Research Development Innovations Inc, the little California start-up with the all-embracing Unix-MS-DOS-Macintosh laptop in the works (CI No 1,493), also has a MIPS Computer Systems Inc RISC-based laptop up its sleeve. Whether the MIPS widget ever sees the light of day depends on whether there’s really a market for RISC laptops. The San Diego company says it should know by the second quarter of next year, when it’s had its Sun Sparcstation-compatible machine on the market for a while. Like the Sparc laptop, the MIPS version would be intended for the OEM market, and Research Development hopes that MIPS itself might be interested. Sparc systems should be ready for delivery by November, and although the thing will run Apple Computer Inc Macintosh software as well as Unix and MS-DOS, the company does not anticipate problems from Apple’s lawyers. Apple reportedly saw a 68030-based Mac-only version of Brite Lite four months ago, but wasn’t interested in taking it per se – only in getting its hands on the company’s proprietary 1,152 by 900 pixel screen technology: Apple has been an early entrant with the Japanese active matrix LCD technology for its own laptop screens.
