Aox Inc. was a privately run American technology corporation founded by Michael and Linda Aronson in 1978. Over the course of its 22-year lifespan, the company chiefly developed software and hardware for IBM's PC and compatibles, for the

Personal System/2 The Personal System/2 or PS/2 is IBM's second generation of personal computers. Released in 1987, it officially replaced the IBM PC, XT, AT, and PC Convertible in IBM's lineup. Many of the PS/2's innovations, such as the 16550 UART (serial po ...

(IBM's intended successor to the PC), and for the

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software en ...

. In its twilight years, the company designed

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradi ...

and

teleconferencing A teleconference is the live exchange of information among several people remote from one another but linked by a telecommunications system. Terms such as audio conferencing, telephone conferencing and phone conferencing are also sometimes used ...

devices and

chip Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genom ...

designs. Aox was founded after Michael Aronson graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

with a doctorate in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ...

; he stayed with the company until 2000, when he incorporated EndPoints Inc. and switched to full-time

fabless Fabless manufacturing is the design and sale of hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing their fabrication (or ''fab'') to a specialized manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry. These foundries are typically, but not exclu ...

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...

design.

Corporate history

Husband and wife Michael and Linda Aronson founded Aox Inc. in Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1978. Founded as Aox Associates, the company's first product was MATE,

word processing A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consen ...

software for

Z80 The Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor introduced by Zilog as the startup company's first product. The Z80 was conceived by Federico Faggin in late 1974 and developed by him and his 11 employees starting in early 1975. The first working samples were ...

- and

8080 The Intel 8080 (''"eighty-eighty"'') is the second 8-bit microprocessor designed and manufactured by Intel. It first appeared in April 1974 and is an extended and enhanced variant of the earlier 8008 design, although without binary compatibil ...

-based microcomputers running on top of iCOM Peripherals' or

Technical Design Labs Technical Design Labs (TDL), founded 1976 by Carl Galletti and Roger Amidon, was an early producer of personal computers. TDL was based in Princeton, New Jersey, USA in the 1970s and early 1980s.disk operating systems. Michael Aronson (born ) co-founded Aox after graduating from

with a doctorate in

. His interest in computers grew through his post-graduate studies, the most illuminating being the computer analysis of samples of Napoleon's preserved hair for traces of arsenic—a hypothesized cause of Napoleon's death. Together with his wife Linda, Michael pooled money to start a business in the computer industry. The two named the company after their

Afghan Hound The Afghan Hound is a hound that is distinguished by its thick, fine, silky coat and its tail with a ring curl at the end. The breed is selectively bred for its unique features in the cold mountains of Afghanistan. Its local name is ( ps, تاژ ...

, Aox. The company's big break was the release of a Z80 CP/M compatibility

card Card or The Card may refer to: * Various types of plastic cards: **By type *** Magnetic stripe card ***Chip card ***Digital card **By function *** Payment card **** Credit card ****Debit card **** EC-card **** Identity card **** European Health Ins ...

for the

IBM Personal Computer The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a tea ...

, dubbed Baby Blue. This add-on board proved fairly popular, as it opened up the IBM PC to a wide variety of productivity software already developed and tested for earlier CP/M machines. The company then transitioned into a full-time hardware company, developing and contracting the manufacture of upgrade boards and add-on cards for various personal

computing platform A computing platform or digital platform is an environment in which a piece of software is executed. It may be the hardware or the operating system (OS), even a web browser and associated application programming interfaces, or other underlying ...

s throughout the 1980s. After selling off the marketing and manufacturing rights of many of their upgrade boards to

Kingston Technology Kingston Technology Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, sells and supports flash memory products, other computer-related memory products, as well as the HyperX gaming division ...

Fountain Valley, California Fountain Valley is a suburban city in Orange County, California. The population was 57,047 at the 2020 census. History The area encompassing Fountain Valley was originally inhabited by the Tongva people. European settlement of the area ...

in December 1992, Aox began winding down their commissions to contract manufacturers, instead pivoting to the role of a licensor of their new designs. Aox soon earned customers such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard,

Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, ...

, and

Apple Computer Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

. IBM was Aox's largest customer in 1993; they briefly held equity stake in the company in 1990. Rich Levandov, previously of

Phoenix Technologies Phoenix Technologies Ltd is an American company that designs, develops and supports core system software for personal computers and other computing devices. The company's products commonly referred to as BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) or fir ...

where he was a core developer of the PC-compatible BIOS that helped that company grow, was hired as Aox's vice president of business development in the late 1980s. Levandov shifted the company's add-on developments toward the direction of

and

, releasing an all-in-one communications card centered around an

Analog Devices Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), also known simply as Analog, is an American multinational semiconductor company specializing in data conversion, signal processing and power management technology, headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts. The c ...

DSP DSP may refer to: Computing * Digital signal processing, the mathematical manipulation of an information signal * Digital signal processor, a microprocessor designed for digital signal processing * Yamaha DSP-1, a proprietary digital signal ...

in 1993. Aox's teleconferencing products debuted in January 1994. In March 1994, Apple hired Aox to develop cross-platform devices using Apple's

GeoPort GeoPort is a serial data system used on some models of the Apple Macintosh that could be externally clocked to run at a 2 Mbit/s data rate. GeoPort slightly modified the existing Mac serial port pins to allow the computer's internal DSP hardware ...

serial communication In telecommunication and data transmission, serial communication is the process of sending data one bit at a time, sequentially, over a communication channel or computer bus. This is in contrast to parallel communication, where several bits are ...

protocol, as well as contracting Aox to build a development kit for prospective

peripheral A peripheral or peripheral device is an auxiliary device used to put information into and get information out of a computer. The term ''peripheral device'' refers to all hardware components that are attached to a computer and are controlled by th ...

manufacturers behind GeoPort. The project came to fruition, with products released in August 1994. Aox went from having 20 employees on their payroll in 1987 to 25 by the end of 1989. As part of their alliance with IBM, Aox grew to 35 employees in 1990. Between 1993 and 1998, Aox's workforce remained steady at 45 employees. In 1998, it saw sales of roughly $4 million. Aox ceased operations in 2000, with Michael Aronson and his other employees founding EndPoints Inc., a

company, the same year. Aox existed as a company on paper until it dissolved in 2007.

Product history

IBM Personal Computer

After 1982's Baby Blue, Aox developed a CPU upgrade card for IBM PCs and compatibles in September 1984. Designed by Michael Aronson and intended for PCs running

Intel 8088 The Intel 8088 ("''eighty-eighty-eight''", also called iAPX 88) microprocessor is a variant of the Intel 8086. Introduced on June 1, 1979, the 8088 has an eight-bit external Bus (computing), data bus instead of the 16-bit computing, 16-bit bus of ...

s, this full-sized 8-bit

ISA Isa or ISA may refer to: Places * Isa, Amur Oblast, Russia * Isa, Kagoshima, Japan * Isa, Nigeria * Isa District, Kagoshima, former district in Japan * Isa Town, middle class town located in Bahrain * Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia * Mount I ...

card comes equipped with an

Intel 80286 The Intel 80286 (also marketed as the iAPX 286 and often called Intel 286) is a 16-bit microprocessor that was introduced on February 1, 1982. It was the first 8086-based CPU with separate, non- multiplexed address and data buses and also the ...

and 512 KB of

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch ...

, expandable to 2 MB of RAM. The card overrides the slower memory on the

motherboard A motherboard (also called mainboard, main circuit board, mb, mboard, backplane board, base board, system board, logic board (only in Apple computers) or mobo) is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expand ...

while working cooperatively with the 8088, the latter being relegated to handling I/O calls while the 80286 processes application data. The card was marketed and sold by Phoenix Technologies. In December 1986, Aox followed this up with the 386° Accelerator Card, a basic 16-bit CPU card containing an Intel 80386 running at 16 MHz with no

wait state A wait state is a delay experienced by a computer processor when accessing external memory or another device that is slow to respond. Computer microprocessors generally run much faster than the computer's other subsystems, which hold the data the ...

s. Intended for PC/ATs or compatibles, which ran the

, users could enable or disable the card's speedup on the fly through software, without needing to

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is phys ...

. The 386° Accelerator Card received an overhaul in November 1987 in the form of the Master 386-16. This newer card is bus-mastered, allowing it issue

direct memory access Direct memory access (DMA) is a feature of computer systems and allows certain hardware subsystems to access main system memory independently of the central processing unit (CPU). Without DMA, when the CPU is using programmed input/output, it is ...

operations on other expansion cards on the AT motherboard without going through the CPU. The Master 386-16 also adds a socket for the

80387 x87 is a floating-point-related subset of the x86 architecture instruction set. It originated as an extension of the 8086 instruction set in the form of optional floating-point coprocessors that worked in tandem with corresponding x86 CPUs. Thes ...

floating-point unit In computing, floating-point arithmetic (FP) is arithmetic that represents real numbers approximately, using an integer with a fixed precision, called the significand, scaled by an integer exponent of a fixed base. For example, 12.345 can b ...

and an addition socket for Aox's optional memory expansion modules, giving the system up to a total of 16 MB. To ensure compatibility with the timing dependencies of disk controllers designed around the 80286's clock, the Master 386-16 underclocks its 80386 during floppy seek operations. The Master 386-16 itself received an update in January 1988 with the Master 386-20, which features a 386 with a faster clock speed of 20 MHz. The Master 386-20 updates the circuitry of its predecessor to patch a bug discovered by Intel with their 80387 FPU, in which some

protected-mode In computing, protected mode, also called protected virtual address mode, is an operational mode of x86-compatible central processing units (CPUs). It allows system software to use features such as virtual memory, paging and safe multi-tasking ...

applications (such as

Unix Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, a ...

) cause the machine to hang after issuing

floating-point In computing, floating-point arithmetic (FP) is arithmetic that represents real numbers approximately, using an integer with a fixed precision, called the significand, scaled by an integer exponent of a fixed base. For example, 12.345 can be ...

operations. Aox changed the form factor of their memory expansion scheme from modules to cards, occupying a slot of the AT's motherboard and connecting to the Master 386-20 via a

ribbon cable A ribbon cable (also known as multi-wire planar cable) is a cable with many conducting wires running parallel to each other on the same flat plane. As a result, the cable is wide and flat. Its name comes from its resemblance to a piece of ribb ...

. Both versions of the Master 386 received good writeups in ''

InfoWorld ''InfoWorld'' (abbreviated IW) is an information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a web-only publication. Its parent company today is International Data Group, and its sister ...

'', with Tracey Capen detecting no incompatibility with different software packages, while Stephen Satchell preferred it over Intel's Inboard 386. In November 1988, Aox released a

i386SX The Intel 386, originally released as 80386 and later renamed i386, is a 32-bit microprocessor introduced in 1985. The first versions had 275,000 transistors Micro Channel Micro Channel architecture, or the Micro Channel bus, is a proprietary 16- or 32-bit parallel computer bus introduced by IBM in 1987 which was used on PS/2 and other computers until the mid-1990s. Its name is commonly abbreviated as "MCA", alth ...

as used in IBM's

line in 1988 marked the beginning of Aox's close relationship to IBM and the PS/2, lasting until Aox sold the rights to the designs for their PS/2 upgrades to Kingston Technology in 1992. Announced in May 1988 and later dubbed the Micro Master 386, the first incarnation of this upgrade card family allowed the 286-equipped PS/2 Models 50 and 60 to be equipped with Intel 386 processors clocked between 16 and 25 MHz, as present in the PS/2 Models 70 and 80. With the release of this card, Aox was one of a handful of early Micro Channel card makers to implement bus mastering—seen as a major inherent benefit of Micro Channel but with scattershot documentation by IBM, to the chagrin of some third-party developers who could not take full advantage of it. A 33-MHz–based version of the Micro Master 386 was released in September 1989, as was with a sister card specifically for

Zenith Data Systems Zenith Data Systems (ZDS) was a division of Zenith Electronics founded in 1979 after Zenith acquired the Heath Company, which had entered the personal computer market in 1977. Headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Zenith sold personal compu ...

's Z-248 PC compatible. Notable fleet buyers of the Micro Master 386 was the

Sovran Bank Sovran Bank was a US-based regional bank that operated in Virginia between 1983 and 1990, and was the leading subsidiary of Sovran Financial Corporation. It was itself a product of a merger between ''First & Merchants Bank'' of Richmond and ''V ...

of Virginia, who purchased 1,600 to upgrade their 286-based PS/2s, and Lithonia Lighting, who purchased 1,000 for their PS/2s. Developed over the course of two years starting in 1989, Aox released OS/Master, a software package integrating with the Micro Master allowing users to run multiple operating systems simultaneously, in January 1991. Control and configuration utilities allows users to choose which processor in the system control which operating system; OS/Master supports more than one Master Micro card. OS/Master was one of two pieces of software developed by Aox in 1989, the other being a disk caching utility called Disk Quick released in September 1989. In late 1989, IBM contracted Aox to develop a cooperative

i486 The Intel 486, officially named i486 and also known as 80486, is a microprocessor. It is a higher-performance follow-up to the Intel 386. The i486 was introduced in 1989. It represents the fourth generation of binary compatible CPUs following ...

-based version of the Micro Master as the centerpiece of IBM's "Super Server" project, showcased in

Networld Interop is an annual information technology conference organised by Informa PLC. It takes place in the US and Tokyo ( Japan) each year. 2016 marked Interop's (US) 30th anniversary and throughout that time, Interop has promoted interoperability and ...

February 1990 in Boston, Massachusetts, in a configuration comprising 16 networked modified IBM PS/2 Model 70s. This led to IBM investing an undisclosed amount in Aox to market the company's Micro Master cards in 1990, in exchange for the development of other cards that took advantage of bus mastering. Aox was an initial entrant in the

Micro Channel Developers Association The Micro Channel Developers Association (MCDA) was a consortium of computer manufacturers that sought to consider and prioritize steps in the maturation of the Micro Channel architecture, as well as to explore better approaches to disseminating tec ...

, along with 14 other companies including IBM. Before selling out their PS/2 upgrades to Kingston in December 1992, Aox developed

-, i486SX-, and

i386SX The Intel 386, originally released as 80386 and later renamed i386, is a 32-bit microprocessor introduced in 1985. The first versions had 275,000 transistors Mac Mac or MAC most commonly refers to: * Mac (computer), a family of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * A variant of the word macaroni, mostly used in the name of the dish mac and cheese * Mac, ...

side, Aox introduced the Doubletime-16, an accelerator card for the

Macintosh SE The Macintosh SE is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, from March 1987 to October 1990. It marked a significant improvement on the Macintosh Plus design and was introduced by Apple at the same time as the Mac ...

in January 1988. The Doubletime-16 contains a

Motorola 68000 The Motorola 68000 (sometimes shortened to Motorola 68k or m68k and usually pronounced "sixty-eight-thousand") is a 16/32-bit complex instruction set computer (CISC) microprocessor, introduced in 1979 by Motorola Semiconductor Products Sect ...

clocked at 16 MHz, double that of the Macintosh SE's native 68000, paired with a

68881 The Motorola 68881 and Motorola 68882 are floating-point units (FPUs) used in some computer systems in conjunction with Motorola's 32-bit 68020 or 68030 microprocessors. These coprocessors are external chips, designed before floating point math bec ...

FPU. Like the Master 386, the clock speed increase of the Doubletime-16's processor can be switched on and off in software. ''

MacWorld ''Macworld'' is a website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG Inc. It started life as a print magazine in 1984 and had the largest audited circulation (both total and newsstand) of Macin ...

'' benchmark of the Doubletime-16 measured an appreciable speed increase in

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases spa ...

seeks and record skips. However, Journalist Charles Seiter called the pairing of the 68000 and 68881 as imperfect: while some applications like

Excel ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the Ro ...

could access the 68881 in this configuration (bypassing Apple's slower software-based SANE floating-point arithmetic standard), some scientific and engineering apps for the

Classic Mac OS Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and ending with Mac OS 9. Th ...

environment could only access the 68881 in tandem with the 68000's successor the

68020 The Motorola 68020 ("''sixty-eight-oh-twenty''", "''sixty-eight-oh-two-oh''" or "''six-eight-oh-two-oh''") is a 32-bit microprocessor from Motorola, released in 1984. A lower-cost version was also made available, known as the 68EC020. In keeping ...

. In August 1988, Aox had announced their first integrated circuit design: a proprietary graphics accelerator chip for the Mac and PC.

Notes

References

External links