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Altos 586
Microcomputer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Altos 586 is a multi-user microcomputer that was intended for the business market. It was introduced by Altos Computer Systems in 1983.
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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.
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Reception
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"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]
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See also
- Fortune XP 20[6]
References
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