31 Dec
2023
31 Dec
'23
3:51 a.m.
Noel,
Adding a little to your observation on how fast CMOS microprocessors took over.
Wasn’t just DEC and IBM who were in financial trouble in 1992:
- the whole US minicomputer industry had been hit.
DEC did well to just survive, albeit only for another 5 years before merging with HP.
steve j
On 21 Dec 2023, at 06:31, Noel Chiappa
<jnc(a)mercury.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:
I'm impressed, in retrospect, with how quickly the world went from proceesors
built with transistors, through proceesors built out discrete ICs, to
microprocessors. To give an example; the first DEC machine with an IC
processor was the -11/20, in 1970 (the KI10 was 1972); starting with the
LSI-11, in 1975, DEC started using microprocessors; the last PDP-11 with a
CPU made out of of discrete ICs was the -11/44, in 1979. All -11's produced
after that used microprocessors.
So just 10 years... Wow.
Noel
============
<http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2018/08/102740418-05-01-acc.pdf>
[ 1,070 pg ]
<https://gordonbell.azurewebsites.net/Digital/Minicomputers_The_DEC_aka_Digital_Story.ppt>
[ power point ]
The Birth and Passing of Minicomputers: From A Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) Perspective
Gordon Bell
11 October 2006
(intro slide)
(DEC) 1957-1998. 41 yrs., 4 generations: transistor, IC, VLSI, clusters - winner take all
How computer classes form...and die.
Not dealing with technology = change = disruption
pg 21
91 Minicomputer companies 1984
by 1990 only 4 survived. (DG, DEC, HP, IBM)
============
--
Steve Jenkin, IT Systems and Design
0412 786 915 (+61 412 786 915)
PO Box 38, Kippax ACT 2615, AUSTRALIA
mailto:sjenkin@canb.auug.org.au http://members.tip.net.au/~sjenkin