Reply Corporation, often shortened to Reply Corp., was an American computer company based in San Jose, California. Founded in 1988 by Steve Petracca, the company licensed the Micro Channel architecture from IBM for their own computers released in 1989, competing against IBM's PS/2 line. The company later divested from offering complete systems in favor of marketing motherboard upgrades for older PS/2s. Reply enjoyed a close relationship with IBM, owing to many of its founding employees, including Petracca, having worked for IBM. The company was acquired by

Radius In classical geometry, a radius ( : radii) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The name comes from the latin ''radius'', meaning ray but also the ...

in 1997.

History

Foundation

Reply Corp. was founded by Steve V. Petracca (born 1951 in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

). Prior to founding Reply, Petracca worked at International Business Machines from 1976 to 1988, starting out at the company's Boulder, Colorado, office as an industrial engineer in various capacities. There he graduated from

CU Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...

, with a bachelor's degree in history. In 1980, Petracca moved to Boca Raton, Florida, to work at IBM's facility there, managing the start-up of the first production line for the IBM PC. Petracca graduated from

Nova Southeastern University Nova Southeastern University (NSU or, informally, Nova) is a private nonprofit research university with its main campus in Davie, Florida. The university consists of 14 total colleges, centers, and schools offering over 150 programs of study ...

with an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

and was promoted to manager of new product operations in the mid-1980s, handling the release strategy and

ramp-up Ramp-up is a term used in economics and business to describe an increase in a firm's production ahead of anticipated increases in product demand. Alternatively, ramp-up describes the period from completed initial product development to maximum cap ...

of 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 p ...

—IBM's intended successor to the PC—before being promoted to manager of

business analysis Business analysis is a professional discipline of identifying business needs and determining solutions to business problems. Solutions often include a software-systems development component, but may also consist of process improvements, organiza ...

for their Entry Systems Division sometime around 1987. In 1987, Petracca moved again to White Plains, New York, where he worked as manager of systems technology, which encompassed IBM's RISC-based workstations, printers, displays and Personal Systems. Petracca quit IBM in 1988, dissatisfied with an

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

he perceived as promoting the creation of needless business units and obsession with data visualization. Interviewed by '' Inc.'', he said, "We would get into meetings and spend more time arguing over whether to use pie charts or bar charts than over the content of the data". That year, he moved to San Jose, California, and started Reply Corporation. Petracca obtained the funding to start his company from friends and family, as well as with his severance package from IBM. He poached several IBM employees for his startup, many of whom were on the development team of the PS/2. Petracca and his employees spent a year devising the company's first products, which were a line of desktop computers based on IBM's Micro Channel architecture: the Reply 286/16, the Reply 286/20, and the 386SX/16. According to ''

InformationWeek ''InformationWeek'' is a digital magazine which conducts corresponding face-to-face events, virtual events, and research. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California and was first published in 1985 by CMP Media, later called Informa. The p ...

'', Reply was the first company to license Micro Channel—a

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

architecture which IBM introduced with the PS/2 and which Petracca helped launch—for a PS/2 clone. However they were beaten to market with a PS/2 clone by

Tandy Corporation Tandy Corporation was an American family-owned leather goods company based in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Tandy Leather was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store. By the end of the 1950s, under the tutelage of then-CEO Charles Tandy, ...

, who released the 5000 MC in 1988. The Reply computers were introduced ahead of the 1989 COMDEX/Fall in November, with the company releasing the 286/16 and 286/20 the following month. These two machines competed with the Models 50 and 60, mid-ranged computers in the PS/2 line which IBM introduced in 1987. Those PS/2s featured 10-MHz

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 ...

microprocessors clocked at 10 MHz, while the Reply models had 80286 processors clocked at 16 MHz and 20 MHz respectively. The 386SX/16 had an

80386SX 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 transistorsmodularity of these computers, arranging their cases in a so-called "5×5" design: five

drive bay A drive bay is a standard-sized area for adding hardware to a computer. Most drive bays are fixed to the inside of a case, but some can be removed. Over the years since the introduction of the IBM PC, it and its compatibles have had many form ...

s and five

expansion slot Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * '' L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansi ...

s. Additionally the microprocessors were located on

daughterboard In computing, an expansion card (also called an expansion board, adapter card, peripheral card or accessory card) is a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an electrical connector, or expansion slot (also referred to as a bus s ...

s connected to the motherboard. This daughterboard approach, which Reply termed the TurboProcessor, meant that the computers could be upgraded with faster processors over the lifespans of the motherboards. Reply included this feature to address the concerns of existing PS/2 owners, who feared that their investments were fast becoming obsolete. Reply were the only makers of PS/2 clones with 286 processors; according to ''

PCWeek ''eWeek'' (''Enterprise Newsweekly'', stylized as ''eWEEK''), formerly PCWeek, is a technology and business magazine. Previously owned by QuinStreet; Nashville, Tennessee marketing company TechnologyAdvice acquired eWeek in 2020. The print ed ...

'', MCA-equipped IBM PS/2s with these processors were skipped over by all but the most budget-conscious corporate buyers, making these Reply models relatively unpopular compared to the 386SX/16, which they released in 1990.

IBM partnership

In October 1990, Reply joined thirteen other makers of MCA machines—including IBM—in an alliance to push Micro Channel as the sole standard for 32-bit computers. This alliance, named the Micro Channel Developers Association, was intended to compete with the so-called Gang of Nine, an aggregate of

PC clone IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones. ...

manufacturers unofficially led by

Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...

and Hewlett-Packard, who were backing the

Extended Industry Standard Architecture The Extended Industry Standard Architecture (in practice almost always shortened to EISA and frequently pronounced "eee-suh") is a bus standard for IBM PC compatible computers. It was announced in September 1988 by a consortium of PC clone ve ...

directly against IBM. 486slc2 observe

Also in that month, Reply released their first Micro Channel

expansion card In computing, an expansion card (also called an expansion board, adapter card, peripheral card or accessory card) is a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an electrical connector, or expansion slot (also referred to as a bus sl ...

, the

Token Ring Token Ring network IBM hermaphroditic connector with locking clip. Screen contacts are prominently visible, gold-plated signal contacts less so. Token Ring is a computer networking technology used to build local area networks. It was introduc ...

Adapter/A, as well as their next generation of 32-bit Micro Channel machines with TurboProcessor, the Model 32. The most-expensive computer in this line, featuring an

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 the ...

clocked at 33 MHz, sold for $12,895 ($ in ). A comparably equipped PS/2, the Model 90 XP, sold for $16,695 ($ in ) simultaneously. Like the Reply Model 32, the PS/2 Model 95 XP featured an upgradable processor slot, which IBM termed the "processor complex". Unlike with Reply's TurboComplex, IBM forbade the buyer from upgrading their own computer, requiring an authorized service personnel to perform the upgrade for a fee. The Reply Model 32 also supported industry-standard

SIMM A SIMM (single in-line memory module) is a type of memory module containing random-access memory used in computers from the early 1980s to the early 2000s. It differs from a dual in-line memory module (DIMM), the most predominant form of memory ...

s for RAM, whereas IBM used proprietary RAM modules for their PS/2 Model 95. Reply further strengthened their relationship with IBM upon signing a license in May 1991 that allowed them to equip their MCA machines with official IBM SCSI and ESDI hard drives, the

Model M Model M designates a group of computer keyboards designed and manufactured by IBM starting in 1985, and later by Lexmark International, Maxi Switch, and Unicomp. The keyboard's many variations have their own distinct characteristics, with ...

keyboard and

PC DOS PC or pc may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Player character or playable character, a fictional character controlled by a human player, usually in role-playing games or computer games * '' Port Charles'', an American daytime TV soap opera * ...

, as well as

OS/2 OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 r ...

Extended Edition. In August 1992, IBM signed an agreement with Reply that allowed them to offer computers with IBM's 386SLC and 486SLC processors, making Reply the first company to offer computers with IBM silicon based on Intel's

x86 x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was intr ...

architecture. Because IBM's contract with Intel forbade IBM from selling their 386SLC on the open market as a standalone part, IBM had to manufacture the processor on a TurboProcessor board. The Model 16 386SLC, released in August 1992 and replacing Reply's earlier Model 16 386SX/20, featured this IBM-built TurboProcessor. The upgrade resulted in an over twofold performance boost for the same price point as the 386SX, according to Petracca, who shelved further TurboProcessor releases featuring Intel's 16-bit processors in favor of IBM's as a result.

Restructuring

Reply laid off 40 of its 100 employees in October 1992, prompted by a $5 million loss in profit amid fierce price war in the PC industry ushered in by Compaq. Reply surveyed their customers as to how the company should reinvent itself and decided to phase out manufacturing complete machines, instead releasing upgrade motherboards for existing IBM PS/2s. These motherboards, which Reply marketed as the TurboProcessor System Upgrade (later as the PowerBoard), were released starting in December 1992, allowing modern processors such as IBM's own 386SLC and Intel's i486DX2 to be installed in late-1980s-issue PS/2s, of which three to four million were estimated to be still in regular use in large companies. The upgrade motherboards also allowed these PS/2s, which normally supported ESDI drives only, to support

PATA Pata or PATA may refer to: Places * Pata, Sulu, a Philippine municipality * Pata, Galanta District, a village in Slovakia * Pata, Central African Republic, a village * Pata village (Samoa), a village in Samoa * Pontrilas Army Training Area, a ...

drives, which were plentiful compared to the former owing to their use in almost all

IBM PC-compatible IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones. ...

systems of the day. Also in December, Reply released their last complete computer, the Model 16 486SLC2, featuring IBM's 486SLC2 clocked at 40 MHz, upgradable to Intel's i486SX2 at 50 MHz. In April 1993, IBM signed a deal with Reply to resell the latter's TurboProcessor Upgrade cards under IBM's branding. Later that year, Reply ventured into

designing A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

computers for other companies, engineering the motherboard for IBM's PS/2 Model 53, as well as designing another MCA computer from the ground up for

Olivetti Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been par ...

. The company also announced several MCA expansion cards, including graphics and sound upgrades and an IDE drive adapter. In addition, they teased a PowerPC upgrade board for the PS/2, spurred by developments in the contemporaneous alliance between Apple, Motorola and IBM. This came to fruition in 1994 as the MPC105, a

PowerPC 603 The PowerPC 600 family was the first family of PowerPC processors built. They were designed at the Somerset facility in Austin, Texas, jointly funded and staffed by engineers from IBM and Motorola as a part of the AIM alliance. Somerset was opened ...

-powered motherboard with PCI and ISA slots which Reply manufactured, albeit ultimately not as a PS/2 upgrade. By the end of 1993, Reply posed a profit of $3 million. Petracca was given $14 million in

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...

by five backers some years back to fund Reply's growth, but by August 1994 the capital had run dry. Petracca turned to a

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

firm in an attempt to make the company more profitable. Reply branched out from releasing upgrade motherboards for IBM exclusively with the release of the Deskpro PowerBoard. Released in December 1994, these boards were designed for Compaq Deskpros with 286 and 386 processors, allowing them to be fitted with the i486SX2 up to the DX4, as well as having

Pentium OverDrive The Pentium OverDrive was a microprocessor marketing brand name used by Intel, to cover a variety of consumer upgrade products sold in the mid-1990s. It was originally released for 486 motherboards, and later some Pentium sockets. Intel dropped the ...

sockets. The company followed this up with upgrade boards for Compaq's ProLinea machines in 1995, as well as boards for IBM's PS/1s and PS/ValuePoints. According to

Ward's Ward's is an American organization that has covered the automotive industry for over 80 years. The organization is responsible for several publications including, ''Ward's AutoWorld'', and ''Ward's Dealer Business''. Ward's also publish the an ...

, Reply had by 1995 recovered their original workforce of 100 employees. In December that year, Reply released the DOS on Mac expansion card for

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

's Power Macintosh 8100, allowing it to run

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

and

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...

applications off a

Cyrix 5x86 The Cyrix 5x86 was a line of x86 microprocessors designed by Cyrix and released on June 5 of 1995. Cyrix, being a fabless company, had the chips manufactured by IBM. The line came out about 5 months before the more famous Cyrix 6x86. The Cyrix ...

or an Intel DX4. In 1996, they released an update to these cards for Macintosh computers featuring Intel

Pentium Pentium is a brand used for a series of x86 architecture-compatible microprocessors produced by Intel. The original Pentium processor from which the brand took its name was first released on March 22, 1993. After that, the Pentium II and P ...

processors clocked at 166 MHz to 200 MHz.

Acquisition

By 1997, Reply was down to 25 employees, for reasons unclear. In April that year, Reply sold their DOS on Mac technology to

, a hardware company based in Sunnyvale, California. This sale and the loss of Reply's employees put the company's longevity into question. Reply's remaining 25 employees were moved into Radius' office in Sunnyvale, with ten leading engineers including Petracca securing permanent positions within Radius. Radius acquired Reply outright later that year.

Products

Computers

Motherboards

Expansion cards

* Token Ring Adapter/A * MicroChannel Video Adapter * MicroChannel Sound Card with SCSI * MicroChannel Sound Card without SCSI * DOS on Mac

Citations

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961113201941/http://www.reply.com/, date=November 13, 1996, title=Official website 1997 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1988 American companies disestablished in 1997 Computer companies established in 1988 Computer companies disestablished in 1997 Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Defunct computer companies based in California Defunct computer companies of the United States Defunct computer hardware companies Technology companies established in 1988 Technology companies disestablished in 1997 IBM PS/2