18 Aug
2010
18 Aug
'10
1:39 a.m.
The Series/1 was the first entry by IBM into the
minicomputer market as
such.
1620? 1130? 1800? S/3? S/32? S/34?
?(It was also their first to use ASCII rather than
EBCDIC--no one
AFAIK ever *used* ASCII on the 360--which led to its use as the 4994
terminal server, after a Series/1 customer made it clear that it could
do the job.) ?It was a 16-bit machine introduced at a time when companies
which had been selling minis for years were moving from 16- to 32-bit
"superminis"--most especially the Digital VAX and Data General Eclipse MV.
S/1s were slow, the operating systems were a disgrace, but they were
bulletproof, and could beat the crap out of most other minicomputers
when it came to moving data around. This is why the only real win S/1s
ever really had was internally at IBM - they were used in various
communication boxes and front ends (7171, for example), because they
could move data faster than the 3725. They were also used as the
processor in the 7361 Fastdraft CAD system.
--
Will