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DECmate
DECmate was the name of a series of PDP-8-compatible computers produced by the Digital Equipment Corporation in the late 1970s and early 1980s. All of the models used an Intersil 6100 (later known as the Harris 6100) or Harris 6120 (an improved Intersil 6100) microprocessor which emulated the 12-bit DEC PDP-8 CPU. They were text-only and used the OS/78 or OS/278 operating systems, which were extensions of OS/8 for the PDP-8. Aimed at the word processing market, they typically ran the WPS-8 word-processing program. Later models optionally had Intel 8080 or Z80 microprocessors which allowed them to run CP/M. The range was a development of the VT78 which was introduced in July 1977. VT78 Introduced in July 1977, this machine was built into a VT52 case and had an Intersil 6100 microprocessor running at 2.2 MHz. The standard configuration included an RX02 dual 8-inch floppy disk unit which was housed in the pedestal that the computer rested on. DECmate Introduced in 1980 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VT78
DECmate was the name of a series of PDP-8-compatible computers produced by the Digital Equipment Corporation in the late 1970s and early 1980s. All of the models used an Intersil 6100 (later known as the Harris 6100) or Harris 6120 (an improved Intersil 6100) microprocessor which emulated the 12-bit DEC PDP-8 CPU. They were text-only and used the OS/78 or OS/278 operating systems, which were extensions of OS/8 for the PDP-8. Aimed at the word processing market, they typically ran the WPS-8 word-processing program. Later models optionally had Intel 8080 or Z80 microprocessors which allowed them to run CP/M. The range was a development of the VT78 which was introduced in July 1977. VT78 Introduced in July 1977, this machine was built into a VT52 case and had an Intersil 6100 microprocessor running at 2.2 MHz. The standard configuration included an RX02 dual 8-inch floppy disk unit which was housed in the pedestal that the computer rested on. DECmate Introduced in 1980, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WPS-8
WPS-8 is a Word Processing System sold by Digital Equipment Corporation for use with their PDP-8 processors (including the VT78, VT278 DECmate, and PC238 DECmate II and PC24P DECmate III microcomputer systems). WPS-8 supports a variety of 24 row by 80 or 132 column terminals including the VT52 family as well as the VT100 family and all subsequent ANSI-compatible terminals. A series of hierarchical menus allow the user to command the system; the particular style of these menus became very-widely used by Digital, particularly within their "ALL-IN-1" office system. Once a document is opened for editing, near WYSIWYG editing is provided using a ruler to indicate the text alignment and tab stops for any given portion of the text. A typical editing session might look like this: Text conformed to the preceding ruler (now offscreen). ----L----T-----------------------------T---------------------------------------------R---- Text conformed to the ruler shown just above L -> ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LK201
The LK201 is a detachable computer keyboard introduced by Digital Equipment Corporation of Maynard, Massachusetts in 1982. It was first used by Digital's VT220 ANSI/ASCII terminal and was subsequently used by the Rainbow-100, DECmate-II, and Pro-350 microcomputers and many of Digital's computer workstations such as the VAXstation and DECstation families. The keyboard layout was new at the time, adding a set of cursor and miscellaneous keys between the main keyboard and the numeric keypad. The cursor keys were arranged in what has now become the standard "Inverted T" arrangement seen on essentially all contemporary full-sized computer keyboards. The keyboard also added a Compose key to allow typing of all of the characters in the terminal's extended character set using two-stroke mnemonics, for instance produced . An LED on the keyboard indicated an ongoing compose sequence. Ergonomic considerations caused the keyboard to be designed with a very low profile; it was very thin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rainbow 100
The Rainbow 100 is a microcomputer introduced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1982. This desktop unit had a monitor similar to the VT220 and a dual-CPU box with both Zilog Z80 and Intel 8088 CPUs. The Rainbow 100 was a triple-use machine: VT100 mode (industry standard terminal for interacting with DEC's own VAX), 8-bit CP/M mode (using the Z80), and CP/M-86 or MS-DOS mode using the 8088. Models The Rainbow came in three models, the 100A, 100B and 100+. The "A" model was the first released, followed later by the "B" model. The most noticeable differences between the two models were the firmware and slight hardware changes. The systems were referred to with model numbers ''PC-100A'' and ''PC-100B'' respectively; later were also designated ''PC-100B2''. The system included a user-changeable ROM chip in a special casing to support their keyboard layout and language of the boot screen. On the 100A, the ROMs only supported three languages. The Rainbow did not have an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DEC Professional (computer)
The Professional 325 (PRO-325), Professional 350 (PRO-350), and Professional 380 (PRO-380) are PDP-11 compatible microcomputers introduced in 1982 by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) as high-end competitors to the IBM PC. History Like the cosmetically similar Rainbow 100 and DECmate II (also introduced at that time), the PRO series uses the LK201 keyboard and 400KB single-sided quad-density floppy disk drives (known as RX50), and offers a choice of color or monochrome monitors. For DEC, none of the three would be favorably received, and the industry instead standardized on Intel 8088-based IBM PC compatibles which are all binary program compatible with each other. In some ways, the PDP-11 microprocessors are technically superior to the Intel-based chips. While the 8088 is restricted to 1MB of memory because of its 20-bit address bus, DEC microprocessors are capable of accessing 4MB with their 22-bit addressing (although direct addressing of memory is limited in both approach ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commercial Operating System
Commercial Operating System (COS) is a discontinued family of operating systems from Digital Equipment Corporation. They supported the use of DIBOL, a programming language combining features of BASIC, FORTRAN and COBOL. COS also supported IBM RPG (Report Program Generator). Implementations The Commercial Operating System was implemented to run on hardware from the PDP-8 and PDP-11 family. COS-310 COS-310 was developed for the PDP-8 to provide an operating environment for DIBOL. A COS-310 system was purchased as a package which included a desk, VT52 VDT (Video Display Tube), and a pair of eight inch floppy drives. It could optionally be purchased with one or more 2.5 MB removable media hard drives. COS-310 was one of the operating systems available on the DECmate II. COS-350 COS-350 was developed to support the PDP-11 port of DIBOL, and was the focus for some vendors of turnkey software packages. Pre-COS-350, a PDP 11/05 single-user batch-oriented implementation was releas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president until forced to resign in 1992, after the company had gone into precipitous decline. The company produced many different product lines over its history. It is best known for the work in the minicomputer market starting in the mid-1960s. The company produced a series of machines known as the PDP line, with the PDP-8 and PDP-11 being among the most successful minis in history. Their success was only surpassed by another DEC product, the late-1970s VAX "supermini" systems that were designed to replace the PDP-11. Although a number of competitors had successfully competed with Digital through the 1970s, the VAX cemented the company's place as a leading vendor in the computer space. As microcomputers improved in the late 1980s, especially w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VT100
The VT100 is a video terminal, introduced in August 1978 by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). It was one of the first terminals to support ANSI escape codes for cursor control and other tasks, and added a number of extended codes for special features like controlling the status lights on the keyboard. This led to rapid uptake of the ANSI standard, which became the de facto standard for hardware video terminals and later terminal emulators. The VT100 series, especially the VT102, was extremely successful in the market, and made DEC the leading terminal vendor at the time. The VT100 series was replaced by the VT200 series starting in 1983, which proved equally successful. Ultimately, over six million terminals in the VT series were sold, based largely on the success of the VT100. Description DEC's first video terminal was the VT05 (1970), succeeded by the VT50 (1974), and soon upgraded to the VT52 (1975). The VT52 featured a text display with 80 columns and 24 rows, bidir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
OS/8
OS/8 is the primary operating system used on the Digital Equipment Corporation's PDP-8 minicomputer. PDP-8 operating systems which precede OS/8 include: * R-L Monitor, also referred to as MS/8. * P?S/8, requiring only 4K of memory. * PDP-8 4K Disk Monitor System * PS/8 ("Programming System/8"), requiring 8K. This is what became OS/8 in 1971. Other/related DEC operating systems are OS/78, OS/278, and OS/12. The latter is a virtually identical version of OS/8, and runs on Digital's PDP-12 computer. Digital released OS/8 images for non-commercial purposes which can be emulated through SIMH. Overview OS/8 provides a simple operating environment that is commensurate in complexity and scale with the PDP-8 computers on which it ran. I/O is supported via a series of supplied drivers which uses polled (not interrupt-driven) techniques. The device drivers have to be cleverly written as they can occupy only one or two memory pages of 128 12-bit words, and have to be able to run in an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
12-bit
Possibly the best-known 12-bit CPU is the PDP-8 and its relatives, such as the Intersil 6100 microprocessor produced in various forms from August 1963 to mid-1990. Many analog to digital converters (ADCs) have a 12-bit resolution. Some PIC microcontrollers use a 12-bit word size. 12 binary digits, or 3 nibbles (a 'tribble'), have 4096 (10000 octal, 1000 hexadecimal) distinct combinations. Hence, a microprocessor with 12-bit memory addresses can directly access 4096 words (4 Kw) of word-addressable memory. At a time when six-bit character codes were common a 12-bit word, which could hold two characters, was a convenient size. IBM System/360 instruction formats use a 12-bit displacement field which, added to the contents of a base register, can address 4096 bytes of memory. List of 12-bit computer systems * Digital Equipment Corporation ** PDP-5 ** PDP-8 *** DECmate, a personal computer based on the Intersil 6100 ** PDP-12 ** PDP-14 * Ford EEC I automotive engine contro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PDP-8
The PDP-8 is a 12-bit minicomputer that was produced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). It was the first commercially successful minicomputer, with over 50,000 units being sold over the model's lifetime. Its basic design follows the pioneering LINC but has a smaller instruction set, which is an expanded version of the PDP-5 instruction set. Similar machines from DEC are the PDP-12 which is a modernized version of the PDP-8 and LINC concepts, and the PDP-14 industrial controller system. Overview The earliest PDP-8 model, informally known as a "Straight-8", was introduced on 22 March 1965 priced at $18,500 (). It used diode–transistor logic packaged on flip chip cards in a machine about the size of a small household refrigerator. It was the first computer to be sold for under $20,000, making it the best-selling computer in history at that time. The Straight-8 was supplanted in 1966 by the PDP-8/S, which was available in desktop and rack-mount models. Using a one-bit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intersil 6100
The Intersil 6100 is a single-chip microprocessor implementation of the 12-bit PDP-8 instruction set, along with a range of peripheral support and memory ICs developed by Intersil in the mid-1970s. It was sometimes referred to as the CMOS-PDP8. Since it was also produced by Harris Corporation, it was also known as the Harris HM-6100. The Intersil 6100 was introduced in the second quarter of 1975, and the Harris version in 1976. The 6100 family was produced using CMOS rather than the bipolar and NMOS technologies used by most of its contemporaries ( Z80, 8080, 6502, 6800, 9900, etc.). As a result of its CMOS technology and low clock speeds, 8 MHz for the Harris HM-6100A, it had relatively low power consumption, less than 100 mW at 10 V/2 MHz, and could be operated from a single supply over the wide range of 4–11 V. Thus, it could be used in high reliability embedded systems without the need for any significant thermal management, if the rest of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
