OL.JUN–pm
Intel reinforces Multibus rear guard In the face of continued VMEbus
assaults, Intel Corp. (Santa Clara, CA) has moved to secure the Multibus
rear guard with a Multibus I 8086-based single-board computer. Designated
the iSBC 86/35A, the board is jumper selectable to function as an iSBC
86/35, 86/30, or 86/14 CPU board. According to Dick Binns, Intel's
Multibus marketing manager, the board illustrates the company's continued
commitment to Multibus I. “It guarantees design and application longevity
by providing a board that is end-of-life proof,” he said. This statement
correlates with recent findings by market researcher Venture Development
Corp. (VDC) of Natick, MA. The findings show that despite continued
VMEbus success in high-performance embedded systems, Multibus I and II
boards had worldwide revenues of $637 million in 1992–only $71 million
behind VME's $708 million. VDC attributes Multibus's continued success to
the large installed base needing support and Intel's strength in chip
technology and commitment offering a continued upgrade path to the
customer. The iSBC typifies this with backward compatibility along with
improved technology to allow for an on-board 8087 math coprocessor, up to
1 Mbyte of DRAM, and I/O cycle support for zero to two wait states. Other
features of the board include 8- or 5-MHz operation (10-MHz coming), 960
Kbytes of ROM, and two iSBX connectors. The board is available for $1,595
from stock to 1 week. For more information from Intel call Sales Dept.at
800-438-4769 or , and from VDC, call Dan Baker at 508-653-9000 or .
–Patrick Mannion
CAPTION:
The iSBC 86/35A offers an upgrade path for designers content to work
within the framework of the long-established Multibus I computing
environment.
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