The new line of low-end DPS 7 machines promised by Bull for next week (CI No 648) may be pitched at the DEC VAX line as much as at IBM’s 9370, observers claim, suggesting that the company may not only use a graduated GCOS 7 software pricing policy according to the size of the processor to match the system initiated by IBM with the 9370, but that, like DEC, it may also offer a one-year free warranty on maintenance with the new machines. Observers suggest that there will be five models in the field-upgradable line, which is designed to be used in an office environment, and that it will offer a bottom-to-top performance range of some six to one. The machines, which are due to be launched worldwide on April 6, may also be baptised with a new name, with the DPS 7000 tag favoured, tying in with Honeywell Italia’s DPS 4000 successor to DPS 4.
