m88k info

I was at a computer junk store the other day and saw a long flat computer case/box; about 3 inches high, about 18 wide and 10 long. It was some sort of unix terminal/system/something, because it still had a label with the network host name etc on it. BUT- it said m88k on it! it might have also said NCR but I'm not sure. what kind of things are used on the 880x0's? I know NetBSD has an m88k port but who or what would have originally run on such things, and how old are they? I have to admit it piqued my curiosity. If possible I'm going back to grab the thing. One last question- how do the 88k's compare to the 68k's or a MIPS chip? I remember some discussion about SGI switching to MIPS instead of using the 88k due to slow development or something to that effect. (whether that's true or not I have no idea, so don't flame me :) -Eric