Talk:Imagineering Australia

Disputed Accuracy of Content
I dispute the paragraph that begins"Other machines were developed, but never released for sale..." I worked for Telecom Australia Information Systems in the late 80s to early 90s and we had a business relationship with Imagineering for the supply of hundreds - if not thousands - of their Ultra PCs (many of which broke down and I personally had to support/service them). Contrary to what the article claims, both the Ultra 386 and Ultra 386SX were released for sale, which became the organisation's standard PCs for managers and high-end users (my own PC was a 386SX). In regard to an OEM Intel 386, the existing text is partially correct; this was available alongside the Ultra 386 but carried a significantly higher price, as it was of a MUCH higher standard than the equivalent Ultra 386. It was also a larger form-factor too (they had a bay for multiple SCSI or ESDI HDDs - I configured a number of these servers myself), and the organisation used these as network servers often running SCO Xenix and SCO Unix (and the Oracle RDBMS) as an alternative to the much more expensive MIPS RISC minicomputers it also used to use.

As for the Galileo server I also remember those but cannot say if they were ever available, but I do remember the Imagineering account manager giving an on-site demonstration of them; at the time the organisation had not standardised upon its LAN topology nor choice of vendors and brands, and ran various networks including Novell Netware using IPX/SPX, 3com 3+ Share and 3+ Open using EtherShare, TCP/IP networks for the MIPS environments, a small amount of OS/2 networks and if I remember correctly, even Banyan Vines, as well as daisy-chained Honeywell and IBM SNA networks of 3270 terminals (part of TACONET - Telecom Australia COmputing NETwork - their mainframe backbone), etc. However, this was around the same time that Imagineering were experiencing financial difficulties and by then 3Com Australia were distributing their own products. I left the organisation soon after this, so I cannot say as to what later happened as at this stage a strategy to consolidate the various networks was just beginning.

As for the lack of cited sources, this article appears to be a copy of a similar article at https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Imagineering_Australia, which also doesn't cite any sources. However, this ad (https://50years.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/50-years/magazines/professional-computing/PC-198907.pdf) from the magazine Professional Computing (Australia) dated July 1989 clearly shows the items available for sale to the public, thus confirming what I stated above. I can also say that at this time I also made MANY visits to Imagineering's Brisbane office in Kelvin Grove, as well as their HQ in Rosebery, Sydney, and know the products I mentioned were for sale to the public in the adjoining showrooms. I therefore suggest this article be corrected / rewritten.

Blammy1 (talk) 00:03, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

Suggested sources for citing material
The following sources could be used for citations, or better yer, rewriting this article:
 * https://www.afr.com/companies/the-rich-family-saga-19910405-k9w0g
 * https://www.klik.com.my/item/story/501074/launch-of-ultra-pcs
 * https://www.afr.com/politics/imagineering-exploits-deregulation-19871207-k2kec

If someone is available in New Zealand:
 * https://natlib-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?vid=NLNZ&docid=INNZ7117208980002837&context=L&search_scope=INNZ

BTW this article needs to state that Imagineering operated in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia, and had a relationship with UK-based company Logitek plc.

Blammy1 (talk) 01:10, 18 May 2020 (UTC)