IBM this week duly announced its DPPX/370 operating system solution for 8100 users looking for somewhere to go: the operating system is designed to run on distributed 9370s around an MVS host mainframe. Available for users of the DPPX/SP-3 and -4 releases on the 8100, the operating system comes with free migration tools to assist with the move. It sounds as if IBM is beginning to worry about the number of 8100 users defecting to machines from rival manufacturers, because DPPX/370 is now promised for December 1988 where the company had said it was unlikely to be ready before the middle of 1989. The announcement confirms fears among some 8100 users that some DPPX functions would not be supported in the 9370 version (CI No 886). The 9370 version does not support the DPPX compilers for APL, Fortran, Assembler or DCPS. Nor does the 9370 support the SDLC Loop used for linking a string of special function terminals to the 8100. DPPX/370 will be available at a one-time UKP22,878 to UKP40,036 according to processor size, or at UKP1,906 a month regardless of 9370 model.
