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Consolidating everything on VAX might have been logical from a software support standpoint, but I increasingly think it was a serious mistake for DEC to not put
by KerrAvon 2y ago
Consolidating everything on VAX might have been logical from a software support standpoint, but I increasingly think it was a serious mistake for DEC to not put out a faster PDP-10 variant in the early 80's. It might not have been hugely profitable, but there was a market -- no less than three separate companies attempted to sell clones.
- GeorgeTirebiter 2y agoQuite simply, the VAX group won. Marketing believed two product lines competing in the same space with incompatible software would not be in DEC's best interests. As I worked in the -10 group as a coop, I was bummed to hear that decision. However, the more I used the VAX, the more I realized it was, in fact, a better foundation for the 80s and beyond. The -10 is cool, tho. Very cool.
- skissane 2y agoIf DEC had decided to keep the PDP-10 alive, it might have hung on for a few more years than it did. But in the longer-run it still would have eventually lost out to Unix systems, due to the later’s greater openness and critical mass