21 Apr
2016
21 Apr
'16
7:24 p.m.
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2016 20:08:56 -0400
From: Toby Thain <toby at telegraphics.com.au>
Subject: Re: High performance coprocessor boards of the 80s and 90s -
was Re: SGI ONYX
On 2016-04-20 8:02 PM, Michael Thompson wrote:
Yes, but it is on a Sun 4/260 that us buried in my collection.
--
Michael Thompson
I have a quad-860 VME board for Sun systems in my collection.
Do you have the development environment for it?
--Toby
22 Apr
22 Apr
12:57 a.m.
I worked for the FutureNet division of Data I/O in the late 1980s. One disastrous product
was a UNIX based coprocessor system that plugged into an IBM PC/AT. The idea was to run
circuit board layout software and simulation on a PC. This would be less expensive than
the Daisy, Mentor, or Valid workstations. The coprocessor was an Opus plug in board based
on the National 32032 CPU.
http://cpu-ns32k.net/Opus.html
When you ordered the package you got the coprocessor board and a 5 MB hard drive loaded
with UNIX and the design software. On a good day the system worked. It was discontinued
when PCs with the 368 processor were available.
Michael Holley
4:10 a.m.
I had a similar board set for CAD, wish I still had it. It was two boards, a 68000 and a
graphics board, to run VERSACAD.
In the CAD wars against AUTOCAD, we were winning for a bit, I was a rep selling this 3D
solution.
It was Sun3 boot, and ran the Sun version of VERSACAD.
________________________________________
From: cctalk <cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org> on behalf of Michael Holley
<swtpc6800 at comcast.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2016 9:57 PM
To: 'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts'
Subject: RE: High performance coprocessor boards of the 80s and 90s - was Re: SGI ONYX
I worked for the FutureNet division of Data I/O in the late 1980s. One disastrous product
was a UNIX based coprocessor system that plugged into an IBM PC/AT. The idea was to run
circuit board layout software and simulation on a PC. This would be less expensive than
the Daisy, Mentor, or Valid workstations. The coprocessor was an Opus plug in board based
on the National 32032 CPU.
http://cpu-ns32k.net/Opus.html
When you ordered the package you got the coprocessor board and a 5 MB hard drive loaded
with UNIX and the design software. On a good day the system worked. It was discontinued
when PCs with the 368 processor were available.
Michael Holley
3010
days inactive
3011
days old
2 comments
3 participants
participants (3)
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michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com -
rdawson16＠hotmail.com -
swtpc6800＠comcast.net