<s>
The	O
3Station	B-Device
was	O
a	O
diskless	B-Device
workstation	I-Device
,	O
developed	O
by	O
Bob	O
Metcalfe	O
at	O
3Com	O
and	O
first	O
available	O
in	O
1986	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
3Station/2E	O
had	O
a	O
10	O
MHz	O
80286	B-General_Concept
processor	B-General_Concept
,	O
1	O
megabyte	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
(	O
expandable	O
to	O
)	O
,	O
VGA-compatible	O
graphics	O
with	O
of	O
video	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
integrated	O
AUI/10BASE2	O
(	O
BNC	B-Protocol
)	O
network	O
transceivers	O
for	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
neither	O
a	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
nor	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
;	O
it	O
was	O
booted	O
from	O
a	O
server	O
and	O
stored	O
all	O
end-user	O
files	O
there	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
3Com	O
advertised	O
"	O
significant	O
cost	O
savings	O
"	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
3Station	B-Device
's	O
ease	O
of	O
installation	O
and	O
low	O
maintenance	O
(	O
this	O
would	O
now	O
be	O
referred	O
to	O
under	O
the	O
banner	O
of	O
total	O
cost	O
of	O
ownership	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
3Station	B-Device
's	O
cost	O
lay	O
somewhere	O
between	O
that	O
of	O
an	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
clone	O
and	O
an	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
of	O
the	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
3Stations	B-Device
's	O
were	O
sold	O
as	O
a	O
package	O
with	O
a	O
3Server	B-Application
as	O
a	O
central	O
hub	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Australian	O
Taxation	O
Office	O
(	O
ATO	O
)	O
were	O
a	O
significant	O
customer	O
for	O
this	O
setup	O
(	O
through	O
Groupe	O
Bull	O
subsidiary	O
Bull	O
HN	O
,	O
née	O
Honeywell	O
)	O
,	O
eventually	O
purchasing	O
many	O
thousand	O
3Stations	B-Device
and	O
associated	O
3Server	B-Application
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
network	O
enabled	O
the	O
tax	O
office	O
to	O
centrally	O
control	O
software	O
versions	O
from	O
the	O
Canberra	O
office	O
,	O
distributing	O
them	O
Australia	O
wide	O
without	O
the	O
tedium	O
and	O
cost	O
of	O
updating	O
thousands	O
of	O
independent	O
,	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
based	O
PCs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
286	B-General_Concept
processor	B-General_Concept
became	O
obsolete	O
,	O
the	O
ATO	O
opened	O
a	O
tender	O
for	O
replacement	O
of	O
the	O
3Station	B-Device
2E	O
with	O
a	O
suitable	O
386	O
based	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
tender	O
process	O
was	O
eventually	O
won	O
by	O
Bull	O
HN	O
with	O
a	O
product	O
labelled	O
"	O
3Station/386	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
only	O
shared	O
the	O
external	O
case	O
as	O
a	O
common	O
part	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
3Station	B-Device
2	O
and	O
3s	O
were	O
manufactured	O
under	O
license	O
in	O
Sydney	O
until	O
the	O
contract	O
ended	O
.	O
</s>
