Symbolics - Revision history

Jnc: /* External links */ +Symbolics, Inc.: A failure of heterogeneous engineering

2025-09-27T10:33:53Z

‎External links: +Symbolics, Inc.: A failure of heterogeneous engineering

Jnc: /* External links */ \

2025-09-27T09:19:37Z

‎External links: \

Jnc: /* External links */ +Why Did Symbolics Fail?

2025-09-25T16:15:33Z

‎External links: +Why Did Symbolics Fail?

Jnc: Better cat; +links

2025-01-21T04:52:31Z

Better cat; +links

Larsbrinkhoff: Had a Foonly F2.

2024-01-10T08:20:33Z

Had a Foonly F2.

Jnc: /* External links */ +current company's site

2022-07-17T00:43:18Z

‎External links: +current company's site

Jnc: /* External links */ +Bogodyne Metatechnics

2022-07-17T00:37:23Z

‎External links: +Bogodyne Metatechnics

Jnc: Not very extensive, but checks off another one

2022-07-02T00:57:26Z

Not very extensive, but checks off another one

New page

'''Symbolics''' was a start-up spinoff of the [[MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory|MIT AI Lab]] founded in 1980, whose goal was to build and sell [[LISP machine]]s. It had a moderately successful run, but after internal dissension and some poor business decisions, it went bankrupt in 1996.

During its lifetime, Symbolics produced 4 generations of hardware:

* the LM-2, a slightly improved and repackaged [[CADR]], intended as an interim product
* the L-Machines (models 3600, 3670, 3640, 3675 and 3645); built out of stock [[transistor-transistor logic|TTL]]
* the G-machines (models 3650, 3620, 3630, 3619); built from custom [[gate array]]s
* the I-machines (standalone: XL400, XL1200, XL1201 and NXP1000; Sun: UX400, UX1200; [[Macintosh]]: MacIvory I, II, III); custom [[integrated circuit|ICs]]

Technically, what doomed specialized LISP machines was the fact that stock [[microprocessor]]s sped up to such a degree that even the specialized support available in the low-production-volume custom [[Central Processing Unit|CPU]] of the LISP machine (tagged data types; [[garbage collection]]) left them unable to keep up.

{{semi-stub}}

==External links==

* [http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/symbolics/ Symbolics] - documentation at [[Bitsavers]]
* [https://smbx.org/ Symbolics Lisp Machine Museum]
** [https://smbx.org/symbolics-hardware/ Symbolics Hardware]
** [https://smbx.org/symbolics-technical-summary/ Symbolics Technical Summary]

[[Category: Manufacturers]]

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 * [https://www.chai.uni-hamburg.de/~moeller/symbolics-info/ Symbolics] - much Symbolics material
 ** Eve M. Phillips, [https://www.chai.uni-hamburg.de/~moeller/symbolics-info/ai-business.pdf ''If It Works, It’s Not AI: A Commercial Look at Artificial Intelligence Startups''], 1999 - Master's thesis; Symbolics is covered on pp. 60-64 of the PDF
-* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080614223925/https://dlweinreb.wordpress.com/2007/11/16/why-did-symbolics-fail/ Why Did Symbolics Fail?] (archived) - an interesting post from Dan Weinreb, a founder of Symbolics and leading light in LISP machines
+** Alvin Graylin, Kari Anne Hoier Kjolaas, Jonathan Loflin, Jimmie D. Walker III, [https://www.chai.uni-hamburg.de/~moeller/symbolics-info/Symbolics.pdf ''Symbolics, Inc.: A failure of heterogeneous engineering''], 1998 - student paper; has some errors, but interesting ("if you are interested in what happened to Symbolics, it’s a must-read") <!-- https://web.archive.org/web/20060811192145/https://web.mit.edu/6.933/www/Symbolics.pdf -->
 [[Category: Computer Manufacturers]]
 [[Category: PDP-10 Users]]

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 * [http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/symbolics/ Symbolics] - documentation at [[Bitsavers]]
 * [https://smbx.org/ Symbolics Lisp Machine Museum]
 ** [https://smbx.org/symbolics-hardware/ Symbolics Hardware]
 ** [https://smbx.org/symbolics-technical-summary/ Symbolics Technical Summary]
-* [http://symbolics-dks.com/ Symbolics] - current company's site
+* [https://www.chai.uni-hamburg.de/~moeller/symbolics-info/ Symbolics] - much Symbolics material
-* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080614223925/https://dlweinreb.wordpress.com/2007/11/16/why-did-symbolics-fail/ Why Did Symbolics Fail?] (archived) - an interesting post from Dan Weinreb, a leading light in LISP machines
+** Eve M. Phillips, [https://www.chai.uni-hamburg.de/~moeller/symbolics-info/ai-business.pdf ''If It Works, It’s Not AI: A Commercial Look at Artificial Intelligence Startups''], 1999 - Master's thesis; Symbolics is covered on pp. 60-64 of the PDF
-* [https://www.bogodyne.com/ Bogodyne Metatechnics] - hard to describe; go look
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080614223925/https://dlweinreb.wordpress.com/2007/11/16/why-did-symbolics-fail/ Why Did Symbolics Fail?] (archived) - an interesting post from Dan Weinreb, a founder of Symbolics and leading light in LISP machines
 [[Category: Computer Manufacturers]]
 [[Category: PDP-10 Users]]

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 ** [https://smbx.org/symbolics-technical-summary/ Symbolics Technical Summary]
 * [http://symbolics-dks.com/ Symbolics] - current company's site
 * [https://www.bogodyne.com/ Bogodyne Metatechnics] - hard to describe; go look
 [[Category: Computer Manufacturers]]
 [[Category: PDP-10 Users]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Symbolics''' was a start-up spinoff of the [[MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory|MIT AI Lab]] founded in 1980, whose goal was to build and sell [[LISP machine]]s. It had a moderately successful run, but after internal dissension and some poor business decisions, it went bankrupt in 1996.
+'''Symbolics''' was a start-up spinoff of the [[MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory|MIT AI Lab]], founded in 1980, whose goal was to build and sell [[LISP machine]]s. It had a moderately successful run, but after internal dissension and some poor business decisions, it went bankrupt in 1996.
 During its lifetime, Symbolics produced 4 generations of hardware:
@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 * the L-Machines (models 3600, 3670, 3640, 3675 and 3645); built out of stock [[transistor-transistor logic|TTL]]
 * the G-machines (models 3650, 3620, 3630, 3619); built from custom [[gate array]]s
-* the I-machines (standalone: XL400, XL1200, XL1201 and NXP1000; Sun: UX400, UX1200; [[Macintosh]]: MacIvory I, II, III); custom [[integrated circuit|ICs]]
+* the I-machines (standalone: XL400, XL1200, XL1201 and NXP1000; [[Sun Microsystems|Sun]]-based: UX400, UX1200; [[Macintosh]]-based: MacIvory I, II, III); custom [[integrated circuit|ICs]])
 Technically, what doomed specialized LISP machines was the fact that stock [[microprocessor]]s sped up to such a degree that even the specialized support available in the low-production-volume custom [[Central Processing Unit|CPU]] of the LISP machine (tagged data types; [[garbage collection]]) left them unable to keep up.
@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 * [https://www.bogodyne.com/ Bogodyne Metatechnics] - hard to describe; go look
-[[Category: Manufacturers]]
+[[Category: Computer Manufacturers]]
 [[Category: PDP-10 Users]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:20, 10 January 2024
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	[[Category: Manufacturers]]		[[Category: Manufacturers]]
		+	[[Category: PDP-10 Users]]