Interdata, Inc., was a computer company, founded in 1966 by a former

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engineer, Daniel Sinnott, and was based in Oceanport, New Jersey. The company produced a line of 16- and

32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in 32-bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calculation ...

minicomputer A minicomputer, or colloquially mini, is a class of smaller general purpose computers that developed in the mid-1960s and sold at a much lower price than mainframe and mid-size computers from IBM and its direct competitors. In a 1970 survey, ...

s that were loosely based on the IBM 360 instruction set architecture but at a cheaper price. In 1974, it produced one of the first 32-bit minicomputers, the

Interdata 7/32 The Model 7/32 and Model 8/32 were 32-bit minicomputers introduced by Perkin-Elmer after they acquired Interdata, Inc., in 1973. Interdata computers are primarily remembered for being the first 32-bit minicomputers under $10,000. The 8/32 was a m ...

. The company then used the parallel processing approach, where multiple tasks were performed at the same time, making real-time computing a reality. Some real-time applications Interdata computers were used for included: Core Protection Calculator, used in some later Combustion Engineering designed nuclear power plants; lottery systems manufactured by GTech; the NexRad weather radar system. Many companies used them for internal high speed laboratory data capture, such as United Technologies Research Center in

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wind tunnel, General Electric R&D in

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, and Perkin-Elmer in Connecticut (which later acquired Interdata). The operating system for the 16-bit computers was called OS/16, and for the 32-bit computers OS/32. The assembly language could generate series independent object code. Later, as with

Gould Gould may refer to: People * Gould (name), a surname Places United States * Gould, Arkansas, a city * Gould, Colorado, an unincorporated community * Gould, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Gould, Oklahoma, a town * Gould, West Virginia, a ...

, SEL, Modcomp and other real time competitors, they offered a 32-bit time sharing system called MTM (Mutli Terminal Monitor).

Acquisitions

In 1973, it was purchased by

Perkin-Elmer Corporation PerkinElmer, Inc., previously styled Perkin-Elmer, is an American global corporation focused in the business areas of diagnostics, life science research, food, environmental and industrial testing. Its capabilities include detection, imaging, inf ...

, a Connecticut-based producer of scientific instruments for $63.6 million. Interdata was already making $19 million in annual sales but this merger made Perkin-Elmer's annual sales rise to over $200 million. Interdata then became the basis for Perkin-Elmer's Data Systems Group. In 1985, the computing division of Perkin-Elmer was spun off as

Concurrent Computer Corporation Concurrent Computer Corporation was an American computer company, in existence from 1985 to 2017, that made real-time computing and parallel processing systems. Its products powered a variety of applications including process control, simulators, ...

List of products

Living Computer Museum IMG 0002 (9636198071)

* Interdata Model 1 – 1970 * Interdata Model 3 – 1967 * Interdata 4 (autoload, floating point) * Interdata 5 (list processing, microcoded automatic I/O channel) * Interdata 70 (1971), 74 (1973), 80 (1971), 85 (Writable Control Store, 1973) * Interdata 50, 55 (Communications systems) * Interdata 5/16, 6/16, 7/16 (1974) * Interdata 8/16, 8/16e (double precision floating point, extended memory) * Interdata RD-800 and RD-850 – 1975 *

– 1974 *

Interdata 8/32 The Model 7/32 and Model 8/32 were 32-bit minicomputers introduced by Perkin-Elmer after they acquired Interdata, Inc., in 1973. Interdata computers are primarily remembered for being the first 32-bit minicomputers under $10,000. The 8/32 was a m ...

– 1975 * Perkin-Elmer 3205, 3210, 3220, 3230, 3240, 3250, 3280 A simulator is available: http://simh.trailing-edge.com/interdata.html

References

External links

interdata.org.uk
– Site detailing the restoration of an Interdata Model 74 computer
http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/28933/Interdata-Model-70-Users-Manual/
Model-70 User's Manual * Companies based in Monmouth County, New Jersey Minicomputers {{mini-compu-stub