Why 64 bit is the 'new' catchword
News Even Linux is no stranger to 64-bit processors since it started running on the then-DEC Alpha processor in 1996. The 64-bit processors fill a need -- one that was so minimal in the general commercial market back in 1999 that Microsoft stopped...
[April 8, 2003, 12:25]
Remote control with VNC
News For example, you can use a Windows machine to control a Macintosh machine or you can use a DEC Alpha to control a Linux machine. Separate versions are also available for Windows CE, DEC Alpha, Macintosh, Solaris, and Linux.
[May 21, 2002, 11:36]
Intel's running out of Itanium options
Talkback Intel did not kill Alpha. Intel bought some Alpha IP and got most of Alpha people. And Alpha would have the same problems of being a niche architecture against the volume x86. That was a decision by DEC/Compaq.
[November 11, 2004, 16:01]
Compaq-DEC could put AltaVista in the cold
News AltaVista, which started out as a vehicle for showing off the speed of DEC servers built around the Alpha chip, evolved into a popular search engine site. DEC (DEC), in contrast, saw the Internet's potential early but was dogged by unclear...
[January 27, 1998, 12:10]
Longhorn no window of opportunity for Itanium
Talkback You're quite right, in that Windows NT started off on x86, PowerPC, DEC Alpha AXP, and MIPS CPUs (not bad for a rewrite of VMS in C, eh? then just x86 and Alpha - and then no Alpha. The reasons for this shucking off of options had little to do...
[April 12, 2005, 12:34]
HP's OpenVMS throws Itanium lifeline
News OpenVMS for Itanium will come with many of the abilities of the Alpha version -- in particular a famed reliability feature called clustering that links separate machines into a tightly knit group. HP is vulnerable because its OpenVMS customers face...
[January 17, 2005, 15:05]
Pleasant Linux Surprises
Blog The obvious choice was Debian, as it is well known as a good server distribution, and they still have Alpha distributions and installation instructions. We have quite a few old DEC/Compaq/HP AlphaServer systems sitting around here, mostly just...
[January 23, 2009, 9:02]
OpenVMS alive and kicking on SuperDome
News OpenVMS, Hewlett-Packard's high-end operating system, which during the 90s moved from the old VAX minicomputers to the 64-bit Alpha processor, got its first European outing this week on the company's high-end Intel-based SuperDome server.
[May 7, 2004, 10:05]
AMD's Ruiz steps down as CEO
News Dirk is an experienced and prolific engineer with over 40 patents and many chip designs to his name including the ground-breaking DEC Alpha processor," Ruiz said. AMD chief executive Hector Ruiz is stepping down from the helm of the troubled chip...
[July 18, 2008, 9:06]
FreeBSD platform adds Sun's DTrace tool
News It is freely available and runs on a number of hardware platforms; not only the x86 architecture, but also Sun's Sparc and DEC Alpha systems. The FreeBSD Project has released a new stable version of its popular Unix operating system, officially...
[January 5, 2009, 7:45]
Guy Kewney: Alpha chance for Intel?
News The unacceptable truth is that Intel still can't make a processor as fast as the Alpha processor which Digital Equipment designed a decade ago, and which Compaq bought when it took over the computer services side of DEC.
[July 10, 2001, 16:23]
Sun's plans...and how they could go wrong
Talkback I was one of the very early ("alpha") adopters of Unix on that machine, and how we struggled to get that that tape from far away developers is a long story. It's my recollection that In the book "Soul of a New Machine" (review: http://www.forum2...
[September 24, 2004, 6:08]
Guy Kewney's (late) Weekend Diary
News Dec's Hudson 3 plant is making amazing Alpha processors today, but it's nearing obsolescence. Monday This was the week where a great friendship may have come to an end. I refer to my love affair with Laplink.
[January 27, 1997, 13:11]
DEC, Microsoft tighten NT links
News Declaring the Alliance for Enterprise Computing, the firms said they would jointly develop a 64-bit Alpha version of Windows NT and scale NT to work on 32-CPU and 64-CPU SMP super servers. There will also be some strengthening of the existing...
[January 29, 1998, 11:57]
Overlap is next hurdle for Compaq-DEC
News However, analysts expect the PC cross-over to be short-lived, with Digital eventually discontinuing its PC business to focus on services, systems integration and Alpha-based systems. With today's $9.6 billion acquisition of Digital Equipment Corp.
[January 27, 1998, 11:20]
