The MAI for Prime seems to mark the end of the another era, that of the second-line minicomputer manufacturer, dealt twin death blows by the rise and rise of merchant microprocessor performance and the migration to Unix: DEC, by virtue of its size and the breadth of its product line, and Hewlett-Packard Co by virtue of the strength – and quality – of its peripherals manufacturing, have thrown off the minicomputer straitjacket, but the dismally slow growth of the likes of Data General – unless its ambitious joint venture with Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp pays off, Gould, Concurrent et al suggests that they have little to look forward to as independents but lingering decline.