Newsgroups: comp.sys.transputer
From: markc@sundance.com (Mark Cartlidge)
Reply-To: MarkC@Sundance.com
Subject: Transputer Last Time Buy
Organization: Sundance Multiprocessor Technology Ltd. 
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 16:50:05 GMT
Message-ID: <35ae4f45.1673269@news.dircon.co.uk>

"LAST TIME BUY"

    Sundance Multiprocessor Technology Ltd has for the last 9 years
produced a range of
     products based on the INMOS Transputer and with effect from 1st
January 1999 the
      Transputer and all support chips will be made obsolete as a
result of a decision by
                    SGS-Thomson to stop manufacturing the silicon. 

 Sundance has implemented a strategy whereby we can support our
products until the end of
 Year 2000, which is 2½ years away. This requires forward planning
from you, Sundance and
                        the Distributors of the silicon. The plan: 

  Sundance has to place orders on the Distributor by 31.12.1998 at the
latest, and to receive
 the deliveries by 31.12.1999 at the latest. Sundance are prepared to
carry stock, at no extra
   cost to you, for another 12 months as long as we have firm orders -
and we will purchase
                another 15% on top of your orders for pleasant
surprises! 

 The principle is that if we have received firm orders from you before
December 1998, we will
  purchase PCBs, transputers, memories (to avoid the possibility that
they go obsolete!) and
                         deliver them on an agreed schedule. 

    Sundance will be committed to deliver the ordered quantity and we
can not accept any
 cancellation, unless we can find a home for the products with our
other customers. This is the
  tricky bit. Sundance acknowledge that it will be very difficult for
you to predict the usage, but
 you will also have to appreciate that Sundance may not be able to
sell the products you have
                              ordered to anybody else. 

  At the time of writing, we do not expect there to be any price
changes, but - in the event that
 there is an increase - it is possible that orders received after
30.9.98 will be subject to a new
  pricing structure. We also have, with immediate effect, reduced the
warranty period to one
     year and from 1st January 2000, we may only be able to offer a
warranty refund or a
                          refurbished replacement product. 

  Sundance will be happy to negotiate arrangements to suit individual
requirements, which is
             why we are writing this letter now to enable us to start
a dialogue. 

  Sundance has enjoyed excellent relationships with the Transputer
community in general and
 our customers in particular. We hope that the above time scales will
enable all our customers
                  to migrate to other platforms in an organised
manner. 

      Apart from our involvement in Transputer related products, we
have also built up a
  multi-talented design team with an in depth knowledge of other
processor families focussed
  on the concept of Distributed Multiprocessing. If you require any
help at all in designing new
           solutions, please do not hesitate to discuss your
requirements with us. 

                                  Yours sincerely, 

                               Flemming Christensen 
Mark Cartlidge

SUNDANCE MULTIPROCESSOR TECHNOLOGY LTD
Chiltern House, Waterside, Chesham, HP5 1PS, United Kingdom

Dir.:011-44-1494-793191        Tel:011-44-1494-793167           Fax:011-44-1494-793168
mailto:MarkC@sundance.com    mailto:sales@sundance.com   http://www.sundance.com