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In article <234@brazos.Rice.edu> rhode@ricevm1.rice.edu writes:
>Does anyone know anything about the Atari Tansputer Workstation?
>Does it really exist?  I'd like to know more about it.
>
>
>Robert Rhode		|	"Today's champion
>bgr@uncle-bens.rice.edu	|    is tomorrow's crocodile shit."
>rhode@ricevm1.rice.edu	| Monty Python : Contractual Obligation Album

Yes it exists. An Atari dealer in Amsterdam has one in its shop (you 
can buy it).

It runs a Unix-like OS called Helios that distributes tasks over the 
transputers, e.g.: if you type "ls | wc" , one transputer lists the 
directory to a neigbouring transputer (if available) which does the 
counting.

The user interface is a csh clone running in a window under X-windows. 
The X-windows interface is very fast. The ATW's graphic capabilities 
are impressive (from 1280x960 in 16 colors down to 512x480 in (24+8) 
bits true color).

I did some programming in C and F77 on an ATW containing two add-on 
farmcards, that is a total of nine transputers (90 MIPS, 13.5 Mflops).
The compilers and linker are not very fast (mainly due to the slow disk 
access via the 68000 I/O subsystem), but the resulting programs are 
fast. You can compile three files on three transputers, write the 
results to a fifo buffer and link them on a fourth transputer, all 'in 
parallel'.

The price of a one T800 ATW is about $7500. This may change since I am 
talking about pre-production models for software developers.

In article <234@brazos.Rice.edu> rhode@ricevm1.rice.edu writes:
>Does anyone know anything about the Atari Tansputer Workstation?
>Does it really exist?  I'd like to know more about it.

[First of all, apologies if someone else has already replied to this...]

The Atari Transputer Workstation _does_ exist and seems to be pretty close
to full development. We have a fault-tolerant processor project here at 
Newcastle and are using Transputers (in a TMR configuration) to construct
fault-tolerant and fail-silent processors. Sometime fairly soon, I think
that we will be receiving one (or more?) ATWs to serve as front ends to
a Transputer farmcage which we already have (the ATWs will be used in place
of a PC-AT which we are presently using).
As regards further information, we used to have a glossy fact sheet about
the darned beastie lying around the office here, but I can't seem to find
it. So, here goes from memory...
The ATW uses a T800-20, with an M68000 as an I/O processor. It has 4 Meg of
memory for the T800 (120ns dynamic RAM) and 512K for the 68000. These can
be expanded internally up to 16M (eventually 64M) and 4M respectively. It also
has 1M of fast dual port RAM (100ns) as video memory. The 68000 I/O subsystem
is based upon the Mega-ST computer and can function independently of the 
Transputer, supporting RS232, DMA, Parallel Port, Midi Ports, Floppy disks
(3.5 or 5.25), SCSI and a Mouse/Joystick Port, as well as its own independent
RGB/composite video monitor if required. The standard hard disk will be 40M
SCSI, but larger disks will be available as options. The system's graphics
capabilities range from 1280x960 resolution in 16 from 4096 colours to
512x480 resolution in "True colour". Both the T800 system and the 68000
subsystem can be expanded (4 slots for the T800, 1 for the 68000). The 
T800 bus will take extra Transputers or RAM, along with X25, Ethernet cards
etc. etc.
The operating system is Helios (Unix look-alike), with X-windows as its
user interface. I have heard that much of the X-windows stuff is done in
hardware, but I'm not certain whether that is true - I think it is.
Oh, and the whole thing arrives in a fairly standard looking tower enclosure,
with a separate monitor and standard Atari keyboard (_very_ similar to
an Atari ST).
UK prices are of the order of 5000 pounds, plus the cost of a suitable 
monitor (e.g. NEC MulitSync Plus). However, I don't know whether this 
includes V.A.T. (Sales Tax). If it does, the actual price will be of the 
order of 4350 pounds (plus monitor).
Perihelion in Cambridge, UK (the developers of Helios) know a lot more
about it (as do Atari, presumably!!).

			Hope this was of some help...

					Adrian W.

P.S. [disclaim...disclaim...] I can't vouch 100% for the truth of all this
	information, although the technical details were taken from the 
	fact sheet (I finally found the blasted thing!!).
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In article <1989Jul31.082920.11837@newcastle.ac.uk> comp.sys.transputer writes:
>UK prices are of the order of 5000 pounds, plus the cost of a suitable 
>monitor (e.g. NEC MulitSync Plus). However, I don't know whether this 
>includes V.A.T. (Sales Tax). If it does, the actual price will be of the 
>order of 4350 pounds (plus monitor).

I saw the ATW at SIGGRAPH in Boston the other day, and asked about
pricing and US availability.  I was told that the price would be in
the 5000 to 8000 range.  At the time, I thought the fellow was talking
dollars.

He also said that Atari was shooting for US release in December, with
limited distribution (1000/month) through "selected dealers."

-mm-
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