Altos 586

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Altos 586
Altos586Logo.jpg
Manufacturer Altos Computer Systems
Type Microcomputer
Release date1983 (1983)
Introductory priceUS$7,990–10,990
(circa US$25,200–34,700 today)
Media1 MB floppy drive
Operating system Xenix or MP/M-86
CPU Intel 8086 16 bit @ 10  MHz
Memory512 KB to 1 MB RAM; 12, 32, and 42 MB hard drive options
Connectivity8x RS-232C serial port, expandable to 16; parallel printer port

The Altos 586 is a multi-user microcomputer that was intended for the business market. It was introduced by Altos Computer Systems in 1983.

Contents

Description

Introduced in 1983, [1] a configuration with 512 KB of RAM, an Intel 8086 processor, Microsoft Xenix, and 10 MB hard drive cost about US$8,000. [2] Altos designed a custom memory management unit as the 8086 lacks the functionality. [1]

3Com offered this Altos 586 product as a file server for their IBM PC networking solution in spring 1983.[ citation needed ] The network was 10BASE2 (thin-net) based, with an Ethernet AUI port on the Altos 586.

Reception

"Unlike the rest of the Altos product line", InfoWorld said in November 1983, "the 586 is amazingly lightweight, full-featured, powerful and fast". The review praised the "amazing" 10MHz 8086 and other hardware, reported excellent single- and multiuser performance, and approved of the large software library and "much improved" documentation. While advising having a "UNIX guru on staff", the review concluded that the 586 was "one of the few inexpensive supermicros to cross the multiuser barrier successfully". [1]

BYTE in August 1984 called the Altos 586 "an excellent multiuser UNIX system", with "the best performance" for the price among small Unix systems. The magazine reported that a US$10,000(equivalent to $30,300 in 2024) [3] Altos with 512 KB RAM and 40 MB hard drive "under moderate load approaches DEC VAX performance for most tasks that a user would normally invoke." [4] A longer review in March 1985 stated that "despite some bugs, it's a good product." It criticized the documentation and lack of customer service for developers, but praised the multiuser performance. The author reported that his 586 had run a multiuser bulletin board system 24 hours a day for more than two years with no hardware failures. He concluded that "Very few UNIX or XENIX computers can provide all of the features of the 586 for $8990", especially for multiuser turnkey business users. [5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Halamka, John (7 November 1983). "Review: Altos 586". InfoWorld. Vol. 5, no. 45. pp. 89–90.
  2. ↑ Yates, Jean L. (October 1983). "Unix and the Standardization of Small Computer Systems". BYTE. pp. 160–166. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Altos 586". oldcomputers.net. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  4. ↑ Hinnant, David F. (Aug 1984). "Benchmarking UNIX Systems". BYTE. pp. 132–135, 400–409. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  5. ↑ Corson, Greg (March 1985). "The Altos 586 with the XENIX Development System". BYTE. p. 247. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  6. ↑ Brand, Stewart (1984). Whole Earth Software Catalog. Quantum Press/Doubleday. ISBN   978-0-385-19166-1. You can now buy extremely fast UNIX systems that support multiple users for less than $10,000, including the new Fortune XP 20, the Altos 586, and the Tandy Model 16.
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