Rebel.com NetWinder Server
subject: hardware: server
description: The original NetWinder Linux microcomputer was developed by Corel and offered in 1998. In January 1999, Hardware Computing Canada of Ottawa acquired the NetWinder division from Corel and change the name of the combined company to Rebel.com. The company continued revising and manufacturing the NetWinder line of computers until July 2001 when Rebel filed for bankruptcy. The hardware configuration of the Rebel.com rack-mounted NetWinder Server was similar to that of the original Corel NetWinder with some notable exceptions such as no multi-media support (audio and video) and a larger 3.5 inch hard disk that offered 10-26MBytes of storage. The museum has a Rebel.com NetWinder server model MWRM0735, serial number 800-00016. NetWinder documentation and other resources are available from netwinder.org site.
creator: Rebel.com
date: 1999[?]

microWAT Microcomputer
subject: computer hardware: microcomputer
description: Historical context: 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. 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 environments. A 1979 study conducted at the University of Waterloo (UW) on possible use of microcomputers for academic applications concluded that "many of the jobs run on computers at Waterloo could be done using the computational capacity possessed by microcomputers." [1] However, "none of the inexpensive, mass-manufactured microcomputers had the appropriate hardware to operate our planned software, mainly because the memory was not large enough, and because there was insufficient flexibility, particularly with respect to input/output." [1] The study set in motion two microcomputer development projects at the Computer Systems Group (CSG) of UW -- the microWAT and the SuperPET. The microWAT was designed jointly by CSG and Jerry Krist of Northern Digital Ltd. of Waterloo. The computer was demonstrated in December 1980 and subsequently manufactured by Northern Digital. The microWAT was a small CPU unit that required a separate keyboard, display, and external storage to form a computer system. At UW, MicroWATs used Volker-Craig video display terminals and Commodore IEEE disk drives. Several microWATs were installed inside "dumb" display terminals converting them into versatile desktop computers that could operate with diskette drives, printers, plotters, and could be networked with other systems such as the IBM Series/1 minicomputers operating at UW. The computer was built around the Motorola 6809 microprocessor and all its hardware was deposited on several printed circuit boards including the CPU, I/O, ROM, and RAM boards. An additional sma…
creator: Developed by the University of Waterloo, Manufactured by Northern Digital Ltd.
date: 1980--
coverage: Ontario, Canada, 1980-1983[?]

NABU Personal Computer
subject: hardware: personal computer
description: Historical Context The whole crew is instilled with the fervent enthusiasm of Those Who Have Seen The Light. On everyone's lips is the sacred name of the ancient Babylonian god of writing. NABU. Bringer of wisdom and understanding. NABU. Bringer of great pots of money. [P. Kinsman, NABU, NABU! One More Time From the Top, Enterprise, July 1981] The growing popularity of home and personal computing in the late 1970s and early 1980s created a vibrant software industry supplying microcomputer users with a vast range of software products. During that period, the main form of the commercial microcomputer software distribution was packaged software sold in computer stores and outlets in the form of ROM cartridges, tape cassettes, and floppy diskettes. Even though the prices of personal and home computers were falling sharply in the early 1980s, the cost of good quality software remained the same reflecting, in part, high distribution costs. Electronic distribution of software directly into homes of computer owners originated in the second half of the 1970s. It was a novel, fast, and cost-effective alternative to packaged software's expensive, long, and multi-stage delivery process. A computer or a video game console owner could subscribe to an electronic distribution of software service (EDS service) that and gain an electronic access to software and data for a low monthly fee (of, approximately, the cost of a single commercial packaged software). By the early 1980s, several North American and European companies were already distributing software using common communication links (such radio waves, cable television (CATV), or telephone networks). While Europe was experimenting with EDS via teletext and videotex television services, several North American companies were looking into using CATV's superior high-speed digital information delivery capability for the purpose of mass-market distribution of home and recreational software. By the early 1980s, a large percentage of u…
creator: NABU Network Manufacturing Corp., NABU Network Corp.
date: 1982--1986
coverage: 1983-1986, Ottawa (Canada), Alexandria (US), and Sowa (Japan)

NABU 1600 Desktop Computer
subject: hardware: desktop computer
description: Historical Context NABU Manufacturing (incorporated in June 1981 in Ottawa) was created through the amalgamation of three companies: Bruce Instruments Ltd. (manufacturer of cable TV converters based in Almonte), MFC Microsystems International Inc. (a distributor of computer hardware and software for small business systems), and Computer Innovations Ltd. (which operated computer retail stores across Canada). Soon after, the company acquired Andicom Technical Products Ltd. (a manufacturer of small business computers based in Toronto), Consolidated Computer Inc. (a manufacturer and distributor of key-edit systems), Mobius Software Ltd. (an Ottawa-based software consulting company), and Volker-Craig (a Kitchener-based manufacturer of video-display terminals). NABU's business plan was to capture a sizable share of the microcomputer market by offering the world's first cable-ready computers and by implementing a novel system for electronic delivery of software and information to home computer users -- the NABU Network. The company announced its network during the 1982 National Cable & Telecommunications Association conference in Las Vegas. In May 1983, the company transmitted its programming via satellite from Ottawa to terminals installed at the 26th Annual Convention of the Canadian Cable Television Association in Calgary. The NABU Network was officially launched on 15 October 1983 on Ottawa Cablevision, an 85,000-subscriber company where much of NABU's testing was performed. Soon thereafter, the network made its US debut in Alexandria, Virginia, on Tribune Cable, a 5,000 subscriber service. The launch marked the creation of the first commercial computer network to provide high-speed access to information, software, and digital entertainment directly to homes of personal computer users. While NABU's focus was on cable TV-based delivery of software and data, the company also designed and sold desktop and workstation computers. One of such computers was the NABU 1600 desi…
creator: NABU Manufacturing Corp., NABU Network Corp.
type: Hardware
coverage: 1981-1986

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

NDS-1000 Word Processor
subject: hardware: word processor
description: The NDS-1000 (also know as the Pancake) was a microprocessor-based word processor and communication system designed and manufactured by Network Data Systems between 1978 and 1985. The NDS-1000 consisted of a CPU unit (built around the Zilog Z80 microprocessor), Olivetti electric typewriter (Olivetti)), monitor, and diskette drives (5.25 inch). The museum has an NDS-1000, model 1000, serial number 00202-01.
creator: Network Data Systems (NDS)
date: 1977-1985
format: Hardware
type: Hardware
coverage: 1977-1985

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 UN…
creator: Dynalogic Info-Tech, Bytec Management Corp.
date: 1982-1985
relation: Dynalogic collection
identifier: H.31, H.44
coverage: North America, 1983-1985

Dynalogic DMS 7042B Microcomputer
subject: hardware: microcomputer
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 via the industry standard RS-232C interface. 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 dis…
creator: Dynalogic Corporation
date: 1976-1980
relation: Dynalogic collection
type: computer hardware
coverage: Canada, US, Europe

MCM Executive
subject: computer hardware: microcomputer
description: Historical context (by Z. Stachniak) In April, 1972, Intel Corp. of Santa Clara, California, announced its first 8-bit microprocessor — the 8008. In just a few months, the prototypes of the first general purpose computers powered by the 8008 chip were already working on site at the French company Réalisations et Études Électroniques located in the suburbs of Paris and at Micro Computer Machines (MCM) with headquarters situated on the outskirts of Toronto. These 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 computing systems. However, it was MCM which built the first microprocessor-based computer designed specifically for personal use — the MCM/70, the first PC. Before MCM officially announced its PC in September 1973, the company produced and demonstrated several prototypes. In the summer of 1973, MCM assembled in record short time a unique prototype of the MCM/70 for demonstration at the APL Congress that was to take place in August at the Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby, north of Copenhagen, Denmark. MCM decided to pack the current MCM/70 prototype's hardware, including a keyboard, a one-line plasma display (Burroughs SelfScan), and a single cassette drive, into an attache case and to operate all of it on batteries exclusively. The company expected considerable marketing gains from the planned ground-breaking presentation of a never-seen-before luggable, battery operated, general-purpose computer which they named the Executive. The gamble payed off. On August 23, the day after the Executive's demonstration, the Danish daily Politiken published a front-page article about a sensational computer from Canada. The article included two photographs depicting MCM employee Ted Edwards operating the Executive on the doorstep of the auditorium where the conference took place. For a brief time, MCM contemplated manufacturing the Executive an…
creator: Micro Computer Machines
date: early 1970s
relation: IBM
format: digital image, format jpeg, 732x431 pixels
coverage: Canada, Denmark, 1973

MICOM 2000 Digital Word Processor
subject: hardware: word processor
description: Historical context (by Z. Stachniak) In 1967, Stephen Dorsey founded Automatic Electronic Systems (AES) in Montreal to develop electronic devices for industrial remote-control applications. Over the six years, AES developed, among other products, its own minicomputers (the AES-80 and AES-80C) and the world’s first all-in-one programmable word processor — the AES-90. Until the mid-1980s, digital word processors remained the company's main line of business, sold around the world. In the 1960s, office document-writing equipment was still dominated by various types of typewriters, ranging from purely mechanical to electric models, including those with digital storage for recording typed text, such as the best-selling IBM MT/ST (Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter), which recorded edited documents on magnetic tape. These devices lacked displays and offered only limited word-processing functionality. None of them could be upgraded to newer versions; they could only be replaced with more advanced models as they became available. It all changed in the early 1970s, when several companies introduced dedicated text-editing equipment with displays for on-screen document editing and external storage. In 1972, Linolex Systems introduced its Model A while Lexitron offered the Videotype 911. In the following year, AES released its AES-90 Word Processor, and Vydec began selling its Vydec Text Processor. Although all these systems provided on-screen editing and external storage, several unique features of the AES-90 set new trends in the design of cost-effective text editing equipment. The most important of these was the AES-90 architecture and its software upgradability. The AES-90 was a standalone system that featured a CRT display, a keyboard, and two 8-inch floppy disk drives connected to a central processor. However, unlike the “hard-wired” solutions used in other early on-screen text-editing systems, the AES-90 processor was built around a general-purpose minicomputer (the AES-9…
creator: Micom Data Systems Ltd.
date: 1976
format: Hardware
type: Hardware
coverage: 1976-1980s