Research in Motion Inter@ctive Pager 900
Historical Context The Inter@ctive Pager (models 800 and 900) was the first hand-held communications device designed and built by Research In Motion Limited (RIM, now Blackberry), a Canadian company founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario. The Inter@ctive was announced in September 1996 during the Personal Communications Services conference (PCS'96) in San Francisco. The pager was the forerunner of RIM's successful line of BlackBerry smartphones. In the 1990s, pagers (small, portable, wireless communications devices) were used to display simple messages or alert users to messages and events. The first and, in 1995, the only two-way pager--the Motorola Tango--also allowed users to reply to messages with a limited number of canned responses. Taking advantage of rapidly expanding wireless telecommunications infrastructure, the Inter@ctive represented a new generation of "interactive" pagers by incorporating the benefits of email, paging, fax, and the Internet into one device. As a two-way pager, it was designed to receive and send messages. Furthermore, it offered a calendar, address book, task manager, real time clock, and an alarm function. Nicknamed "Bullfrog" (due to its rather bulky design), the Inter@ctive was a data-only device (no voice support) that run on the Ericsson's Mobitex and DataTAC networks in North America. The device featured a scroll wheel, a small QWERTY-style keyboard, and an LCD display for easier messaging as well as for entry and organization of data. It was provided with enough storage space for saving hundreds of names, e-mail addresses, fax numbers, incoming and outgoing messages in its calendar, address book, and task manager. At the time of its introduction, the Inter@ctive Pager was viewed as delivering the complete wireless communications solution, as an "e-mail on your belt", a device always on and always connected. It was named Top Product for 1997 in the category of "Innovative Devices: Voice and/or Data" by Wireless for Corporate User magazine. By early 1998, the company had signed a contract to supply IBM with Inter@ctive pagers for use by its field service representatives. Other notable customers included Panasonic Corp., Mobile Integrated Technologies, and Telxon Corp. The Inter@ctive Pager was followed by RIM's Inter@ctive 850 (or 950, depending on network) pager announced in July 1999, by the Wireless Handheld 857 (or 957, depending on network) introduced in April 2000, and finally by RIM's first smartphone--the Blackberry 5810--unveiled in March 2002. Technical Specifications: processor: Intel 80186 EB memory: 650KB Flash ROM, 128KB Static RAM message storage: 100KB received messages, 5KB canned responses ports and connectors: RS-232C-compliant serial port, specialty mobile phone connector, interface adapter for cable display: LCD, monochrome, 4 line by 30 character text controls: keypad with cursor buttons, function buttons, and QWERTY-style keyboard with embedded numeric keypad networks: DataTAC and Mobitex Interface protocol: support for Native Control Language 1.2, MASC, and RIM's Radio Access Protocol power: 2 x AA removable batteries External Design: housing: clamshell, ruggedized, plastic housing dimensions: 76mm(L) x 99mm(W) x 35mm(H) weight: 277 grams (without batteries) Main Features: sending and receiving Internet e-mails, sending and receiving pager messages sending FAX transmissions from the pager to any FAX machine sending text to speech messages to a telephone data transfer to and from an external computer through data port configurable message notification: audible beeper and mechanical vibrator real time clock Software: communication software to enable device configuration and data transfer through serial port third-party custom applications developed using RIM's Software Developer's Kit (SDK) The museum has Inter@ctive models 800 and 900 as well as Inter@ctive Pager User's Guide, Research in Motion, 1997.
Historical context (by Z. Stachniak) In the early 1970s, the consumer electronics market was going through one of the hottest periods in its history. Advancements in microelectronics, especially in integrated circuit technologies, had made it possible to offer inexpensive desktop and, soon after, hand-held digital electronic calculators. In 1971, the promise of a calculator power at your finger tips (pledged by Bowmar Instrument, Cannon, and, soon after, by scores of other calculator manufacturers) was rapidly gaining social acceptance. It was the idea of a personal, inexpensive, powerful electronic calculating device for your own unrestricted use, always in your pocket, in your briefcase, or on your desk that made the pocket calculator one of the most desired electronic gadgets of the first half of the 1970s. Commodore Business Machines (founded in 1958 in Toronto) and Rapid Data Systems and Equipment Ltd. (incorporated in 1962 in Toronto) were the earliest Canadian companies that offered their own electronic desktop and pocket-sized calculators. Rapid Data's first calculator--the Rapidman 800--was introduced in February 1972 at the time when intense competition put immense pricing pressure to offer hand-held calculators for under $100 and the stores across North America were racing to be the first to sell them. In early 1972, to win the race, Alexander's--New York's iconic department store chain--ordered 20,000 Rapidman 800s to be sold at $99.99. In a short succession, the Rapidman 800 was followed by the 801 (introduced in 1973), 802, 804, 812, and 824 hand-helds. In his 2005 recollections written for York University Computer Museum, Henry Dasko--a former European Sales Manager at Rapid Data--describes the company's corporate history and his involvement with Rapid Data in the following way. "The year was 1971, late Spring. I had been in Canada for just over a year and was looking for a job. Ideally it would be something in exports. But most of Canada's exports were raw materials and commodities and I had no experience and no feel for that. Finally, I found an ad that seemed to give me a chance. An electronics company was looking for someone with languages. I applied and soon got a phone call. "You say you speak Russian," the voice said. "I do." "How many years did you study Russian?" "Fourteen." "OK, come for an interview." I did, to a modern, low building near the Toronto airport. "We make calculators," a well groomed, silver haired man told me. I had no idea what a calculator was. "A Soviet trade delegation is coming to see us. They would like to buy our technology. We are not going to sell it to them, but we will talk to them. Let’s see how well you do." I did well enough. The Russians left and I was told to return the following day. I had a low level job in the International Marketing Department. My boss was to be one Rick Denda, whom I hadn't met - he was travelling in Europe, but his silver Ferrari 330 and his white Mercedes sedan were sitting in the company lot. I liked him already. He returned soon and we got along fine. I familiarized myself with the product line and was told to gather as much information about competitive products as possible. Our most popular model was a pocket calculator named Rapidman 800. It had 8-digit [display] capacity and could perform four basic functions. Hang tab keys were molded into the case. Decimal point was fixed at 2. Individual LEDs were hand inserted into the PCB. It was difficult to align them, and they were almost always crooked. The unit was made on an electronics assembly line in London, Ontario. It sold for $100. Our biggest export market was in the US, where we had our own branch in Detroit. I had nothing to do with it. My responsibility was the secondary markets, where we dealt with export agents and distributors. We communicated via telex, which I learned to use. Selling was not a problem. We just could not get enough product. Everyone wanted it. Sometimes the requests were outrageous. "I am calling you from the cabinet of the president of Chile," Leslie Sebastian, a Hungarian expatriate yelled at me. "I want 100,000 calculators and I want them now. Every schoolchild in Chile is going to have his own machine. Chile will be the first in the world." Soon we had several competitors - American companies Texas Instruments and Bowmar, and the Japanese giant Sharp, which offered an elegant brushed aluminum box with large, glowing, diffused LEDs. There was also a Canadian competitor named Commodore. Its president was Jack Tramiel who, like me, was a Polish Jew. In Polish, his real name was Trzmiel, pronounced "Chmiel", which in Polish means "hornet". He was an Auschwitz survivor with a number tattooed on his forearm. A bear of a man. He started a typewriter service shop in the Polish area of Toronto. The president of our company, Clive Raymond, was very different. He was born in India, where his father was a British colonial officer. In Canada he ran an office equipment company named Roneo Vickers, which specialized in spirit duplicator machines. He was a portly, elegant man with commanding presence. I met our design engineers, who were responsible for technology development. Their names were Joe Kelly and Joe Tari and they both came from an academic background. Raymond gave them a long term contract and shares in Rapid Data. Soon our product line expanded. We added model 801 with a floating decimal point and a model 812 with 12-digit capacity and full memory. Rapidman 824 was one of the first to perform complex scientific calculations. We also made desktop calculators, powered by the mains. A 12-digits Rapidman 1212 and even more sophisticated Rapidman 1220, both using orange coloured gas discharge Panaplex displays we bought from Burroughs Corporation in New Jersey. We also made printing calculators, which recorded calculations on a paper ribbon. The printing heads came from Seiko Corporation in Japan. Most of our chips except for the small Rapidman 800 came from an aerospace company in California, named Rockwell International. Financing for our company came from the Eaton's Pension Fund, where Raymond knew people. Even though there weren't enough calculators to fill the orders, prices were plummeting. I understood it to be the rule in electronics. The same phenomenon had happened previously with transistor radios. I was doing well. Soon I was promoted to European Sales Manager and transferred to Shannon, Southern Ireland, where we had a distribution facility in a tax-free economic zone. But the company was not doing well. In printers, which were the most profitable product, we have fallen behind technology curve. Printing heads had a spinning roller, which in the first generation model emitted annoying buzz. Seiko subsequently developed a silent printer, but would only sell it to Japanese calculator makers. I understood then that it wasn't how many products you sold, but how much profit you made - a principle which stayed with me throughout my professional life. Rapid Data was losing money. Soon Rockwell and Eaton's demanded payments which we couldn't make. Even though we all worked very hard and the spirit of the company was fantastic, Rapid Data had to close down in the largest Canadian bankruptcy in Canadian history. We all lost our jobs. For me personally it was a very sad moment, but I have learned a lot and was confident of the future. I wasn't wrong - I had gained experience in electronics, and electronics was the name of the game. Within three months I had another job." Rapidman 801 features: four functions (+, -, x, ÷), mixed calculations, chain division and multiplication, constant calculations in all four functions, decimal system: full floating or selectable decimal placement (from 0 to 7 places), automatic constant for repetitive operations, single key entry correction and cleaning, negative sign and overflow indication, power on indication, low battery indication. Hardware specification: display: 8-digit display, registers: two (1 numeric and 1 constant), CPU: Rockwell 15332PC, keyboard: 19-key including on/off, select, and clear keys, indicators: negative sign, and overflow, power supply: 9V battery or AC adapter. Museum holdings The museum has: Rapidman 801, serial number 15 134126, Operaing Instructions for your Rapidman 801 Calculator, Rapid Data, 1973.
Historical context (by Z. Stachniak) In the early 1970s, the consumer electronics market was going through one of the hottest periods in its history. Advancements in microelectronics, especially in integrated circuit technologies, had made it possible to offer inexpensive desktop and, soon after, hand-held digital electronic calculators. In 1971, the promise of a calculator power at your finger tips (pledged by Bowmar Instrument, Cannon, and, soon after, by scores of other calculator manufacturers) was rapidly gaining social acceptance. It was the idea of a personal, inexpensive, powerful electronic calculating device for your own unrestricted use, always in your pocket, in your briefcase, or on your desk that made the pocket calculator one of the most desired electronic gadgets of the first half of the 1970s. Commodore Business Machines (founded in 1958 in Toronto) and Rapid Data Systems and Equipment Ltd. (incorporated in 1962 in Toronto) were the earliest Canadian companies that offered their own electronic desktop and pocket-sized calculators. Rapid Data's first calculator--the Rapidman 800--was introduced in February 1972 at the time when intense competition put immense pricing pressure to offer hand-held calculators for under $100 and the stores across North America were racing to be the first to sell them. In early 1972, to win the race, Alexander's--New York's iconic department store chain--ordered 20,000 Rapidman 800s to be sold at $99.99. In a short succession, the Rapidman 800 was followed by the 801, 802 (introduced in 1973), 804, 812, and 824 hand-helds. In his 2005 recollections written for York University Computer Museum, Henry Dasko--a former European Sales Manager at Rapid Data--describes the company's corporate history and his involvement with Rapid Data in the following way. "The year was 1971, late Spring. I had been in Canada for just over a year and was looking for a job. Ideally it would be something in exports. But most of Canada's exports were raw materials and commodities and I had no experience and no feel for that. Finally, I found an ad that seemed to give me a chance. An electronics company was looking for someone with languages. I applied and soon got a phone call. "You say you speak Russian," the voice said. "I do." "How many years did you study Russian?" "Fourteen." "OK, come for an interview." I did, to a modern, low building near the Toronto airport. "We make calculators," a well groomed, silver haired man told me. I had no idea what a calculator was. "A Soviet trade delegation is coming to see us. They would like to buy our technology. We are not going to sell it to them, but we will talk to them. Let’s see how well you do." I did well enough. The Russians left and I was told to return the following day. I had a low level job in the International Marketing Department. My boss was to be one Rick Denda, whom I hadn't met - he was travelling in Europe, but his silver Ferrari 330 and his white Mercedes sedan were sitting in the company lot. I liked him already. He returned soon and we got along fine. I familiarized myself with the product line and was told to gather as much information about competitive products as possible. Our most popular model was a pocket calculator named Rapidman 800. It had 8-digit [display] capacity and could perform four basic functions. Hang tab keys were molded into the case. Decimal point was fixed at 2. Individual LEDs were hand inserted into the PCB. It was difficult to align them, and they were almost always crooked. The unit was made on an electronics assembly line in London, Ontario. It sold for $100. Our biggest export market was in the US, where we had our own branch in Detroit. I had nothing to do with it. My responsibility was the secondary markets, where we dealt with export agents and distributors. We communicated via telex, which I learned to use. Selling was not a problem. We just could not get enough product. Everyone wanted it. Sometimes the requests were outrageous. "I am calling you from the cabinet of the president of Chile," Leslie Sebastian, a Hungarian expatriate yelled at me. "I want 100,000 calculators and I want them now. Every schoolchild in Chile is going to have his own machine. Chile will be the first in the world." Soon we had several competitors - American companies Texas Instruments and Bowmar, and the Japanese giant Sharp, which offered an elegant brushed aluminum box with large, glowing, diffused LEDs. There was also a Canadian competitor named Commodore. Its president was Jack Tramiel who, like me, was a Polish Jew. In Polish, his real name was Trzmiel, pronounced "Chmiel", which in Polish means "hornet". He was an Auschwitz survivor with a number tattooed on his forearm. A bear of a man. He started a typewriter service shop in the Polish area of Toronto. The president of our company, Clive Raymond, was very different. He was born in India, where his father was a British colonial officer. In Canada he ran an office equipment company named Roneo Vickers, which specialized in spirit duplicator machines. He was a portly, elegant man with commanding presence. I met our design engineers, who were responsible for technology development. Their names were Joe Kelly and Joe Tari and they both came from an academic background. Raymond gave them a long term contract and shares in Rapid Data. Soon our product line expanded. We added model 801 with a floating decimal point and a model 812 with 12-digit capacity and full memory. Rapidman 824 was one of the first to perform complex scientific calculations. We also made desktop calculators, powered by the mains. A 12-digits Rapidman 1212 and even more sophisticated Rapidman 1220, both using orange coloured gas discharge Panaplex displays we bought from Burroughs Corporation in New Jersey. We also made printing calculators, which recorded calculations on a paper ribbon. The printing heads came from Seiko Corporation in Japan. Most of our chips except for the small Rapidman 800 came from an aerospace company in California, named Rockwell International. Financing for our company came from the Eaton's Pension Fund, where Raymond knew people. Even though there weren't enough calculators to fill the orders, prices were plummeting. I understood it to be the rule in electronics. The same phenomenon had happened previously with transistor radios. I was doing well. Soon I was promoted to European Sales Manager and transferred to Shannon, Southern Ireland, where we had a distribution facility in a tax-free economic zone. But the company was not doing well. In printers, which were the most profitable product, we have fallen behind technology curve. Printing heads had a spinning roller, which in the first generation model emitted annoying buzz. Seiko subsequently developed a silent printer, but would only sell it to Japanese calculator makers. I understood then that it wasn't how many products you sold, but how much profit you made - a principle which stayed with me throughout my professional life. Rapid Data was losing money. Soon Rockwell and Eaton's demanded payments which we couldn't make. Even though we all worked very hard and the spirit of the company was fantastic, Rapid Data had to close down in the largest Canadian bankruptcy in Canadian history. We all lost our jobs. For me personally it was a very sad moment, but I have learned a lot and was confident of the future. I wasn't wrong - I had gained experience in electronics, and electronics was the name of the game. Within three months I had another job." Rapidman 802 features: four functions (+, -, x, ÷), mixed calculations, chain division and multiplication, constant calculations in all four functions, decimal system: full floating or selectable decimal placement (from 0 to 7 places), automatic constant for repetitive operations, single key entry correction and cleaning, negative sign and overflow indication, power on indication, low battery indication. Hardware specification: display: 8-digit display, registers: two (1 numeric and 1 constant), CPU: Rockwell 15332PC, keyboard: 19-key including on/off, select, and clear keys, indicators: negative sign, and overflow, power supply: 9V battery or AC adapter. Museum holdings The museum has: Rapidman 802, serial number 15 134126, Operaing Instructions for your Rapidman 801 Calculator, Rapid Data, 1973.
Rapid Data Systems and Equipment Ltd. promotional brochures
Historical context (by Z. Stachniak) In the early 1970s, the consumer electronics market was going through one of the hottest periods in its history. Advancements in microelectronics, especially in integrated circuit technologies, had made it possible to offer inexpensive desktop and, soon after, hand-held digital electronic calculators. In 1971, the promise of a calculator power at your finger tips (pledged by Bowmar Instrument, Cannon, and, soon after, by scores of other calculator manufacturers) was rapidly gaining social acceptance. It was the idea of a personal, inexpensive, powerful electronic calculating device for your own unrestricted use, always in your pocket, in your briefcase, or on your desk that made the pocket calculator one of the most desired electronic gadgets of the first half of the 1970s. Commodore Business Machines (founded in 1958 in Toronto) and Rapid Data Systems and Equipment Ltd. (incorporated in 1962 in Toronto) were the earliest Canadian companies that offered their own electronic desktop and pocket-sized calculators. Rapid Data's first calculator--the Rapidman 800--was introduced in February 1972 at the time when intense competition put immense pricing pressure to offer hand-held calculators for under $100 and the stores across North America were racing to be the first to sell them. In early 1972, to win the race, Alexander's--New York's iconic department store chain--ordered 20,000 Rapidman 800s to be sold at $99.99. In a short succession, the Rapidman 800 was followed by the 801, 802, 804, 812, and 824 hand-helds as well as 1208, 1212, 1220, 2000, and 2001 desktop calculators. In his 2005 recollections written for York University Computer Museum, Henry Dasko--a former European Sales Manager at Rapid Data--describes the company's corporate history and his involvement with Rapid Data in the following way. "The year was 1971, late Spring. I had been in Canada for just over a year and was looking for a job. Ideally it would be something in exports. But most of Canada's exports were raw materials and commodities and I had no experience and no feel for that. Finally, I found an ad that seemed to give me a chance. An electronics company was looking for someone with languages. I applied and soon got a phone call. "You say you speak Russian," the voice said. "I do." "How many years did you study Russian?" "Fourteen." "OK, come for an interview." I did, to a modern, low building near the Toronto airport. "We make calculators," a well groomed, silver haired man told me. I had no idea what a calculator was. "A Soviet trade delegation is coming to see us. They would like to buy our technology. We are not going to sell it to them, but we will talk to them. Let’s see how well you do." I did well enough. The Russians left and I was told to return the following day. I had a low level job in the International Marketing Department. My boss was to be one Rick Denda, whom I hadn't met - he was travelling in Europe, but his silver Ferrari 330 and his white Mercedes sedan were sitting in the company lot. I liked him already. He returned soon and we got along fine. I familiarized myself with the product line and was told to gather as much information about competitive products as possible. Our most popular model was a pocket calculator named Rapidman 800. It had 8-digit [display] capacity and could perform four basic functions. Hang tab keys were molded into the case. Decimal point was fixed at 2. Individual LEDs were hand inserted into the PCB. It was difficult to align them, and they were almost always crooked. The unit was made on an electronics assembly line in London, Ontario. It sold for $100. Our biggest export market was in the US, where we had our own branch in Detroit. I had nothing to do with it. My responsibility was the secondary markets, where we dealt with export agents and distributors. We communicated via telex, which I learned to use. Selling was not a problem. We just could not get enough product. Everyone wanted it. Sometimes the requests were outrageous. "I am calling you from the cabinet of the president of Chile," Leslie Sebastian, a Hungarian expatriate yelled at me. "I want 100,000 calculators and I want them now. Every schoolchild in Chile is going to have his own machine. Chile will be the first in the world." Soon we had several competitors - American companies Texas Instruments and Bowmar, and the Japanese giant Sharp, which offered an elegant brushed aluminum box with large, glowing, diffused LEDs. There was also a Canadian competitor named Commodore. Its president was Jack Tramiel who, like me, was a Polish Jew. In Polish, his real name was Trzmiel, pronounced "Chmiel", which in Polish means "hornet". He was an Auschwitz survivor with a number tattooed on his forearm. A bear of a man. He started a typewriter service shop in the Polish area of Toronto. The president of our company, Clive Raymond, was very different. He was born in India, where his father was a British colonial officer. In Canada he ran an office equipment company named Roneo Vickers, which specialized in spirit duplicator machines. He was a portly, elegant man with commanding presence. I met our design engineers, who were responsible for technology development. Their names were Joe Kelly and Joe Tari and they both came from an academic background. Raymond gave them a long term contract and shares in Rapid Data. Soon our product line expanded. We added model 801 with a floating decimal point and a model 812 with 12-digit capacity and full memory. Rapidman 824 was one of the first to perform complex scientific calculations. We also made desktop calculators, powered by the mains. A 12-digits Rapidman 1212 and even more sophisticated Rapidman 1220, both using orange coloured gas discharge Panaplex displays we bought from Burroughs Corporation in New Jersey. We also made printing calculators, which recorded calculations on a paper ribbon. The printing heads came from Seiko Corporation in Japan. Most of our chips except for the small Rapidman 800 came from an aerospace company in California, named Rockwell International. Financing for our company came from the Eaton's Pension Fund, where Raymond knew people. Even though there weren't enough calculators to fill the orders, prices were plummeting. I understood it to be the rule in electronics. The same phenomenon had happened previously with transistor radios. I was doing well. Soon I was promoted to European Sales Manager and transferred to Shannon, Southern Ireland, where we had a distribution facility in a tax-free economic zone. But the company was not doing well. In printers, which were the most profitable product, we have fallen behind technology curve. Printing heads had a spinning roller, which in the first generation model emitted annoying buzz. Seiko subsequently developed a silent printer, but would only sell it to Japanese calculator makers. I understood then that it wasn't how many products you sold, but how much profit you made - a principle which stayed with me throughout my professional life. Rapid Data was losing money. Soon Rockwell and Eaton's demanded payments which we couldn't make. Even though we all worked very hard and the spirit of the company was fantastic, Rapid Data had to close down in the largest Canadian bankruptcy in Canadian history. We all lost our jobs. For me personally it was a very sad moment, but I have learned a lot and was confident of the future. I wasn't wrong - I had gained experience in electronics, and electronics was the name of the game. Within three months I had another job." Rapid Data folder of promotional materials includes brouchures for: Rapidman 801 Rapidman 804 Rapidman 808 Rapidman 812. Rapidman 824 Rapidman 1212 Rapidman 1220 Rapid Printer 2000 Rapid Printer 2000R Rapid Printer 2001
Founded in 1979, Exceltronix was one of the largest and popular electronics stores of the 1980s in Toronto. From a retail store specializing in electronic components, Exceltronix had expanded into a group of companies (Exceltronix, Multiflex, Toronto Computing Center, Versa-Digital Technology, Digi Media) covering research and development, manufacturing, retailing, and mail order. Exceltronix offered a vast range of products from electronic components and digital signage to computers and computer peripherals. The company offer its own computers (including the Multiflex Z80, Exceltronix Super 6502, and the Best line of computers) as well as those designed and/or manufactured by other companies (including the University of Toronto M6809 single-board computer, the Osborne 1, the Apple and Macintosh computers, and the IBM PC). Museum Holdings Fall 1982/83, Spring 1983, Fall 1983, Spring 1984, Fall 1984, Spring 1985, Spring 1986, 1987, and Summer 1989.
Historical Context: Multiflex Z80 Computer Kit was a Canadian-made, low-cost computer designed around the Z80 microprocessor by Multiflex Technology Inc. and sold by Exceltronix Components and Computing of Toronto. Its early version, offered in 1980 or earlier, was advertised as a prototyping computer kit for computer hobbyists. In 1983, modified and packaged together with display, keyboard, and disk drives, it was sold as the Multiflex Super System. According to Exceltronix, Multiflex computers were sold across Canada to companies, educational institutions, and computer hobbyists. In its basic configuration, the Multiflex Z80 Computer KIt consisted of two boards: the mother board and the CPU board. The motherboard featured four sockets one of which was designated for interfacing with the CPU board. The remaining three sockets were used for expanding the system with a range of expansion cards offered by Multiflex as well as by various manufacturers world-wide. The motherboard also featured a 16-key hexadecimal keypad, 14 monitor function keys, 2 user definable keys, a hexadecimal display, and an EPROM programmer for storing programs and data in EPROM chips. The CPU board was a single-board computer which was inserted into one of the expansion sockets on the motherboard. The computer was designed to operate under Multiflex monitor (Z.MON, residing in EPROM), and later, under a dialect of CP/M operating system co-developed by National Multiplex/Pegasus and Exceltronix. The monitor software allowed full support for programming the computer in the Z80 assembly language as well as for using all the features available through the motherboard (e.g. programming EPROMs). Under the CP/M operating system, the Multiflex Z80 computer could execute a variety of popular applications software from word processors to data bases and spreadsheets. Multiflex Z80 Computer Kit -- hardware specifications: bus architecture: IEEE S-100 CPU: Z80A, 8-bit, (2-6MHz) RAM: up to 64KB ROM: 4 ROM sockets for BIOS, monitor software, etc disk drives: not included but supported whit an optional Multiflex disk drive controller card expansion sockets: 4 -- one taken by the CPU board and the remaining three were typically designated for a video card, and disk drive controller keypad: 16-key hexadecimal function keys: 14 monitor function keys plus 2 user definable keys display: hexadecimal display on the motherboard external display: not included but supported with an optional display or high-resolution card EPROM programmer: resident on the motherboard, could program a range of EPROMs ports: RS-232 serial port and 24-line parallel port keyboard: not included power supply: not included Software: Z.MON monitor program (in EPROM) CP/M operating system a range of applications software written to operate under CP/M including BASIC programming language, WordStar (word processor from MicroPro International,), and SuperCalc (spread sheet from Sorcim) The museum has a Multiflex Z80 Computer KIt with a manual published in 1980.
Historical context Commodore International Ltd. (or Commodore) was one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronic hand-held calculators as well as home, educational, and business microcomputers. It was best known for its popular personal computers including the PET line of personal desktops as well as the VIC-20, Commodore 64, and the Amiga computers. It was founded on October 10, 1958 as Commodore Portable Typewriter Company Limited in Toronto, Ontario. Two years later, the company incorporated its Commodore Business Machines subsidiary in New York. In 1976, Commodore reorganized its corporate structure as Commodore International Ltd. and moved its financial headquarters to the Bahamas and the operations headquarters to Pennsylvania. The restructured company encompassed several entities world-wide including Commodore Business Machines Ltd., Canada. In 1947, the company's founder—Jack Tramiel—emigrated from Poland to the US. During his US army service (1948-51) he gained considerable experience in repairing office equipment which he turned into business in his civilian life, first in Bronx, New York, and later in Toronto, Canada, where he moved in 1955. His Toronto business was initially focused on repairs and selling licensed typewriters, adding machines, and other office equipment. Initially located at 2 Toronto Street, in the city's downtown core, a short distance from the IBM Toronto Downtown Office, the company relocated several times before establishing its headquarters in Scarborough, Ont. During the 1960s the scope of Commodore's business expanded to office furniture as well as to electric and eventually electronic calculators. The first Commodore-branded adding machine was the model C mechanical calculator manufactured by a Czechoslovakian company Nisa and sold by Commodore around 1960. The first exclusive Commodore adding machine—the 202—was announced in 1967. The following year, the company began to turn its focus toward electronic desktop and, soon after, hand-held calculators. Commodore entered the market of hand-held electronic calculators in late 1970s with its CBM 110 device. Within months, the company introduced what would become a popular series of Minuteman calculators. That series, in turn, was followed by the "SR" and "SF" line of scientific and financial hand-held calculators. By the mid-1970s, Commodore was selling a wide range of electronic calculators, becoming one of the largest American manufacturers of these devices. Commodore's entry into microcomputer market was, to a large degree, the result of fierce price war in the calculator market that started in late 1973, and the decision of Texas Instruments—one of the main suppliers of calculator chips—to enter the calculator market and to compete with its clients. To stay competitive and independent of third parties for the chips and displays that went into its products, Commodore purchased MOS Technology in 1976. With the acquisition came not only MOS integrated circuits (most notably the 6502 microprocessor) but also Chuck Peddle's—the 6502's chief designer's—considerable technical expertise and impeccable sense of changing trends in electronics market. While at MOS, he built the KIM-1 single-board computer that quickly became popular among computer hobbyists. Peddle urged Commodore not to underestimate the market potential for mass-manufactured microcomputers and his team got permission to go ahead with a project of designing a desktop computer around the 6502 processor. The all-in-one Commodore PET (or Personal Electronic Transactor) was introduced in 1977. It was successfully marked world-wide, which opened the door into the consumer electronics market for the company's next best sellers: the VIC-20 introduced in 1980, and the Commodore 64 unveiled in 1982. By 1983, in just 25 years, a small downtown Toronto typewriter sales and repair shop was transformed into one of the most revered personal computer companies in the world, shipping more units world-wide than any other computer company. However, the departure of Tramiel from Commodore in 1984 marked the beginning of the company's downfall. Commodore was loosing grounds to the IBM PC and Apple Macintosh platforms. The purchase of Amiga and the sales of its aging fleet of 8-bit computers sustained the company for a while but eventually, in 1994, Commodore began its liquidation. Commodore VIC-20 The VIC-20 home computer was one of the most successful Commodore products. Its prototype was previewed at the National Computer Convention in Chicago in June 1980 but, as a product, it was first launched three months later in Japan as VIC-1001. ``You are about to meet a friendly computer! Friendly in price, friendly in size, friendly to use and learn on and experience" proclaimed Commodore introducing its VIC-20 microcomputer. [From Personal Computing on the VIC-20: A Friendly Computer Guide, Commodore Business Machines, 1982, p. II.] Commodore sold 8000,000 VIC-20s world-wide in 1982, reached the one million mark early in 1983 when they were being shipped at the rate of 100,000 units per month, making the VIC-20 one of the best-selling computers of all times. Designed in the `computer-in-keyboard' style, the VIC-20 featured the MOS Technology 6502A processor, a BASIC interpreter in ROM, and easy to use QWERTY-style keyboard. The computer used an ordinary color TV set for the display. The high-resolution color graphics capabilities of the VIC-20 made the computer an attractive family entertainment box to rival the supremacy of gaming consoles. Indeed, in spite of its limitations the addition of an external disk drive, a low cost printer, and of a popular VICModem, made the VIC-20 ``the most user friendly computer on the market...friendly in price, friendly in size, friendly to use and expand.'' [From the back cover of Personal Computing on the VIC-20: a friendly computer guide, Commodore Business Machines, 1982.] From the start, Commodore provided the VIC-20 with the diverse software libraries on easy to use ROM cartridges and cassette tapes. Modems for the VIC-20, such as the VICmodem, allowed users to get on line and try electronic mail for the first time or to browse through the libraries of information available on computer bulletin board systems and commercial computer networks. A number of on-line services such as CompuServe, Delphi, Dow-Jones, Genie or The Source owed their popularity and growth to the low-cost VICmodem. In North America, the VIC-20 was sold for the strategically low price of $299.95 through mass merchandise retail outlets (such as K-Mart, Sears, and Toys-R-Us) as well as computer dealers and selected electronics stores. Some of the VIC-20s were manufactured by Commodore Business Machines Ltd., Canada. VIC-20 specifications CPU: MOS 6502 at approx. 1 MHz RAM: 5KB expandable to 32KB ROM: 20 KB occupied by BASIC 2.0 *8KB), KERNAL (8KB), and character set (4KB); external ROM cartridges, video processor: MOS 6560/6561 VIC, display: text node: 23 rows and 22 column graphics mode: 176×184 pixels sound: MOS 6560/6561 VIC, keyboard: 62 key QWERTY-style keyboard with additional four function keys, ports: expansion port (for various types of cartridges), Audio/Video port, floppy disk drive/printer port, cassette tape storage port, user port (general purpose serial/parallel port), serial bus IO port, game port (for connecting a joystick, a paddle, or a lightpen), peripherals: modems (e.g. the VICmodem), floppy disk drives (e.g. the VIC-1540), cassette tape drives (e.g. the C2N), printers (e.g. the 1525 printer), Museum holdings Commodore VIC-20, serial nr 662878 manufactured by Commodore Business Machines Ltd., Canada, Commodore VIC-20, serial nr P1105919 manufactured by Commodore Business Machines Ltd., Canada, Commodore Datassette, serial number S796519, Commodore C2N Cassette, serial nr 1734692, with operating instructions, Commodore VIC 1541 floppy disk drive, serial nr 2092779, with user's manual and guide, Commodore 1520 printer, serial nr 007931, Commodore VICmodem, Model 1600, serial nr. 060749, Pocket Modem for Commodore systems, Commodore VIC 1211A Super Expander, 3KB (with documentation), Xetec Super Graphix Jr printer interface, extensive library of educational, entertainment, and personal software on VIC-20 ROM cartridges and cassette tapes, VIC-20 manuals, guides, books, and promotional literature.
Historical context Commodore International Ltd. (or Commodore) was one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronic hand-held calculators as well as home, educational, and business microcomputers. It was best known for its popular personal computers including the PET line of personal desktops as well as the VIC-20, Commodore 64, and the Amiga computers. It was founded on October 10, 1958 as Commodore Portable Typewriter Company Limited in Toronto, Ontario. Two years later, the company incorporated its Commodore Business Machines subsidiary in New York. In 1976, Commodore reorganized its corporate structure as Commodore International Ltd. and moved its financial headquarters to the Bahamas and the operations headquarters to Pennsylvania. The restructured company encompassed several entities world-wide including Commodore Business Machines Ltd., Canada. In 1947, the company's founder—Jack Tramiel—emigrated from Poland to the US. During his US army service (1948-51) he gained considerable experience in repairing office equipment which he turned into business in his civilian life, first in Bronx, New York, and later in Toronto, Canada, where he moved in 1955. His Toronto business was initially focused on repairs and selling licensed typewriters, adding machines, and other office equipment. Initially located at 2 Toronto Street, in the city's downtown core, a short distance from the IBM Toronto Downtown Office, the company relocated several times before establishing its headquarters at 946 Warden Ave, Scarborough, Ont. During the 1960s the scope of Commodore's business expanded to office furniture as well as to electric and eventually electronic calculators. The first Commodore-branded adding machine was the model C mechanical calculator manufactured by a Czechoslovakian company Nisa and sold by Commodore around 1960. The first exclusive Commodore adding machine—the 202—was announced in 1967. The following year, the company began to turn its focus toward electronic desktop and, soon after, hand-held calculators. Commodore entered the market of hand-held electronic calculators in late 1970s with its CBM 110 device. Within months, the company introduced what would become a popular series of Minuteman calculators. That series, in turn, was followed by the "SR" and "SF" line of scientific and financial hand-held calculators. By the mid-1970s, Commodore was selling a wide range of electronic calculators, becoming one of the largest American manufacturers of these devices. Commodore's entry into microcomputer market was, to a large degree, the result of fierce price war in the calculator market that started in late 1973, and the decision of Texas Instruments—one of the main suppliers of calculator chips—to enter the calculator market and to compete with its clients. To stay competitive and independent of third parties for the chips and displays that went into its products, Commodore purchased MOS Technology in 1976. With the acquisition came not only MOS integrated circuits (most notably the 6502 microprocessor) but also Chuck Peddle's—the 6502's chief designer's—considerable technical expertise and impeccable sense of changing trends in electronics market. While at MOS, he built the KIM-1 single-board computer that quickly became popular among computer hobbyists. Peddle urged Commodore not to underestimate the market potential for mass-manufactured microcomputers and his team got permission to go ahead with a project of designing a desktop computer around the 6502 processor. The all-in-one Commodore PET (or Personal Electronic Transactor) was introduced in 1977. It was successfully marked world-wide, which opened the door into the consumer electronics market for the company's next best sellers: the VIC-20 introduced in 1980, and the Commodore 64 unveiled in 1982. By 1983, in just 25 years, a small downtown Toronto typewriter sales and repair shop was transformed into one of the most revered personal computer companies in the world, shipping more units world-wide than any other computer company. However, the departure of Tramiel from Commodore in 1984 marked the beginning of the company's downfall. Commodore was loosing grounds to the IBM PC and Apple Macintosh platforms. The purchase of Amiga and the sales of its aging fleet of 8-bit computers sustained the company for a while but eventually, in 1994, Commodore began its liquidation. Commodore C108 description The Commodore C108 was a four-function low-cost electronic calculator designed by Omron Tateishi Electronic Co. and offered by Commodore in 1971. It was sold in North America and Europe. operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, display: 8 digits, green vacuum-fluorescent tubes, keyboard: 17 keys including "clear", chipset: Omron ALPHA1, ALPHA2, and ALPHA3, power: AC only. Museum holdings Commodore C108 calculator, serial nr. 824667.
Omron Tateishi Electronic Co. and Commodore Business Machines
Historical context Commodore International Ltd. (or Commodore) was one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronic hand-held calculators as well as home, educational, and business microcomputers. It was best known for its popular personal computers including the PET line of personal desktops as well as the VIC-20, Commodore 64, and the Amiga computers. It was founded on October 10, 1958 as Commodore Portable Typewriter Company Limited in Toronto, Ontario. Two years later, the company incorporated its Commodore Business Machines subsidiary in New York. In 1976, Commodore reorganized its corporate structure as Commodore International Ltd. and moved its financial headquarters to the Bahamas and the operations headquarters to Pennsylvania. The restructured company encompassed several entities world-wide including Commodore Business Machines Ltd., Canada. In 1947, the company's founder—Jack Tramiel—emigrated from Poland to the US. During his US army service (1948-51) he gained considerable experience in repairing office equipment which he turned into business in his civilian life, first in Bronx, New York, and later in Toronto, Canada, where he moved in 1955. His Toronto business was initially focused on repairs and selling licensed typewriters, adding machines, and other office equipment. Initially located at 2 Toronto Street, in the city's downtown core, a short distance from the IBM Toronto Downtown Office, the company relocated several times before establishing its headquarters at 946 Warden Ave, Scarborough, Ont. During the 1960s the scope of Commodore's business expanded to office furniture as well as to electric and eventually electronic calculators. The first Commodore-branded adding machine was the model C mechanical calculator manufactured by a Czechoslovakian company Nisa and sold by Commodore around 1960. The first exclusive Commodore adding machine—the 202—was announced in 1967. The following year, the company began to turn its focus toward electronic desktop and, soon after, hand-held calculators. Commodore entered the market of hand-held electronic calculators in late 1970s with its CBM 110 device. Within months, the company introduced what would become a popular series of Minuteman calculators. That series, in turn, was followed by the "SR" and "SF" line of scientific and financial hand-held calculators. By the mid-1970s, Commodore was selling a wide range of electronic calculators, becoming one of the largest American manufacturers of these devices. Commodore's entry into microcomputer market was, to a large degree, the result of fierce price war in the calculator market that started in late 1973, and the decision of Texas Instruments—one of the main suppliers of calculator chips—to enter the calculator market and to compete with its clients. To stay competitive and independent of third parties for the chips and displays that went into its products, Commodore purchased MOS Technology in 1976. With the acquisition came not only MOS integrated circuits (most notably the 6502 microprocessor) but also Chuck Peddle's—the 6502's chief designer's—considerable technical expertise and impeccable sense of changing trends in electronics market. While at MOS, he built the KIM-1 single-board computer that quickly became popular among computer hobbyists. Peddle urged Commodore not to underestimate the market potential for mass-manufactured microcomputers and his team got permission to go ahead with a project of designing a desktop computer around the 6502 processor. The all-in-one Commodore PET (or Personal Electronic Transactor) was introduced in 1977. It was successfully marked world-wide, which opened the door into the consumer electronics market for the company's next best sellers: the VIC-20 introduced in 1980, and the Commodore 64 unveiled in 1982. By 1983, in just 25 years, a small downtown Toronto typewriter sales and repair shop was transformed into one of the most revered personal computer companies in the world, shipping more units world-wide than any other computer company. However, the departure of Tramiel from Commodore in 1984 marked the beginning of the company's downfall. Commodore was loosing grounds to the IBM PC and Apple Macintosh platforms. The purchase of Amiga and the sales of its aging fleet of 8-bit computers sustained the company for a while but eventually, in 1994, Commodore began its liquidation. Commodore 202 description The Commodore 202 was possibly the first adding machine sold exclusively by the company. It was announced in 1967 and manufactured by a Japanese company Ricoh which previously built the 201 adding machine for Commodore. The award-winning case design for the adder was created by Thomas McGourty of Commodore. The 202 featured a built-in column indicator (recording the number of digits pressed) and a printer. Operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, credit balance, automatic total and sub-total, automatic repeat key for repeat addition, subtraction, and multiplication, column indicator : 10 digit, mechanical, printing mechanism: 10 column list, eleven column total, red and black printing, keyboard: 17 keys including "clear", single, double, and triple "0" keys, power: AC only. Museum holdings Commodore 202 adder, serial nr. B-152639.
North America, Europe, late 1960s -- early 1970s
Artwork created for the Screaming Tomato BBS operated by Mistigris computer art group (1994—1998) founded in Vancouver BC.