Data General Eclipse: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:18, 22 November 2009

Revision as of 02:15, 29 November 2009

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[[Image:Dg-eclipse.jpg|thumb|288px|right|Data General Eclipse S/130 front panel]]

The '''Data General Eclipse''' line of [[computer|computers]]s by [[Data General]] were [[16-bit]] [[minicomputer|minicomputers]]s released in early 1974 and sold until 1988. The Eclipse was based on many of the same concepts as the [[Data General Nova]], but included support for [[virtual memory]] and [[Computer multitasking|multitasking]] more suitable to the small office than the lab. It was also packaged differently for this reason, in a floor-standing case the size of a small [[refrigerator]].

If the Nova was an improved [[PDP-8]], the Eclipse was meant to compete against larger

[[PDP-11]] computers. However, it kept the simple register architecture, and the stack

was kept in a special memory address ___location, as it was on the later 32 bit [[Data General Eclipse MV/8000]].

The [[Data General AOS|AOS]] [[operating system]] was quite sophisticated, and far advanced compared to the PDP-11 offerings, with [[Accessaccess control list|access control lists]]s (ACLs) for file protection. It was largely retained unchanged for the MV/8000{{factCitation needed|date=November 2009}} which could natively run Eclipse binary code, while the [[VAX]] needed a completely new operating system compared to the PDP-11. <!-- I'm not sure if this last sentence belongs here or not; this article isn't about the MV/8000, is it? -->

Production problems with the Eclipse led to a rash of lawsuits in the late 1970s, after new versions of the machine were pre-ordered by many DG customers and then never arrived. After over a year of waiting, many decided to sue the company, while others simply cancelled their orders and went elsewhere. It appeared that the Eclipse was originally intended to replace the Nova outright, also evidenced by the fact that the Nova 3 series released at the same time was phased out the next year. However, strong continuing demand resulted in the Nova 4, perhaps as a result of the continuing problems with the Eclipse.

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The 16-bit Eclipse series was replaced by the 32-bit [[Data General Eclipse MV/8000]] in 1980. The development of this machine was described by [[Tracy Kidder]] in his book ''[[The Soul of a New Machine]]''. <!-- same comment - this second sentence belongs in the MV/8000 article, no? -->

The Eclipse may have been named by James Gossel, a high school student at the time, whose father worked at DG and asked him for the name suggestion. {{FactCitation needed|date=February 2007}}

[[Category:Minicomputers]]