Editing Pixar Image Computer (section)

=== Availability ===
About three months after their acquisition by [[Steve Jobs]] on February 3, 1986, the computer became commercially available for the first time, and was aimed at commercial and scientific high-end [[Visualization (graphic)|visualization]] markets, such as [[medical imaging]], [[Geophysical imaging|geophysics]], and [[meteorology]].<ref name="AutoFZ-3" /><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/steve-jobs-a-timeline/ |title=Steve Jobs: A timeline |website=[[CNet]] |date=5 October 2011 |author=CNet News Staff}}</ref> The machine sold for $135,000, but also required a $35,000 [[workstation]] from [[Sun Microsystems]] or [[Silicon Graphics]] (in total, {{Inflation|US|170000|1986|r=-4|fmt=eq}}). The original machine was well ahead of its time and generated many single sales, for labs and research.<ref name="Deutschman" /> However, the system did not sell in quantity.

In 1987, Pixar redesigned the machine to create the P-II second generation machine, which sold for $30,000.<ref>{{cite book|last=Isaacson|first=Walter | author-link =Walter Isaacson|title=Steve Jobs|year=2011|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|title-link=Steve Jobs (book) }}</ref> In an attempt to gain a foothold in the medical market, Pixar donated ten machines to leading hospitals and sent marketing people to doctors' conventions. However, this had little effect on sales, despite the machine's ability to render [[Computed axial tomography|CAT]] scan data in 3D. Pixar did get a contract with the manufacturer of CAT Scanners, which sold 30 machines. By 1988 Pixar had only sold 120 Pixar Image Computers.<ref name="Deutschman" />

In 1988, Pixar began the development of the PII-9, a nine-slot version of the low cost P-II. This machine was coupled with a very early [[RAID]] model,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.specktech.com/PixarImageComputer.html |title=Pixar Image Computer}}</ref> a high performance bus, a hardware image [[data compression|decompression]] card, 4 processors (called Chaps or channel processors), very large memory cards ([[VMEbus|VME]] sized card full of memory), high resolutions video cards with 10-bit [[Digital-to-analog converter|DACs]] which were programmable for a variety of frame rates and resolutions, and finally an overlay board which ran [[NeWS]], as well as the 9-slot chassis. A full-up system was quite expensive, as the 3 [[Gibibyte|GiB]] RAID was $300,000 alone. At this time in history most file systems could only address 2 GiB of disk. This system was aimed at high-end government imaging applications, which were done by dedicated systems produced by the [[aerospace industry]] and which cost a million dollars a seat. The PII-9 and the associated software became the prototype of the next generation of commercial "low cost" workstations.