3 10 106 https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/da323183cc8c236463005dbf605153be.jpg c8fdf152bb245587c969b32ccf179595 https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/786d1f02969dcbff35a5c812c3ecef71.jpg 4077a22201ed9455a755c03bc8461a53 https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/1c070baac9d3a18129af52ece174fc34.jpg 3d295dff75c29a56ba7f0713400c4184 Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rapid Data Systems and Equipment Ltd. promotional brochures Description An account of the resource 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: <ul> <li>Rapidman 801</li> <li>Rapidman 804</li> <li>Rapidman 808</li> <li>Rapidman 812. Rapidman 824</li> <li>Rapidman 1212</li> <li>Rapidman 1220</li> <li>Rapid Printer 2000</li> <li>Rapid Printer 2000R</li> <li>Rapid Printer 2001</li> </ul> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rapid Data Systems and Equipment Ltd. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rapid Data Systems and Equipment Ltd. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant world, 1974- https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/cc6b4ccf5377d0e92176fcfe7cf4bdec.jpg 711f87bf5b6014304ff0b897e183c2ca hardware A computer (or a calculator), its components and peripherals (displays, printers, pointing devices, modems, external storage devices, etc). Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rapid Data Rapidman 802 calculator Subject The topic of the resource hardware: electronic calculator Description An account of the resource 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: <ul> <li>four functions (+, -, x, ÷), mixed calculations, chain division and multiplication, constant calculations in all four functions,</li> <li>decimal system: full floating or selectable decimal placement (from 0 to 7 places),</li> <li>automatic constant for repetitive operations,</li> <li>single key entry correction and cleaning,</li> <li>negative sign and overflow indication,</li> <li>power on indication,</li> <li>low battery indication.</li> </ul> Hardware specification: <ul> <li>display: 8-digit display,</li> <li>registers: two (1 numeric and 1 constant),</li> <li>CPU: Rockwell 15332PC,</li> <li>keyboard: 19-key including on/off, select, and clear keys,</li> <li>indicators: negative sign, and overflow,</li> <li>power supply: 9V battery or AC adapter.</li> </ul> Museum holdings <ul> <li>The museum has: Rapidman 802, serial number 15 134126,</li> <li>Operaing Instructions for your Rapidman 801 Calculator, Rapid Data, 1973. </li> </ul> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rapid Data Systems & Equipment Ltd. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource released in 1973 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant world, 1873- https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/25b3c3b328793a717472dd7d5316d5f1.jpg 2d5774d0296fde8d574be2062409283e hardware A computer (or a calculator), its components and peripherals (displays, printers, pointing devices, modems, external storage devices, etc). Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rapid Data Rapidman 801 calculator Subject The topic of the resource hardware: electronic calculator Description An account of the resource 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: <ul> <li>four functions (+, -, x, ÷), mixed calculations, chain division and multiplication, constant calculations in all four functions,</li> <li>decimal system: full floating or selectable decimal placement (from 0 to 7 places),</li> <li>automatic constant for repetitive operations,</li> <li>single key entry correction and cleaning,</li> <li>negative sign and overflow indication,</li> <li>power on indication,</li> <li>low battery indication.</li> </ul> Hardware specification: <ul> <li>display: 8-digit display,</li> <li>registers: two (1 numeric and 1 constant),</li> <li>CPU: Rockwell 15332PC,</li> <li>keyboard: 19-key including on/off, select, and clear keys,</li> <li>indicators: negative sign, and overflow,</li> <li>power supply: 9V battery or AC adapter.</li> </ul> Museum holdings <ul> <li>The museum has: Rapidman 801, serial number 15 134126,</li> <li>Operaing Instructions for your Rapidman 801 Calculator, Rapid Data, 1973. </li> </ul> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rapid Data Systems & Equipment Ltd. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant world, 1970s https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/141aabfe33a53e00cbadf2419d502f36.jpg 3f138a6a148b54a902b4906d35fc8992 Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rapid Data Rapidman 800 calculator Description An account of the resource 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 800 features <ul> <li>four functions (+, -, x, ÷), chain of mixed multiplication and division, constant calculations in all four functions,</li> <li>decimal system: two places,</li> <li>single key entry correction and cleaning,</li> <li>negative sign and overflow indication,</li> <li>power on indication,</li> <li>low battery indication.</li> </ul> Hardware specification <ul> <li>display: 8-digit LED display with constant,</li> <li>CPU: Mostek MK5010P,</li> <li>keyboard: 17-key including on/off and clear keys,</li> <li>indicators: negative sign, and overflow,</li> <li>power supply: 9V battery or AC adapter.</li> </ul> Museum holdings <ul> <li>Rapidman 800, serial number 385224</li> <li>Operaing Instructions for your Rapidman 800 Calculator, Rapid Data, 1972. </li> </ul> Subject The topic of the resource hardware: electronic calculator Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rapid Data Systems and Equipment Ltd. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant world, 1970s Contribution Form The set of elements containing metadata from the Contribution form. Online Submission Indicates whether or not this Item has been contributed from a front-end contribution form. No calculator https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/8389413874c5ce551900f2e4ae7ffd7a.jpg 4cb3a362b0243be9eb0b0e016d37ed83 https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/b8763ac0ad40587a239c2d56139140a1.jpg 4077a22201ed9455a755c03bc8461a53 hardware A computer (or a calculator), its components and peripherals (displays, printers, pointing devices, modems, external storage devices, etc). Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rapid Data Rapidman 1212 calculator Subject The topic of the resource hardware: desk-top digital electronic calculator Description An account of the resource 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, (introduced in 1974(?)) 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 1212 features: <ul></ul> <ul> <li>12 digit display,</li> <li>4 functions (+, -, x, ÷),  automatic percent calculations,</li> <li>full floating decimal system, decimal position selectable 0-5 places from keyboard,</li> <li>indicators: negative sign, overflow, and memory in use,</li> <li>24-key keyboard with entry correction and percent, clearing, change, and exchang keys as well as memory addition/subtraction, memory recall, and clear memory keys.</li> </ul> Hardware: <ul> <li>3 registers (1 numeric, 1 constant, and 1 memory)</li> <li>CPU: LSI single chip</li> </ul> Museum holdings: The museum has a Rapidman 1212, serial number 26354. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rapid Data Systems and Equipment Ltd., Toronto, Canada Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource introduced in 1974(?) Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant world, 1974(?)- Contribution Form The set of elements containing metadata from the Contribution form. Online Submission Indicates whether or not this Item has been contributed from a front-end contribution form. No calculator Canadian Rapidman 1212 https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/6a98576df8b8c74451e0c110eb019e29.jpg b9cab33caa5e6717bd86b30e2c8e43be Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rapid Data Rapidman 1208LC calculator Subject The topic of the resource calculator: desktop digital calculator Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rapid Data Systems & Equipment Ltd. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource released in 1974(?) Description An account of the resource 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 (introduced in 1973), 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." Rapidman 1208 features <ul> <li>four functions (+, -, x, ÷), chain of mixed multiplication and division, constant calculations in all four functions,</li> <li>decimal system: full floating or selectable decimal placement (from 0 to 5 places),</li> <li>negative sign and overflow indication,</li> <li>power on indication.</li> </ul> Hardware specification <ul> <li>display: 8-digit LCD (liquid cristal display) plus 1 sign position and 1 overflow error indicator,</li> <li>display circuits: Rockwell 10417</li> <li>CPU: Rockwell 15311,</li> <li>keyboard: 18-key including percet and clear keys,</li> <li>indicators: negative sign, and overflow.</li> </ul> Museum holdings <ul> <li>Rapidman 1208LC, serial number  45120. </li> </ul> Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant world, 1974(?)- https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/b9b42e8711433e1a8bef87e34bd96b3d.png 609527f2a4cbc96f82727932643019ea Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Portraits of Digital Canada logo Subject The topic of the resource exhibit image Description An account of the resource Digital image used to advertise "The Portraits of Digital Canada" exhibit at York University. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Derived from a photograph by George Dunbar. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2019 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource YUCoM Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Photograph taken by George Dunbar for IBM Canada. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource digital image Type The nature or genre of the resource digital image exhibit https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/3b5a6d569d5bf7c41f25ed349ee41a4f.jpg e596cd01df7ae12f7ac43744e52db273 https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/ddf8915193a663a8dbd92431c8014109.png 275c4e74c541853aa55da2ed7195bd67 hardware A computer (or a calculator), its components and peripherals (displays, printers, pointing devices, modems, external storage devices, etc). Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Pied Piper computer Subject The topic of the resource hardware: home computer Description An account of the resource The Pied Piper was designed in the early 1980s by Semi-Tech Microelectronics Corp. (STM) and advertised as a portable, low-cost, versatile business computer. It was sold with the Perfect Software package. The Pied Piper consisted of a CPU unit in plastic enclosure with a built-in keyboard and a single diskette drive. The computer had a keyboard cover which enhanced the computer's portability. It could use any standard TV set or a monitor as a display terminal. In 1983, the Pied Piper was shown at the NCC show in Anaheim, California and at the Fall Comdex show in Las Vegas. The computer operated under the  CP/M 2.2 OS and was sold with software package from Perfect Software Inc. Optional software included MBASIC (Microsoft), dBase II (Ashton-Tate), WordStar (MicroPro International), and Multiplan (Microsoft). Hardware: <ul> <li>CPU: Z80A CPU</li> <li>RAM: 64 Kbytes</li> <li>VRAM: 2 Kbytes</li> <li>ROM: 8 Kbytes</li> <li>display: text mode only (24 lines x 40 or 80 characters), 16 colors</li> <li>keyboard: QWERTY, 62 keys</li> <li>ports: serial  RS232C port, parallel printer port, RF Modulator port, external diskette drive port</li> <li>diskette drive: 5.25 inch (164 Kbytes, formatted)</li> <li>expandability: expansion for two boards, optional external diskette drive, interface for hard drive </li> </ul> The museum has a Pied Piper, model PPC 001, serial number 100983189 and the following software and documentation: Software and Documentation: <ul> <li>PerfectWriter (with manual), Perfect Software (1983)</li> <li>PerfectSpeller (with manual), Perfect Software (1983)</li> <li>PerfectCalc (with manual), Perfect Software (1983)</li> <li>PerfectFiler (with manual), Perfect Software (1983)</li> <li>Modem Master (with Modem Communications Manual), Semi-Tech Microelectronics (1983)</li> </ul> The computer was purchased on December 17th, 1983 at Gladstone Electronics -- one of the most popular computer stores in Toronto  in the early 1980s. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Semi-Tech Microelectronics Corp Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Hardware Type The nature or genre of the resource Hardware Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context H.18 Contribution Form The set of elements containing metadata from the Contribution form. Online Submission Indicates whether or not this Item has been contributed from a front-end contribution form. No Canadian personal computer Pied Piper Toronto Business Machines Ltd. https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/56cc54e509f9c479dd82105ae5b2ad1f.jpg a43aa1599574719aacd5cf087beafc06 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource DY-4 Systems Collection Description An account of the resource DY-4 Systems Inc. was an Ottawa-based high technology company founded by four engineers Garry Dool, Terry Black, Kim Clohessy, and Steve Richards in 1979. In the early 1980s, DY-4 designed and manufactured a variety of products including microcomputers (the ORION series), graphics terminals, and STD bus board level products (including single-board computers). In the second half of the 1980s, the company shifted its attention to the development and manufacturing of products for harsh environments. A wide range of products based on VME bus architecture was offered for applications in areas such as air traffic control, tactical command, control and communication, flight management for airborne applications, ground tactical support, process control, and robotics. The products included single-board computers, memory modules, intelligent peripheral controllers, special function modules, and I/O modules. By 1993, when DY-4 went public, the company was already a technological leader in the ruggedized embedded computing market providing open systems board-level products, support systems and related software to harsh environment systems integrators. DY-4 products found their way to new generations of tanks, submarines, airplanes and spacecraft in many countries around the world. The company entered the 21st century retaining its premier position as embedded computing solutions provider in the defense and aerospace industries. In 2004, after a series of acquisitions, DY-4 business was bought from Solectron (Milpitas, Ca) by defense contractor Curtiss-Wright Corp. (Roseland, N.J.). Acquisition: The objects in the collection have been donated or acquired from: Dave Dunfield, Mati Sauks, and Zbigniew Stachniak. HARDWARE, computers (excluding single-board computers) <ul> <li>Challenger I microcomputer</li> <li>DSM 6816 microcomputer</li> <li>Orion V microcomputer</li> <li>Standalone DY-4 SVME-bus computer, model 126LF [MS]. The computer contains the following DY-4 SVME modules: 101, 155, and 203.</li> <li>Rack mounted SDK computer system consisting of 2 cages of SDK boards and 2 power supply's. DY-4 Systems, Product Number FA-85-0159. The system includes the following STD modules: 102, 188, 325, 401, and 711. It also includes the XYZFL-II board.</li> <li>DY4 LSI chips: DY4401, DY4403, DY4404</li> </ul> HARDWARE, single-board computers, modules and cages <ul> <li>DY00475-H-A1-3 board (1983)</li> <li>DSTD764 single board microcomputer (1982)</li> <li>STD modules: 102, 187, 188, 199, 325, 328, 401, 406, 469, 711</li> <li>DVME single-board computers and other modules: 102, 105, 134, 201, 490, 677, 704, 706, 712, 715, 750</li> <li>SVME modules: 101, 155, 203, 677</li> <li>DSTD-812, 12 Slot STD compatible system card cage</li> <li>DY-4 Board Cage DY00448-D-11-1</li> <li>DY-4 6 Slot back plane DY00447-H-A1-4</li> <li>DY-4 6 Slot back plane DY00447-D-A1-6</li> </ul> SOFTWARE <ul> <li>DY-4 Orion software (1980s), created by DY-4 Systems Inc. and Carleton University</li> <li>DY-4 Orion software (1982-3) created by Craig Honegger and Mati Sauks</li> <li>DY-4 Dynasty related software (three 5.25" floppy disks)</li> <li>DY-4 Dynasty 2.10 software (three 8" floppy disks)</li> <li>Various DY-4 software (on Micropolis hard drive, model Number 1302)</li> </ul> MANUALS and GUIDES <ul> <li>DSTD-101 CPU and Parallel I/O Operators Manual (copy), DY00439, DY-4 (January 15, 1983)</li> <li>DSTD-102 CPU and Parallel I/O Operation Manual (copy), DY00459, DY-4 (January 18, 1983, and July 1983</li> <li>DSTD-188 CPU and Serial I/O Operations Manual (copy), oM918800-XX-1, DY-4 (April 10, 1983)</li> <li>DSTD-201 Serial/Parallel I/O Operations Manual, rev. B(copy), DY00438, DSTD-201-M, DY-4 (April 10, 1983)</li> <li>DSTD-202 Quad Serial Communications Module Operations Manual, rev. B(copy), DY00446-H-A1-1, OM-STD202-999-1, DY-4 (January 24, 1983)</li> <li>DSTD-328 256K Dynamic Memory for the DSTD-188 8088 Card, rev. A, DY00513, DSTD-328-M, DY-4 (April 10, 1983)</li> <li>DSTD-401 RS-422 Serial Interface with DMA Operations Manual, rev. C (copy), DY00460, DSTD-401-M, DY-4 (August 31, 1984)</li> <li>DSTD-402 Parallel Interface Adapter (Winchester Interface), rev. A (copy), DY00461, DSTD-402-M, DY-4 (198?)</li> <li>DSTD-503 Bytewide Memory Card (copy), DY00489, DY-4 (December 3, 1982)</li> <li>DSTD-703 Multi Functional Calendar/Clock Card (copy), OM970300-XXX-4, DY-4 (December 10, 1983)</li> <li>DSTD-711 Dual Density Floppy Disk Controller with DMA and 64K Dynamic RAM, rev. A (copy), DY00483, DSTD-711-M, DY-4 (December 1, 1982)</li> <li>DSTD-777 High Resolution Graphics Controller Operations Manual, rev. A (copy), OM977700-XXX-2, DY-4 (198?)</li> <li>DSTD-806 8=Slot STD Card Cage Operations Manual (copy), OM-STD806-999-003, DY-4 (March 7, 1983)</li> <li>Orion V Operations Manual, rev. B (copy), no. DY00468, DY-4 (198?)</li> <li>Challenger I dynasty Users Manual (copy), no. DY00497 revision B, DY-4 (January, 1983)</li> <li>Harmony RTOS reference manual, Taurus Computer Products a division of DY-4, (1989)</li> <li>DYNASTY 3.0 Reference Manual, release 3.0, Beta 003, no. RM-OS:DYN-3.0-001, DY-4 (1984)</li> </ul> PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL <ul> <li>DY-4 1982 Product Line Short Form Catalogue</li> <li>From Boards to Systems... the Short Form Catalogue from DY-4, DY-4 (1986)</li> <li>DY-4 1987 Product Catalogue</li> <li>DY-4 Systems, A Profile, DY-4 promotional brochure (1988)</li> <li>DME, From Boards to Systems... the Short Form Catalogue from DY-4, DY-4 (198?)</li> <li>DYNASTY, Investigate the alternative computer system, DY-4 promotional brochure (198?)</li> <li>a folder of six DY-4 promo documents (c. mid 1980s)</li> <li>Folder with DY-4 promotional brochures (VGT-100H terminal, Dynasty computer system, STD product line)</li> <li>DY4 Delivers, DY-4 promotional brochure (1993)</li> <li>DY-4 VME 1995 product catalog</li> <li>DY4 COTS Charges Ahead On Abrams Enhanced Battle Tank, DY-4 promotional brochure (1997)</li> <li>DY4 VME Product Overview, DY-4 promotional brochure (1999)</li> <li>Upgrade to VME: Upgrade Solutions for your next upgrade program, DY-4 promotional brochure (199?)></li> <li>"Off-the-shelf" VMR Solutions!, DY-4 promotional brochure (199?)</li> <li>a folder of DY-4 promotional brochures (2001, 2002)</li> <li>DY-4 Systems Inc. 2003 Product Catalog (CDRom)</li> </ul> CORPORATE and OTHER DOCUMENTS <ul> <li>DY4 Systems Inc. 1999 Annual Report (digital copy)</li> <li>DY4 Systems Inc., Initial Public Offering and Secondary Offering (March 25, 1993)</li> <li>folder with DY4 LSI chip designs</li> </ul> NEWSLETTERS and OTHER PUBLICATIONS <ul> <li>DY4 "DYJEST, vol. 1, nr. 1 and 2 (1992); vol. 2, nr. 1 and 2 (1993)</li> <li>DY-Jest, vol 1, issue 1 (1989), issues 2--10 (1990); vol. 2, issues 1--3 (1990), 4--7 (1991); vol. 3, issues 1 and 2 (1991); 3 and 4 (1992); Summer, Fall (1993); Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (1994); Spring, Summer, Winter (1995); Spring, Winter (1996) Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (1997); Spring, Summer, Fall (1998); Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (1999); Winter (2000);</li> <li>DY-jest, December (1985); September, December (1986) Match, May, September--December (1987); February--October, December (1988); January--March, July, September (1989)</li> <li>DY-4 Newsletter, July (1983</li> <li>DY4 News, November (1983); December (1984)</li> <li>Connections, DY 4 Employee Newsletter, June (2002); Spring, Winter (2004)</li> <li>DY4 News, November (1983); December (1984)</li> <li>DY-4 Dyalogue, vol.2, issues 2 and 3 (1986), vol.2, issues 4 and 5 (1987), issue 7 (1988); Vol. 3, issue 1 (1990)</li> <li>EC Xchangee, Curtiss-Wright, Summer, Fall, Winter (2005)</li> <li>DY4 Systems Investor Insight, vol. 1, no 1, no 1 supplement, and 2 (1998); vol. 2, numbers 1--4 (1999); vol. 3, no 1 (2000)</li> </ul> Subject The topic of the resource <img src="http://museum1.eecs.yorku.ca/www_decorations/Dy4Logo2.jpg" alt="MCM_logo" width="40%" height="40%" border="0" /> Objects manufactured or published by DY-4 Systems Inc. hardware A computer (or a calculator), its components and peripherals (displays, printers, pointing devices, modems, external storage devices, etc). Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Orion V Computer Subject The topic of the resource hardware: desktop computer Description An account of the resource The DY-4 Orion V Computer, model (?), serial number ORV8023008. The computer was designed around the the STD-bus architecture and featured two built-in 8" diskette drives. It required an external display and a keyboard (such as the DY-4 VGT-100 or VGT-100H graphic terminals). The Orion V  was offered as a stand alone desktop or as a rack-mountable hardware. Hardware: <ul> <li>CPU: Zilog Z80A</li> <li>RAM: 64 Kbytes expandable to 256 Kbytes</li> <li>diskette drives: double sided, double density diskettes, 600 Kbytes per disk</li> <li>expansion: up to 12 STD bus cards</li> </ul> Software: <ul> <li>OS: CP/M 2.2</li> <li>systems: System Debug Monitor</li> </ul> Note: The Orion V in the museum's collection was used at the University of Ottawa and had the assigned name Pegasus. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource DY-4 Systems Inc. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982[?] Relation A related resource DY 4 Collection Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context H.20 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1982-? Contribution Form The set of elements containing metadata from the Contribution form. Online Submission Indicates whether or not this Item has been contributed from a front-end contribution form. No DY 4 DY-4 dy-4 Systems Inc. https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/f544f96adcea4c09ffaa728f52ed7cc9.jpg 543b26803662e8820e1b18d1e7f616f2 https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/a999107d96187d6b43781aa414870204.jpg b6f63ebac12a0d23fd9e4f2dd9434062 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Northern Electric—Nortel Networks Collection Subject The topic of the resource <img src="http://museum1.eecs.yorku.ca/www_decorations/Nortel_Logo.png" alt="Nortel_logo" width="25%" height="25%" border="0" /> The collection is dedicated to the corporate history of  Northern Electric and Manufacturing, Northern Electric, Northern Telecom, Bell-Northern Research, and Nortel Networks. Description An account of the resource Northern Electric and Manufacturing Company was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1895. It's main business was the manufacturing of telephone equipment for Bell Telephone Company of Canada. In 1914, the Northern Electric and Manufacturing Company merged with the Imperial Wire and Cable Company of Montreal to form the Northern Electric Company.  Although the new company's main business continued to be telecommunication equipment, Northern Electric also ventured into consumer electronics market manufacturing radios, television sets, console radio-phonographs, hi-fi amplifiers, and so on. In 1971, Northern Electric and Bell Canada formed Bell-Northern Research (BNR) — an Ottawa-based telecommunications research and development company. Around the same time, Northern Electric introduced its first electronic  PBX (Private Branch Exchange — a private telephone network used within a company or organization) named the SG-1. Four years later, BNR introduced the  SL-1 PBX  which was the world's first all-digital PBX aimed at medium-sized businesses.  In 1976, Northern Electric Company changed its name to Northern Telecom Limited and the company focused its operations exclusively on fully digital telecommunications products.  Northern Telecom was the first company in its industry to deliver a complete line of fully digital telecommunications products. Its SL-1 became the world’s most successful PBX and, by 1991, the company  was the world’s largest PBX supplier offering its Meridian communication systems line. In 1998, the company's name was changed to Nortel Networks to emphasize its focus on networking solutions for telecommunication over the Internet and other communications networks. In 2009, the company filed for bankruptcy protection. Abbreviations: <ul> <li>BNR: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.</li> <li>WC: W. Clipsham</li> <li>NT: Northern Telecom</li> <li>NOR: Nortel Networks</li> <li>WEC: Western Electric Company</li> <li>WB: items donated by Walter Banks</li> <li>KB: items donated by Keith Brickman</li> <li>HB: items donated by Henry Wiebe</li> <li>GR: items donated by Greg Reynolds</li> <li>ZS: items donated by Zbigniew Stachniak</li> <li>JM: items donated by John Morden</li> <li>RR: donated by Robert Roden</li> <li>SC: items donated by Stanley Chow</li> <li>DC: items donated by David Cuddy</li> </ul> HARDWARE <ul> <li>Digital Multiplex Switching System DMS-100 schematic diagram, Northern Telecom, 1979-1980 [SC]</li> <li>BNR XMS (eXtended Multicomputer System) workstation with two built-in 8" floppy drives [SC]</li> <li>BNR XMS workstation (prototype?)</li> <li>Two external 8" floppy diskette drives for the BNR XMS workstation[SC]</li> <li>Northern Telecom/Nortel Passport 50 DS1 MVPE module, [GR]</li> <li>Nortel Networks Passport 50 E3A FP module, [GR]</li> <li>Nortel Networks Passport 50 OC3S FP module, [GR]</li> <li>Nortel Networks Passport 50 CP module, [GR]</li> <li>Nortel's 1 MEG Modem, NTEX35AA, [ZS]</li> <li>Nortel Display Phone</li> <li>Northern Electric paper calculator, 1973 [JM]</li> <li>Dual NAND silicon microcircuit, Northern Electric, 1960s? [RR]</li> <li>Northern Telecom Alex videotex terminal, 1988</li> <li>Northern Telecom Displayphone telephone and data terminal, 1981</li> <li>Northern Telecom Displayphone 220 telephone and data terminal, 1987</li> <li>Nortel Europa smartphone [DC]</li> </ul> Corporate Documents <ul> <li>Northern Electric Company incorporation documents (original), 1914. [Nortel]</li> <li>Northern Telecom worldwide senior management structure, May 1983, [KB]</li> <li>Northern Telecom Inc., Major Business Units, May 1, 1985, [KB]</li> <li>Northern Electric Organization structure, September 1972. [KB]</li> <li>A file of Northern Telecom and BNR Human Resources publications and documents, 1979-1988</li> </ul> NEWSLETTERS and MAGAZINES <ul> <li>Northern Circuit, Northern Electric, Spring 1965. [KB]</li> <li>Northern News, Northern Electric, vol. 44, no. 7 (1969). [JM]</li> <li>The Networks, Northern Electric, September 1973. [JM]</li> <li>telesis, BNR issues: vol. 3, no. 2 (1973) [WB]; vol. 4, no. 3 (1975); vol 4., no. 1 (1976) [WC]; vol. 5, no. 2 (1977) and no. 9 (1978) [WB]; vol. 6, no. 1 (1979) [WB]; vol. 8, no. 4 (1981); vol. 12, no. 1 and 2 (1985) [WC, DC]; issues 92, 93 (1991), 98 (1994). [WC]</li> <li>the, Northern Electric, Ottawa, issue 2 (1969), 4, 5 (1970). [WC]</li> <li>Miscellany, BNR, vol. 2, 3 (1987), 4, 5 (1988), 6, 7 (1989). [WC]</li> <li>Printed Circuit, Northern Telecom at Bramalea vol. 18, no. 7 (1991). [JM]</li> <li>Lachine Journal, Northern Telecom at Lachine, no. 5 (1992). [JM]</li> <li>Network news, Northern Telecom, May 1992. [JM]</li> <li>Between-Us, Northern Telecom at Lachine and Laurentian no. 4 (1993). [JM]</li> <li>Protel Technical Notes, BNR, Language Development Group; issues: vol. 1, nr. 1--7, 1980.</li> <li>Data Packet, Data Networks Division, Northern Telecom, vol. 2, issue 3 )198?) [WC]</li> </ul> MANUALS, USER GUIDES, REPORTS, PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL 1940-1949 <ul> <li>No. 1 Crossbar Dial Telephone System, Photographs, Educational Bulletin No. 2.5, WEC, December 1947. [HW]</li> </ul> 1950-1959 <ul> <li>No. 5 Crossbar Dial Telephone System, Completion of a Call, Educational Bulletin No. 2.5 B-1, WEC, April 1954. [HW]</li> <li>The Step-By-Step Dial Telephone System, Telephone System Training, Lesson No. 3, No. 2.5 B-1, WEC, June 1954. [HW]</li> </ul> 1960-1969 <ul> <li>E.H. Lanham, A Brief Story of the Growth, Evolution, and Expansion of Telephone Systems from the Magneto Era to the Present, Technical Memorandum TM 8161-2-64, Northern Electric, December 31st, 1964.</li> <li>Toronto Works, Telephone Directory, Northern Electric Company, Switching Division, 1 November 1966 [WBr] 1 Nov. 1966. [HB] Preliminary Version, IPSA (29 November, 1970) [WK].</li> </ul> 1970-1979 <ul> <li>Time to switch... SP-1 electronic switching systems, Northern Electric, October 1973. [JM]</li> <li>Datapac: Standard Network Access Protocol, Trans-Canada Telephone System, 30 November, 1974. [WC]</li> <li>Datapac: Overview, Trans-Canada Telephone System, 1974? [WC]</li> <li>Datapac: Four papers presented to the Third International Conference on Computer Communications, Toronto, Canada (August 1976). [WC]</li> <li>An Introduction to GRAPPLE Programming, ver. 4.21, BNR 13490, July 1974. [WB]</li> <li>GRAPPLE Console Users Manual, ver. 1.0, BNR(?), 18 June, 1975. [WB]</li> <li>GRAPPLE Language Reference Manual, ver. 5.10, BNR 13500, June 1975. [WB]</li> <li>Datapac: Standard Network Access Protocol Specification, Trans-Canada Telephone System, 1976. [WC]</li> <li>Datapac: Four papers presented to the Third International Conference on Computer Communications, Toronto, August 1976, Trans-Canada Telephone System, 1976. [WC]</li> <li>W. Clipsham, SL10 Data Network Processor: General Description, BNR, Issue 1, September 1976. [WC]</li> <li>D. Drynan, SL10 Data Network Processor: Trunk System, BNR, February 1977. [WC]</li> <li>Integrated Software Engineering System: Cost-Benefit Analysis, BNR, November 1978. [WC]</li> <li>Integrated Software Engineering System: Overview, BNR, November 1979. [WC]</li> <li>Integrated Software Engineering System: System Requirements Specification, BNR, November 1979. [WC]</li> </ul> 1980-1989 <ul> <li>Introducing a major advancement in the evolution of the telephone: Displayphone, promotional brochure, Northern Telecom, April 1981 [DC]</li> <li>Does your telecommunications system give you access to your internal database? Displayphone promotional brochure, Northern Telecom, 198? [DC]</li> <li>SL-1 Displayphone promotional brochure, Northern Telecom, 198? [DC]</li> <li>Displayphone User Guide, Northern Telecom, February 1982 [ZS]</li> <li>Displayphone User Guide, Northern Telecom, issue 3 [ZS]</li> <li>Displayphone 220 User Guide, Northern Telecom, 1987 [ZS]</li> <li>ALEX Installation Guide, Northern Telecom, issue 1 [ZS]</li> <li>DMS-100 System Description, BNR, 1986. [SC]</li> <li>Writing Handbook, BNR, 1987. [WC]</li> <li>DPN: Data Networking System Reference Handbook, Northern Telecom, 1986. [WC]</li> <li>DMS-100/200 NT-40 Instruction Set, BNR, 1987. [SC]</li> <li>H. Johnson, Object-Oriented Programming in PROTEL (draft), BNR, 1988. [SC]</li> <li>H. Johnson, An Object-Oriented Language Based on PROTEL (draft), BNR, 1989. [SC]</li> <li>DPN-100: Data Networking Reference Handbook, Northern Telecom, 1988. [WC]</li> <li>B. Baker, Multiprocessing Core for DMS, BNR, 1989. [SC]</li> <li>Telephony, BNR, Technical Educational Department, 198?</li> <li>Meridian M4020 Integrated Terminal: Bringing integrated data and voice to the desktop, Northern Telecom, 1985. [DC]</li> </ul> 1990- <ul> <li>DPN-100/500: Data Networking General Description, Release 1.0, BNR, February 11, 1990. [WC]</li> <li>DPN: Data Networking System, BNR, October 1990. [WC]</li> <li>Advaced Telephone Terminals Design: Driving the Development of Next-Generation Terminals, Nortel-Northern Telecom, July 1997. [DC]</li> </ul> PAPERS and OTHER PUBLICATIONS <ul> <li>W.A. Depp and W.H.T. Holden, Circuits for Cold Cathode Glow Tubes, Bell Telephone System Technical Publications, Monograph B-1685, compliments of Northern Electric, 1949. Originally published in Electrical Manufacturing, vol. 44, pp. 92-97 (1949).</li> <li>J.H. Felker, Typical block diagram for a digital computer, Bell Telephone System Technical Publications, Monograph 2046, compliments of Northern Electric, 1952. Originally published in Transactions of American Institute of Electrical Engineers, vol. 71, part 1 (1952), pp. 175-182.</li> <li>Datapac and the SL-10 Packet Switching System: Selected Published Papers, 1976-79, BNR.</li> <li>M. Fridrich and W. Older, Helix: The Architecture of the XMS Distributed File System, reprint with the permission from IEEE Software (May 1985). [SC]</li> <li>N. Gammage and L. Casey, XMS: A Rendezvous-Based Distributed System Software Architecture, reprint with the permission from IEEE Software (May 1985). [SC]</li> <li>Northern Telecom: The Anatomy of Transformation, 1985--1995, Nortel/Northern Telecom (November 1996). [WC]</li> <li>H. Johnson, PROTEL A programming Language for Large Real-Time Applications, publisher: ? (1984).</li> <li>SINC Network Description, SINC Technical Document, Bell/BNR SINC Design Team (October 31, 1974). [WC]</li> <li>DPN Technical Papers 1985-1986, BNR. [WC]</li> <li>W.W. Clipsham, F.E. Glave, and M.L. Narraway, Datapac Network Overview, Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Computer Communication, P.K. Verma (ed), Toronto. 3-6 August 1976; the material includes memos and slides prepared for the presentation. [WC]</li> <li>The BNR Network (197?) [WC]</li> <li>I. Cunningham, Host to Network Protocol for the Bell-Northern Research Network, version 1.2, BNR (October 1973). [WC]</li> <li>B. Clipsham et al, First Level Protocol for a Data Switch, version V, August 14, 1972, CASE: R3777. [WC]</li> <li>C.C. Martel, I.M. Cunningham, and M.S. Grushcow, The BNR Network: A Canadian Experience with Packet Switching Technology, BNR. [WC]</li> <li>N. Dam, D. Schenkel, and W.Prater, Micro-SNAP - An X.25 Microcomputer System, MSNAP-BNR (197?) [WC]</li> <li>B. Hobbs, Chrysalis: Transforming The Way We Do Business, Northern Telecom S321 (September 19, 1991). [JM]</li> <li>32 photographs of the Northern Telecom constructions at 8200 Dixie Rd. taken between February 23 and December 8, 1987. [JM]</li> <li>Four photographs of the Northern Electric Calgary Cable Plant, 19?? [JM]</li> <li>Various promotional Nortel Networks brochures, 1995--2003. [ZS]</li> </ul> hardware A computer (or a calculator), its components and peripherals (displays, printers, pointing devices, modems, external storage devices, etc). Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Northern Telecom Displayphone Description An account of the resource Historical context By Z. Stachniak with input from D. Cuddy In February 1981, telecommunications giant Northern Telecom announced the Displayphone – a landmark office automation product designed to integrate voice and data in a convenient, easy-to-use desktop unit. The January 1988 Datapro Research Corporation's report described the Displayphone as a device that:    opened up the integrated voice/data terminal market [...] The first    commercially available device of this kind, the Displayphone [...]    attracted a great deal of attention in the computer industry, particularly    among workstation vendors. Many vendors were interested in    bringing their products to executive desks; thus the Displayphone    was a factor in the emergence of a new class of equipment  –    executive/professional workstation. The Displayphone was developed by Bell-Northern Research in Ottawa and manufactured by Northern Telecom. Its first model–the NT6K00–was a small desktop terminal with a handset, speakerphone,  an integrated 300 bps modem, built-in 7-inch monochrome display, dial and screen pad, and five soft keys. A retractable QWERTY-style keyboard was stored within the unit's base. The device could operate with two independent phone lines for simultaneously handling voice and data calls which allowed users to talk on the phone while accessing and viewing information from remote dial-up data services. In addition, the unit could be used as a data terminal connected to a local computer via the RS 232C port. It could also access database services via an external modem and drive a printer through a parallel I/O interface. The Displayphone featured a 90-number telephone directory, on-hook as well as automatic and hands-free dialing, last number redial, a recall work list and call hold. Other features available were a continuous day/date clock, a telephone call timer,  and a reminder service that brought messages to the user's attention. The user interace was designed for ease of use, with context-sensitive prompts displayed on the screen and soft keys that led the user from one operation to another. Between 1981 and 1986, Northern Telecom released several models of and upgrades to the Displayphones, including the PLUS (released in 1984) and the 220 (offered in October 1986). Another variant, the SL-1 Displayphone, when designed to access the voice and data capabilities of Northern Telecom's popular SL-1 PBX. By the mid-1980s, Northern Telecom had already faced competition from other vendors including AT&T, Davox, InteCom/Wang, and Rolm. Nevertheless, the Displayphone continued to have the largest installed bases of any of the competing products, which, according to the 1988 Datapro Research report, was at around 50,000 in 1987. Following the success of the Displayphone in the enterprise market, NT proceeded to develop its successor–the Meridian M4020 Integrated Terminal–which was released in 1985. Instead of a pair of analog telephone interfaces, the M4029 connected to the network over an integrated 2.56Mbps digital interface. Displayphone NT6K00 technical specifications <ul> <li>CPU: Intel 8085, 8-bit,</li> <li>ROM: 40KB with Displayphone firmware,</li> <li>keyboard: QWERTY, retractable, stored within the unit's base,</li> <li>dial and screen pad: built-in, containing 12 dial keys, 5 softkeys, and 12 programmed keys,</li> <li>display: 7in, 24 lines, 40 or 80 characters/line, with the 25th line used for labeling of softkeys,</li> <li>voice ports: two analog PSTN phone lines, integrated Bell 103-type modem,</li> <li>data ports: RS 232C (connection to a local computer or external, modem), parallel I/O port (for printer),</li> <li>transmission rates: from 75 to 1200 baud for RS 232C and from 65 to 300 boud for dialup,</li> <li>peripherals: Displayjet printer.</li> </ul> Museum's holdings <ul> <li>Displayphone NT6K00 AA (1982),</li> <li>Displayphone NT1K00 AA, serial number 1271004601 (1982),</li> <li>Displayphone NT6K90 AC, serial number 29E0004529 (1984),</li> <li>Displayphone User Guide, Northern Telecom, June 1981,</li> <li>Displayphone, The integrated voice and data telephone concept from Bell Canada, Bell Canada, 198?</li> <li>Displayphone User Guide, Northern Telecom, February 1982,</li> </ul> Sources <ul> <li>Datapro Report C25-662-102 (Terminals), Datapro Research Corp., January 1988,</li> <li>Displayphone User Guide, Northern Telecom, June 1981,</li> <li>Displayphone User Guide, Northern Telecom, February 1982.</li> </ul> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Northern Telecom Subject The topic of the resource hardware: displayphone Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant North America, 1980s. Contribution Form The set of elements containing metadata from the Contribution form. Online Submission Indicates whether or not this Item has been contributed from a front-end contribution form. No displayphone Nortel Northern Telecom