Technical Design Labs (TDL) was an early producer of
personal computer
A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...
s founded in 1976 by Carl Galletti and Roger Amidon. TDL was based in
Princeton, New Jersey
The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...
, USA in the 1970s and early 1980s.
[TDL Makes Four Offerings]
Page 55, 1977-11-21, Computerworld
The company was later (1978) renamed Xitan, in honor of its primary product.
In 1979, Neil Colvin formed what was then called
Phoenix Software Associates after his prior employer, Xitan, went out of business. Neil hired Dave Hirschman, a former Xitan employee.
In 1979, Carl Galletti and Roger Amidon had started a new business called Computer Design Labs that acquired the rights to all TDL software.
Products
The company's Xitan had an
S-100 bus
The S-100 bus or Altair bus, later standardized as IEEE 696-1983 ''(inactive-withdrawn)'', is an early computer bus designed in 1974 as a part of the Altair 8800. The bus was the first industry standard expansion bus for the microcomputer in ...
and a
Z-80-based CPU came in two configurations: the base Alpha 1 model and the Alpha 2.
Other products from TDL for the Xitan and S-100 Z80-based computer systems:
*
Zapple Monitor
*Micro-Seed a
database management
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and ana ...
system for Xitan Z80
microprocessor
A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...
s.
*Z-Tel a text editing language for Z80 microprocessors.
*Video Display Board (VDB) for S-100 bus computers; capable of displaying text (25 rows x 80 characters) and graphics (160 x 75) that could display on a modified television.
*Interface One a 'plug-in' wiring board for development.
See also
*
Epson QX-10
The Epson
Seiko Epson Corporation, commonly known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Naga ...
Inside Track
By John C. Dvorack, Page 80, InfoWorld, 29 Oct 1984, ''...from his days at the defunct S-100 firm Technical Design Labs: Roger Amidon and ... Amidon apparently had much to do with the QX-10's hardware design...''
References
{{reflist, 30em
External links
Product brochure
Herb's S-100 Stuff Preserving S-100 for decades
Technical Design Labs (TDL) (Princeton, N.J.)
Classic Tech
1976 establishments in New Jersey
1979 disestablishments in New Jersey
American companies established in 1976
American companies disestablished in 1979
Computer companies established in 1976
Computer companies disestablished in 1979
Defunct computer companies of the United States
Defunct computer hardware companies