Workstations

I also collect early or interesting workstations, currently including a Sun 4/110 (very early Sparc), three incomplete and sick IBM PC/RT boxes (anyone got a spare healthy, complete one - especially a tower?), some interesting SGI boxes (a couple of 4D Iris twin-tower machines inc. 4D220, a Crimson, and an Indy), an early Apollo Domain, a couple of Evans & Sutherland PS3XX graphics stations, several more I can't think of just now, and the ones pictured here:

A PERQ - I think this is a PERQ-1, I also have a PERQ-2 which is not pictured here and is very sick - it was dead when I got it.


 

I also have a range of fascinating early Xerox boxes, which were thrown out by Logica in London a few years ago. They include several 6085 workstations, a 9000 server box, and this more ancient 8010 server:


 

This is one of the 6085s. Takes an extraordinarily long time to boot - perhaps an hour. I've actually had this running in an ethernet network with the server shown above. Very impressive for its day, and could still teach folks a thing or two about GUI design.


 

Now, logically enough, the result of a certain Mr. Jobs visiting Xerox and seeing the above type of machine... the Apple Lisa. First attempt to bring the GUI to anything close to the mass market. I've got a whole page on the Lisa HERE.


 

One of my pile of mildly sick IBM PC/RT boxes... look a little like ATs but they used a RISC chipset which was the distant ancestor RS/6000, which begat the PowerPC.


 

The very first Mac. Not a Mac Plus, or a Mac 512k, or even a Mac 128, just a Mac. Every other Mac had a suffix of some kind - 512k, Plus, II, whatever, to distinguish it from the others. The first had none. Perfect condition, runs well, pre-release versions of System, Finder, and MacWrite!


 

My SGI Crimson - a wonderful workstation. The only thing wrong with it is that it isn't an Onyx... not yet anyway! This has Reality Engine graphics and 256Mb RAM. I mainly like it for the cool case however :)


 

Another very elegant SGI machine - my Indigo. 150Mhz R4000, 128Mb, Elan graphics. Perhaps SGIs best-ever case design.


 

Now here's a real rarity - a Motorola PowerStack. The very first PowerPC based development system, runs a 66Mhz PPC chip and looks like a hi-fi! For the OS it runs AIX, kinda fakes being an RS/6000. Will also run the PPC version of Windows NT, remarkably enough.

 


 

Another workstation with what I always considered a moderately sexy case, the NCR 3360. Dual Pentium 60Mhz, microchannel motherboard. Might just try putting a P/370 or P/390 board in here, if I ever find one!

 


 

Follow this link to view some as-yet unsorted images of my workstations - including the newest arrival, a very rare Fairlight CMI!: More Workstations