Conference 7.286::digital

re : Note 1933.0
    
    >I have recently heard the rumor that Alpha workstations are currently
    >manufactured at Albuquerque, Azizona manufacturing plant.  
    
    Quite a rumor!
    
    First of all, from one who lives here, I can definitely set the record
    straight on where Albuquerque is..... smack in the middle of the great
    state of New Mexico.  
    
    

    
    It can't be true, Albuquerque is in New Mexico!
    
    Gotcha.
    
    Dave
    

    
    	Alpha workstations have been built here (Albuquerque NEW MEXICO)
    starting about 6-8 weeks ago, and seed unit builds are continuing.
    I would guess about 2-300 have already been built.
    	/john

    Yes, Alpha systems are being readied for applications porting.
    
    At DECworld, we demonstrated desktop and deskside workstations, office
    servers and computer room systems. Running VMS and OSF/1. With
    databases (DEC and third party) and third party applications running.
    We had over 650 third parties signed in public, names posted at
    DECworld. All this was extensively covered by the press.
    
    During the last week of DECworld, we announced to the press that
    "right on schedule" we have started issuing Alpha systems to over 30
    application migration centers around the world.
    
    Attached is the internal memo stating the condition for these porting
    systems. Specifically, we will not do benchmarks until August.
    
    					/
    					 Peter Conklin
    					 Director, Alpha Systems

From:	HUMAN::CONKLIN "Peter 293-5553 BXB1-2/C04  07-May-1992 0842"  7-MAY-1992 08:43:17.72
Subj:	POLICY: NO BENCHMARKING on Alpha PPA systems


                     *** DIGITAL INTERNAL USE ONLY ***

    As our PPA machines will be arriving over the next weeks I felt that 
    we need to understand the position towards Benchmarking on these 
    machines.
  


    Policy: NO BENCHMARKING OF ANY FORM IS ALLOWED ON THESE MACHINES.



    This policy applies to all Digital employees. It conforms to the
    Corporate Policy, especially on honesty: "We want to be not only
    technically honest, but also to make sure that the implication of
    what we say and the impressions we leave are correct."


    Our public party line should be as follows:

        "Benchmarks on Alpha systems will be available beginning
        in August. Early Alpha systems are designed for software
        development and are not intended or optimized for
        performance analysis. Volume Alpha systems are expected
        to achieve performance and price performance leadership
        in typical applications for target markets."



    All customer and CSO access to these machines must be covered by
    appropriate field test or non-disclosure agreements that protect our
    interests and ensure the confidentiality of their results.

    This policy has been approved by the Alpha Program and VSS Staff.
    Exceptions can be authorized only in writing in advance and only by
    Peter Conklin, Peter Graham, or Bob Supnik.

    Attached is a longer explanation, suitable for posting with the
    systems. Please forward this memo to all employees concerned with the
    Alpha Pilot Porting systems.


    Thanks to Martin Lomas for drafting this memo. Everyone working
    together makes this such an exciting program!
  

  

                     *** DIGITAL INTERNAL USE ONLY ***



  
         NO BENCHMARKING OF ANY FORM IS ALLOWED ON THESE MACHINES.

  
    In fact currently no benchmarks are being done anywhere in the 
    corporation by any group and this is not expected to change this 
    quarter. Benchmarking will be allowed as follows:

    	- end July, 1992    Compute intensive FORTRAN benchmarks

    	- end August, 1992  All stage 1 software benchmarks
  
    We realize that this may be painful for some situations, but the 
    abuse of this data can be even worse; at best a customer seeing poor 
    results may just not order, at worst this data gets out to the 
    market and Alpha gets a reputation of not performing and the whole 
    program is damaged.
  
    But Alpha is fast you say and why do we worry?  What's this 
    suggestion that Alpha is slow?  Let's just remind ourselves where we 
    are in the program:
  
        - We have first release Operating systems for internal FT only
          which although functionally correct, certainly are not fully
          debugged and are not completely performance optimized. 
        - We have early compilers where basically various of the code 
          optimizations have not yet been done.
        - The machines we will get are for Pilot Porting Activities not
          for benchmarks.
        - Hardware is by design running at a slow clock rate. 
        - These systems do not have final PAL code.
        - We cannot guarantee that the platforms that these chips are in
          are fully optimized. 
  
    All this adds up to systems that will not run at their final goaled 
    speeds, maybe by quite a bit and exposure of this performance in 
    detail will damage the whole Alpha program.
  
    As mentioned I know this is hard, but we must all work to these 
    restrictions and maintain the privileged position we have with this 
    early access to these machines.

    
    Note, Digital does not disclose the numbers of systems it builds or
    ships, except through occasional promotional activities.

    Questions:  How many different model of Alpha workstation are currently
    being built?  Are there any Alpha mainframe that is in production?
    

    Questions:

    How many systems will be built quarter by quarter (pessimistic and
    optimistic forecasts)?

    What is the manufacturing cost of these systems?  The marginal unit
    cost?

    With what companies have undisclosed agreements been made?

    What weaknesses have been internally identified in the marketing
    strategy for Alpha?

    What surprises are planned for the product availability announcement?

    Where and when will the Allied invasion of France take place?

    What are the launch codes for American's strategic nuclear weapons?

	re .7:

	Quite right, Patrick, the answers to these questions are proprietary
	and secret. We can't afford to disclose this sort of stuff, as it
	would do irreprable harm to our commercial position. Besides, people
	in the field might know as much as their customers, and then the
	customers wouldn't know they were talking to Digital people and not,
	say, IBM or HP.

	re .6:

	Look in the press over the last 3 months, especially articles by
	guys like Terry Shannon. Apart from being slightly out of date,
	the material that's been printed on this subject is quite complete.

	Of course I can't and won't say if it's accurate! That would be
	giving the game away. Besides, how could it be? That would mean that
	sources at Digital had been briefing industry consultants with this
	secret proprietary information that our own people can't see, without
	getting them to sign the appropriate PID documents. And if they did
	that, the PID police would get them.

	/Tom

    Brutal, Patrick, simply brutal.
    
    Mark.

re: 1933.3                      Alpha rumor!!!                           3 of 7
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>                        -< Yes, builds are continuing! >-
>    starting about 6-8 weeks ago, and seed unit builds are continuing.
>    I would guess about 2-300 have already been built.

That's quite  range of uncertainty .. between 2 and 300 ...

I suppose I ought to say I'm sorry .. ;^)  ;^)  ;^) 
Hows that instead ??? ;^)

Bob

    The ALPHA stations being built right now here in Albuquerque, are
    FLAMINGO ( in a tower chassis ) and SANDPIPER ( A WORKSTATION ). 
    We've shipped several FLAMINGOS and have just finished the first
    13 SANDPIPER protos.

Re:                    <<< Note 1933.11 by ELMAGO::JPALLONE >>>
>
>                     -< FLAMING AND SANDPIPER ARE COMING >-
>

I guess the Alpha is a hot chip after all...  :^)

Lee

� Re:                    <<< Note 1933.11 by ELMAGO::JPALLONE >>>
� >                     -< FLAMING AND SANDPIPER ARE COMING >-
� I guess the Alpha is a hot chip after all...  :^)
� Lee
    
    <rathole alert....>
    
    ...I hope this isn't another Albuquerque climate bash.....we haven't
    even hit 90 degrees this summer yet....although it's supposed to get to
    86 today.....
    
    New Mexico, USA:...land of the flea and home of the plague....
    Andy �

    I get it ....one of our fifty is missing...
    
    It's....
    
    
    
    Azizona!

    
    	Thats Flamingo... as in "flame n' go"
    
    	/john

    Heck ... I didn't even know it was a rumor!
    
    Janet Gale/MATACQ
    ABO

    To temper the "proprietary and secret" replies somewhat:

    If you need to know this information to make business decisions, get in
    touch with the appropriate product managers and tell them what you want
    to know and why.  If it's clear you need to know and people tell you it's
    "double secret", shout all the way to Ken...

    And if you're just curious, read the trade rags as suggested...  While
    your at it, you'll pick up the latest rumours about our competition as
    well, and you can also glance at the ads to get a feel for what our
    competition is producing in a wide range of areas.  Might motivate you
    to work like mad, and might also give you some good ideas for your own
    "products"...

    2020DELTA2030ALPHA2040JSYS2050MOLSEN2060HIKE
    
    (source unidentfied)
    

      
    	No  rumour!
    
    	By the way: todays date 06/17/92th  and  WHERE are our licensees??
    
    											
        helmut

    re: .-1
    
    As of the end of DECworld we had 15 hardware partners listed publicly.
    They span a very wide range of hardware application domains. Since
    then a significant number of additional ones have signed up.
    
    We are not at liberty at this point to announce names of partners
    unless they agree to be public. But discussions are going very well.
    
    Please don't discuss further the licensing negotiations. These are
    very sensitive corporate decisions by both us and our partners.

    
    Re:
    
>    As of the end of DECworld we had 15 hardware partners listed publicly.
>    They span a very wide range of hardware application domains. Since
>    then a significant number of additional ones have signed up.
>    
>    We are not at liberty at this point to announce names of partners
>    unless they agree to be public. But discussions are going very well.
    
    I'm a little confused by this. Does this mean that the fact that there
    are (or were) 15 hardware partners is public knowledge or that the
    names of the 15 partners is public knowledge. Your first paragraph
    implies the latter, the second paragraph the former. If the latter would you
    be kind enough to list them as a reply to this note. As is usual facts
    from an authorative source such as yourself is the best way to squelch
    potentially damaging rumours.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Dave, hoping like the rest of us that ALPHA will help DEC stock to
          see 60 before it sees 30. Never thought I'd see it at 80 let
          alone 40...

Subject:  ****DEC Unveils New Computer Family; Renames VMS 07/08/92
Date: 9 Jul 92 02:14:37 GMT
 
     ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, 1992 JUL 8 (NB) -- In an effort to address
falling computer sales caused by the company's new Alpha technology 
announcement earlier in the year, Digital Equipment has announced a new 
family of computers that can be upgraded to the new Alpha-based systems 
when they become available.
 
According to the company, DEC computer sales have been slow since February, 
when the US company announced plans for the new Alpha microprocessor. The 
company says that the announcement "prompted potential computer buyers to 
put off purchases, fearing the Alpha processor would render any system they 
bought obsolete."
 
DEC claims that the new line of VAX/VMS computer systems are designed as 
a "stop-gap" so computer buyers can purchase "any of the 13 new systems and 
be sure they will be completely compatible with the Alpha processor and can 
be easily upgraded."
 
Kevin Rudder, spokesman for DEC, told Newsbytes that, of the 13 new
configurations, "two of them are board upgradeable" to the new Alpha 
technology, while the are others part of a program that can "lock in the 
price of a future Alpha system" to safeguard the user's "investment."
 
Rudder told Newsbytes that the systems are being rolled out geographically, 
with the Tokyo announcement set for the 13th, and the United States 
announcement slated for 15th at the company's headquarters.
 
Said Rudder, at that point, the company would "release US pricing." He did 
say that the announcement would involve "a new generation of VAX systems, 
from top to bottom," ranging from the desktop to the high-end.
 
Peter Smith, DEC vice president for sales and market in Europe, said: "These 
new VAX products out-perform nearly all current RISC systems yet also provide 
unique capabilities like total data protection and networking from local 
servers to global networks. Better yet, they're designed to upgrade easily 
to Alpha when the time comes, thereby protecting our customers' significant 
investments in software, hardware training, and people for decades to come."
 
"We call them 'Alpha-ready' OpenVMS systems, and we believe they will be the 
key to the client-server networks that are revolutionizing computing," he added.
 
A major part of the announcement, Rudder told Newsbytes, is that "we've 
renamed the VMS operating system to 'OpenVMS'."
 
This, he added, is important as "the VMS operating system has received open 
system 'branding' from the X/Open committee." According to Rudder, this makes 
VMS "the only non-Unix commercial operating system to receive that branding." 
The company has "also incorporated the POSIX standard into VMS," said Rudder.
 
The company claims that, in addition to the Open VMS operating software, the 
new computer line and the Alpha systems due out later this year, will also be 
able to run the OSF/1 and the yet-to-be-released Microsoft Windows NT 
operating systems.
 
(Ian Stokell/19920708)