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ICL's PERQ Brochure 1985
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PERQ is the definitive advanced graphics workstation combining all the advantages of real computing performance with high resolution graphics technology.
PERQ is a simple to operate workstation that sets the standards and brings complete solutions to the Design Office, providing today's Designer with tomorrow's productivity.
The Visual Link
People think and communicate visually - that is why we depend in so many circumstances on graphs, maps, drawing, models and plans to represent, display and communicate information.
In the past, the problem associated with the conversion of information into a visual form was that of the physical drawing time and effort involved - not only in the preparation of original material but also in the implementation of amendments.
PERQ - The Complete Solution
The development of PERQ has added a new dimension to the presentation of visual information. Tasks that previously took hours can now be accomplished in minutes.
As a self-sufficient workstation, PERQ brings total flexibility and versatility to the Design Office, allowing the Designer to input and manipulate the most complex information with the minimum of effort whilst still working to the highest standards of tolerance and accuracy.
PERQ has extended the horizons of design capability and productivity in all sectors of manufacturing engineering, building and construction, mechanical engineering, education, R & D, electronic design, cartography and land usage.
Shorter Design Times
- PERQ allows professional Designers to operate with the minimum of time and effort.
- PERQ presents drawings, diagrams and maps, quickly and efficiently.
- With PERQ you can select items from an on-screen menu, construct drawings from library shapes, manipulate complex diagrams and maps, and design your own character fonts - all with exceptional ease and simplicity.
- PERQ supports project control and technical document preparation.
- With PERQ, design integrity is preserved even after repeated changes.
- PERQ answers the 'what if' questions asked in the design process.
Better Quality
- PERQ preserves design standards.
- With PERQ items can be erased and redrawn almost instantly.
- PERQ gives high quality output of all technical documentation.
PERQ has the capability to complement the way you work in:
- Design
- Analysis
- Office Management
- Drafting
- Drawing
- Engineering Data Bases
- Electronic Publishing
- 2D and 3D Design
- Mechanical/Electronic Design
- Computer Aided Manufacture. . .
and can be used in a wide variety of application areas including:
- Mapping
- Land use
- Spatial Systems
- Services
- Town & Country Planning
- Architecture
- Mineral Extraction
- Mining
- Simulation & Modelling
- Scientific / Laboratory Computation
- Technical Documentation
- Transport Engineering
- Electrical Distribution Analysis
- Software Engineering
PERQ - The Workstation with Standards
PERQ is marketed by ICL, Europe's largest IT company, who are at the forefront of defining and implementing standards. This depth of market knowledge and experience combine to give PERQ:
- PNX - An operating system based on a complete implementation of UNIX - the standard for all workstations.
- Open System Local Area Network (OSLAN) which allows fast communications between PERQ and other systems following this standard.
- FORTRAN and PASCAL compilers which adhere to strict international standards.
- Graphics Kernel System (GKS) international standard programming facilities which enables graphics applications to be written easily and quickly.
The PERQ Experience
When you experience PERQ you will soon realise that you have a system of enormous potential at your fingertips enabling you to respond rapidly to design demands.
Designed by Designers for Designers, PERQ represents top quality presentation in the Design Office.
PERQ's superior facilities are the result of a technical specification that separate the system from its competitors. This provides a workstation with the graphics capability and processing power to rival top-end minicomputers, but at a fraction of the cost, and without the problems encountered when many users are sharing a single processor.
PERQ's remarkable features offer:
- High resolution, powerful, Portrait or Landscape screens incorporating a MULTI-WINDOW facility which allows the user to perform concurrent design activities.
- Natural language commands and pop-up menus, selected by the pointing device, allowing easy manipulation of multiple windows on the display.
- The ability to function as a stand-alone system, or in conjunction with other computers and peripherals in a Distributed Network.
- Specialised/ additional device facilities to attach high capacity Disc, industry standard Magnetic Tape, Colour Sub-System, and Laser Printer.
- Industry standard software based on UNIX.
- CP/M for running commercial applications such as Spreadsheet and Word Processing.
PERQ - The Cost Effective Solution
PERQ's attributes and performance increase Design Office cost-effectiveness and individual productivity by maximising creative design time and resources applied to any task or assignment.
By drawing on the ICL experience, PERQ users can, within hours, enhance their design and work capacity, thus contributing significantly to Design Office performance and productivity.
Draw on the ICL experience now and find out how PERQ can bring these benefits to your operations.
The Right Connections
As well as functioning as a stand-alone, single user system, PERQ can be utilised within an existing computer network. It can form part of a departmental network of workstations to ensure the exploitation of all your scarce resources. Most importantly, PERQ's PNX operating system, unites all elements of your network to let you:
- Communicate with other PERQ users.
- Transmit data between PERQs at speeds comparable to disc transfer rates.
- Share data bases and programs with other PERQs and ICL mainframes.
- Connect with other computer systems and devices that support the ICL C03, X25, 2780/3780 communications.
- Share processing power and specialised computer peripherals such as laser printers and mass storage devices.
- Provide a more resilient approach to computing since your distributed network will be capable of functioning even in the unlikely event of one element failing.