IBM is putting up $30m in cash and kind to harness the energies of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for a three-year joint study to and development project to enhance the university’s computer networking – expected to grow to over 30,000 users – to enable each user to send and receive data without engaging in special conversion procedures – send a term paper created using Macwrite to a professor who uses Microsoft Word for example: the project will harness the power of a top-end 3090-300E mainframe, using the machine as a giant file server that will also handle protocol conversions; IBM will supply two 300Es and upgrade the university’s 400E to a 600E, and also provide two 9370s, and other small machines.
