Raptor
======

So I finally decided to go forward. I pre-ordered the Blackbird (a mini
version of the Talos II POWER9 computer). [1] Paid now, will wait until
Q2 2019 for  delivery (hopefully it will be delivered).  I have ordered
the quad-core version due its lower power consumption.

It is much cheaper than the original Talos II and even than the "small"
Talos II Mini but it is really not cheap. But the Sun Ultra 20 which (I
bought it as a new in 2005) was not less expensive**).

I still  use my SGI  O2 as  my main workstation  and this might  be its
replacement in  the distant future. I  never really used the  IBM POWER
systems*) though I have the IntelliStation  285 under my desk (it's too
noisy and the AIX needs time to be  customized to my taste - and I lack
time). The  Blackbird may  resolve some  problems -  it is  smaller and
there is possibility to make it  relatively quiet and it can run Linux.
I don't  say that Linux is  better than any other  OS but for me  it is
easier to customize than, say, the AIX or the Mac OS X.

Now I have to  wait if it really arrives and  what the additional costs
will be.


References:

[1] https://wiki.raptorcs.com/wiki/Blackbird 


Notes:

*) Apple iBook G3 doesn't count as it is just a  PowerPC.
**) And it was just an ordinary AMD64-based PC.