Conference thebay::joyoflex

200.0. "Announcing the CRAY SuperPC I !!!!" by ATLAST::SESSIONS (Captain Video) Wed Jun 04 1986 16:05

A copy of an internal memo... a proposed Press Release for June 3, 1986:

Long considered a holdout in the PC compatibility ratrace, Cray has finally
joined the pack: The firm has announced its SuperPC I, an MS-DOS portable
that packs many of the features of the reknowned Cray supercomputers.

This computer, however, is not for all: It's exteremely fast -- using GaAs
ICs, tunnel diodes, and Josephson-junction circuits, it has a clock rate
of 2.2 GHz. It costs $4,000,000.00 (US).  For many PC users, however, the
cost might be justified.  For a Lotus 1-2-3 application that takes 2.3
seconds for recalculation on an AT, for example, the Cray requires
only 7.1 nano-seconds.  This time savings, of course, allows the operator
to devote 2.3 seconds (otherwise wasted) to useful pursuits.

The Cray's performance is even more dramatic in other applications. For
programs smaller than 1-2-3, according to the company, the Cray can perform
its operation even before the diskette is inserted.  Such power, alas, does
not come without a penalty. Although about the size of a Compaq portable
PC, the Cray portable requires a tractor-trailer support truck for the
liquid helium, the 1 MWatt power generator, and the fire extinguisher; all
are required for normal operation.

The new Cray PC is so fast it can execute an infinite loop in 13
microseconds! 

The innovations mentioned above were the result of some basic
research done by Cray in particle physics, resulting in the discovery
of some new subatomic particles. These have been named Cray-ons.
Naturally, one of their most important characteristics is color. 

Cray has not, however, achieved the lead in documentation release
technology, and is still shipping their listings to customers on Cray
Fiche. 

(Plagiarized from an internal memo distributed at an IBM subsidiary).

    

    Reminds me of the microwave model fireplace, which is so
    efficient that you can spend all evening in front of the fire
    in nine-and-a-half minutes.