Fw: Deck of IBM PLAYING CARDS GOES FOR $325

[Chuck Guzis]

On 12/18/2005 at 9:40 PM William Donzelli wrote:

>Pretty dumb idea, but Cray often "had to be different". I think the
>original machines could have benefitted by using a wider range of parts
>(like MECL III) - certainly the chip count would have gone way down.

I recall Neil Lincoln talking about the "box of Chiclets" approach to
designing the Cyber 205--something like only 11 or 13 different IC types.
FWIW, I don't know how many types the finished product had, but a small
number of different types of packages was definitely in the air those
days...

On the opposite extreme, I can remember looking at the various databooks
and seeing something like a SN74LS302985 "13-bit LFSR with parity and
tristate complemented outputs with bottle opener" and thinking it would
just be PERFECT for what I had in mind--if only there were a second source
or three.  Then, as now, it wasn't uncommon to "pre announce" a chip that
never made it into production.

Cheers,
Chuck