[SunRescue] WinNT on Alpha

Thu Feb 3 10:35:59 CST 2000

Okay, time for the Alpha guy to speak up :)

Alphas are cool.  Repeat this mantra...

To answer Mike's comments first:

There WAS productivity software available for M$ NT on Alpha, you just
didn't ever hear about it unless you knew someone or looked reaaalllll hard. 
For anyone interested, I've got a set of MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network)
CDs sitting here with Word & Excel 97 for NT Alpha on them, as well as
Visual C++ & Visual Basic (I *think* 6.0).  The products were out there, but
M$ didn't really try and sell them, apparently.  Go figure...
And of course, none of that counts the real high-use of desktop Alphas,
CAD/CAM/CAE & HPTC (High-performance technical computing, buzzword
indicating other high-end math-type stuff that doesn't classify easily, like
weather modeling software, GIS, genome sequencing, etc.)...Most of this was
centered at first around OpenVMS (with the introduction of Alpha) and then
migrated or ported to Tru64 UNIX (OSF/1 in it's original versions, then
Digital UNIX) once that became a viable option.

Tru64 UNIX is cool.  Repeat this mantra...

Okay, with that set aside, now onto what happened with Alpha NT (something I
followed very closely):

The exact chronological order of events is a bit fuzzy, but essentially
here's what happened:

1) Compaq announced the stop of development of Windows NT 4.0 on Alpha at
Service Pack 6.  DECWest developers (the Compaq-paid for developers working
for M$ developing NT Alpha) were either laid off or reassigned.

2) M$ announces that SP6 will be the last Windows NT 4.0 Alpha service pack. 
M$'s announcement implies that efforts are going to be focused on Windows
2000 64-bit Alpha development.

3) Compaq & M$ get on the same wavelength finally, and announce almost at
the same time that NT (4.0 or 2000) on Alpha is DEAD.  M$ does admit that
Windows 2000 64-bit Alpha development will continue, but not for production
use.  It's implied and widely theorized that this is done since at this
Merced/Itanium is no where near reliable samples.  Some comments from
DECUServe (the Digital User Group message boards):

http://eisner.decus.org/DECUServe/DECnotes/MS_WINDOWS_OS/423.9.HTML

4) Enrico Pesatori, the Compaq Alpha Czar essentially, dispells and
clarifies situation with messages posted to DECUS message board.  These
announcements, as much as several weeks to a month later show up on Compaq's
site:

http://eisner.decus.org/DECUServe/DECnotes/MS_WINDOWS_OS/423.24.HTML

http://www.compaq.com/corporate/letter19990902.html
(Same letter on compaq's site...)

http://eisner.decus.org/DECUServe/DECnotes/MS_WINDOWS_OS/423.34.HTML
(States that part of the initial announcement was removed)

There's more information out there, I could try and collate for the list if
anybodys interested.  Alpha-to-Wintel migration programs for workstation
customers, etc.

Now, my take on the events:

Actually, I'm starting to feel more confident on my take on the situation
after several recent news items and further review of some of the above
material.  Here's some of the things I've said in the past on the subject,
I've used links to deja to prevent from repeating myself here:

Prior to the complete drop of Alpha NT/2000:
http://www.deja.com/[ST_rn=ps]/getdoc.xp?AN=516591808

After all of the fallout (and the gist of my arguments on the subject):
http://www.deja.com/[ST_rn=ps]/getdoc.xp?AN=538503296

To offer some background information on the subject that I thought helped
justify my take on the situation:

Comments I made regarding my own company's decision to drop Alpha support
(not the views of my employer and not meant to reflect negatively on them!):
http://www.deja.com/[ST_rn=ps]/getdoc.xp?AN=457569942

(This was a similar situation, from what I now understand, where I believe
Compaq decided to stop funding and supporting development...Just a
theory...)

As a final bit of information, the current issue of HP Professional has a
nice column on Alpha NT, where a key bit of info was mentioned:  DECWest
(the Alpha NT development mecca funded by Compaq) was somewhere around a $1
million in costs to Compaq.  I think that factors into the equation as
well...

Final disclaimer:  Isn't the 'Net and lists like this grand?  Any of us can
play armchair executive or pundit :)  YMMV...

Chris
(signing off what has to be my longest post ever to one of Bill's lists)

-- 
Chris Petersen
Systems Engineer
Unigraphics Solutions Inc.		Industry Services, Mid-America Region
Email: havoc at apk.net (Personal)       petersen at ugsolutions.com (Professional)

> 
> The truth is it's a shame, the Alpha is a rocking cool machine, other than
> just serving up files and printer services and the other jobs NT is supposed
> to do, there is little software for the Alpha, I looked, thought it would be
> nice to outfit a bunch of machines in our office with NT on AlphaStaion
> 200's since the staff is used to M$ products, but, no office productivity
> software was to be found. Pity, these machines are very nice, just trapped
> in the wasteland of big puter companies and their greed.
> 
> Of course I haven't mentioned the UNIX OS's, but there still are no office
> like productivity packages out there for these nice boxen.
> 
> Putting on my asbestos undies, I am sure there be fire out there after that
> message.
> 
> Mike N
> 
> 
> 
> --Mike N
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bjrn Ramqvist <brt at osk.sema.se>
> To: rescue at sunhelp.org <rescue at sunhelp.org>
> Date: Thursday, February 03, 2000 4:38 AM
> Subject: [SunRescue] WinNT on Alpha
> 
> 
> >Matthew Haas wrote:
> >>
> >> > Maybe that too?  In the case of NT for example, they even seemed to
> kill MIPS support,
> >> > so it's now just Alpha and x86.
> >>
> >> Didn't Compaq kill off the Alpha port of NT? So it is now successfully
> >> uniplatform again?
> >
> >I don't want to stir up the discussion again, but from what I've seen,
> >Compaq did announce that they officially "stopped development of Windows
> >NT on Alpha".
> >But, when reading the fineprint, they just stopped the NT 4.0
> >development on Alpha.
> >
> >So, at the end, the actual message was that they just stopped the 32-bit
> >development and intead going for the "o'so hyped" 64-bit WinNT. (Or was
> >that the other way around?)
> >
> >
> >It was a while since I've read this on Compaq's site, so times may have
> >changed even further.
> >Not that I think WinNT on Alpha was a very useable idea, but the fact
> >that it attracted some attention to a otherwise good platform, was for
> >the better. That's probably one thing that made the Alpha survive in
> >it's early days.
> >I could imagine lots of people nowadays know what an "Alpha" is.
> >
> >
> > /Regards, Bjorn
> >
> >_______________________________________________
> >Rescue maillist  -  Rescue at sunhelp.org
> >http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
> >
> 
> 
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