Kubota Graphics Corp, Santa Clara, California will today terminate its relationship with Digital Equipment Corp for the Kenai and Denali Alpha-based graphics subsystems, our sister paper Unigram.X hears. Kubota cites lack of volume sales and lack of success in penetrating a Silicon Graphics Inc-dominated market. As a result, the company has shut down all European direct sales of Alpha-based systems. Ending the deal is expected to result in the loss of some 100 jobs. Kubota will henceforth concentrate on developing three-dimensional graphics accelerator boards for a range of systems, including the Peripheral Component Interconnet market. Kubota and DEC say they will continue to support and maintain the existing Kenai and Denali customers. The Kubota business is the surviving entity from the failed Ardent Computer Inc-Stellar Computer Corp merger, and was seen as one of DEC’s more important design wins for the Alpha RISC.
