Hyperion Personal Computer
Dublin Core
Title
Hyperion Personal Computer
Subject
hardware: personal computer
Description
Historical Context
Between November 1971 and April, 1972, Intel Corp. of Santa Clara, California, introduced its first two microprocessors — the 4-bit 4004 and the 8-bit 8008. Soon after, the prototypes of the first general purpose computers powered by microprocessors were already working on site at the French company Réalisations et Études Électroniques located in the suburbs of Paris, at Micro Computer Machines with headquarters situated on the outskirts of Toronto, and at Microsystems International Ltd. headquartered in Montreal. These and other firms fully recognized, articulated, and acted upon the immense potential of the budding microprocessor technology for the development of a new generation of cost effective computer hardware.
In 1973, C. Murray Bell incorporated Dynalogic Corporation in Ottawa to design, develop, and manufacture floppy disk drive systems that could be interfaced with a range of computers and programmable calculators. The floppy diskette systems shipped up to mid-1975 had hardwired controllers designed to work with specific computers. This solution was costly since different computer models typically required different floppy drive controllers that would have to be designed and assembled. In 1975, the company entered the microprocessor market with its release of a firmware controlled, microprocessor-based floppy disk system that could be interfaced with a range of computers. The new floppy drive system could be programmed to operate with a specific computer instead of building a dedicated controller to provide such functionality. The system was unveiled at the 1975 Canadian Computer Show & Conference.
In the following year, the company moved into the general-purpose computer market. On October 1, 1976, it announced the Dynalogic Microcomputer System (DMS) — an advanced microcomputer that employed the Motorola 6800 processor. The DMS was among the earliest microcomputers with built-in floppy disk drives. It operated under a sophisticated UNIX-style proprietary DYNAMO operating system.
In 1981, Bytec Management Corp. took over Dynalogic, renamed it Dynalogic Info-Tech, and initiated the work on the design of a portable desktop microcomputert — the Hyperion. The computer was unvailed at the 1982 spring Comdex computer show in Atlantic City as the ``most powerful, portable, business computer in the world''. In the same year, the computer was shown during the Canadian Computer Show in Toronto and the fall COMDEX in Las Vegas.
The Dynalogic Info-Tech Hyperion was one of the first 'luggable' computers compatible with the imensly popular IBM PC. The computer was hosted in a plastic case and featured a buit-in display and two diskette drives. Detachable keyboard slid inside the case for storage. Optional 300 bit/s modem and an acoustic coupler were available.
The first Hyperions were manufactured in January of 1983 and retailed at US $4,955. The sales continued throughout 1983 and 1984 in Canada and the U.S. Several Hyperion user groups were formed across Canada including:
Hardware:
Between November 1971 and April, 1972, Intel Corp. of Santa Clara, California, introduced its first two microprocessors — the 4-bit 4004 and the 8-bit 8008. Soon after, the prototypes of the first general purpose computers powered by microprocessors were already working on site at the French company Réalisations et Études Électroniques located in the suburbs of Paris, at Micro Computer Machines with headquarters situated on the outskirts of Toronto, and at Microsystems International Ltd. headquartered in Montreal. These and other firms fully recognized, articulated, and acted upon the immense potential of the budding microprocessor technology for the development of a new generation of cost effective computer hardware.
In 1973, C. Murray Bell incorporated Dynalogic Corporation in Ottawa to design, develop, and manufacture floppy disk drive systems that could be interfaced with a range of computers and programmable calculators. The floppy diskette systems shipped up to mid-1975 had hardwired controllers designed to work with specific computers. This solution was costly since different computer models typically required different floppy drive controllers that would have to be designed and assembled. In 1975, the company entered the microprocessor market with its release of a firmware controlled, microprocessor-based floppy disk system that could be interfaced with a range of computers. The new floppy drive system could be programmed to operate with a specific computer instead of building a dedicated controller to provide such functionality. The system was unveiled at the 1975 Canadian Computer Show & Conference.
In the following year, the company moved into the general-purpose computer market. On October 1, 1976, it announced the Dynalogic Microcomputer System (DMS) — an advanced microcomputer that employed the Motorola 6800 processor. The DMS was among the earliest microcomputers with built-in floppy disk drives. It operated under a sophisticated UNIX-style proprietary DYNAMO operating system.
In 1981, Bytec Management Corp. took over Dynalogic, renamed it Dynalogic Info-Tech, and initiated the work on the design of a portable desktop microcomputert — the Hyperion. The computer was unvailed at the 1982 spring Comdex computer show in Atlantic City as the ``most powerful, portable, business computer in the world''. In the same year, the computer was shown during the Canadian Computer Show in Toronto and the fall COMDEX in Las Vegas.
The Dynalogic Info-Tech Hyperion was one of the first 'luggable' computers compatible with the imensly popular IBM PC. The computer was hosted in a plastic case and featured a buit-in display and two diskette drives. Detachable keyboard slid inside the case for storage. Optional 300 bit/s modem and an acoustic coupler were available.
The first Hyperions were manufactured in January of 1983 and retailed at US $4,955. The sales continued throughout 1983 and 1984 in Canada and the U.S. Several Hyperion user groups were formed across Canada including:
- Calgary Hyperion User Group (CHUG), Calgary, AB
- Hyperion User Group of BC, Richmond, BC
- Hyperion Users Group of Saskatoon, Saskatoon, SK
- Hyperion Users Group of Laurentian Uuniversity, Sudbury, ON
- Hyperion Users Group of Montreal, Montreal, QC
- Hyperion Users Group of Ottawa (HUGO), Nepean, ON
- Toronto Hyperion Users Group, Toronto, ON
- Welland Hyperion User's Group, Welland, ON.
Hardware:
- CPU - Intel 8088,
- Math co-processor - Intel 8087 (optional),
- RAM - 256 Kbytes (expandable to 640 Kbytes) ,
- ROM - 8 Kbytes,
- VRAM - 16 Kbytes,
- diskette drives: double sided double density, 360 Kbytes 5.25",
- display: 7-inch, amber, with built-in screen blanker; display resolutions: 320x200, 320x250, 640x200, and 640x250,
- keyboard: QWERT, detachable,
- internal 300-baud modem opertaed under IN:TOUCH communication software (optional),
- hardware expandable using the Hyperion EX Expansion Unit.
- DOS 1/25, EDLIN, Dynalogic Info-Tech Corp. and Microsoft Corp., 1982, 1983,
- Hyperion DOS 2.11, ver. 00, rev. 00, Compterm Inc., 1 July 1984
- IN:SCRIBE, Dynalogic Info-Tech Corp., 1982,
- IN:TOUCH communication software, Bytec-Comterm Inc., 1982,
- LOTUS 123, Dynalogic Info-Tech Corp. and Lotus Development Corp., 1983,
- LOTUS 123, System Backup for the Hyperion, Dynalogic Info-Tech Corp. and Lotus Development Corp., 1983,
- LOTUS 123, utility software for the Hyperion, Dynalogic Info-Tech Corp. and Lotus Development Corp., 1983,
- LOTUS 123 PrintGraph for the Hyperion, Dynalogic Info-Tech Corp. and Lotus Development Corp., 1983,
- BASICA Assembler, Dynalogic Info-Tech Corp. and Microsoft Corp., 1982, 1983,
- Aladin, Bytec Management Corp. and ADI America Inc., 1983.
Creator
Dynalogic Info-Tech, Bytec Management Corp.
Date
1982-1985
Relation
Dynalogic collection
Identifier
H.31, H.44
Coverage
North America, 1983-1985
Contribution Form
Online Submission
No
Files
Collection
Citation
Dynalogic Info-Tech, Bytec Management Corp., “Hyperion Personal Computer,” York University Computer Museum Canada, accessed November 21, 2024, https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/items/show/53.