Long-awaited multiprocessing – as distinct from parallel processing – RS/6000s, on which Compagnie des Machines Bull SA is collaborating with IBM Corp, are due in volume at the beginning of 1994, if you listen to Big Blue. On the other hand, Bull is promising a multiprocessing version of AIX in the third quarter of this year, and says it will have multiprocessor boxes in the fourth quarter. The multiprocessor will use the multi-chip, single board Rios 2 Power implementation which is due in the second half of the year. As far as the PowerPC RISC is concerned, IBM says that the 603 version- for notebooks and entry-level desktops – the 604 – for mid-range and multiprocessing desktops – and the 64-bit 620 multiprocessing part, designed for commercial systems, will be ready to ship at the end of next year or at the beginning of 1995.
