Although it has the 64-bit Intel Merced in its long-term sights, fault tolerant specialist Stratus Computer Corp has decided to go for another round of pure PA-RISC microprocessors in order to keep its Unix Continuum line up and running for the next two to three years. Late last week the Marlborough, Massachusetts firm announced it is now shipping the PA-RISC 8000-based Continuum 400 systems, the firm’s entry level solution, running HP-UX 10.10. The PA-RISC 8000 will also be used in the mid-range 600 and high- end 1200 Continuums. They are likely to ship later in the year. Pricing for a uniprocessor Continuum 400 Series configuration with 128Mb of memory starts at under $100,000. Stratus is also beefing up its Intel/Windows NT-based RadioCluster systems next month with the addition of four-way, 200MHz Pentium Pro-based units. Eventually, Stratus will bring its Continuum PA-RISC and Radio Cluster NT Intel-based systems into single line, using the Merced chip. But that line, currently known as Harmony, won’t appear until some time after Intel gets the Merced out of the door, which is currently anyone’s guess, and more than likely not until the year 2000.