Ibexx, re: BIIN
As I remember, BIIN, pronounced byne, was a joint venture between Intel and Siemens to produce "transaction processors" (aka servers) based on the advanced Intel "micromainframe" 432 family. This was during the 286 days. I think the 430 was the first product from Intel's Oregon design center. The product was quite innovative with cross bar bus, datagram architecture, and "Native ADA execution". Unfortunately this "sophistication" made it most expensive and DOG slow!
BIIN put everything together except,,, no performance and no customers. The insiders lamented, "BIIN, stands for Billions Invested In Nothing".
I think Intel did not pursue BIIN because the 386 caught on and an "advanced" architecture at the high end was not needed or desired. They DID get great payback from the development.
I believe the 432 processor was gutted and the core processor was made RISC and given life as the i960 embedded processor. The 960 has become the highest volume selling RISC processor bar none. I think the 432 floating point unit was redone to become the 486's FPU. Of course it sold pretty well also.
The message is that Intel isn't perfect, but also is intent about going for the gold. They have recovered quickly from their failures, changed the mix, and turned their IP assets into stellar winners.
Hope this is helpful. Anyone, please feel free to correct any errors. The memory sometimes falters, especially with such ancient data.
Jeff
|
