Micro Channel Developers Association

Last updated
Micro Channel Developers Association
Company type Non-profit industry consortium
FoundedOctober 1990;34 years ago (1990-10)
Defunct1997;27 years ago (1997)
FateDissolved
Website microchanneldepot.com at the Wayback Machine (archived April 5, 1997)

The Micro Channel Developers Association (MCDA) was a consortium of computer manufacturers that sought to consider and prioritize steps in the maturation of the Micro Channel architecture, as well as to explore better approaches to disseminating technical information about Micro Channel to third parties. [1]

Contents

History

Micro Channel was a computer bus architecture introduced by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) with their Personal System/2 family of computers in 1987. Intended as the replacement to the de facto Industry Standard Architecture IBM pioneered with the IBM PC, Micro Channel was met with backlash over IBM's exuberant licensing costs, and several computer companies, most influentially Compaq, formed a committee that developed the Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) in 1988. EISA saw popularity in workstations and desktop servers in the following years. While PS/2s also enjoyed modest success in those markets, Micro Channel was seldom licensed for official clones during its first years, leading to a perception of IBM among peripheral manufacturers as a domineering patent holder. [2] The Micro Channel Developers Association was formed in October 1990 as a response to this perception and EISA's emergence. [3]

Membership in the MCDA carried an annual fee of $2,500. EISA manufacturers were not barred from entrance or invitation; spokespersons for MCDA contacted Compaq, lead architect of EISA, to join their consortium, as they did to EISA co-founders Olivetti and NEC. Out of the over 800 companies developing Micro Channel products (at least those assigned numerical vendor IDs by IBM, to be read by the IBM's BIOS for MCA machines), only 14 comprised the Micro Channel Developers Association on its formation. This included IBM, Intel, Chips and Technologies, NCR Corporation, Olivetti, Apricot Computers, Western Digital, Siemens Nixdorf, AOX Inc., Reply Corporation, Core International, Cumulus Corporation, and National Software Testing Laboratories. [4] NEC later joined, in November that year. [5] MCDA grew to 92 member companies by the first quarter of 1992. [6]

Even after IBM discontinued Micro Channel and the PS/2 in July 1995, [7] the Micro Channel Developers Association still oversaw the development of hundreds of MCA cards and peripherals as late as May 1996, owing to its widespread use in IBM's line of RS/6000 servers and workstations. [8] The consortium fizzled in 1997, however. [9]

Member list

March 1992 [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extended Industry Standard Architecture</span> Bus standard for IBM PC compatible computers

The Extended Industry Standard Architecture is a bus standard for IBM PC compatible computers. It was announced in September 1988 by a consortium of PC clone vendors as an alternative to IBM's proprietary Micro Channel architecture (MCA) in its PS/2 series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industry Standard Architecture</span> Internal expansion bus in early PC compatibles

Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) is the 16-bit internal bus of IBM PC/AT and similar computers based on the Intel 80286 and its immediate successors during the 1980s. The bus was (largely) backward compatible with the 8-bit bus of the 8088-based IBM PC, including the IBM PC/XT as well as IBM PC compatibles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM PC–compatible</span> Computers similar to the IBM PC and its derivatives

"IBM PC–compatible" refers to a class of computers that are technically compatible with the 1981 IBM PC and subsequent XT and AT models from computer giant IBM. Like the original IBM PC, they use an Intel x86 central processing unit and are capable of using interchangeable commodity hardware, such as expansion cards. Initially such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones, but the term "IBM PC compatible" is now a historical description only, as the vast majority of microcomputers produced since the 1990s are IBM compatible. IBM itself no longer sells personal computers, having sold its division to Lenovo in 2005. "Wintel" is a similar description that is more commonly used for modern computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micro Channel architecture</span> Parallel computer bus introduced by IBM in 1987

Micro Channel architecture, or the Micro Channel bus, is a proprietary 16- or 32-bit parallel computer bus publicly introduced by IBM in 1987 which was used on PS/2 and other computers until the mid-1990s. Its name is commonly abbreviated as "MCA", although not by IBM. In IBM products, it superseded the ISA bus and was itself subsequently superseded by the PCI bus architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wintel</span> Partnership between Microsoft Windows and Intel

Wintel is the partnership of Microsoft Windows and Intel producing personal computers (PCs) using Intel x86-compatible processors running Microsoft Windows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM PS/2</span> Second generation of personal computers by IBM

The Personal System/2 or PS/2 is IBM's second generation of personal computers. Released in 1987, it officially replaced the IBM PC, XT, AT, and PC Convertible in IBM's lineup. Many of the PS/2's innovations, such as the 16550 UART, 1440 KB 3.5-inch floppy disk format, 72-pin SIMMs, PS/2 port, and VGA video standard, went on to become standards in the broader PC market.

The Advanced Computing Environment (ACE) was defined by an industry consortium in the early 1990s to be the next generation commodity computing platform, the successor to personal computers based on Intel's 32-bit instruction set architecture. The effort found little support in the market and dissolved due to infighting within the group and a lack of sales.

The MIPS Magnum was a line of computer workstations designed by MIPS Computer Systems, Inc. and based on the MIPS series of RISC microprocessors. The first Magnum was released in March, 1990, and production of various models continued until 1993 when SGI bought MIPS Technologies. SGI cancelled the MIPS Magnum line to promote their own workstations including the entry-level SGI Indy.

The Jazz computer architecture is a motherboard and chipset design originally developed by Microsoft for use in developing Windows NT. The design was eventually used as the basis for most MIPS-based Windows NT systems.

Memorex Corp. began as a computer tape producer and expanded to become both a consumer media supplier and a major IBM plug compatible peripheral supplier. It was broken up and ceased to exist after 1996 other than as a consumer electronics brand specializing in disk recordable media for CD and DVD drives, flash memory, computer accessories and other electronics.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to computing:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reply Corporation</span> American computer company

Reply Corporation, often shortened to Reply Corp., was an American computer company based in San Jose, California. Founded in 1988 by Steve Petracca, the company licensed the Micro Channel architecture from IBM for their own computers released in 1989, competing against IBM's PS/2 line. The company later divested from offering complete systems in favor of marketing motherboard upgrades for older PS/2s. Reply enjoyed a close relationship with IBM, owing to many of its founding employees, including Petracca, having worked for IBM. The company was acquired by Radius in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advanced Logic Research</span> American computer company

Advanced Logic Research, Inc. (ALR), was an American computer company founded in 1984 in Irvine, California by Gene Lu. The company marketed IBM PC compatibles across that standard's evolution until 1997 when it was acquired by Gateway 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM PS/2 Model 60</span> 1987 IBM desktop computer

The Personal System/2 Model 60 is a high-end desktop computer in IBM's Personal System/2 (PS/2) family of personal computers. First released in April 1987, the Model 60 features an Intel 80286 processor running at a clock speed of 10 MHz, the same as its midrange counterpart, the Personal System/2 Model 50. Unlike the Model 50, the Model 60 was built into a tower case and featured four more 16-bit MCA expansion slots and an additional drive bay. The Model 60 was IBM's first Intel-based PC built into a tower form factor and was influential in popularizing towers in computer case design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM PS/2 Model 80</span> 1987 IBM desktop computer

The Personal System/2 Model 80 is a high-end desktop computer in IBM's Personal System/2 (PS/2) family of personal computers. First released in July 1987, the Model 80 features the 32-bit Intel 386 processor running at a clock speed of 16 MHz. The Model 80 was built into a tower case, the same one as its 16-bit counterpart the PS/2 Model 60. It has several 32-bit MCA expansion slots—the only PS/2 model to include such slots at the time of its release—and between five to six drive bays. The PS/2 Model 80 was the highest-end PS/2 in the original 1987 line-up and was IBM's first PC based on the 386 processor. The Model 80 received several updates over the course of its lifespan, increasing the computer's hard drive capacity as well as the clock speed of its processor and the maximum supported RAM. IBM discontinued the Model 80 in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aox Inc.</span> American technology corporation

Aox Inc. was a privately run American technology corporation founded by Michael and Linda Aronson in 1978. Over the course of its 22-year lifespan, the company chiefly developed software and hardware for IBM's PC and compatibles, for the Personal System/2, and for the Macintosh. In its twilight years, the company designed multimedia and teleconferencing devices and chip designs. Aox was founded after Michael Aronson graduated from Harvard University with a doctorate in physics; he stayed with the company until 2000, when he incorporated EndPoints Inc. and switched to full-time fabless semiconductor design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BusLogic</span> American computer hardware company

BusLogic, Inc., was an American computer company active from 1988 to 1996. It specialized in the production of Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) device controller chips and controller expansion cards, becoming a dominant player in that market, behind only Adaptec. In 1996, the company was acquired by Mylex Corporation.

Micronics Computers, Inc. was an American computer company active from 1986 to 1998 that manufactured complete systems, motherboards, and peripherals. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Micronics was one of the largest domestic motherboard manufacturers in the United States in the 1990s. After acquiring Orchid Technology in 1994, the company entered the market for multimedia products, such as graphics adapters and sound cards. In 1998, Micronics was acquired by Diamond Multimedia.

References

  1. ↑ Scannell, Ed (November 19, 1990). "MCA Group to Spread Information, Help". InfoWorld. 12 (47). IDG Publications: 5 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ Staff writer (October 8, 1990). "IBM, allies band together for Micro Channel presence". PC Week. 7 (40). Ziff-Davis: 163 – via Gale.
  3. ↑ Staff writer (October 9, 1990). "14 Computer Companies Push for Standard". The New York Times. Reuters. p. D4 – via ProQuest.
  4. ↑ Staff writer (October 15, 1990). "13 CPU, semicon firms form group to back IBM's MCA". Chilton's Electronic News. 36 (1831). Sage Publications: 43 – via Gale.
  5. ↑ Lapedus, Mark (November 19, 1990). "IBM turns up heat in MCA-EISA fight". Chilton's Electronic News. 36 (1836). Sage Publications: 1 – via Gale.
  6. 1 2 "Micro Channel Architecture Compatibility Assurance". Computerworld. XXVI (13). IDG Publications: 28. March 30, 1992 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ Singh, Jai (April 10, 1995). "MCA, PS/2 bite the dust; OS/2 to follow?". InfoWorld. 17 (15): 3.
  8. ↑ English, Erin (May 24, 1996). "MCA still receiving strong support". Midrange Systems. 9 (8). 1105 Media: 17 – via Gale.
  9. ↑ "Micro Channel Developers Association Inc". OpenCorporates. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.