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

Electronic Associates Electronic Associates, Inc. (EAI) was founded in 1945 by Lloyd F. Christianson and Arthur L. Adamson and began manufacturing analog computers in 1952. Their systems were used by NASA to develop space probes and simulate physical systems. As digital ...

engineer,

Daniel Sinnott Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength ...

, 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 East Hartford, Connecticut wind tunnel, General Electric R&D in Schenectady, New York, 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

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, 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