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'''Convex Computer Corporation''' was a company that developed, manufactured and marketed [[Vector processor|vector]] [[minisupercomputer]]s and [[supercomputer]]s for small-to-medium-sized businesses. Their later '''Exemplar''' series of [[parallel computing]] machines were based on the [[Hewlett-Packard]] (HP) [[PA-RISC]] microprocessors, and in 1995, HP bought the company. Exemplar machines were offered for sale by HP for some time, and Exemplar technology was used in HP's '''V-Class''' machines.
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Their first machine was the '''C1''', released in 1985. The C1 was very similar to the [[Cray-1]] in general design, but its CPU and main memory was implemented with slower but less expensive CMOS technology. They offset this by increasing the capabilities of the vector units, including 128 64-bit registers. It also used [[virtual memory]] as opposed to the static memory system of the Cray machines, which improved programming. It was generally rated at 20 MFLOPS peak for double precision (64-bit), and 40 MFLOPS peak for single precision (32-bit), about one fifth the normal speed of the Cray-1. They also invested heavily in advanced automatic vectorizing [[compiler]]s in order to gain performance when existing programs were ported to their systems. The machines ran a [[BSD]] version of [[Unix]] known initially as '''Convex Unix''' then later as '''ConvexOS''' due to trademark and licensing issues. ConvexOS has DEC [[VMS]] compatibility features as well as Cray Fortran features. Their Fortran compiler went on to be licensed to other computers such as Ardent and Stellar (and merged Stardent).
The '''C2''' was a crossbar-interconnected [[multiprocessor]] version of the C1, with up to four CPUs, released in 1988. It used newer 20,000-gate CMOS and 10,000-gate [[emitter-coupled logic]] (ECL) gate arrays for a boost in clock speed from 10
The '''C2''' was followed by the '''C3''' in 1991, being essentially similar to the C2 but with a faster clock and support for up to eight CPUs implemented with low-density GaAs FPGAs. Various configurations of the C3 were offered, with 50 to 240 MFLOPS per CPU. However, the C3 and the Convex business model were overtaken by changes in the computer industry. The arrival of RISC microprocessors meant that it was no longer possible to develop cost-effective high-performance computing as a standalone small low-volume company. While the C3 was delivered late, which resulted in lost sales, it was still not going to be able to compete with commodity high-performance computing in the long run.
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According to most former employees, Convex was a very fun place at which to work. For some time, there were beer parties every Friday, and an annual Convex Beach Party (where a truck load of sand would be dumped on the parking lot to simulate a beach in Richardson, Texas). There was a fitness center and other recreational facilities on-site.
Bob Paluck strived to maintain an atmosphere that promoted dedication and hard work, but also emphasized fun and creativity.
Convex had an unusually thorough interview process, which, for technical positions, included a grilling by a group of engineers. This was intended to ensure that only the best got to work there. The extensive interview process carried over to other departments as well, where the key people who would be working with the prospective employee each interviewed the candidate, then met in roundtable to discuss whether or not to hire.
This resulted in a very dedicated relatively young employee base who spent most of their waking hours ensuring Convex's success.
The culture was one of creativity. Especially in the first few years, new hires were brought in and given much creative license. New ideas were encouraged and the management generally succeeded in generating an atmosphere where employees considered themselves a vital part of the team.
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* Co-founder '''[[Steve Wallach]]''' is well-known for his work at Data General, Convex, [[Convey Computer]] Corporation and other companies.
* '''Brian Berliner''' developer of the current [[Concurrent Versions System]] is an ExCon.
* '''[[Tom Christiansen]]''' of [[Perl]] fame worked at Convex in the Technical Assistance Center and then on a project called '''Convex Meta Series''', which was an attempt to create cheap [[Computer cluster|cluster computers]].
* '''[[Dan Connolly]]''' of [[HTML]] and [[W3C]] fame worked at Convex on the documentation tools team.
* '''Mark Lutz''' author of several [[Python (programming language)|Python programming language]] books worked at Convex.
* '''Frank Marshall''' who led [[Cisco Systems]] to great success in the 1990s was VP of engineering at Convex during its peak years.
* [[Robert Tappan Morris|'''Robert Morris''']] of [[Morris worm]] fame worked as a summer intern at Convex.
* '''[[Craig Warner]]''' Now a R&D Engineer at HP.
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