🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <791@wucs1.wustl.edu> jps@wucs1.UUCP (James Sterbenz) writes:
>In article <7948@super.ORG> mjt@super.UUCP (Michael J. Tighe) writes:
>>Does anyone have any information on the CDC 8600? I saw a picture of
>>it recently. About all I know is it was built around 1973, was an
>>N-gon type shape (about the same size as a Cray-3, but with more sides). 
>>And the modules were quite large (approximately 3" x 8" x 5").
>
>I thought that the 8600 was the name for Cray's 7600 successor machine,
>while he was still at CDC.  This was in compitition with the STAR-100,
>which Norris decided was the way CDC wanted to go.  Cray took the 8600
>(with CDC's blessing and support) to become the Cray-1.  This would
>be about the right time, but was there any working hardware before
>Cray broke off? 

The 8600 was indeed the intended successor to the 7000 series machines.
Cray did indeed take the ideas and designs of the 8600 with him, to
eventually become the Cray-1.  If you are in doubt, take a look at the
7000 series instruction set and the Cray-1 instruction set.  

To say that "Norris decided..." is a bit overstated.  There were three
distinct camps within CDC in those days;  the 7000 series people, with
Cray, Davis, etc.;  the STAR-100 people, led by Lincoln and Thornton; and
the 180 series people, some in Minnesota, some in Canada.  The feud between
the 7000 and the 180 people was intense, and eventually led to CRI and
what we now know as the CDC Cyber 800 series, both in 170/800 and 180/800/900
models.  The STAR people were (kind of) background participants in those
days, trying to sell their ideas on vector computation to anyone who
would listen.  As CRI formed in 1972, CDC chose the STAR path almost by
default for vector machines.  As you know, the STAR-100 series begat the
Cyber 203 begat the 205 begat the ETA-10, although the ETA-10 is a far
cry from the 205.  In relative terms, the STAR-100 and 205 are closer
cousins than the 205 and ETA-10, architecturally speaking.

>
>Or is it possible that CDC considered calling the STAR the 8600
>(but doesn't sound like the right foot-print)?
>

Nope.

Rob
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