Exceltronix catalogs
promotional documents
Exceltronix catalogs.
Holdings: Fall 1982/83, Spring 1983, Fall 1983, Spring 1984, Fall 1984, Spring 1985, Spring 1986, 1987, and Summer 1989.
Founded in 1979, Exceltronix was one of the largest and popular electronics stores of the 1980s in Toronto. From a retail store specializing in electronic components, Exceltronix had expanded into a group of companies (Exceltronix, Multiflex, Toronto Computing Center, Versa-Digital Technology, Digi Media) covering research and development, manufacturing, retailing, and mail order.
Exceltronix
Exceltronix
1982-1989
Multiflex Z80 Computer Kit
computer hardware: microcomputer
<strong>Historical Context:<br /></strong><br />Multiflex Z80 Computer Kit was a Canadian-made, low-cost computer designed around the Z80 microprocessor by Multiflex Technology Inc. and sold by Exceltronix Components and Computing of Toronto. Its early version, offered in 1980 or earlier, was advertised as a prototyping computer kit for computer hobbyists. In 1983, modified and packaged together with display, keyboard, and disk drives, it was sold as the Multiflex Super System. According to Exceltronix, Multiflex computers were sold across Canada to companies, educational institutions, and computer hobbyists.<br /><br />In its basic configuration, the Multiflex Z80 Computer KIt consisted of two boards: the mother board and the CPU board. The motherboard featured four sockets one of which was designated for interfacing with the CPU board. The remaining three sockets were used for expanding the system with a range of expansion cards offered by Multiflex as well as by various manufacturers world-wide. The motherboard also featured a 16-key hexadecimal keypad, 14 monitor function keys, 2 user definable keys, a hexadecimal display, and an EPROM programmer for storing programs and data in EPROM chips. The CPU board was a single-board computer which was inserted into one of the expansion sockets on the motherboard. <br /><br />The computer was designed to operate under Multiflex monitor (Z.MON, residing in EPROM), and later, under a dialect of CP/M operating system co-developed by National Multiplex/Pegasus and Exceltronix. The monitor software allowed full support for programming the computer in the Z80 assembly language as well as for using all the features available through the motherboard (e.g. programming EPROMs). Under the CP/M operating system, the Multiflex Z80 computer could execute a variety of popular applications software from word processors to data bases and spreadsheets.<br /><br /><strong>Multiflex Z80 Computer Kit -- hardware specifications:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>bus architecture: IEEE S-100</li>
<li>CPU: Z80A, 8-bit, (2-6MHz)</li>
<li>RAM: up to 64KB</li>
<li>ROM: 4 ROM sockets for BIOS, monitor software, etc</li>
<li>disk drives: not included but supported whit an optional Multiflex disk drive controller card</li>
<li>expansion sockets: 4 -- one taken by the CPU board and the remaining three were typically designated for a video card, and disk drive controller</li>
<li>keypad: 16-key hexadecimal</li>
<li>function keys: 14 monitor function keys plus 2 user definable keys</li>
<li>display: hexadecimal display on the motherboard</li>
<li>external display: not included but supported with an optional display or high-resolution card</li>
<li>EPROM programmer: resident on the motherboard, could program a range of EPROMs</li>
<li>ports: RS-232 serial port and 24-line parallel port</li>
<li>keyboard: not included</li>
<li>power supply: not included</li>
</ul>
<strong>Software:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>Z.MON monitor program (in EPROM)</li>
<li>CP/M operating system</li>
<li>a range of applications software written to operate under CP/M including BASIC programming language, WordStar (word processor from MicroPro International,), and SuperCalc (spread sheet from Sorcim)</li>
</ul>
The museum has a Multiflex Z80 Computer KIt with a<br />manual published in 1980.
Multiflex Technology Inc.
1980
Canada, 1980s
Commodore VIC-20
hardware: home computer
<strong>Historical context</strong><br /><br />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. <br /><br />In 1947, the company's founder<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>Jack Tramiel<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>the 202<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>was announced in 1967. The following year, the company began to turn its focus toward electronic desktop and, soon after, hand-held calculators.<br /><br />Commodore entered the market of hand-held electronic calculators in late 1970s with its CBM 110 device. Within months, the company introduced what would become a popular series of Minuteman calculators. That series, in turn, was followed by the "SR" and "SF" line of scientific and financial hand-held calculators. By the mid-1970s, Commodore was selling a wide range of electronic calculators, becoming one of the largest American manufacturers of these devices.<br /><br />Commodore's entry into microcomputer market was, to a large degree, the result of fierce price war in the calculator market that started in late 1973, and the decision of Texas Instruments<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>one of the main suppliers of calculator chips<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>to enter the calculator market and to compete with its clients. To stay competitive and independent of third parties for the chips and displays that went into its products, Commodore purchased MOS Technology in 1976. With the acquisition came not only MOS integrated circuits (most notably the 6502 microprocessor) but also Chuck Peddle's<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>the 6502's chief designer's<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>considerable technical expertise and impeccable sense of changing trends in electronics market. While at MOS, he built the KIM-1 single-board computer that quickly became popular among computer hobbyists. Peddle urged Commodore not to underestimate the market potential for mass-manufactured microcomputers and his team got permission to go ahead with a project of designing a desktop computer around the 6502 processor. The all-in-one Commodore PET (or Personal Electronic Transactor) was introduced in 1977. It was successfully marked world-wide, which opened the door into the consumer electronics market for the company's next best sellers: the VIC-20 introduced in 1980, and the Commodore 64 unveiled in 1982.<br /><br />By 1983, in just 25 years, a small downtown Toronto typewriter sales and repair shop was transformed into one of the most revered personal computer companies in the world, shipping more units world-wide than any other computer company. However, the departure of Tramiel from Commodore in 1984 marked the beginning of the company's downfall. Commodore was loosing grounds to the IBM PC and Apple Macintosh platforms. The purchase of Amiga and the sales of its aging fleet of 8-bit computers sustained the company for a while but eventually, in 1994, Commodore began its liquidation.<br /><br /><strong>Commodore VIC-20<br /></strong>The VIC-20 home computer was one of the most successful Commodore products. Its prototype was previewed at the National Computer Convention in Chicago in June 1980 but, as a product, it was first launched three months later in Japan as VIC-1001. ``You are about to meet a friendly computer! Friendly in price, friendly in size, friendly to use and learn on and experience" proclaimed Commodore introducing its VIC-20 microcomputer. [From<em> Personal Computing on the VIC-20: A Friendly Computer Guide,</em> Commodore Business Machines, 1982, p. II.]<br /><br />Commodore sold 8000,000 VIC-20s world-wide in 1982, reached the one million mark early in 1983 when they were being shipped at the rate of 100,000 units per month, making the VIC-20 one of the best-selling computers of all times.<br /><br />Designed in the `computer-in-keyboard' style, the VIC-20 featured the MOS Technology 6502A processor, a BASIC interpreter in ROM, and easy to use QWERTY-style keyboard. The computer used an ordinary color TV set for the display. The high-resolution color graphics capabilities of the VIC-20 made the computer an attractive family entertainment box to rival the supremacy of gaming consoles. Indeed, in spite of its limitations the addition of an external disk drive, a low cost printer, and of a popular VICModem, made the VIC-20 ``the most user friendly computer on the market...friendly in price, friendly in size, friendly to use and expand.'' [From the back cover of <em>Personal Computing on the VIC-20: a friendly computer guide</em>, Commodore Business Machines, 1982.]<br /><br />From the start, Commodore provided the VIC-20 with the diverse software libraries on easy to use ROM cartridges and cassette tapes. Modems for the VIC-20, such as the VICmodem, allowed users to get on line and try electronic mail for the first time or to browse through the libraries of information available on computer bulletin board systems and commercial computer networks. A number of on-line services such as CompuServe, Delphi, Dow-Jones, Genie or The Source owed their popularity and growth to the low-cost VICmodem. <br /><br />In North America, the VIC-20 was sold for the strategically low price of $299.95 through mass merchandise retail outlets (such as K-Mart, Sears, and Toys-R-Us) as well as computer dealers and selected electronics stores. Some of the VIC-20s were manufactured by Commodore Business Machines Ltd., Canada. <br /><br /><strong>VIC-20 specifications</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>CPU: MOS 6502 at approx. 1 MHz</li>
<li>RAM: 5KB expandable to 32KB</li>
<li>ROM: 20 KB occupied by BASIC 2.0 *8KB), KERNAL (8KB), and character set (4KB); external ROM cartridges,</li>
<li>video processor: MOS 6560/6561 VIC,</li>
<li>display: text node: 23 rows and 22 column</li>
<li>graphics mode: 176×184 pixels</li>
<li>sound: MOS 6560/6561 VIC,</li>
<li>keyboard: 62 key QWERTY-style keyboard with additional four function keys,</li>
<li>ports: expansion port (for various types of cartridges), Audio/Video port, floppy disk drive/printer port,</li>
<li>cassette tape storage port, user port (general purpose serial/parallel port),</li>
<li>serial bus IO port, game port (for connecting a joystick, a paddle, or a lightpen),</li>
<li>peripherals: modems (e.g. the VICmodem), floppy disk drives (e.g. the VIC-1540), cassette tape drives (e.g. the C2N), printers (e.g. the 1525 printer),</li>
</ul>
<br /><strong>Museum holdings</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>Commodore VIC-20, serial nr 662878 manufactured by Commodore Business Machines Ltd., Canada,</li>
<li>Commodore VIC-20, serial nr P1105919 manufactured by Commodore Business Machines Ltd., Canada,</li>
<li>Commodore Datassette, serial number S796519,</li>
<li>Commodore C2N Cassette, serial nr 1734692, with operating instructions,</li>
<li>Commodore VIC 1541 floppy disk drive, serial nr 2092779, with user's manual and guide,</li>
<li>Commodore 1520 printer, serial nr 007931,</li>
<li>Commodore VICmodem, Model 1600, serial nr. 060749,</li>
<li>Pocket Modem for Commodore systems,</li>
<li>Commodore VIC 1211A Super Expander, 3KB (with documentation),</li>
<li>Xetec Super Graphix Jr printer interface,</li>
<li>extensive library of educational, entertainment, and personal software on VIC-20 ROM cartridges and cassette tapes,</li>
<li>VIC-20 manuals, guides, books, and promotional literature.<strong><br /></strong></li>
</ul>
Commodore Business Machines
world, 1980--1985
Commodore C108 calculator
hardware: electronic desktop calculator
<strong>Historical context</strong><br /><br />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. <br /><br />In 1947, the company's founder<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>Jack Tramiel<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>the 202<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>was announced in 1967. The following year, the company began to turn its focus toward electronic desktop and, soon after, hand-held calculators.<br /><br />Commodore entered the market of hand-held electronic calculators in late 1970s with its CBM 110 device. Within months, the company introduced what would become a popular series of Minuteman calculators. That series, in turn, was followed by the "SR" and "SF" line of scientific and financial hand-held calculators. By the mid-1970s, Commodore was selling a wide range of electronic calculators, becoming one of the largest American manufacturers of these devices.<br /><br />Commodore's entry into microcomputer market was, to a large degree, the result of fierce price war in the calculator market that started in late 1973, and the decision of Texas Instruments<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>one of the main suppliers of calculator chips<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>to enter the calculator market and to compete with its clients. To stay competitive and independent of third parties for the chips and displays that went into its products, Commodore purchased MOS Technology in 1976. With the acquisition came not only MOS integrated circuits (most notably the 6502 microprocessor) but also Chuck Peddle's<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>the 6502's chief designer's<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>considerable technical expertise and impeccable sense of changing trends in electronics market. While at MOS, he built the KIM-1 single-board computer that quickly became popular among computer hobbyists. Peddle urged Commodore not to underestimate the market potential for mass-manufactured microcomputers and his team got permission to go ahead with a project of designing a desktop computer around the 6502 processor. The all-in-one Commodore PET (or Personal Electronic Transactor) was introduced in 1977. It was successfully marked world-wide, which opened the door into the consumer electronics market for the company's next best sellers: the VIC-20 introduced in 1980, and the Commodore 64 unveiled in 1982.<br /><br />By 1983, in just 25 years, a small downtown Toronto typewriter sales and repair shop was transformed into one of the most revered personal computer companies in the world, shipping more units world-wide than any other computer company. However, the departure of Tramiel from Commodore in 1984 marked the beginning of the company's downfall. Commodore was loosing grounds to the IBM PC and Apple Macintosh platforms. The purchase of Amiga and the sales of its aging fleet of 8-bit computers sustained the company for a while but eventually, in 1994, Commodore began its liquidation.<br /><br /><strong>Commodore C108 description</strong><br /><br />The Commodore C108 was a four-function low-cost electronic calculator designed by Omron Tateishi Electronic Co. and offered by Commodore in 1971. It was sold in North America and Europe.<br /><br />
<ul>
<li>operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division,</li>
<li>display: 8 digits, green vacuum-fluorescent tubes,</li>
<li>keyboard: 17 keys including "clear",</li>
<li>chipset: Omron ALPHA1, ALPHA2, and ALPHA3,</li>
<li>power: AC only.</li>
</ul>
<br /><strong>Museum holdings</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>Commodore C108 calculator, serial nr. 824667.</li>
</ul>
Omron Tateishi Electronic Co. and Commodore Business Machines
1971
North America, Europe, 1970s
Commodore 202 adding machine
hardware: electric calculator
<strong>Historical context</strong><br /><br />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. <br /><br />In 1947, the company's founder<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>Jack Tramiel<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>the 202<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>was announced in 1967. The following year, the company began to turn its focus toward electronic desktop and, soon after, hand-held calculators.<br /><br />Commodore entered the market of hand-held electronic calculators in late 1970s with its CBM 110 device. Within months, the company introduced what would become a popular series of Minuteman calculators. That series, in turn, was followed by the "SR" and "SF" line of scientific and financial hand-held calculators. By the mid-1970s, Commodore was selling a wide range of electronic calculators, becoming one of the largest American manufacturers of these devices.<br /><br />Commodore's entry into microcomputer market was, to a large degree, the result of fierce price war in the calculator market that started in late 1973, and the decision of Texas Instruments<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>one of the main suppliers of calculator chips<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>to enter the calculator market and to compete with its clients. To stay competitive and independent of third parties for the chips and displays that went into its products, Commodore purchased MOS Technology in 1976. With the acquisition came not only MOS integrated circuits (most notably the 6502 microprocessor) but also Chuck Peddle's<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>the 6502's chief designer's<span class="MUxGbd wuQ4Ob WZ8Tjf">—</span>considerable technical expertise and impeccable sense of changing trends in electronics market. While at MOS, he built the KIM-1 single-board computer that quickly became popular among computer hobbyists. Peddle urged Commodore not to underestimate the market potential for mass-manufactured microcomputers and his team got permission to go ahead with a project of designing a desktop computer around the 6502 processor. The all-in-one Commodore PET (or Personal Electronic Transactor) was introduced in 1977. It was successfully marked world-wide, which opened the door into the consumer electronics market for the company's next best sellers: the VIC-20 introduced in 1980, and the Commodore 64 unveiled in 1982.<br /><br />By 1983, in just 25 years, a small downtown Toronto typewriter sales and repair shop was transformed into one of the most revered personal computer companies in the world, shipping more units world-wide than any other computer company. However, the departure of Tramiel from Commodore in 1984 marked the beginning of the company's downfall. Commodore was loosing grounds to the IBM PC and Apple Macintosh platforms. The purchase of Amiga and the sales of its aging fleet of 8-bit computers sustained the company for a while but eventually, in 1994, Commodore began its liquidation.<br /><br /><strong>Commodore 202 description</strong><br /><br />The Commodore 202 was possibly the first adding machine sold exclusively by the company. It was announced in 1967 and manufactured by a Japanese company Ricoh which previously built the 201 adding machine for Commodore. The award-winning case design for the adder was created by Thomas McGourty of Commodore. The 202 featured a built-in column indicator (recording the number of digits pressed) and a printer.<br />
<ul>
<li>Operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, credit balance, automatic total and sub-total, automatic repeat key for repeat addition, subtraction, and multiplication,</li>
<li> column indicator : 10 digit, mechanical,</li>
<li>printing mechanism: 10 column list, eleven column total, red and black printing,</li>
<li>keyboard: 17 keys including "clear", single, double, and triple "0" keys,</li>
<li>power: AC only.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Museum holdings</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>Commodore 202 adder, serial nr. B-152639.</li>
</ul>
Ricoh and Commodore International Ltd.
1967
North America, Europe, late 1960s -- early 1970s
Screaming Tomato BBS artwork
computeer art
Artwork created for the<em> Screaming Tomato BBS</em> operated by Mistigris computer art group (1994—1998) founded in Vancouver BC.
TPUG Magazine
<em>TPUG Magazine</em> was an official publication of the Toronto PET Users Group. It was published monthly or semimonthly between February 1984 and and September 1986. <br /><br />Holdings: February<span class="aCOpRe"><span>—</span></span>May, October (1984); January<span class="aCOpRe"><span>—</span></span>Mrach, May, June, August<span class="aCOpRe"><span>—</span></span>December (1985); No. 21<span class="aCOpRe"><span>—</span></span>24 (1986).
TRACE Newsletter
computer publication
<em>TRACE Newsletter</em> was an official publication of the Toronto Region Association of Computer Enthusiasts. It was published monthly or semimonthly between March 1976 and February 1985.<br /><br />Holdings: nr. 1 (March 1976) — nr. 68 (March-April 1984), and nr. ? (February 1985).
The Toronto Region Association of Computer Enthusiasts
The Toronto Region Association of Computer Enthusiasts
1976-1985
Volker-Craig/NABU 4404 Video Display Terminal
computer hardware: video display terminal
<strong>Historical Context:</strong> <br /><br />In the 1950s, the operators of mainframe computers used dedicated consoles, hardcopy terminals (such as teletypes and modified electric typewriters), and a variety of cathode ray tube (CRT) displays to run and control data processing tasks. Computer consoles typically featured rows of switches and associated lights that allowed operators to run and control the execution of programs, analyze data stored in memory, and to control other hardware interfaced with computers. Hardcopy terminals were used to print on roles of paper information such as operator's commands, computer responses, and other console messages. Finally, CRTs were used to displaying information (e.g. memory contents) in a rudimentary graphical form. The "glass teletype" that appeared in the mid-1960s was the first attempt at providing a single device allowing computer operators to run their systems having all the essential control and data processing information displayed on a screen. However, it was not until the early 1970s, when the first "dumb" video display terminals, featuring limited editing capabilities, were introduced (one of the earliest such terminals was the 7700A Interactive Display Terminal introduced by Lear Siegler Inc. in 1973). All these terminals shared the same basic keyboard-display-interface design: each featured a keyboard, a CRT screen that could display full sets of alphanumeric characters, and each had the capability to send and receive data via communication lines to a remote host computer. By the mid-1970s, video terminals became the most effective human-computer interface devices and they remain so until the mid-1980s, when they were displaced by microcomputers that could be interfaced with mainframes and minicomputers to perform terminal jobs in addition to microcomputing tasks, when PC monitors had become a common occurrence worldwide. <br /><br />In Canada, the design and manufacturing of computer display terminals began in the early 1970s. Comterm Inc. (Montreal), Cybernex Ltd. (Ottawa), Electrohome (Kitchener), Lektromedia (Pointe Claire), NORPAK (Kanata), TIL Systems Ltd (Toronto), and Volker-Craig (Waterloo) were some of the pioneering companies. <br /><br />Volker-Craig Ltd. was a Canadian manufacturer of video display terminals, founded in 1973 by Michael C. Volker and Ronald G. Craig, both graduates from University of Waterloo. The company's early objective was to manufacture inexpensive video terminals. In a 2020 interview by Steven Forth for Ibbaka market blog, Volker recollects that <br /><br />"<em>In those days... video displays were very, very expensive and being a student, I thought, this [video terminal manufacturing] needs to be done in a way that is economical for students."</em><br /><br />Volker's fourth-year engineering project to design an electronic circuitry for a video terminal that would allow the presentation of characters on the screen of a rudimentary television set was an entrepreneurial trigger. By the end of the 1970s, Volker-Craig was selling its terminals around the world through its offices and distributors in, among other countries, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, and US.<br /><br />In January 1982, Volker-Craig merged with five other companies to form NABU Manufacturing Ltd. with headquarters in Ottawa, and continued to develop video terminals. In 1984, as a result of NABU's restructuring, Volker-Craig became once again a fully independent company renamed as Volker-Craig Technologies Ltd. <br /><br />In 1982, Volker-Craig introduced the VC4404 display terminal -- the Chat. It was a low cost stand-alone, ASCII, serial asynchronous computer peripheral that could be connected to any computer equipped with an RSC232C interface. The terminal offered comptibilty with the company's popular VC404 and the Lear Siegler ADM-3A -- an influential early video display terminal.<br /><br /><strong>VC4404 technical specifications:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>CPU: Zilog Z80A</li>
<li>display: 12" anti-glare, 24 lines, 80 characters per line, normal or revers video, character highlighting</li>
<li>keyboard: detachable, QWERTY, upper/lower case characters, 10 program function keys, 8 switches to control the screen display</li>
<li>ports: EIA RS232C communications interface</li>
<li>data rates: from 110 up to 19200 baud</li>
<li>options: serial and parallel interfaces, numeric key-pad and function keys, APL character set, ccoloured anti-glare display screen (amber or green)</li>
</ul>
<br /><strong>NABU 4404 documentation:</strong><br /><br />
<ul>
<li>VOLKER-CRAIG User's Manual, VC4404 The CHAT Video Display Terminal, Volker-Craig/NABU, Rev. 3, March 1982,</li>
<li>VC4404 Video Display Terminal, Service Manual, Volker-Craig, 1982,</li>
<li><em>VOLKER-CRAIG VC4602 User Manual, </em>Volker-Craig, 1982</li>
</ul>
<br />The museum has a VC4404 terminal and the above mentioned documentation.
Volker-Craig
1980s
NABU Collection
Matrox MGA Millennium
<strong>Historical Context</strong><br />(by Z. Stachniak)<br /><br />Matrox Electronic Systems was established in Montreal in 1976 at the peak of the North American computer hobby movement and the beginning of the rapid growth of the microcomputer market. Co-founders Lorne Trottier and Branko Matić identified an opportunity to expand the microcomputing market into video interfaces, providing microcomputers with graphic display capabilities. The company's first product, Video RAM (1976), was a specialized video-display device, which interfaced with a computer system to display computer-generated alphanumeric data stored in the device's RAM. The device's success generated the revenue necessary for the development of subsequent products. Among these were the MTX-1632 Video RAM and the ALT-series video graphics controllers. With the release of these devices, Matrox pioneered the graphics card add-on market for microcomputers.<br /><br />By 1978, Matrox offered a diverse line of advanced CRT display controllers, which could be used in various combinations supported with a wide choice of display formats, character sets, TV standards, display resolutions, bus compatibility, etc. According to Matrox 1978<br />product catalogue, "Matrox displays have been used in more than 10,000 installations in every imaginable operation: from ground control displays for the Viking mission to Mars to hobby displays."<br /><br />The following year, Matrox began to supply system integrators on Wall Street with a line of financial information display products. One of them, the Quad Video, powered four monitors becoming the first single-board hardware to provide multi-display support. This groundbreaking product established Matrox as the first graphics company to provide display solutions to the financial and business markets.<br /><br />In the 1980s, the company embarked on designing and manufacturing a range of graphics products for a variety of computer bus standards. Matrox also expanded its operations to include the production of microcomputers, such as the CCB-7 MACS and the MAP-2000 Super Microcomputer. Throughout the 1990s, Matrox introduced several lines of high-quality graphics products, notably the Millennium and Mistique graphics cards, while gradually shifting its focus towards specialized markets.<br /><br />In the early 1990s, the company split into three distinct divisions: Matrox Graphics, Matrox Video, and Matrox Imaging. Matrox Graphics was focused on delivering graphics solutions, Matrox Video specialized in markets for the broadcast industry and digital video editing solutions, while Matrox Imaging concentrated on component-level solutions for machine vision applications. <br /><br />By the turn of the century, Matrox emerged as a leading global digital imaging company, offering a broad spectrum of hardware choices supported with leading-edge software solutions. Its hardware and software products found applications across an extensive range of industries, spanning broadcast and media, education, enterprise, government, houses of worship, medical, military and defence, process control and utilities, security, and transportation sectors. <br /><br />In 2022, Matrox Graphics was absorbed into Matrox Video. Two years later, Matrox Imaging, was acquired by Zebra Technologies Corp. In 2024, Matrox provided this concise corporate profile:<br /><br /><em>For over 45 years, Matrox has been synonymous with technology and innovation. A market</em><br /><em>leader in designing software and hardware solutions for Pro AV/IT, video, and imaging/machine</em><br /><em>vision applications, Matrox combines engineering excellence with deep industry expertise to deliver</em><br /><em>unique solutions that help our customers achieve their goals. Matrox has earned its reputation as</em><br /><em>industry leader by consistently meeting customer requirements for innovative technology</em><br /><em>and the highest manufacturing standards.</em><br /><br /><em>Co-founded by Lorne Trottier in 1976, Matrox has pioneered a number of innovative hardware</em><br /><em>and software solutions for an array of high-tech industries. Today, we continue to be at the</em><br /><em>forefront of cutting-edge technology, working closely with our global stakeholders to solve</em><br /><em>specific real-world issues</em>. [from https://www.matrox.com/en/about/matrox]<br /><br /><strong>Matrox MTX 1632 Video RAM<br /></strong><br /><strong>Matrox MGA Millennium</strong><br /><br />In 1995, Matrox introduced the MGA Millennium graphics card, featuring the industry’s pioneering 64-bit graphics processor -- the Matrox MGA (Matrox Graphics Accelerator). At the time, it was one of the fastest PC graphics cards thanks to, amomg other solutions, its 64-bit graphics engine, unique architecture of Window RAM memory, and optimized PCI bus design.<br /><br />The MGA Millennium was a professional, high performance 2D and 3D graphics card that delivered fast performance for applications in areas such as desktop publishing, 2D and 3D CAD, document imaging, computer based digital video and high-end business applications. Although it was originally designed to cater to the needs of professional high-end applications requiring high resolution and high color depth support, its robust set of features made it an excellent choice for computer gaming.<br /><br /><strong>Matrox MGA Millennium technical specifications</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>chipset: IS-STORM (MGA2064W),</li>
<li>Window RAM: 2 and 4MB, expandible to 4 and 8MB,</li>
<li>ports: analog VGA out and Media XL connector (audio and composite video in/out),</li>
<li>display modes: up to 1600x1200 pixel resolution, 2D and 3D,</li>
<li>color support: 24-bit,</li>
<li>video playback: AVI and MPEG,</li>
<li>platforms: Microsoft Windows 95, later available for PCI Power Mac,</li>
<li>upgrades: live video, frame capture, hardware MPEG decoding, TV viewing on a PC.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Software included in the MGA Millennium package</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>MPEG player,</li>
<li>3DFX 3D image and animation creator, Asymetrix,</li>
<li>Nascar Racing, Papyrus Design Group, Inc.,</li>
<li>RenderWare graphics rendering engine, Criterion Software Ltd.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Museum holdings</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>Matrox MGA Millennium package,</li>
<li>all Matrox items in the museum's collection are listed in the<em> Matrox Collection.</em></li>
</ul>
Historical context
Matrox
1995