Fun_People Archive
22 Mar
End of an era... (in a couple of years)

Date: Fri, 22 Mar 96 00:30:29 -0800
From: Peter Langston <psl>
To: Fun_People
Subject: End of an era... (in a couple of years)

Forwarded-by: Keith Bostic <bostic@bsdi.com>
Forwarded-by: guy@netapp.com (Guy Harris)
Forwarded-By: tierney@netapp.com (Tom Tierney)
Forwarded-By: laba@lurid.zk3.dec.com
Forwarded-By: Kirt Gillum <gillum@zk3.dec.com>

From: Mark Bokhan <bokhan@kamlia.zk3.dec.com>
Subject: Don't panic, you still have 21 months to order :)

Digital - PDP-11 product family to be discontinued
	{Livewire, Worldwide News, 19-Mar-96}
  The PDP-11 product family -- the computer of choice for thousands of
products and systems for more than a quarter of a century -- is being
discontinued.  Last product ship will be Dec. 31, 1997.
  Sales teams from Digital's Embedded & Real Time Business have begun
working with customers to transition them smoothly from the PDP-11 platform
to state-of-the-art Alpha- or Intel-based platforms in order to meet
business requirements.  The company will offer consulting, tools and
services to aid in the migration process.
  PDP-11 systems software, however, is not being retired.  Digital will
continue to license and support PDP-11 software products from Mentec, Inc.
In addition, service support for PDP-11 hardware products will be for five
years after product discontinuance, according to Digital's standard policy.
  Demand for the PDP-11 product family had declined to the point where "it
just wasn't economically viable to continue to manufacture the products,"
said Bill Armitage, vice president, Embedded & Real Time Business.  "The
impact of the PDP-11 end-of-life on the Embedded & Real Time business will
be very minor.  We don't anticipate any employees currently supporting the
PDP-11 hardware business to be affected by this decision.
  "We expect to have sufficient PDP-11 product on hand to meet our
customers' requirements," he added.  "We'll continue to accept orders
through the fall of 1997, and will continue to ship product through the end
of December 1997.  In addition, we'll work with customers on specialized
orders as a means of continuing to meet their business needs.  Customers
and distributors are being encouraged, however, to place their orders soon
to ensure availability."
  All orders for PDP-11 hardware products must be submitted to Digital by
Sept. 30, 1997, must be firm and non-cancellable, and will be subject to
acceptance by Digital.
  The PDP-11 hardware product family debuted in April 1970 with the
PDP-11/20, the first 16-bit computer and the first member of what would
be the world's longest-lived general-purpose computer family.  The PDP-11/24
minicomputer system debuted in March of 1981, and the MicroPDP-11/73, a
top-of-the-line minicomputer, in July 1984.  In April 1990, the
MicroPDP-11/93 and the PDP-11/94 were introduced, bringing to 20 the number
of members of the hardworking PDP-11 family.  Well over 600,000 units have
been shipped during the product's lifetime.

© 1996 Peter Langston