As expected (CI No 1,709), Twinhead International Inc, the Taiwanese Sparc system-builder which a year ago was tinkering with a 20MHz knock-off, this year wheeled out a 31 MIPS Mbus-based 40MHz Cypress Semiconductor Corp-based machine, built around its own proprietary five-chip set. It says it’s been working on the device for at least 18 months and won’t go lower down the food chain. It’s already got a multiprocessing design ready, just waiting for software. The unit, called the Twinstation, is a Sparcstation 2-compatible due to ship by the end of the year. Pricing for the machine is still unfixed but is promised to be lower than Sun’s. Twinhead has also designed its own Mbus/Sbus interface. The company is waiting on its Comdex show results to sort out distribution – it says the upgrade story of the Mbus is attracting attention.
