Digital Equipment Corp has acknowledged that it is working on an integrated vector facility option for its VAX processors, and told Electronic News that the development was on schedule, adding that a VAX with the forthcoming facility installed will be much better than the minisupercomputer offerings from the likes of Convex Computer and Alliant Computer. It will also enable DEC to offer a reasonably convincing alternative to IBM’s mainframe Vector Facility, and sounds like more bad news for Floating Point Systems, which traditionally supplies back-end scientific processors for minicomputers from DEC and others. DEC also said that the upcoming version of its Ultrix Berkeley 4.2-based Unix that is to add full System V compatibility, will be going into beta test within weeks. The company has now refined its Unix strategy, and says that it sees it as a workstation operating system in the VAX context, and that VAX-based workstations will be able to upload files and programs to VAX hosts running the flagship VMS operating system. Meantime in the UK, DEC has announced availability of the IBM PC Integration Package that enables IBM Personals and ATs as well as its own VAXmate to share VMS services in a network, and the PC All-In-1 MicroVAX II-based packaged system that supports IBM Personals and VAXmates in an office automation network, with WPS-Plus word processing software on the micros.
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