I think that is a better name for this thread.  :-)

Well, if somebody wants to register nuvax.com, I'll be glad to host the
site.  I've got a few gigs of space that has nothing on it.  I also burned
a CD last night of my source code archives (just in case some idiot
decides to close their source), so I can clear up about another gig.

Regards,
John Havard
Head Geek
The Seven Sages Project


On Thu, 26 Aug 1999, Lord Isildur wrote:

> I advocate TURBOchannel on technical superiority and simplicity of 
> implementation. The only reason PCI interfaces are cheap is because 
> a: people dont always use the full bus , and b: there is a ridiculous 
> economy of scale going on. 
> TC is simple intrinsically and cheaper to implement. a 100 MHz TC would 
> blow PCI out of the water. 
> As for your soundblaster and so on, i advocate general purpose 
> interfaces: SCSI, 1394,generic analog, generic hi and lo speed async and 
> sync serial, ethernet, and self-contained graphics head which is NOT
> a console (thenyou can stuff 5 of them in the same box, as in a Real 
> Computer). Alwasy serial console, no way around it, thats just the way i 
> think it should be. Also, all mass storage interfaces i think should 
> emulate MSCP, like an Emulex or a CMD scsi adapter does. MSCP is such an 
> elegant and powerful abstraction, it shouldnt be left to bite the dust. 
> (also, since it is really a special case of CI, those high speed generic 
> serial interfaces coudl really be treated as CI adapters... getting 
> ambitioous here)  I'd like to really implement the VAX as manywould have 
> dreamed it to be. Sort of like a 6000 series, but smaller, simpler, 
> cheaper to make. modern VLSI makes that possible. 
> 
> 
> On Thu, 26 Aug 1999, Andrew Phillips wrote:
> 
> > > Hmm, register nuvax.com and start spreading the word? ;-)
> > 	
> > 	Perhaps the FreeVMS people would be interested too?
> > 
> > 	RE: the custom ASIC/CPU idea. That would take _real_ effort and
> >    money up front. It might be easier to use a different approach to start
> >    - perhaps emulation (and if the rumours about the transmeta chip are
> >    true, then microcode is how the ia32 instructions will be handled too),
> >    or via a FPGA. Turbo channel is nice, I grant you. But picture using a
> >    Soundblaster 64 AWE/ DVD player on your home nuVAX ... Perhaps the
> >    first generation could fit into those Alpha/K7 motherboards too.
> > 
> >    There is nothing to stop you having asic's to handle custom buses/re
> >    implementations of old favourites. You'd need to design your own
> >    motherboard eventually anyway. I saw an ATX StrongARM motherboard from
> >    some company recently. Looked ideal for this sort of stuff.
> > 
> > 	Face it, Intel assembly is just plain nasty,  We need to revive
> >    the VAX. 
> > 	
> > 		Cheers,
> > 			a.
> > 			
> > p.s. I'm looking for a Keyboard/Mouse cable to fit a DECstation 5000/240
> >     (one of those DB15 -> {rj11/ps2} combinations - same as DEC3000 series
> >      alpha stations.) If you have one in the UK, for a reasonable price - 
> >      Say a tenner + P&P, I'm interested. Otherwise I have to build one. 
> > -- 
> > atp@nojunk-mssl.ucl.ac.uk             |        Dr. Andy Phillips
> > phillips@nojnk-isass1.solar.isas.ac.jp| Mullard Space Science Laboratory
> > a.phillips@nojunk-ucl.ac.uk           | "It's the late 1990s, This is a spam   
> > atp@nojunk-coralcay.demon.co.uk       | protected .sig. You know what to do"
> > 
>