AS/400 a "VAX killer"?

[Michael B. Brutman]

I don't know if IBM created the AS/400 as a VAX killer.  I doubt it.

The AS/400 is a direct descendent of the S/38.  The S/38 was designed 
and built by the people who brought you the S/36, S/34, and earlier 
machines.  The IBM plant that built those machines and related equipment 
has been in Rochester MN since the late 1950s.

Both series of machines competed in the mid-range market.  I don't think 
that IBM has 'won' the mid-range market with the AS/400 and iSeries.  I 
think it is just the last player standing in that market, with Unix 
machines having done serious damage to all of the players.


Mike