BNR XMS Workstations
subject: computer hardware: workstation
description: Historical Context (by Z. Stachniak) In 1971, Bell Canada and Northern Electric (renamed Northern Telecom in 1976) established Bell-Northern Research (BNR) -- a common telecommunications research and development entity. BNR played a crucial role in Northern's evolution into a leading global provider of fully digital telecommunications solutions. In 1975, Northern launched the BNR-designed SL-1 -- the first digital switching system in commercial service. Four years later, Northern introduced the DMS-100 digital switch, which seamlessly integrated switching and transmission capabilities (DMS: digital multiplex switch). The widespread adoption of the DMS-100 propelled Northern to the forefront of the global telecommunications industry. The experience gained during the design of the DMS-100 prompted BNR to establish a Computing Technology Development Group in 1979. As described in [2], the group's objectives were: creating the foundational computing components for Northern Telecom's future products; developing tools essential for software development for these products; exploring emerging computing technology trends and ensuring a continuous flow of relevant technologies into BNR's operations. Initially, the Computing Technology Development Group, informally referred to as the XMS group, was comprised of Peter Cashin, who previously led the original core development team for the DMS computer systems, Neil Gammage (systems software: OS and systems), Jean Jervis (systems software: OS), Ragui Kamel (software: compilers), Bill Williams (software architecture), and Rick Workman (hardware/software integration). Shortly thereafter, Liam Casey (distributed software architecture) and Kerry Zoehner (file systems) joined the group. Over time, the XMS group expanded to include more than 100 engineers primarily based in Ottawa. The primary task of the group involved researching and defining hardware and software architectures that could form the basis of a distributed computing netw…
coverage: 1980s, North America, Europe

Burroughs Bookkeeping Machine
subject: hardware: electromechanical calculator
description: Historical context (by Z. Stachniak) The industrial revolution of the 19th century brought new manufacturing methods and with them the ability to produce high quality precision instruments and mechanical devices in large quantities. The first typewriters appeared in the early 19th century and the first wave of useful calculators soon after in Europe and a few decades later in America. America entered the age of mechanical calculators in late 19th century, much later than Europe. When major European countries were undergoing extensive industrialization, the United States was still primarily involved in agriculture while Canada was not even on the map as a country. The Civil War of 1861-1865 did not help with the industrialization either, delaying the effects of the industrial revolution on the North American continent for a decade. It was not until after the Civil War when new forms of manufacturing (steam-powered) allowed the American industry to grow and spread across the nation. It was at that time, when a vibrant office equipment industry was created with calculator manufacturing centers in cities such as Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, and Philadelphia. Large businesses, agencies, and institutions were expanding fast, putting more and more people into their offices. It quickly became evident that ever increasing number of calculation tasks could not be handled cost-effectively without appropriate calculating aids. While American institutions were looking for efficient ways for conducting their business, inventors and entrepreneurs were determined to supply them with all sorts of office gadgets. Two individuals—Dorr E. Felt and William S. Burroughs—played a key role in establishing the calculator industry. Both were determined to provide businesses with just the right kind of calculators: fast, accurate, easy to operate and, in the case of Burroughs' calulators, with printing capabilities. In the end, they created calculator empires that dominated the American calcu…
creator: Burroughs Adding Machine Company of Canada
date: 1920s(?)
contributor: The calculator was donated by Unisys Canada Inc. in 2016
coverage: World, the early 1900s

CEMCorp ICON
subject: hardware: educational computer
description: Historical context (by Z. Stachniak) Since the late 1940s, several computer enthusiasts and dedicated educators have engaged in a variety of computing-related activities, ranging from the design of computer toys and educational aids to publishing and establishing computer clubs and organizations. In 1949, Edmund Berkeley published Giant Brains or Machines That Think, a book intended for a general audience interested in technological innovations. He followed it with a series of computer construction projects and educational devices in the 1950s, including Simon, BRAINIAC, and GENIAC. These devices were not intended as scientific instruments, but rather as educational tools to exhibit in simple understandable form the essential principle of any artificial brain [E. Berkeley and R.A. Jensen, World's Smallest Electric Brain, Radio Electronics, October 1950.] Berkeley's computer education ideas inspired others to find ways of introducing knowledge about computers and their role in modern society to educators, electronics hobbyists, and even children. One such individual was Joseph Weisbecker, a computer engineer at RCA. His career spanned a wide range of fields, from designing mainframe computer hardware to developing microprocessors and microcomputer architectures. However, his true passion lay in demystifying the little-understood world of digital computing. Weisbecker's numerous iterations of his Flexible Recreational and Educational Device (FRED) were not another tape of computer toy—despite having designed many in the past—but as affordable, general-purpose computers for use in homes and schools. The introduction of the first microprocessors in the early 1970s not only reshaped the semiconductor industry but also gave rise to the global microcomputer industry. Education quickly emerged as one of the key application areas driving this new technological wave. As early as 1973, during the launch of its MCM/70 computer, the Canadian electronics company Micro Computer Ma…
creator: The Ministry of Education of Ontario, CEMCorp, Unisis
source: ICON archive, YUCoM
date: 1983-1994
coverage: Ontario, Canada

Cognos PowerHouse
subject: software
description: Historical context (by Z. Stachniak) Cognos Incorporated, formerly known as Quasar Systems Ltd., was a pioneering Ottawa-based software company renowned for its innovative business intelligence and performance management solutions. The company was established in 1969 by Alan Rushforth and Peter Glenister. Michael Potter joined the company in 1972 and, within three years, became the sole owner of Quasar. The company changed its name to Cognos in 1983, opened its new head office in Ottawa in 1985 and, a year later, went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. By the early 1990s, Cognos became the largest independent software company in Canada. By the turn of the century, Cognos served more than 17,000 customers in 120 countries. Potter retired in 1995 and was replaced by Ron Zambonini as the company's CEO. In 2007, Cognos was acquired by IBM for $4.9 billion. Throughout the 1970s, the company primarily focused on information system consulting, predominantly serving the Canadian federal government. Under Potter's leadership, the company's business profile changed. In an interview with the Ottawa Business Journal [1], Potter credited Bob Minns as the catalyst for this transition. Bob was an extraordinarily important guy to the whole Cognos story. [...] Once with Quasar, Bob Minns had the bright idea, which was quite revolutionary at the time, that you could develop a higher-level language which could allow an end user, not an IT specialist, to be more directly involved in actually writing code that would extract data and write the summary reports that he needed. That higher-level language was independent of any particular application, so it could be standardized and packaged as a product. Bob then developed the idea and we released our first software product [Quiz] in the early ’80s. The margin for selling these products was much higher. The geographic constraints of having our people at each customer site were gone, so we could sell it internationally. It …
creator: Cognos Inc.
publisher: Cognos Inc.
date: 1997
coverage: world

Commodore 202 adding machine
subject: hardware: electric calculator
description: Historical context Commodore International Ltd. (or Commodore) was one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronic hand-held calculators as well as home, educational, and business microcomputers. It was best known for its popular personal computers including the PET line of personal desktops as well as the VIC-20, Commodore 64, and the Amiga computers. It was founded on October 10, 1958 as Commodore Portable Typewriter Company Limited in Toronto, Ontario. Two years later, the company incorporated its Commodore Business Machines subsidiary in New York. In 1976, Commodore reorganized its corporate structure as Commodore International Ltd. and moved its financial headquarters to the Bahamas and the operations headquarters to Pennsylvania. The restructured company encompassed several entities world-wide including Commodore Business Machines Ltd., Canada. In 1947, the company's founder—Jack Tramiel—emigrated from Poland to the US. During his US army service (1948-51) he gained considerable experience in repairing office equipment which he turned into business in his civilian life, first in Bronx, New York, and later in Toronto, Canada, where he moved in 1955. His Toronto business was initially focused on repairs and selling licensed typewriters, adding machines, and other office equipment. Initially located at 2 Toronto Street, in the city's downtown core, a short distance from the IBM Toronto Downtown Office, the company relocated several times before establishing its headquarters at 946 Warden Ave, Scarborough, Ont. During the 1960s the scope of Commodore's business expanded to office furniture as well as to electric and eventually electronic calculators. The first Commodore-branded adding machine was the model C mechanical calculator manufactured by a Czechoslovakian company Nisa and sold by Commodore around 1960. The first exclusive Commodore adding machine—the 202—was announced in 1967. The following year, the company began to turn its focus toward electronic…
creator: Ricoh and Commodore International Ltd.
date: 1967
coverage: North America, Europe, late 1960s -- early 1970s

Commodore C108 calculator
subject: hardware: electronic desktop calculator
description: Historical context Commodore International Ltd. (or Commodore) was one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronic hand-held calculators as well as home, educational, and business microcomputers. It was best known for its popular personal computers including the PET line of personal desktops as well as the VIC-20, Commodore 64, and the Amiga computers. It was founded on October 10, 1958 as Commodore Portable Typewriter Company Limited in Toronto, Ontario. Two years later, the company incorporated its Commodore Business Machines subsidiary in New York. In 1976, Commodore reorganized its corporate structure as Commodore International Ltd. and moved its financial headquarters to the Bahamas and the operations headquarters to Pennsylvania. The restructured company encompassed several entities world-wide including Commodore Business Machines Ltd., Canada. In 1947, the company's founder—Jack Tramiel—emigrated from Poland to the US. During his US army service (1948-51) he gained considerable experience in repairing office equipment which he turned into business in his civilian life, first in Bronx, New York, and later in Toronto, Canada, where he moved in 1955. His Toronto business was initially focused on repairs and selling licensed typewriters, adding machines, and other office equipment. Initially located at 2 Toronto Street, in the city's downtown core, a short distance from the IBM Toronto Downtown Office, the company relocated several times before establishing its headquarters at 946 Warden Ave, Scarborough, Ont. During the 1960s the scope of Commodore's business expanded to office furniture as well as to electric and eventually electronic calculators. The first Commodore-branded adding machine was the model C mechanical calculator manufactured by a Czechoslovakian company Nisa and sold by Commodore around 1960. The first exclusive Commodore adding machine—the 202—was announced in 1967. The following year, the company began to turn its focus toward electronic…
creator: Omron Tateishi Electronic Co. and Commodore Business Machines
date: 1971
coverage: North America, Europe, 1970s

Commodore Plus/4
subject: hardware: home computer
description: Historical context Commodore International Ltd. (or Commodore) was one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronic hand-held calculators as well as home, educational, and business microcomputers. It was best known for its popular personal computers including the PET line of personal desktops as well as the VIC-20, Commodore 64, and the Amiga computers. It was founded on October 10, 1958 as Commodore Portable Typewriter Company Limited in Toronto, Ontario. Two years later, the company incorporated its Commodore Business Machines subsidiary in New York. In 1976, Commodore reorganized its corporate structure as Commodore International Ltd. and moved its financial headquarters to the Bahamas and the operations headquarters to Pennsylvania. The restructured company encompassed several entities world-wide including Commodore Business Machines Ltd., Canada. In 1947, the company's founder—Jack Tramiel—emigrated from Poland to the US. During his US army service (1948-51) he gained considerable experience in repairing office equipment which he turned into business in his civilian life, first in Bronx, New York, and later in Toronto, Canada, where he moved in 1955. His Toronto business was initially focused on repairs and selling licensed typewriters, adding machines, and other office equipment. Initially located at 2 Toronto Street, in the city's downtown core, a short distance from the IBM Toronto Downtown Office, the company relocated several times before establishing its headquarters in Scarborough, Ont. During the 1960s the scope of Commodore's business expanded to office furniture as well as to electric and eventually electronic calculators. The first Commodore-branded adding machine was the model C mechanical calculator manufactured by a Czechoslovakian company Nisa and sold by Commodore around 1960. The first exclusive Commodore adding machine—the 202—was announced in 1967. The following year, the company began to turn its focus toward electronic desktop and, so…
creator: Commodore Business Machines Ltd.
coverage: world, 1984-1985

Commodore SuperPET SP9000 computer
subject: hardware: microcomputer
description: Historical context (by Z. Stachniak) Early microprocessor-based computers (microcomputers) presented a cost-effective and low-maintenance alternative to high-performance minicomputers that dominated the computer scene of the 1970s. Initially, their utilization was confined largely to applications that did not require the full processing power of the minis. Microcomputers also presented a unique opportunity to expand and enrich academic computing programs and infrastructure. A 1979 study conducted at the University of Waterloo (UW) on possible use of microcomputers for academic teaching and research concluded that "many of the jobs run on computers at Waterloo could be done using the computational capacity possessed by microcomputers." (See [1.) At that time, UW's mainframe computer served approximately 25,000 student jobs each day. However, "none of the inexpensive, mass-manufactured microcomputers had the appropriate hardware to operate our planned software," stated the authors of Waterloo Micro Computer Systems for the 1980s [1] "mainly because the memory was not large enough, and because there was insufficient flexibility, particularly with respect to input/output." The study set in motion two microcomputer development projects at the Computer Systems Group of UW -- the microWAT and the SuperPET. In the opinion of Wesley Graham, director, Computer Systems Group at UW expressed in [2], "microcomputers offered many advantages such as economy, reliability and flexibility. But the software available was not suitable for our use. In addition, the addressable memory of micro systems was too small to house the software and leave a meaningful work area. [...] Waterloo liked the advantages of micros and set out to bridge the gap. With software systems written to meet our needs, the software problem was solved. Then we introduced a virtual memory concept with hardware and resolve the addressable memory size problem. By using a RS232 interface, the micro could communicate w…
creator: Designed by Computer Systems Group at the University of Waterloo, and BMB CompuScience, manufactured by Commodore
date: 1981
format: Hardware
coverage: world, the early 1980s

Commodore VIC-20
subject: hardware: home computer
description: Historical context Commodore International Ltd. (or Commodore) was one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronic hand-held calculators as well as home, educational, and business microcomputers. It was best known for its popular personal computers including the PET line of personal desktops as well as the VIC-20, Commodore 64, and the Amiga computers. It was founded on October 10, 1958 as Commodore Portable Typewriter Company Limited in Toronto, Ontario. Two years later, the company incorporated its Commodore Business Machines subsidiary in New York. In 1976, Commodore reorganized its corporate structure as Commodore International Ltd. and moved its financial headquarters to the Bahamas and the operations headquarters to Pennsylvania. The restructured company encompassed several entities world-wide including Commodore Business Machines Ltd., Canada. In 1947, the company's founder—Jack Tramiel—emigrated from Poland to the US. During his US army service (1948-51) he gained considerable experience in repairing office equipment which he turned into business in his civilian life, first in Bronx, New York, and later in Toronto, Canada, where he moved in 1955. His Toronto business was initially focused on repairs and selling licensed typewriters, adding machines, and other office equipment. Initially located at 2 Toronto Street, in the city's downtown core, a short distance from the IBM Toronto Downtown Office, the company relocated several times before establishing its headquarters in Scarborough, Ont. During the 1960s the scope of Commodore's business expanded to office furniture as well as to electric and eventually electronic calculators. The first Commodore-branded adding machine was the model C mechanical calculator manufactured by a Czechoslovakian company Nisa and sold by Commodore around 1960. The first exclusive Commodore adding machine—the 202—was announced in 1967. The following year, the company began to turn its focus toward electronic desktop and, so…
creator: Commodore Business Machines
coverage: world, 1980--1985

Computel Systems Ltd., scans of images
subject: computer services industry
description: An image of the Ottawa office of Computel Systems Ltd.
creator: Computel Systems Ltd.
source: Computel Systems Ltd. promotional brochure
date: 1970s
relation: Computel Systems Ltd. Archive
format: digital scan