[HECnet] Cisco DECnet routers and NML

Spectacular is quite the word.? I was thinking 'legendary' might be more apt.? Indeed, even after 10 or 20 years, I would hear about some grudges that were still being kept. You have to wonder whether the other lines got cancelled just so management could have some piece and quiet. It's really a shame because at least at one point there was a kind of a mutual admiration society among some groups.? The 36 bit/PDP-8 line comes to mind.? We mainframe types would look at the latest 8 stuff and say, "Wow, how in the world did you get it to do that?".? One comment in VTECO really gave us a laugh, "How does all this work?? KLUDGES".? But there was a lot of pride (rightful in my opinion).? And the 8 people would look at the big iron in wonder; "Wow, look at all those registers, instructions and memory; boy could I do plenty with that!" But it wasn't just a lot of talented and loyal engineers that had the rug pulled out... The effect on some of the larger customers (particularly those with millions of man hours of unportable code) was absolutely electric.? I remember the screaming in some of the meetings downtown.? I knew of some installations that completely walked away from anything that DEC had to sell; not interested in doing business.? Ever.? That's understandable, but also a shame; the Alpha really was incredible.