1 Feb
2017
1 Feb
'17
3:07 a.m.
In the wikipedia entry on the DEC PDP-10, it has this comment:
"The PDP-10 is the machine that made time-sharing common, and this and
other features made it a common fixture in many university computing
facilities and research labs during the 1970s..."
Is it a reasonable claim that the PDP-10 made time-sharing "common"
(note it says "the machine")? I'm presuming that "common" should
be
read as ubiquitous and accessible (as in lower-cost than
competing/alternative options from other manufacturers or even DEC).
I'm wondering if it was really the combination of the PDP-11
(lower-cost more models) and Unix ("free" license to universities)
that propelled time-sharing, at least at universities.