While all eyes were focussed on its announcements with Apple Computer Inc yesterday, IBM Corp also made a string of other announcements, notably the launch of Stratus Computer Inc’s 80860 RISC-based fault-tolerant computer – and significantly, the Unix System V.4-based FTX operating system, which means that when it finally gets its implementation of OSF/1 out, IBM will be able to offer the flagship Unix releases from both the warring Unix camps on different kit. It needs System V.4, because phone companies are a big Unix – and fault-tolerant market, and won’t touch anything else. The 80860-based machine appears as the System/88 4579 Model R20 and runs IBM’s System/88 OS version of Stratus’ VOS as well as FTX 2.0; it will be available on December 20, but FTX 2 will not be out until the end of March. IBM also added the 68030-based Models 970 and 980 of the System/88 4576, seven and eight processor versions with minimum 64Mb memory, also out in December. And IBM added the high-performance input-output processor feature, which is claimed to double throughput compared with the existing System/88 front-end.
