Sumitomo Electric is getting into the supermini business, starting out with an agreement with MIPS Computer Systems of Sunnyvale, California for joint development of a machine based on the MIPS RISC, to be released onto the Japanese market next spring: Sumitomo will sell the system combined with its strategic product, the high-speed optical local area network, the Token Ring Suminet 3000, which will incorporate communication systems and artificial intelligence including network fault diagnosis, and will also be available next spring; Sumitomo has been selling MIPS machines under its own Ustation brand name since April; the subject of the new agreement is MIPS’s top-end M1000 processor and pitched at the VAX 8800.
