Messages in this thread |  | | Date | Tue, 30 Apr 1996 21:00:45 -0700 (PDT) | From | Chad Page <> | Subject | The meaning of AXP (was Re: ALPHA ambiguity) |
| |
On Mon, 29 Apr 1996, Roman Gollent wrote:
> > (Perhaps `Alpha quality' and `Digital AXP' to be even clearer?) > > Last time I checked, AXP referred to a specific set of machines based > on the Alpha, not the processor itself. Might be wise to ask someone > at Digital about this.
A bit of trivia : AXP stands for "Almost eXactly Prism," with Prism being the series of machines Dave Cutler was designing before his group got axed. Cutler then left and was picked up by Microsoft to develop OS/2 3.0, which eventually became Windows NT after Windows 3.0 took off...
Dave Cutler, in a rare exposure to the press, stated that in licensing Windows NT, Digital was paying for something they could have had for free (NT's internals are said to closely resemble the OS which he was developing for Prism, called Mica)
It fits in perfectly with Digital orphaning a good if non-stellar line of MIPS-based workstations in favor of AXP in a clear case of NIH syndrome (grrr... especially since I have to work with the old machines - the workstations are good, but the monitors are junk! :-/
- Chad, who apologizes for going off-topic...
|  |