporation, F\mland, Oregon 97219.

~~devel-
~n with some~the most
powerful utilities of all, including:
Fully menu-driven design.
A po.verful screen handling package tnat helps you format screens quickly, with no coding required.
Raw 110, that lets you bYP_ass the UNIX file system for up to 40% faster
performance in large data bases.
Built-in optimizers that select the fastest of four data access methods.
Industry standard IBM SQL query language, plus our powerful report

writer, for easy access by end-users.
Ninety subroutines for advanced program development ... the most complete package of its kind.
UNIFY's integrated design links program modules like screens, query language and report writer to help you quickly create complete, friendly, easily expandable applications.
Horsepower for the long run. Unlike other data bases, UNIFY won't slow down under the weight of
additional data or multiple users. It's
built with the power to support new features later.
Judge for yourself. Send for our 300-page tutorial and 500-page reference manual-yours for only $95that show you how to build virtually any application. Contact UNIFY, Dept. MMS-8, 9570 S.W. Barbur Blvd., Portland, OR 97219, 503/245-6585.

un1FW®
THE PREFERRED UNIX DBMS.
CIRCLE NO. 120 ON INQUIRY CARD

OEM Decision Makers
"Only the Invitational Computer Conferences bring the latest OEM computer and peripheral products to your front door
You'll fmd us there!"

A nd you '11 find other top I\. OEM manufacturers,
such as Bull Peripheriques, IBIS, Fujitsu, Tandberg, Tandon, Olivetti and Control Data, to name a few.
In their 4th year, the "OEM Only" Invitational Computer Conferences bring you, the volume buying decision makers, together with the key suppliers of computer and peripheral products. The ICCs, a series of six, one-day regional shows are convenient to where you live and

1984/85 Europe ICC Locations

Oct. 9, '84 Munich, W Germany

Oct. 16, '84 Vienna, Austria

work. The social business

Oct. 23, '84 Milan, Italy Feb. 28, '85 Paris, France

setting makes it easy for you Mar. 7, '85 Frankfurt, W Germany

to meet potential suppliers Mar. 14, '85 London, England

one-on-one, and attend high

tech seminars of your choice.

As an invited guest, there Callyour local OEM supplierfar

is no cost to you.

your invitation orJill out the cou-

Hear what the OEM manu- pon and mail to:

facturers have to say, learn more about their products,

B.f. Johnson & Associates, Inc.
3151 Airwqy Ave. ,#C-2 ~ Costa Mesa, CA 92626

and remember, you may

Phone: (714) 957-0171 T

attend "by invitation only." Telex: 188747 TN3 IRIN ~ - .. ~

Yes! I need an invitation to your "OEM Only" ICC. The nearest ICC to me is: _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __

I buy in volume:
0 Computers O Disk/Tape Drives O Controllers I Interfaces
o Terminals I Graphic Displays
D Software O Printers O Memory Boards D Modems I Multiplexers O Power Supplies

Name

Titl e

Company/ Division

Address

City

State

zip

Mail To: B. J. Johnson & Assoc iates. Inc.. 3151 A irway Ave nue, #C-2, Costa Mesa . CA 92626 Phone: (714) 957- 0 171 Telex: 188747 TAB IRIN

258

CIRCLE NO. 121 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

New Products
SUBASSEMBLIES

Board furnishes

8085A processor functions

The single-board STD-145 computer furnishes an 8085A processor on an STD-bus-compatible card. Two 28-pin JEDEC sockets accept EPROM memories and static RAMs. The product features a battery-backed time-of-day clock, a full-duplex serial USART port, 24-bit programmable parallel 110 and three programmable counter/timers. It accommodates ROM/RAM implementations as small as 2K bytes or as large as 64K bytes, and the RAM can be batterybacked. The card's peripheral functions are I/0-mapped and occupy 32 consecutive locations. Users can set the base address of the on-board I/O at 32-byte boundaries. $325. Micro-Link Corp., 14602 N. U.S. Highway 31, Carmel, Ind. 46032, (317) 846-1721 or (800) 428-

6155.

Circle No 332

EPROMs, respectively. Three redun-

dant, on-board, paralleled and separate-

ly fused backup batteries ensure opera-

tion in the event of a power failure. An

on-board, real-time calendar/clock pro-

vides programmable, periodic, switch-

selectable interrupts that occupy 32 lo-

cations in the memory map. Other

features include 24-bit addressing of as

much as 16M bytes and 220-nsec. cycle

and access times. The 128K-byte, re-

chargeable-battery version sells for

$1,175. Micro Memory Inc., 9436 Iron-

dale Ave., Chatsworth, Calif. 91311,

(213) 998-0070.

Circle No 333

Adapters interface controllers to LSl-11 bus
The TDL-llWD and TDL-llSA dualwidth host adapters reside on the DEC LSI-11 bus and interface to a variety of Winchester disk controllers. Both versions emulate DEC RLXll/12 controllers with RLOl/02 disk drives and are

software-compatible with DEC LSI-11 operating systems. The products feature multiple-sector buffering and perform host-transparent flaw mapping. The TDL-llWD interfaces to Western Digital's WDlOOX family of controllers, which handle as many as four 5114- or 8-inch Winchester disk drives that have standard ST-506 or SAlOOO interfaces. The TDL-llSA interfaces to SASI bus controllers. $575 for either version. TD Systems Inc., 7 Williams St., Medford, Mass. 02155, (617) 391-1166.
Circle No 334

Heavyducy.

VMEbus memory board provides 128K bytes
Providing 128K, 64K or 32K bytes, the model MM-6500C memory board is compatible with 16-bit VMEbus microcomputers. It employs low-power, 8K-by-8 or 2K-by-8 CMOS static RAMs, which users can mix with 2764 or 2716
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

If you can't afford printer downtime. pick the ones designed to take all the punishment you can dish out and still keep printing. Our 35 and 55 character-per-second daisywheels print sheaves of crisp. sharp letters at doubletime. with never a moan or groan. Call your
IJ ' I distributor Or contact Dataproducts at (213) 887-3924.
6200 Canoga Avenue. Woodland Hills. CA 91365. In Europe. 136-138 High Street. Egham. Surrey. TW 20 9HL England.
Dataproducts Daisywheel ~rinters
CIRCLE NO. 122 ON INQUIRY CARD 259

New Products
SUB ASSEMBLIES

CPU boards suit industrial applications
Aimed at industrial applications, the CPU-lB and CPU-2 boards work with the 68000 microprocessor and the VMEbus. The CPU-lB board incorporates an 8- or 10-MHz 68000 microprocessor, 128K or 512K bytes of dynamic RAM, three RS232 I/O ports (110 to 38,400 baud) and one parallel I/O

port. It also features a 24-bit programmable timer, an on-board, real-time clock with battery and sockets for 128K bytes of EPROM or as much as 16K bytes of static RAM. The CPU-2 board incorporates an 8- or 10-MHz 68000 or 68010 microprocessor and from 128K bytes to IM byte of dynamic RAM. It also contains support circuits for as many as four SA460-compatible 5114-inch floppy disk drives. Both boards include on-board operating firmware that facilitates up- and down-loading of S-record format program transfers. CPU-lB: $907 (100 units); CPU-2: $1,432 (100 units). Force Computers Inc., 2401 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, Calif. 95054, (408) 988-8686.
Circle No 335
Management system serves small factories
Intended for small manufacturers, the StarMate industrial productivitymanagement system monitors as many as 20 machines that perform repetitive

manufacturing of discrete parts. Microprocessor-based local monitors installed on or near the manufacturing machines automatically gather data on status, cycle time and downtime; operators input data on scrap and rejects as problems occur. An IBM PC, located off the factory floor, serves as the system's CPU . Users can view real-time data in color-coded graphics and tabular displays on the IBM PC and send the data to a printer or store it on disk. Approximately $20,000. PlantStar Inc., 725 Concord Ave., Cambridge, Mass. 02138, (617) 661-1950. Circle No 336

UNFORGETABLE MEMORIES MULTIBUS - QBUS

, '.. II
: I
, I

r -i

MULTIBUS MEMORY 512KB TO 2MB EDC
· Error Detecting and Correcting (EDC) · Faster Access Times
SINGLE QTY. PRICE
Without/EOG W/EDC 512KB 895.00 1495,00
2MB 4775.00 5775.00

I \ ', I

Q-BUS MEMORY 256KB TO 4MB

IL .l \ ,._

· Battery Backup Mode
· Block Mode OMA, ECC or Parity ·Works with LSl-11, J-11, MicroVAX

SINGLE QTY. PRICE

1MB ................ . .. . .. 1975.00 256KB .... · . . ... . .......... 525.00

CIRCLE NO. 123 ON INQUIRY CARD 260

"'·'

,. autf

I-

I ·

(

-.I

I- I

, .

' I I I I

· I
.I .J

I
· I ·
,- · I

·'l

J · ·

Disk controller doubles

as a microcomputer

The multipurpose Z80A-based DVME

712 intelligent disk controller functions

as a general-purpose microcomputer.

The card operates as a master or a slave

on the VMEbus. It provides a DMA

controller, 64K bytes of dynamic RAM

with parity, one boot PROM socket, two

serial 1/0 channels, a dual-density flop-

py disk controller and an SASI Winches-

ter host adapter. One serial 1/0 channel

can be configured synchronously with a

maximum data rate of 800K bps and

provides software selection of RS232C

or RS422 drivers. $2,000. DY-4 Sys-

tems Inc., 1475 S. Bascom Ave., Suite

202, Campbell, Calif. 95008, (408) 377-

9822.

Circle No 337

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Board performs fast Fourier transforms
The model FFT 523 single-card FFT processor plugs into a single backplane slot of HP's Series 200 desktop computers. Execution of a single program line in BASIC or Pascal performs an FFT. Supplied disk-based, machine-language driver routines make the host/ peripheral interfaceuser-transparent. Standard algorithms include forward and inverse FFT, Hamming window and power spectral density. Operating on 16-bit

integer data, the device transforms arrays of as many as 1,024 complex points in a maximum of9.2 msec. $1,600. Ariel Corp., 600 W. 116th St., Suite 84, New York, N.Y. 10027, (212) 662-7324.
Circle No 338
QIC-02 tape controller resides on LSl-11 bus
Implemented on a dual-width LSI-11 bus card, the TS-11-compatible IS-QIC 2114-inch cartridge-tape controller emulates the TS-11 command set , except for commands involving reading and writing a tape in reverse. The controller supports variable record sizes and 30- or 90-ips QIC-02-compatible tape drives. It also features 22-bit LSI-11 bus addressing and a 12K- or 48K-byte buffer that serves as a data cache for reads and writes. The data cache allows the controller to simulate the functions of the start/stop TS-11 tape unit while doing individual file backup. 12K-byte version: $900; 48K-byte version: $1,200. Inte-

grated Solutions Inc., 2240 Lundy

Ave., San Jose, Calif. 95131, (408) 943-

1902.

Circle No 339

Controller plots arcs

at 800 nsec. per pixel

The dual-width VMEbus bit-mapped

IV-1651 VMEgraf graphics display con-

troller produces a 16-color display at 600-by-800-dot resolution and a four-

color display at 1,024-by-1,024- or 1,280-

by-768-dot resolution. Two IV-1651

cards can be synchronized to provide 16-color operation and faster plotting at

the higher resolutions. The device fea-

tures a hardware pixel processor that

plots vectors and arcs at 800 nsec. per pixel, integer zoom and a DMA port for

rapid screen updates. It can also operate

in an eight-color mode using the fourth

image plane memory to provide a blink

attribute or a white overlay. $1,995 with

128K bytes of display memory. Ironies Inc., 117 Eastern Heights Drive, P.O.

Box 356, Ithaca, N. Y. 14850, (607) 277-

4060.

Circle No 340

TRI STATE DISPLAY!!! RS232C INTERFACE
ANALYZER WITH TRI STATE LED'S DISPLAYS RED, GREEN
AND OFF. ORDER YOUR STATE OF THE ART ANALYZER TODAY!!
EXTENDED DISTANCE DATA CABLES 1000' REELS

EDC25 $16.00 both ends & .60 per foot

EDC25 $384

EDC12 12.00 both ends & .40 per foot

EDC12 $215

EDC08 12.00 both ends & .30 per foot EDC04 11 .00 both ends & .20 per foot

EDC08 $149
EDC04 S 93

TOLL FREE * CALL NOW!

800-243-5760

203-356-9315

CRAIG DATA CABLE CO.

652 GLENBROOK ROAD

STAMFORD, CT 06906

CIRCLE NO. 124 ON INQUIRY CARD MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

9600bps
MODEM$9.Z*
The MADZAR l9600®series of short haul modems are a cost effective w11y to get your asynchronous data down the hall or down the street at rates from 75 to 9600 bps. The MADZAR l9600®series out performs any other brand in its price range and it 's available in a rack mount version that packs 16 short haul modems in only 5-114 inches of rack space.
Try a pair of our MADZAR l9600®series short haul modems for 30 days on credit approval. Then decide. Be particular. Buy the best and join the ranks of our growing list of customers like General Electric, NASA. Aerojet Strategic and General Dynamics to name just a few.
Want more information? Call or write us now for a brochure and complete pricing. (We have generous discounts for quantity buyers).

JN~

37490 Glenmoor Drive

_U,T~- Fremont. CA 94536-9990

MADZAR® 41s1194.7400

CORPORATION "100 Unit Price

CIRCLE NO. 125 ON INQUIRY CARD 261

New Products
LITERATURE

Report projects 1984-1985 micro sales
Compiled from a survey of top-level DP/MIS executives from more than 150 of the largest U.S. companies, the 1984 edition of Microcom'{YUter Usage Trends in Fortune Corporations presents quantitative data and insights on microcomputer sales estimates for Fortune companies. The 250-page report projects 1984 and 1985 sales of specific desktop and portable computers and identifies the key factors that influence brand selection. $750. Newton-Evans Research Co. Inc., Suite 204, Bethany 40 Center, 10176 Baltimore National Pike, Ellicott City, Md. 21043, (301)465-7316.
Circle No 341
Catalog lists ANSI standards
The 1984 edition of the Catalog of American National Standards lists approximately8,000 ANSI-approved stand-

ards. The standards establish dimensions, ratings, terminology, symbols, test methods and performance and safety requirements for materials, equipment and products. The 168-page catalog alphabetically lists titles of all standards under subject headings. Each entry includes title, designation, price and discount information. $10. American National Standards Institute Inc., 1430Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10018, (212) 354-3315.
Circle No 342
Guide covers CAD/CAM products
The 1,100-page Directory of Com'{YUter Graphics and CAD/CAM indexes more than 3,000 products from more than 1,000 vendors into more than 60 categories by name, function and vendor. Each listing describes a product, when it became available, the number of users, the price, configuration requirements and programming languages

used. Listings on each supplier include locations, size, areas of specialization, agents and contacts. $185. Computing Publications Inc., 401 First Federal Building, Pottstown, Pa. 19464, (215)
326~5188.
Circle No 343
Report examines Winchester disk drives
Compiled by Jonah McLeod, Winchester Disks in Microcom'{YUters examines the disk memory industry. The 180-page report analyzes recent technological developments and their applications, surveys the main suppliers and details major products. With more than 50 diagrams and illustrations, the report covers the problems of backup, read/write heads, disk media and system integration. $95. Elsevier Journal Information Center, 52 Vanderbilt Ave., New York, N.Y. 10164, (212) 867-9040.
Circle No 344

Wondering Where To Turn Next?

Communicate tape· to·host, tape·to·tape, tape·to·print. tape·to·PBX

Complete tape utility software package permits file read/write to or from tape

Ideal for applications including:

· Mainframe data transfer

· Mailing list maintenance , sales

· Service bureaus

· Collection agency

· Banking, brokerage and

recordkeeping

insurance company data

· IBM bisynchronous tape

exchange, microfiche

communication

· Medical insurance reporting

· Asynchronous data logging,

· Telephone system

communication

billing/recordkeeping

Request full technical details today.

GENERAL SYSTEMS CENTER, INC.
A data communications company
95 Centershore Road · Centerport, NY 11721 Telephone: (516) 754-9140

CIRCLE NO. 133 ON INQUIRY CARD 262

Turn To
Mini·Miaral1s1e·1
Career Opportunities Section
CIRCLE NO. 134 ON INQUIRY CARD

EXCELLENCE FOUND

FAME !l's advanced features make it the perfect multi-purpose terminal.
· VT100 compatible (ANSI 3.64) and VT52 mode with 80/132 columns
· TYi 925 mode with 2 pages of memory · 24 or 25 lines plus status and user line · 50 non-volatile programmable function keys with
900-character storage (77 per key) · liNo independently configurable communications
ports · Block and monitor modes · Transparent print · Soft extension port

· Screen saver (protects screen from burned-in shadows)
· Full page or single line soft screen set-up · Buffered printer port
· Standard line character graphics plus 64 mosaic characters

Whether you choose our top-of-the-line FAME 100, or our low-cost FAME Ill, you get a lot more terminal for a lot less money.

For more information call toll free :

800-538-5383 800-835-8 765

(within California )

( outside California )

FAME 100 FAMEll

TS-2

15-42 TS-26248 ENDURA TS-100/132 FAME Ill

FAME 78

FALCO DATA PRODUCTS

WESTERN REGIONAL OFFICE 1286 Lawrence Station Rood Sunnyvale. CA 94089 (408) 745-7123
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

SOUTHERN REGIONAL OFFICE 2091 Business Center Drive

CENTRAL REGIONAL OFFICE 9801 West Higgins Rood

Suite 100 Irvine. CA 92715 ( 714) 476-3111

Suite 220 Rosemont. Illinois 60018
(312) 823-5340

CIRCLE NO. 126 ON INQUIRY CARD

EASTERN REGIONAL OFFICE 855 Valley Rood Suite 1000
Clitton. New Jersey 07013 (201) 4 72-2801
263

New Products
LITERATURE

Publications list PDP-11 application software
The two-volume second edition of the PDP-11 Software Source Book covers more than 1,500 PDP-11 software products in 33 categories. Volume 1 describes application software for engi-

neering, accounting and finance, and Volume 2 details system software, such as language processors, operating systems, communications, tools and utilities. Each listing provides the program name; operating systems under which it runs; its price; and its vendor's name, address and telephone number. Digital

Equ ipment Corp., Printing and Circulation Services, 444 Whitney St. , Northboro, Mass. 01532.
Circle No 345

MAG

FOR YOUR
PCI

Microcomputer users and vendors can now add nine-track

main-frame-compatible tape drives to their single- and '

multi-user systems and reap the benefits of having the only

TRUE STANDARD for DATA INTERCHANGE WORLD-

WIDE. Choose from two drives : the hi-performance 75ips

(non-vacuum coluum) drive, and the auto-loading 45ips

drive. Both come with the following interfaces.

· RS-232C: supports full handshaking and async/

bisync/isosync protocols.

· IEEE-488: supports subsets SH1, AH1, TES, LE3, SR1 ,

RL2, PP2, DC1, OTO and CO.

· IBM-PC: OMA interface with DOS 2.0 driver and utilities

including hard-disk fast copy.

TDX Peripherals Division Telebyte Technology Inc., 148 New York Avenue. Halesite, NY 11743 (516) 423-3232

CIRCLE NO. 127 ON INQUIRY CARD 264

Catalog details 300 datacomm devices
This data-communications catalog lists more than 300 devices, including cables, data switches, junction panels, wall plates, modems, line drivers, interface test sets, data concentrators, data multiplexers, protocol converters, interface converters, code converters, speed converters, printer interfaces, printer spoolers and station protectors. The catalog describes each product with text, photographs, diagrams and price. Black Box Corp., P.O. Box 12800, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15421, (412) 746-5500.
Circle No 346
Literature details datacomm equipment
This 20-page catalog describes the company's line of data-communications equipment including statistical multiplexers, modem eliminators, data-link simulators, modem switches, auto dialers and data-protection devices. Datatel Inc., Department DK, Pin Oak and Springdale Roads, Cherry Hill Industrial Center, Cherry Hill, N.J. 08003, (609) 424-4451.
Circle No 347
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

"With the lnterphase Storager;" lean make a
5 1/4' hard disk
perform like an 8" disk!'

Frank Emser Manager Hardware Development Paradyne Corporation

The Interphase Storager Multibus@ controller can give a 51/4" Winchester disk capabilities never before possible. Storager not only gets more performance from existing ST506 drives, but also supports the new ESDI and ST412HP interfaces for more power and capacity than ever before. And
since Storager can control two Winchester disks, four 1/4'' tapes (QIC-02),
and two 3 t/2 ", 5 17.i" or 8"
floppies, the same controlfer can be used for every storage need.
Storager features 1: 1 interleave, with concurrent disk and tape transfers and simultaneous disk and bus transfers for speed and high performance. And Storager's unique "virtual buffer" archJtectu re with UNIX@-optimized

intelligent caching can reduce or eliminate disk rotational latency and overcome data overrun/underrun problems of FIFO-based controllers. Plus,
for the very first time on a controller, Storager has an on-board 68000 CPU.
The Storager controller is the latest product in Interphase's

line ofhighperformance Multibus controllers. Interphase also offers Multibus controllers
for SMD disks, local area networks and video monitors. Plus powerful disk controllers for the IBM® PC. They're all backed by a great customer support team that works fulf time with Interphase customers to assure that our products work the way they should - in the system.
Find out how Storager can make a 5 1/4" disk perform like an 8" disk. Call Interphase today at (214) 350-9000.
Storager is a trademark of Interphase Corporation
Multibus is a trademark of Imel Corporation
UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories IBM is a registered trademark of International
Business Machines

2925 Merrell Rd.· Dallas,TX 75229

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 128 ON INQUIRY CARD

265

PROGRAMMABLE COMMUNICATIONS
TRANSLATOR

Calendar
AUGUST

MS I 'S PCT- 100 IS A CONF IGURABL E IN-LI NE RS-232 PROTOCOL AND DATA TRANSLATOR WHICH CAN PROVIDE:

* TERMINAL OR PRINTER EMULATION

* * *

DEC OR IBM SYSTEM COMPATIBILITY MACRO-FUNCTION KEYS "TYPE-AHEAD" AND DATA BUFFERING

* *

BAUD RATE CONVERSION HANDSHAKE PROTOCOL TRANSLATION

(E.G. CTS/RTS, XON/XOFF>

THE PCT-100 CONFIGURATION IS EASILY ENTERED AND MODIFIED USING A BUILT-IN EDITOR, COMPILER, AND DEBUGGER. CODING TRANSLATION ALGORITHMS IS SIMILAR TO PROGRAMMING A CALCULATOR.

WITH POWER SUPPLY AND CASE, THE PCT-100 IS $398 FOR SINGLE UNIT QUANTITIES.

dltl,Ethod ~!Jihmi [/nco'1.po'1.at£d

3511 LOST NATION ROAD SUITE 202 WILLOUGHBY , OHI O 44094
(216) 942-2100

CIRCLE NO. 129 ON INQUIRY CARD

13-15 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) lnternatlonal "Computers In Engineering" Conference & Exhibit, Hilton Hotel , Las Vegas, Nev., sponsored by ASME Contact: Mary S.H. Benedict, Exhibits Manager, or Eileen Dengler, Exhibits Administrator, ASME, United Engineering Center, 345 E. 47th St., 13M, New York, N.Y. 10017, (212) 705-7100.
13-17 "Database '84" Course, Wang Institute of Graduate Studies, Tyngsboro, Mass. sponsored by the Wang Institute of Graduate Studies. Contact: Roberta Wesley, Coordinator of Special Programs, Wang Institute of Graduate Studies, Tyng Road, Tyngsboro , Mass. 01879, (617) 649-9731.
15-16 Telecommunications Seminar, New York, sponsored by The Yankee Group. Contact: Lisa Caruso, Seminar Director, The Yankee Group, 89 Broad St., Boston, Mass. 02110, (617) 542-0100. Also to be held on Aug. 22-23 in San Francisco.
22-24 Sixth Annual Conference on Interactive Videodisc In Education and Training, J.W. Marriott, Washington, sponsored by the Society for Applied Learning Technology (SALT). Contact: Raymond G. Fox, SALT, 50 Culpeper St., Warrenton, Va. 22186, (703) 347-0055.
SEPTEMBER

A NEW PORTABLE MODULAR JACK FOR MODEMS

Have you ever been dealt out of telecommunications in hotels, offices and other places on the road? Why gamble on finding a telephone jack that will accept your modem. Deal yourself a winning hand with the Black Jack.
Simply unscrew the mouthpiece together with the microphone and carefully set them to one side. Attach the Black Jack on the handset, insert your RJllC direct connect line cord from your modem and you're ready for action. You may now dial direct from your computer if your modem has Touch Tone® dialing.
If not, simply dial from the telephone itself. When your telecommunications are complete, snap off the Black Jack and replace the mouthpiece.
Suggested Retail Price: $49.95.
For enduser orders contact: 1-800-227-3800 Ext. 245.

For dealer inquiries and OEM information contact:

Greg Preston ti!· m!crop·r1P!!·r11! corporl!f1on

2565 · 152nd Avenue NE. Redmond. WA 90052
?::::"~f.:~j~ is a trademark of The Microperipheral Corporation. f206J 881-7544

CIRCLE NO. 130 ON INQUIRY CARD
266

5-7 National Software Show, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif., sponsored by Raging Bear Productions Inc. Contact: Philip J. Russell, National Software Show, Raging Bear Productions, 21 Tamai Vista Drive, Suite 175, Corte Madera, Calif. 94925, (415) 924-1194 or (800) 732-2300.
6-8 Halifax Computer and Office Automation Show, Halifax Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, organized by Industrial Trade Shows. Contact: Robert Grainger or Peter McLean, Show Managers, or James K. Mahon, Group Show Manager, Industrial Trade Shows, 20 Butterick Road, Toronto, Ontario M8W 3Z8, (416) 252-7791.
9-12 First International Conference on Computer-Aided Technologies (COMPINT '85), Palais des Congres, Montreal, sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Contact: Stephen G. Leahey, General Chairman, COMPINT '85, P.O. Box 577, Desjardins Postal Station, Montreal, Quebec H5B 1B7, (514) 870-3526.
11-13 Mldcon/84 High-Technology Electronics Exhibition and Convention, Dallas, produced by Electronic Conventions Inc. Contact: Nancy Hogan or Kent Keller, Electronic Conventions Inc., 8110 Airport Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90045, (213) 772-2965.
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/Aug ust 1984

Classified Ads

hardware

rHa~E~pW~~~L~ET~

Computer Systems

__ -0-
:e7.::::t

SAVINGS ON ALL
SERIES 200/500 WORK STATIONS
98368 9000 Non-HP memory 90208 9826A and peripherals
CALL OR WRITE FO RDISCOUNT PRICES
gl"aphla sys,·MS CHHl,·I"
801 23051 Portland , OR 97223 USA 503-246-0202
International Sales Telez 3611-143

CIRCLE NO. 225 ON INQUIRY CARD

Th is space should be working for you . For details call :
~ Linda Lovett ~ (617)536-7780

software
MicroPERT® Project Management for Tektronix , IBM PC , XT
For 1nlormat1 on . call or write
SHEPPARD SOFTWARE COMPANY 4750 Clough Creek Rd . Redding . CA 96002 (916) 222-1553
CIRCLE NO. 226 ON INQUIRY CARD
IBM-PC - PLOT-10
PC-PLOT-Ill is an,intelligent·emulation of the Tektronix Model 4010 graphics terminal which runs on the IBM -PC. The program allows display and creation of picture files when connected to a host computer running PLOT-10 (tm ) or compatible software. The user may save picture data files on a local diskette as they are received from the host. The program also includes local printer con· trol , and aserial line debug mode_ Utility programs included allow the drawing of a local picture data file on the screen, plotting it on a HP Model 7470A pen plotter , printing on a local printer , and scaling. VISA . MasterCard, checks , PO 's accepted . $95.00
MicroPlot Systems Co.
2151 East Dublin-Granville Rd. Suite 205
Columbus, OH 43229 614-882-4786

software
INTEGRATED ACCOUNTING System for
CP/M Microcomputers GL, AP , AR , & Payroll
Total $300.00 ! Source Code Included BASIC BUSINESS SYSTEMS
P.O. Box 3453 , Reston VA 22090
CIRCLE-NO . 230 ON INQUIRY CARD
custom equipment

EQUIPMENT

(To your spec's)

HARDWARE/SOFTWARE

[call/write Pres. ABACI INC)

201-263-11649: 201-263-0417

Parslppany, N.J.-Dagsboro, Del.

07054-0136

19939-0232

[25 Yrs. Electronics Dev.]

CIRCLE NO. 228 ON INQUIRY CARD

inventions wanted

inventors, Entrepreneurs , Product Promoters
wanted 10 di splay concepts at national technology trade show
Call: 1-800-528-6050 X831

Copy
Deadline:
Space reservations and advertising copy must be received by the 10th of the month preceding the issue date. Camerare ad y mechanicals must be received by the 15th of the month preceding the issue date. For example, to appear in the February issue, copy must be r-eceived by January 10; mechanicals by January 15.
~ Linda Lovett ~ (617)536-7780

CIRCLE NO . 227 ON INQUIRY CARO

CIRCLE NO . 229 ON INQUIRY CARD

r-------------------------------------------------------1

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ORDER FORM

I I

Mini-Micro Systems classifieds reach more mini -micro people

Rates: $80.00 per column inch (non-commissionable) Sx program earns 5% discount; 12x pro!ilram earns 10%discount. There is no charge for typesett ing classif ied listings. Plan approximately 50 average words to a column inch , 8 lines of

I I I

appro xi mately 38 characters per line (3 inch maximum). Please send clean typewritten (double-spaced) copy .

Category: The following categories are availa~le ; be sure to specify the category you wish to be listed under: Business Opportunities , New Literature, Selling , Buying , Trading , Seminars , Services , Software, Supplies & Accessories . (Other categories may be employed at ou r discret ion .)

Run this ad in

(number issues) Reader Inqu iry No. Y~S D NO D

Ad size 1 col. wide by _ _ inches deep Under

(category)

Check enclosed for$

(Pre-pa id orders only)

Signature ____________________________________ __ ~

Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Title Company _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Telephone No. Address _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

City _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ______ State _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Zip

MAIL TO: Linda L. Lovett, Classified Advertising, Mini-Micro Systems,

221 Columbus Ave., Boston, MA 02116

L----------------- -- -----------------------------------~

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

267

REGIONAL SALES OFFICES

Calendar

BOSTON
Robert K. Singer National Sales Manager
Norma E. Lindahl Assistant To The National
Sales Manager
John J. Fahey Regional Manager Katie Kress Sales Coordinator 221 Columbus Ave. Boston, MA 02116 (617) 536-7760
PHILADELPHIA
Stephen B. Donohue Regional Manager 1637 Route 70 , Suite 302 Cherry Hill , NJ 06003 (609) 751-0170
ATLANTA
Larry Pullman Regional Manager 6445 Powers Ferry Rd ., Ste. 140 Atlanta, GA 30339 (404) 955-6500
CHICAGO
Robert D. Wentz Regional Manager Marianne Majerus Sales Coordinator Cahners Plaza 1350 E. Touhy Ave. P.O. Box 5060 Des Plaines, IL 60016 (312) 635-6600
DALLAS
Don Ward, Regional Manager 13740 Midway Suite 515 Dallas, TX 75234 (214) 960-0316
DENVER
John Huff Regional Manager 270 St. Paul St. Denver, CO 60206 (303) 3664511
LOS ANGELES
Len Ganz Regional Manager 12233 West Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064 (213) 626-5616
ORANGE COUNTY
Debra Huisken Regional Manager 2041 Business Center Dr. Suite 109 Irvine, CA 92715 (714) 651-9422
SAN FRANCISCO
Frank Barbagallo Regional Manager Rick Jamison Regional Manager Janet Ryan Regional Manager Laura Obradovic Sales Coordinator Sherman Building, Suite 1000 3031 Tisch Way San Jose, CA 95126 (406) 243-6636
AUSTRIA
Elan Marketing Group Neutor g. 2 P.O . Box 64 1010 Vienna, Austria Tel : 43-222-663012 or -636461

BENELUX
Elan Marketing Group Boschdijk 199B 5612 HB Eindhoven The Netherlands Tel: 3240-455724
ISRAEL
Elan Marketing Group 13 Haifa St., P.O. Box 33439 Tel Aviv, Israel Tel: 972-3-252967 or -266020 Telex: 341667
JAPAN
Tomoyuki lnatsuki General Manager Trade Media Japan Inc. R. 212 Azabu Heights 1-5-10 Roppongi Minato-ku, 106,Japan Tel : (03) 567-0561
TAIWAN
Mr. Donald H. Shapiro Trade Winds , 2nd Floor 132 Hsin Yi Road , Sec. 2 Taipei , Taiwan
UNITED KINGDOM
Elan Marketing Group 5th Floor, Suite 10 Chesham House 136 Regent St. London W1 R 5FA Tel: 437-6900 Telex: 26153
SWEDEN
Elan Marketing Group Humlegardsgatan Nr. 5 11446 Stockholm, Sweden Tel : 46-6-677243 or -676243
WEST GERMANY
Elan Marketing Group Sudring 53 7240 Norb/Neckar, West Germany Tel: 49-7451-7826
Mini-Micro Marketplace Helen Benedict 221 Columbus Ave. Boston , MA 02116 (617) 536-7780
Direct-Response Postcards Carol Anderson 221 Columbus Ave. Boston, MA 02116 (617) 536-7760
Career Opportunities Peggy Gordon Recruitment Advertising Manager P.O. Box 10277 6 Stamford Forum Stamford, CT 06904 (203) 326-2550
Cahners Magazine Division J.A. Sheehan, President William Platt Executive Vice President, Tom Dellamaria VP/Production Ira Siegel , VP/Research
Promotion Staff Susan Rapaport Marketing Communications Director Wendy Whittemore Promotion Coordinator Mary Gregory Promotion Coordinator Liz Phillips Promotion Assistant
Circulation Denver, CO: (303) 366-4511 Sherri Gronli Group Manager

11-13 Mini/Micro Southwest '84 Computer Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, produced by Electronic Conventions Inc. Contact: Nancy Hogan or Kent Keller, Electronic Conventions Inc., 8110 Airport Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90045, (213) 772-2965.

11-14 "Distributed Processing: Mini & Microcomputer Implementation" Course, Washington, sponsored by Integrated Computer Systems. Contact: Ruth Dordick, Integrated Computer Systems, 6305 Arizona Place, P.O. Box 45405, Los Angeles, Calif. 90045, (213) 417-8888, (800) 352-8251 or (800) 421-8166. Also to be held on Sept. 25-28 in Boston, Oct. 2-5 in Palo Alto, Calif., and Oct. 30-Nov. 2 in Long Island ,
N.Y.

11-14 "Data Communications" Course, Washington, sponsored by Integrated Computer Systems. Contact:
Ruth Dordick, Integrated Computer Systems, 6305 Arizona Place, P.O. Box 45405, Los Angeles, Calif. 90045, (213) 417-8888, (800) 352-8251 or (800) 421-8166. Also to be held on Sept. 25-28 in San Diego, Nov. 13-16 in Boston and Nov. 27-30 in Los Angeles.

12-14 Fifth Annual Software/Expo, Hyatt Regency, Chicago, organized by PEMCO News Bureau. Contact: Richard Lewis, Software/Expo, 2400 East Devon Ave., Suite 205, Des Plaines, Ill. 60018, (313) 299-3131 or (800) 323-5155.

17-19 "Industrial Robots" Course, Center for Robotics Research of the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, sponsored by the University of Cincinnati. Contact: Susan Lyons, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department Mail Location #72, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, (513) 475-4387 or (513) 475-2738.

17-19 Data Storage '84, Fairmount Hotel, Denver, sponsored by Disk/Trend Inc. and Freeman Associates. Contact: Cartlidge & Associates Inc., 4030 Moorpark Ave., Suite 205, San Jose, Calif. 95117, (408) 554-
6644 .

17-24 FOC/LAN '84, Las Vegas, Nev., sponsored by Information Gatekeepers Inc. Contact: Michael O'Bryant, General Manager, Information Gatekeepers Inc. , 138 Brighton Ave., Boston, Mass. 01234, (617) 787-1776.

18-20 SEMICON/East '84, Boston, sponsored by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Institute Inc. Contact: Mary Beth Kern, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Institute, 625 Ellis St., Suite 212, Mountain View, Calif. 94043, (415) 964-5111.

18-20 Federal Computer Conference, Washington Convention Center, Washington, sponsored by National Council for Education on Information Strategies. Contact: (617) 358-5301.

18-21

"Implementing Local-Area Networks" Course, San Diego, sponsored by Integrated Computer Systems, 6305 Arizona Place P.O. Box 45405, Los Angeles, Calif. 90045, (213) 417-8888, (800) 352-8251 or (800) 421-8166.

268

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Career Opportunities/Recruitment Advertising

Rates

Page 3/4

112

113

% Col.Inch

1x $3,990 $3,140 $2,145 $1,605 $1,075 $110

3x 3,885 3,025 2,060 1,550 1,015 100

6x 3,765 2,935 1,995 1,490 985

9x 3,655 2,845 1,935 1,445 955

12x 3,530 2, 755 1,880 1,430 930

15x 3,425 2,675 1,820 1,385 900

18x 3,295 2,565 1,750 1,370 870

24x 3,235 2,520 1, 720 1,310 850

Circulation
Over 122,000 'technically sophisticated professionals in computer operations/systems management, data communications, engineering management, systems engineering/integrators, educators and systems programming specialists.

Recruitment Hot Line
(203) 328-2550
Call your ad inwe'll set the type
at no charge.
Mail Film to:
Peggy Gordon
Recruitment Manager
CAHNERS PUBLISHING CO. 8 Stamford Forum P.O. Box 10277 Stamford, CT 06904

ENGINEERS
Choice positions available in New England
and Nationwide. If you earn $25,000 or more we have a more rewarding job for you.
Networking · Communications ATE Engineers · Tools & Utilities SW
Real-Time SW · Meniory Design
All fees & expenses paid. Call or send resume to:
~PERSONNEL
1492 Highland Avenue Needham. MA 02192
(617) 449-3840
Serving the high tech industries.

Explore growth opportunities, Check BEALLI
~ew Plant and Plant Expansion Teams need: Fee Paid
Technical·R & D. Manufacturing, Telecommunications
Engineering-Design, Systems, Products Automatic-Test, Assembly Management-Production, QC, Facilities
Planning BEALL ASSOCIATES-Call Ray Schmln
919/887-3193, or mail resume P.O. Box 5225 High Point, NC 27262
CIRCLE NO. 241
ELECTRONIC ENGINEERS SOUTHEAST
Openings tor design engineers of circuits, computers . logic . signal.. communications. tesling . ATE . systems. and controls Professional confidential service. Fee paid by employer Send resume to:
Ted McCulloch
McCulloch & Co.
P.O. 10211 ,___ _ Greenville, SC 29603 _ __

EMPLOYMENT SERVICE FOR

PROGRAMMERS AND ANALYSTS

National Openings With Client Companies and Through Affiliated Agencies

Screntrtrc and commercral applrcatrons · Software development and systems programmrng · Telecommunications · Control systems · Computer eng rneerrng · Computer marketing and support.
Cati or send resume or rougti notes of objectives, salary . location restrrctrons . educatron and experience (including computers, models. operatrng systems and languages) to either one ·of our locations. Our
clrent companres pay all of our tees . We gurde; you decide.

RSVP SERVICES, Dept. MM

Surte 700 , One Cherry Hrll Mall Suite 211 . Dublin Hall

Cherry Hill. New Jersey 08002 1777 Walton Road

(609) 667-4488

Blue Bell , Penna . 19422

(21 5) 629-0595

From outside New Jersey, call toll-free 800-222- 0153

RSVP SERVICES
Employmenl Agents for Computer Professionals

Computer Consultants Corner

TKC
·THE KEENAN CORPORATION

FCC 15J WE WROTE THE BOOK
" Dlg1t1I Dealgn for Interference Speclflc1tlons"
· FCC/VOE & Static Retrofit and Testing · " Front End " Design Guidance
R. Kenneth Keenan . Ph.D.

860966th Street (813) 544-2594

North Pinellas Park, FL33565

MOO/~
~~~dii1
· Microprocessor hardware and sottware design · Industrial control specialists· Hierarchical software
design methodology · Complete prototype facilities
CLIENTS INCLUDE: Sohio · Elgar · Schlumberger · Motorola · Gulf Oil ·
csn Carborundum · Renal Systems
Computer System Associates
7564 Trade St.. San Diego.CA 92121 (619) 566-3911

CIRCLE NO. 243

CIRCLE NO. 244

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CIRCLE NO. 242 ON INQUIRY CARD

l l,N1x::. ~N~tionaf f'e9iStry of UNI~* job ·~
-. ~~n~rgs1rrofe$Siohats
~.o:'-:sci~ 19~d~oept Hqyston, T)( 77224 Ple'ase send iesumes.
· -~ufkPl~,J~1 UNi:<ES:.ateQ$lttedlt.:~~QfBofft.ab

DATA PROCESSING POSITIONS $25-$70,000 +
East Coast - Midwest - West Coast - Southeast - Southwest · Directors of D.P. · D.P. Managers · Project Leaders · Systems Analysts · Programmer · Analysts · Software Programmers · IBM, DEC, Univac, Honeywell · Mtg., Banking , Insurance, Telecommunications .
Please send resume & location Preference to P.B. Darrah , (402) 330-2814.
RELIABLE "COMPUTERS"
11318 Davenport Street Omaha, Nebraska 68154

269

'- ~J
' · \_\':IT·~ \
If Isaac Newton hadn't been astute enough to look beyond a simple act of nature to one of nature's fundamental principles, he would have missed the opportunity to discover the law of gravity.
If LINKABIT engineers weren't thinking about what could be, instead of what is, we wouldn't be at the forefront of the telecommunications industry.
You'll find our employment opportunities provide far different challenges than what you've experienced before. All positions require a Bachelor's in EE, ME, CS or Math.
Engineering Manager
Create and lead new concepts in our growing MILSATCOM Modem Products areas. Current projects include work on AFSATCOM, FLTSATCOM, MILSTAR and DSCS. Knowledge of modulation waveform design, demodulation signal processing, forward error correction, anti-jam techniques, multiple access control (TDMA, FDMA, CDMA) and demand assignment.
Software
REAL- TIME - Assembler experience to work on LINKABIT microprocessor firmware development for real-time modem applications; must be able to obtain security clearance.
SENIOR SYSTEMS - Minimum 10 years' experience, knowledge of military satellite communications, real-time firmware, embedded processing and software project leadership to lead large firmware upgrade effort on LINKABIT microprocessor for real-time modem applications; must be able to obtain security clearance.
SYSTEMS - Experience in the following areas:compiler design/computer languages, microprocessor simulation, object code utilities and VLSI tools.
SeniorC31
3-5 years' experience and background in digital signal processing, satellite and terrestrial communication systems and network architecture.
Nuclear Hardness
3-5 years' experience in design, design analysis, EMP and TREE. Proposal writing and cost estimating experience and an understanding of neutron and gamma effects on electronics.
Our benefits include twice yearly salary reviews, three weeks vacation first year and compensation for unused sick leave in addition to generous medical, dental, life insurance and stock purchase, profit sharing and pension plans . Other professional opportunities are also available in San Diego, Boston and Washington, D. C. Send resume to: Dennis Vincent, Dept. MM M/A-COM LINKABIT, 3033 Science Park Road, San Diego, CA 92121.
-1-M/A.·COM LINKA.BIT, INC.
Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer
CIRCLE NO. 245 ON INQUIRY CARD 270

COMPUTER

UNIX/C

$27-$65K

We are currently recruiting for 35 Washington , D.C. and nationwide based client companies who are offering challenging positions for UNIX/C Computer Professional s. Positions exist in both Systems Software and Application s Software Development. Our clients are working in the State of the Art in the areas of data communications, office automation , LANS, image processing and interactive graphics. Opportunities exist for professionals from entry level through Senior Systems Programmers with some positions in project and program management. A BS degree in CS, EE, Math or the equi valent plus at least 1 year of C programming experience is required . Knowledge of UNI X OS internals and Berkley UNI X a plus. For more information call or send your resume to:

800-336-3755
in VA call (703) 790·1284
STAFFING CONSULTANTS
8027 Leesburg Pike, Vienna VA 22180
ALL FEES PAID BY CLIENT COMPANIES

CIRCLE NO. 246 ON INQUIRY CARD

S~[~o-1r""'"~'P.!~6s'oio;0

~:.,. c, poP""' U·-. ...-...l'\6~ . s

Computer Consoles, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures,

markets, and services a variety of minicomputer-

based fault-tolerant information systems. Headquartered

in Rochester, New York, we have all the cultural and

educational advantages of a large metropolitan area as well

as the ambience and scenic beauty of a small , relaxed town.

CCI currently has immediate opportunities for:
Group Leaders/ Senior So~ware Engineers
You 'll be responsible for the design and implementation of data base applications and utilities, or fault-tolerant operating system development including development of a multiprocessor UNIX-compatible transaction processing system .

We prefer a technical degree plus a minimum of 4 years' ex-

perience. Knowledge of C, UNIX, and data structures plus

experience with data bases in a minicomputer Real Time or

on-line environment and/or OS internals are also desired. We

are w1ll1ng to train otherwise qualified candidates with high

level languages. U.S. citizenship or permanent residence is

preferred .

·UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laborarones

We offer opportunities for growth plus attractive compensation and benefits includ ing relocation . For im mediate confidential consideration, please forward your resume
1nduding salary history to. or call:

I T. M. Foley Computer Consoles, Inc. 97 Humboldt Street Rochester, New York 14609

COMPUTER (716) 482-5000 x2a1s

C 0 N S O L E S Equal Opportun.ty Employer M!FIHIV

INCORPORATED ®- - - - - - - - - - - '

MINI-M ICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

General Dynamics Data Systems Division helps shape the future to create a more exciting future.

of mmy signilcant programs at Us major locations in San Diego,

The Data Systems Division gives you the chance to join one of the

Calllomia; Fort Worth, Texas; and Norwich, Connecticut; as well as at most skilled teams in the industry today, and offers excellent salaries

5*llile locations including Delroit, Michigan, and Pomona, California. and benefits.

provide dherse support functions for such high-technology programs as the F-16 multimission &ghter/attack aircraft, the Ml main baale tlnk, nuclear-powered submarines, and the entire family of mdse omsiles. Throughout our di~ion you'll find a variety of opportunities to apply your own sdentlftc and engineering expertise

If you're interested in shaping your own future on our innowti\1e support team, one of our opportunities listed below may be just right for you.
For immediate consideration, send your resume to the Vice President/Director at the Data Center of your choice.

PIODUCf SOFIYAD

CAD/ CAM

ENGINEERING SYSTEMS

- Blchelor's and/or Master's degree, and
3-8 )'ell'S' experience.
-SllUS: FORTRAN, JOVIAL, P~ Ada,
Aalembly Languages, Applied Malh,
!>ala Bases, Operating Systems,

- Bachelor's and/or Master's degree, and 3-8 years' experience.
- SKIIJ.S: FORTRAN, Ada, .wembly
Languages, IBM, me & VAX Operating
Systems, Computational Geometry,

- Bachelor's and/or Master's degree, and 3-8 years' experience.
- SKIUS: Simulation Languages, FORTRAN, COBOL & IBM Assembler,
TSO, SPF, DISSPIA, RAMIS, Scientiftc

Documentation (MR Standards).

Information Modeling & Data

Programming and Microcomputer

-APfLICATIONS: Command & Control
tlJtllllft! (Guidance, Navlpdon, C31,
Dilplly S)'stems, Executhe &System f.t','r.1: ;~;;..··$1pport Sohue), MJsslon Planning,
:t>all Handling & Communication,
iummadc Tesd.ng F.quipment/
'llaialadons, lmllge Processing, ltlllmldon & Control Theory.
:.Zflllmedded Systems: Real-Time Software.

Dictionaries. -APPLICATIONS: Tum-key Graphic
Systems, Solid Modeling, Robodcs, CNC-DNC, Real-Time Processing
Control, Group Technology. - CADAM, 00'/A, Computel'Yision,
SC/CARDS, Model 204, Systems Engineering, Group Management.

experience. - APPUOO'IONS: Simulation, SLAM,
Manufacturing, Operations Research, Image Processing, Graphics Application Development, Sneak Circuit AnalysM, Prognm Marketing.
U.S. CITIZENSmP REQUIRED Equal Opportunity Employer, M/F

GENERAL DYNAMICS

Data Systems Division

Cl!NTRAL CJ!NTER P.O. Box 748, Drawer 004
Fort Worth,TX 76101
CIRCLE NO. 247 ON INQUIRY CARD

FAmllN CENTER 100 Wlnneodeo Rd., Dnlwer004
Norwich, er 06360

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES ...
Spokane, Washington
IS C Systems Corporation, the leader in microprocessor-based terminal systems for
the financial industry, has outstanding opportunities for HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE PROFESSIONALS to join our expanding Spokane operation.
We are seeking:
RELIABILITY ENGINEERS- 5+ years in micro design analysis, MTBF calculations and failure analysis.
COMPONENTS ENGINEERS- 3-5 years components engineering experience in stateof-the-art microprocessor technology.
VENDOR LIAISON ENGINEER- 3-5 years in computer industry selecting, qualifying and coordinating electronic and mechanical vendors for a high volume production environment.
MANAGER- QUALIFICATION TEST- 5-10 years experience managing a qualification test organization in the computer industry.
TEST ENGINEER - 5+ years experience in product design and qualification testing.
DIAGNOSTICS TEST ENGINEER- 3-5 years experience writing diagnostic software for microprocessor-based products.
SENIOR DIGITAL DESIGN ENGINEERS- 5-7 years designing with microprocessors for a high volume production environment. Must have project management experience.
GURU - OPERATING SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT - define and develop a structured multi-tasking 0 / S with open-ended migration path in a micro networking environment.
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT SPECIALISTS-5-7 years microprocessor experience on operating systems, networks, data communications, languages and file-server applications.
BANKING APPLICATIONS SPECIALISTS- 4+ years software design experience on credit systems and commercial lending systems. -
INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE SPECIALISTS-4-5 years of software design experience, preferably using Z-80 assembler on financial applications. Commercial banking and data communications experience a plus.
SOFTWARE SUPPORT ENGINEERS- 2-4 years microprocessor experience preferably in Z-80 ass~mbler language.
ISC offers an excellent salary, extensive fringe benefits and plenty of room for advancement. To explore these unparalleled opportunities, please send your resume to: Bill Baumann, ISC Systems Corporation, P.O. Box TAF C-8, Spokane, WA 99220. ISC is an equal opportunity employer.

WE'RE CHANGING THE PACE OF BANKING!

272

CIRCLE NO. 248 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

CAD/CAM.... GRAPHIC DESIGN .... ROBOTICS .... TELEMETRY.... C31SYSTEMS ....

ENGINEERING AND DATA PROCESSING PROFESSIONALS
FIND CAREERS WITH PROMISE AT
GRUMMAN DATA SYSTEMS

Grumman Data Systems, a leader in computer systems development and maintenance is expanding as a result of our continued success in the commercial, industrial, financial and government markets. This expansion provides outstanding career opportunities for engineering and data processing professionals, at various levels to work in our Long Island, NY facilities.
We are a total systems company, involved in graphics, advanced robotics technology, CAD/ CAM, mathematical modeling and simulation technology. Our engineering and data processing professionals work in one of the largest, nongovernment computer facilities in the Eastern United States and are involved with creating sophisticated solutions to complex problen;is from the scientific and business sectors. To qualify for work assignments in any of the disciplines listed here, a BS in Computer Science or equivalent and a minimum of two years applicable experience are required.

Telemetry... Design and Development Real Time Systems ... Systems Design and Analysis...ADA... C31Systems ... Graphics ... Networking ... Robotics ...CAD / CAM ...Applications Programming ... Computer Maintenance ... Hardware/ Software lntegration ... Mathematical Modeling .. .Systems Programming ... Product Assurance... Reliability/Maintainability
At Grumman Data, your future is our concern. We offer excellent salaries and comprehensive , company-paid benefits including health, dental, investment plans and relocation assistance .
Your resume is welcomed .and will receive prompt attention when sent, with salary requirements, in confidence to: Employment Department, JB-M 884, Grumman Data Systems, 20 Crossways Park North, Woodbury, NY 11797.
An Equal Opportunity Employer U.S. Citizenship Required

---r- GRUMMAN

Advertisers Index

Able Computer . ......... . .. 108 Ampex Corp., Computer Products
Div.. ..... .. . ... . ..... . 30-31 Ampex Corp., Disc Media
Operation . .. . . .. . . . ..... 211 Atron ...... . ........ . .. .. . . 14 Ball Computer Systems . . .. . . 132 BDT Products .. . ... . .. .. ... 127 Bridge Communications .. 224-225 C. ltoh Electronics . . . . .. . .. . 244 Cahners Exposition Group . .. . . 86 California Computer Group Inc.. 68 Cambridge Digital Systems (Div.
of Compumart) .. ... . . . .. .. 81 Canon U.S.A... .. .. 185, 187, 189 Century Data Systems (a
Xerox Co.) ..... . .. .. . ... . 249 Chrislin Industries, Inc. . .. . .. 260 CIE Systems .. . . .. . ... ... ... 55 CIE Terminals ..... .. C3, 23, 239 Ciprico .. . ... . .. . .... . ..... 176 Codex Corp.... .. . . .. ....... 63 ComDesign .. ... . . . .... . . .. 229 Compaq Computer Corp. . 144-145 CompuPro ...... . .. . . . ...... 27 Control Data Corp.-Engineering
Services ... . . . .. . ........ . 66 Craig Data Cable . .. .. . ... . . 261 Creative Micro System .. . .. . . 167 Cromemco Inc.. .. . . . . ... . . . 6-7 CTS Corp. - Datacomm Products247 Dataproducts . . . . . .. . .. 197, 259 Dataram ..... . ...... . ... C2, 39 Davidge Corp .. ..... ... ..... 178 Davong Systems .......... . 168 Delta Airlines ...... .. .. . . .. 230 Digital Datacom Inc. ... .. .... 209 Digital Engineering . ... .... 76-77 Digital Equipment Corp. . . 212-213 Diversified Technology . .. .. .. . 15 Emulex Corp... . .. . .. ... . . 40-41 Enertec Inc. .. . ..... . ....... 67 Epson America, Inc...... . . .. 169 Esprit Systems, Hazeltine
Terminals Div. .... .. .. 202-203 Excelan .. . . .. .. . . ... .. . .. . 124 Facit Inc... . .. . .. . .... . .... 223 Falco Data Products ......... 263 Flexible Computer . . .. . . .. . 52-53 Fujitsu America Inc.. ... ...... 47

Gandalf Data, Inc. . . .. . . ... . 117 Okidata Corp . . .. ...... . .... 155

General Systems Center, Inc.. 262 Omnibyte Corp. . ... -....... . 170

Genicom .. . .. .. . . ......... 226 Oregon Software ....... . .. . 182

Gould Inc. Computer

Otari Electric Co.... . ... ... 44-45

Systems Div. ........ . . . ... . 5 Pacific Microcomputers . .. ... 158

Hamilton/Avnet Electronics .. . 119 Pioneer Research .......... .. 60

Heurikon Corp. ... . ... . ... ... 72 Precision Visual ... . . . ...... . 12

Hewlett-Packard . ........ .... 64 Pyramid Technology ... . .. ... 146

Houston Instrument Div. of

Quadram Corp.. . .. .. . 56-57, 236

Bausch & Lomb ........ . . . 42 Qualogy, Inc.... .. . . . ... 103-105

Ibex Computers Corp. . .... .. 254 Rapitech Systems ..... ... . .. 59

IBM Corp.... . ........... .. 131 RDS- Relational Database

I-Bus Systems Inc....... . ... 175 Systems . .. . ........ . 179-181

lllbruck/USA ................ . 4 Ridge Computers . .. . ....... 235

lnfotron Systems Corp. . .... . 149 Rodime .... . .. ...... ... ..... 8

Innovative Data Technology

Rosscomp Corp. . .... . .. 110-111

(IDT) ............ . ... .... 200 Scientific Micro Systems ...... 75

Interactive Training Systems .. 219 Seiko Instruments USA .. .. .. 207

Interface Group .. ... . . . .... 138 Selanar Corp.. .. .... .. .. . .. 194

lnterphase Corp.... ......... 265 Sharp Electronics ... . . ... .... 73

Invitational Computer

Shugart Corp. . ...... .. .. . 10-11

Conferences . .. . ..... 253, 258 Sola Electric .. ............. 107

Iomega Corp. . .......... . ... 32 Tab Products ... . ..... .. . . .. 87

ISi International . . . .. .. ..... 241 Tandon Corp..... .. ... . 192-193

Kennedy Co. . ........ ... . ... 16 TEAC Corp. of America .... .. 135

Kimtron . . . ..... . .. ... . .... 142 Telebyte Technology .... .... 264

Lear Siegler Inc. . . ...... 150-151 TeleVideo Systems Inc.. . 112-113,

Logical Microcomputer . .. ... . 207

231

Mazdar Corp. . ... .. ........ 261 Toei Electronics Co. Ltd . ...... 74

Mannesmann Talley . . ....... 220 Trendata Corp. .............. 20

Marinco Computer Products . 28-29 Unity Corp..... .. ...... 256-257

Maxtor Corp. . ........ . . 242-243 Unisoft Systems ..... . . . .... 204

MDB System Inc. . . . ......... 49 Universal Data Sy~tems

Megatek Corp. . . ..... . . ... .. 19 Inc......... .. .. . . . .. 128-129

Megavault . . ............ . .. 156 Versatec Inc., a Xerox Co. .. .. 198

Method Systems . ....... ... . 266 Vertex Peripherals ..... ..... 139

Micom Systems Inc. . ..... . .. C4 Visual Technology Inc. ... . . ... 50

Microbar Systems .. .. . . . ... . 165 Wave Mate .. . . . .... . . ... .. 136

Micro Focus Inc.... . ... .... . 201 Western Digital ....... . . .. 82-83

Micro Peripherals Corp....... 266 Wyse Technology .. . .. .. . 24, 130

Microscience International .... 232 Xebec ....... . . . ...... . 122-123

Micro-Term . . ....... . .. . . . .. 78 Xylogics, Inc. . .. .... ....... 216

Mini-Micro Systems ..... 207, 238, Zaisan .. . ... . . . . .. .... . ... 141

262 Zilog Inc.. ........ . ..... . .... 1

Mostek Corp. .. ......... 214-215 Zitel . .... . . .. . .... . ....... 190

Motorola Semiconductor

See P.267 for Classified Advertisers

Products .... . . . . 69-71, 89-100 See P. 269-273 for Career

NCR Corp. ...... .. ... . . 120-121 Opportunity Advertisers

Nicolet Paratronics Corp... ... .. 4 See P. 275-276 for Mini-Micro

Novell Data Systems . ........ 84 Marketplace

This index is provided as an additional service. The publisher does not assume any liability for errors or omissions.

274

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

Mini-Micro
MARKETPLACE
Products and services for the value-added market.
READERS: Please circle reader service numbers for additional information.

FULLY SHIELDED CABLE helps meet FCC requirements. Data Set Cable supplies Double Shielded Cable (shown) with foil plus tinned copper braid shielding, die-cast metal hoods, tinned connectors to provide 100% grounding. Also STANDARD SHIELDED CABLE with foil shield, coppershielded connector area, tin-plated connectors meets most requirements. SH-SS06(Standard) , 6 conductors all connected-$18.50 plus 25¢/ft. Also in 12, 18, 25, 36, 50 conductors. Data Set Cable Co., 722 Danbury Road , Ridgefield, CT 06877 (203)438-9684. Also Las Vegas ~ (702)382-6777 .
CIRCLE NO. 200 ON INQUIRY CARD

·-

THE RSX/VMS SPECIALISTS
THE LSl -11/73 BASED CM-300/ Q22 COMPUTER SYSTEMS WITH RSX- I IM+ SUPPORTING SUPERVISOR· MODE LIBRARIES AND SEPARATE I AND D SPACE
THE MICRO-VAX I BRINGS VAX POWER AND HIGH PERFORMANCE TO THE Q-BUS

CM-300/ Q22 computer systems are configured With DEC s NEW
~U ~ ,~c~·&~J&t~w~~~=~~~i~~?n~~=~~~~
1200MB.offixed Winchester dtsk. up to 4MB of main mem~ and
~~~a~gt~:~~~; f~~P1~~ufn~.PQ~~I ~~e ~~i ~~~~~IC1e+~c~~nt0~T~T~0Cm~~(~~tl ij~~~1~~~i
system including RSX·I IM+ license, media and documentation . with a VT220 terminal may be purchased for under S23,000
MJCRO/ VAX I computer systems can be configured W1th up to
!~i~!ts~nc:~~r~ ~fJ~~~-I MB of fixed disk and up to 5

Call A.CS. and let us configure a hardware/ software solution for your specific problems.

CIRCLE NO. 201 ON INQUIRY CARD

HIGH SPEED BUS COUPLER
MTC's Bus Couplers provide high speed OMA Data Transfers between Multibus and Unibus, 0-Bus or other Multibus based computers. Transfer rates from one to four MB/SEC are possible depending on the busses connected. Double buffered operations, 64K word block transfers and a parity mode are also possible. The link to DEC Systems is DR11W compatible and fully supports interprocessor link mode. A coupler kit includes two boards , cables, user manual , and an iRMX 86 Driver. OEM configurations available .
MESA TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
16021 Industrial Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20877 Tel.: 800-638-2039. Inside MD 800-492-3198
CIRCLE NO. 202 ON INQUIRY CARD

The little Board .

Quantity One··· $349*

The wor1d'1 1lmpklt end least expensive 1lngle bcMrd computer

THE MICRO 68000
Completely Portable 68000 Training System

· ~nt "Substant·a

ty discout"i

~a+lable 1

· 4mHz ZIOA' CPU, 64K RAM · Two RS232 Hrial ports

Mini floppy controller

· Parallel printer port ,

I~!:';!3 an~ :~~~~~;.··~'.:' , · On~rd-1Wcorivtrtcr

· Only5.75 · 7.751nchct

· Powcrftcqulrcmcnt: +SVDC@ .7SA; +12VDC@ .OSA

· ScRWS dl~ctly onto a mini floppy drive

All this...

67 EastEve:tyn Ave:. · iViount.a1nView, CA9404 1 · ( 4 15) 962-0230

-- Designed for Engineer and Technician training, demonstrat·
ing logic analyzer, and prototyping, the MICRO 68000 comes cqmplete with , 6 amp switching power supply· Keyboard· Display-Hex &Binar'j ·Pete Bu g keyboard monitor· Optional Macs Bug CRT monitor · Attractive cabinet · Dual RS2 32 interface· 32 bit para lier 1/0 ·Versabus compatib1 l1ty ·The only system that provides for direct entr'j of 68000 machine code · An optional padded carr'jing case 1s also available.
Perfect for the classroom as well as the lab or self study. The MICRO 68000 comes complete with Lance Levent~al's "68000 Assembly Language Programming" text, Motorola's "68000 Users Manual;' a complete LaboratO"i Manual, and CSA's "MICRO 68000 Users Manua1:·
(Sn Computer System Associates 7562 Trade St . San Diego. CA92121 (619)566-3911

Hardware Protection For DEC Equipment Users
C·XX Overtemperature Protection System
Standard DEC POP 11 , VAX, and System 10-20machines are NOT adequately protected from equipment damage due to high machine room temperatures. This unit provides aural warning signal and total system power shutdown with two customer ad1ustable temperature limits and approved interlace to standard DEC AC power control system.
·· N····uSyatema PO Box 19329 Cmc1nnati, Ohio 45219 (513) 231-1283

CIRCLE NO. 203 ON INQUIRY CARD

CIRCLE NO. 204 ON INQUIRY CARD

CIRCLE NO. 205 ON INQUIRY CARD

MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

To Advertise: Call Lorraine Komar 617-536-7780

275

For free catalog, phone toll-free (800) 225-1008 In Massachusetts (617) 938-0900 Genstar REI Sales Company
CIRCLE NO. 206 ON INQUIRY CARD

ZX-5000""
SITTON DESIGNS INC Ill S.Cayuga, Slite 200 Ithaca,NY 14850·607·277-4301
CIRCLE NO. 207 ON INQUIRY CARD

*IBM®PC Compatible
~Plpeune11

E-PROMS - Calli Lowest Prices Anywhere

*4164-150/200 ............. 4ao 2764-250 ... .. . ... ........ 67 5 6116-LP3. . . . . ..... ....... 499

HMM 256K. .. . ...... Call for quote

TIL Parts - now avail .... . ... Call

Disk Drives: (FOB. Tampa) *TM-100-2 .. ............. 16995 *Ha~-Heights-2 . ............ 16995

*1 Omb Microscience w/cable & controller ... .. .... . ... .. 95999

Add $3.95 shipping to all orders · Prices subject to change · PO.'son approval · C.O.D. OK · All new. no
surplus, no seconds, QUANTITY DISCOUNTS
4920 Cypress SL, Ste. 100, Tampa, FL 33607 In FL and tor info, call 813-875-0299

FOR ORDERS ONLY, 800-237-8910

,, I ··~ I

8 AM - 7 PM EDT

Simple Genius in Multibus·
·Intel Trademark

~e\31-\Now you can just hook up the termin a l,

plug in the syste m boards, turn on power, Rnct

you're up and running.

Seriesvi svstem chassis from f'n L is the kev

to turn yo~r design into realit y.

CHEN DIGITAL LABORATORIES

ContRr t (206)881-503 1

16718 NE 41 st Street, Redmonc1, WA 98052

CIRCLE NO. 209 ON INQUIRY CARD

HIGH INQUIRIES LOW COST
· Sell products and services directly · Introduce new products · Investigate new applications · Develop new sales leads
MINI-MICRO SYSTEMS DIRECT RESPONSE POSTCARDS
. 212 ON INQUIRY CARD 276

An interactive and easy-to-use system for:
DATA MANAGEMENTsubsetting, editing, sorting and transforming data. STATISTICAL ANALYSI& descriptive statistics, regression, analysis of variance, nonparametrics, multiway crosstabulations, time series analysis, exploratory data analysis and matrix operations !including eigenanalysis). DATADISPLAYhistograms, scatterplots. stem-and-leaf displays and boxplots.
Mipitab is available for a wide variety of: Mainframes · Minicomputers · Microcomputers
Minitab
lffffffttl1~ O · t · . . . . . 1 . , . 1 . ·ortw· ~ · ~.he · 210Pondl..al::Jcr'9to-,- · L..nv..-.ty~,PA · -10BOIO!
1814] 865-1595 Telex: 881612
CIRCLE NO. 210 ON INQUIRY CARD

OMEGA Your Source
v TEMPERATURE v HUMIDITY v STRAIN v PRESSURE
v INTERFACING
SENSORS TO YOUR COMPUTER
Call or Write Today for your FREE! copies of the OMEGA Temperature Measurement and Control Handbook and EncyclopediaTM , the OMEGA Pressure and Strain Measurement HandbookTM, and the OMEGA Computer Interface Handbook.
CE2!Y'~9e
O...~Onwe S0."°"7 Stamfo<d.Cl06907USA
i2""'o3i°"35§:1&so
CIRCLE NO. 211 ON INQUIRY CARD

DON'T
BLAME THE
SOFTWARE!
Complete Hi-Tech Equipment
Protection:Write for Free Catalog!

· Power line isolatoTI! · Spike/surge
suppressors · Power line filter/
suppressors · Twist type socket
protect10n · Line voltage
regulators · Line conditioners · Modem protectors

Electronic Specialists
171 S. Main , Natick, MA01760(617)655-1532 Toll Free Order Desk 1-800-225-4876
CIRCLE NO. 213 ON INQUIRY CARD

10 Mupac Drive. Brockton. MA 02401 Tel (617) 588-61 10 TWX (710) 345-8458
J CIRCLE NO. 214 ON INQUIRY CARD
MINI -MICRO SYSTEMS/August 1984

We'Ve ot DEC's®n11mber,

PIUS a

0t mo~O

We've really done another number on DEC. We've added in more features and

'.I.~. more_ reliability_than their 220 offers,

all without adding to the cost. Fact 1s, our

CIT-220+ costs even less than the DEC VT220. Yet, it has all of DEC's features, plus: Four addi-

tional enhanced menus. Enhancement set-ups for Display, General, Auxiliary Port and Keyboard.

Plus: A bi-directional Auxiliary Port, not just uni-directional like DEC's. So with the CIT-220+,

you can have the flexibility of adding either a second host or a printer.

Plus: Not just smooth scroll like DEC's, but variable speed smooth scroll for fast or slow review.

Plus: Two more LEDs than you'll find on the DEC keyboard-one for online, the other for shift

lock. We give you more usable cable length, too, and a better keyboard elevating mechanism.

Plus: An on/off switch on the front of our monitor (DEC's is on the back), along with an

on/off light indicator at eye level for better visibility.

That's the CIT-220+ , the one with all the pluses. Including a lower price. So now that

we've got DEC's number, you'll most likely want ours. It's (714 ) 660-1421. Or call toll free

1-800-854-5959. In California, call
1-800-432-3687. Or write CIE Terminals, 2505 McCabe Way, Irvine, CA 92714.

' I ' .,,.~I~~I~
....I,.;" I,.;"~ A Cl!D'-IElEC!liONCS~

"' DEC is a Reg istered Trademark of Dig ital Equipment Corp.

CIRCLE NO. 2 ON INQUIRY CARD

Acrobat 11.0.13 Paper Capture Plug-in