1/25/2014
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`Digital Equipment Corporation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
`
`Digital Equipment Corporation
`
`From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
`
`Digital Equipment Corporation
`
`Honesty and respect for customers and employees.
`Computer manufacturing
`Industry
`Acquired by Compaq, after
`Fate
`divestiture of major assets.
`Successor(s) Hewlett-Packard
`(2002 – present)
`Compaq
`(1998–2002)
`1957
`Founded
`1998
`Defunct
`Headquarters Maynard, Massachusetts, United
`States
`Ken Olsen (founder, president, and
`chairman)
`Harlan Anderson (co-founder)
`C. Gordon Bell (VP Engineering,
`1972-1983)
`PDP minicomputers
`VAX minicomputers
`Alpha servers and workstations
`DECnet
`VT100 terminal
`StrongARM microprocessors
`Digital Linear Tape
`over 140,000 (1987)
`
`Key people
`
`Products
`
`Employees
`
`Digital Equipment Corporation, also known as DEC[1]
`and using the trademark Digital, was a major American
`company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the
`1990s. It was a leading vendor of computer systems,
`including computers, software, and peripherals, and its PDP
`and successor VAX products were the most successful of all
`minicomputers in terms of sales.
`
`From 1957 until 1992 its headquarters were located in a
`former wool mill in Maynard, Massachusetts, since renamed
`Clock Tower Place and now home to multiple companies.
`DEC was acquired in June 1998 by Compaq, which
`subsequently merged with Hewlett-Packard in May 2002.
`Some parts of DEC, notably the compiler business and the
`Hudson, Massachusetts facility, were sold to Intel.
`
`Digital Equipment Corporation should not be confused with
`the unrelated companies Digital Research, Inc or Western
`Digital, although the latter manufactured the LSI-11 chipsets
`used in DEC's low end PDP-11/03 computers.
`
`Contents
`
`1 Overview
`2 History
`2.1 Origins
`2.2 Digital modules
`2.3 PDP-1 family
`2.4 PDP-8 family
`2.5 PDP-10 family
`2.6 DECtape
`2.7 PDP-11
`2.8 VAX
`2.9 Early microcomputers
`2.10 Networking and clusters
`2.11 Diversification
`2.12 Faltering in the market
`2.13 32-bit MIPS and 64-bit Alpha systems
`2.14 StrongARM
`2.15 Designing solutions
`2.16 Final years
`
`3 Research
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`3 Research
`4 Accomplishments
`5 User organizations
`6 Notes
`7 References
`8 External links
`
`Overview
`
`Initially focusing on the small-end of the computer market allowed DEC to grow without its potential competitors
`making serious efforts to compete with them. Their PDP series of machines became popular in the 1960s,
`especially the PDP-8, widely considered to be the first successful minicomputer. Looking to simplify and update
`their line, DEC replaced most of their smaller machines with the PDP-11 in 1970, eventually selling over 600,000
`units and cementing DECs position in the industry. Originally designed as a follow-on to the PDP-11, DEC's VAX-
`11 series was the first widely used 32-bit minicomputer, sometimes referred to as "superminis". These were able to
`compete in many roles with larger mainframe computers, such as the IBM System/370. The VAX was a best-
`seller, with over 400,000 sold, and its sales through the 1980s propelled the company into the second largest in the
`industry. At its peak, DEC was the second largest employer in Massachusetts, second only to the state
`government.
`
`The rapid rise of the business microcomputer in the late 1980s, and especially the introduction of powerful 32-bit
`systems in the 1990s, quickly eroded the value of DEC's systems. DEC's last major attempt to find a space in the
`rapidly changing market was the DEC Alpha 64-bit RISC processor architecture. DEC initially started work on
`Alpha as a way to re-implement their VAX series, but also employed it in a range of high-performance
`workstations. Although the Alpha processor family met both of these goals, and, for most of its lifetime, was the
`fastest processor family on the market, extremely high asking prices[2] were outsold by lower priced x86 chips from
`Intel and clones such as AMD.
`
`The company was acquired in June 1998 by Compaq, in what was at that time the largest merger in the history of
`the computer industry. At the time, Compaq was focused on the enterprise market and had recently purchased
`several other large vendors. DEC was a major player overseas where Compaq had less presence. However,
`Compaq had little idea what to do with its acquisitions, and soon found itself in financial difficulty of its own. The
`company subsequently merged with Hewlett-Packard in May 2002. As of 2007 some of DEC's product lines were
`still produced under the HP name.
`History
`
`Origins
`
`Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson were two engineers who had been working at MIT Lincoln Laboratory on the
`lab's various computer projects. The Lab is best known for their work on what would today be known as
`"interactivity", and their machines were among the first where operators had direct control over programs running in
`real-time. These had started in 1944 with the famed Whirlwind which was originally developed to make a flight
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`simulator for the US Navy, although this was never completed.[3] Instead, this effort evolved into the SAGE system
`for the US Air Force, which used large screens and light guns to allow operators to interact with radar data stored
`in the computer.[4]
`
`When the Air Force project wound down, the Lab turned their attention to an effort to build a version of the
`Whirlwind using transistors in place of vacuum tubes. In order to test their new circuitry, they first built a small 18-
`bit machine known as TX-0 which first ran in 1956.[5] When the TX-0
`successfully proved the basic concepts, attention turned to a much larger
`system, the 36-bit TX-2 with a then-enormous 64 kWords of core
`memory. Core was so expensive that parts of TX-0's memory were
`stripped for the TX-2, and what remained of the TX-0 was then given to
`MIT on permanent loan.[6]
`
`At MIT, Olsen and Anderson noticed something odd: students would line
`up for hours to get a turn to use the stripped-down TX-0, while largely
`ignoring a faster IBM machine that was also available. The two decided
`that the draw of interactive computing was so strong that they felt there
`was a market for a small machine dedicated to this role, essentially a
`commercialized TX-0. They could sell this to users where graphical
`output or realtime operation would be more important than outright
`performance. Additionally, as the machine would cost much less than the
`larger systems then available, it would also be able to serve users that
`needed a lower-cost solution dedicated to a specific task, where a larger
`36-bit machine wouldn't be needed.[7]
`
`In 1957 when the pair and Ken's brother Stan went looking for capital,
`they found that the American business community was hostile to investing
`in computer companies. Many smaller computer companies had come
`and gone in the 1950s, wiped out when new technical developments
`rendered their platforms obsolete, and even large companies like RCA and General Electric were failing to make a
`profit in the market. The only serious expression of interest came from Georges Doriot and his American Research
`and Development Corporation (AR&D). Worried that a new computer company would find it difficult to arrange
`further financing, Doriot suggested the fledgling company change its business plan to focus less on computers, and
`even change their name from "Digital Computer Corporation".[7]
`
`DEC was headquartered at a former
`wool mill at Clock Tower Place,
`Maynard MA from 1957 until 1992
`
`The pair returned with an updated business plan that outlined two-phases for the company's development. They
`would start by selling computer modules as stand-alone devices that could be purchased separately and wired
`together to produce a number of different digital systems for lab use. Then, if these "digital modules" were able to
`build a self-sustaining business, the company would be free to use them to develop a complete computer in their
`Phase II.[8] The newly christened "Digital Equipment Corporation" received $70,000 from AR&D for a 70%
`share of the company,[7] and began operations in a Civil War era textile mill in Maynard, Massachusetts, where
`plenty of inexpensive manufacturing space was available.
`
`Digital modules
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`In early 1958 DEC shipped its first products, the "Digital Laboratory Module" line. The Modules consisted of a
`number of individual electronic components and germanium transistors mounted to a circuit board, the actual
`circuits being based on those from the TX-2.[9]
`
`The Laboratory Modules were packaged in an extruded aluminum
`housing,[10] intended to sit on an engineer's workbench, although a rack-
`mount bay was sold that held 9 laboratory modules.[11] They were then
`connected together using banana plug patch cords inserted at the front of
`the modules. Three versions were offered, running at 5 MHz (1957),
`500 kHz (1959), or 10 MHz (1960).[12] The Modules proved to be in
`high demand in other computer companies, who used them to build
`equipment to test their own systems. Despite the recession of the late
`1950s, the company sold $94,000 worth of these modules during 1958
`alone, turning a profit at the end of its first year.[7]
`
`System Building Blocks (System
`Module) 1103 hex-inverter card (both
`sides)
`
`The original Laboratory Modules were soon supplemented with the "Digital Systems Module" line, which were
`identical internally but packaged differently. The Systems Modules were designed with all of the connections at the
`back of the module using 22-pin Amphenol connectors, and were attached to each other by plugging them into a
`backplane that could be mounted in a 19-inch rack. The backplanes allowed 25 modules in a single 5-1/4 inch
`section of rack, and allowed the high densities needed to build a computer.[9]
`
`The original laboratory and system module lines were offered in 500 kilocycle, 5 megacycle and 10 megacycle
`versions. In all cases, the supply voltages were -15 and +10 volts, with logic levels of -3 volts (passive pull-down)
`and 0 volts (active pull-up).[11]
`
`DEC used the Systems Modules to build their "Memory Test" machine for testing core memory systems, selling
`about 50 of these pre-packaged units over the next eight years.[13] The PDP-1 and LINC computers were also
`built using Systems Modules (see below).
`
`Modules were part of DEC's product line into the 1970s, although they went through several evolutions during this
`time as technology changed. The same circuits were then packaged as the first "R" (red) series "Flip-Chip"
`modules. Later, other module series provided additional speed, much higher logic density, and industrial I/O
`capabilities.[14] Digital published extensive data about the modules in free catalogs that became very popular.
`
`PDP-1 family
`
`Main article: PDP-1
`
`With the company established and a successful product on the market, DEC turned its attention to the computer
`market once again as part of its planned "Phase II".[8] In August 1959, Ben Gurley started design of the company's
`first computer, the PDP-1. In keeping with Doriot's instructions, the name was an initialism for "Programmable Data
`Processor", leaving off the term "computer". As Gurley put it, "We aren't building computers, we're building
`'Programmable Data Processors'." The prototype was first shown publicly at the Joint Computer Conference in
`Boston in December 1959.[15] The first PDP-1 was delivered to Bolt, Beranek and Newman in November
`1960,[16] and formally accepted the next April.[17] The PDP-1 sold in basic form for $120,000, or about
`$900,000 in 2011 US dollars.[18] By the time production ended in 1969, 53 PDP-1s had been delivered.[13][19]
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`The PDP-1 was supplied standard with 4096 words of core memory,
`18-bits per word, and ran at a basic speed of 100,000 operations per
`second. It was constructed using many System Building Blocks that were
`packaged into several 19-inch racks. The racks were themselves
`packaged into a single large mainframe case, with a hexagonal control
`panel containing switches and lights mounted to lay at table-top height at
`one end of the mainframe. Above the control panel was the system's
`standard input/output solution, a punch tape reader and writer. Most
`systems were purchased with two peripherals, the Type 30 vector
`graphics display, and a Soroban Engineering modified IBM Model B
`Electric typewriter that was used as a printer. The Soroban system was
`notoriously unreliable, and often replaced with a modified Friden
`Flexowriter, which also contained its own punch tape system. A variety
`of more-expensive add-ons followed, including magnetic tape systems,
`punched card readers and punches, and faster punch tape and printer
`systems.
`
`A PDP-1 system, with Steve Russell,
`developer of Spacewar! at the
`console. This is a canonical example
`of the PDP-1, with the console
`typewriter on the left, CPU and main
`control panel in the center, the Type
`30 display on the right.
`
`When DEC introduced the PDP-1, they also mentioned larger machines
`at 24, 30 and 36-bits, based on the same design.[20] During construction of the prototype PDP-1, some design
`work was carried out on a 24-bit PDP-2, and the 36-bit PDP-3. Although the PDP-2 never proceeded beyond
`the initial design, the PDP-3 found some interest and was designed in full.[21] Only one PDP-3 appears to have
`been built, in 1960, by the CIA's Scientific Engineering Institute (SEI) in Waltham, Massachusetts. According to the
`limited information available, they used it to process radar cross section data for the Lockheed A-12
`reconnaissance aircraft. Gordon Bell remembered that it was being used in Oregon some time later, but could not
`recall who was using it.[22]
`
`In November 1962 DEC introduced the $65,000 PDP-4. The PDP-4 was similar to the PDP-1 and used a similar
`instruction set, but used slower memory and different packaging to lower the price. Like the PDP-1, about 54
`PDP-4's were eventually sold, most to a customer base similar to the original PDP-1.[23]
`
`In 1964 DEC introduced its new Flip Chip module design, and used it to re-implement the PDP-4 as the PDP-7.
`The PDP-7 was introduced in December 1964, and about 120 were eventually produced.[24] An upgrade to the
`Flip Chip led to the R series, which in turn led to the PDP-7A in 1965.[25] The PDP-7 is most famous as the
`original machine for the Unix operating system.[26]
`
`A more dramatic upgrade to the PDP-1 series was introduced in August 1966, the PDP-9.[27] The PDP-9 was
`instruction compatible with the PDP-4 and −7, but ran about twice as fast as the −7 and was intended to be used in
`larger deployments. At only $19,900 in 1968,[28] the PDP-9 was a big seller, eventually selling 445 machines,
`more than all of the earlier models combined.[29]
`
`Even while the PDP-9 was being introduced, its replacement was being designed, and was introduced as 1969's
`PDP-15, which re-implemented the PDP-9 using integrated circuits in place of modules. Much faster than the
`PDP-9 even in basic form, the PDP-15 also included a floating point unit and a separate input/output processor for
`further performance gains. Over 400 PDP-15's were ordered in the first eight months of production, and
`production eventually amounted to 790 examples in 12 basic models.[29] However, by this time other machines in
`DEC's lineup could fill the same niche at even lower price points, and the PDP-15 would be the last of the 18-bit
`series.
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`PDP-8 family
`
`Main article: PDP-8
`
`Digital Equipment Corporation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
`
`In 1962, Lincoln Laboratory used a selection of System Building Blocks
`to implement a small 12-bit machine, and attached it to a variety of
`analog-to-digital (A to D) input/output (I/O) devices that made it easy to
`interface with various analog lab equipment. The LINC proved to attract
`intense interest in the scientific community, and has since been referred to
`as the first real minicomputer,[30] a machine that was small and
`inexpensive enough to be dedicated to a single task even in a small lab.
`
`Seeing the success of the LINC, in 1963 DEC took the basic logic
`design but stripped away the extensive A to D systems to produce the
`PDP-5. The new machine, the first outside the PDP-1 mould, was
`introduced at WESTCON on 11 August 1963. A 1964 ad expressed
`the main advantage of the PDP-5, "Now you can own the PDP-5
`computer for what a core memory alone used to cost: $27,000"[31] 116
`PDP-5s were produced until the lines were shut down in early 1967.
`Like the PDP-1 before it, the PDP-5 inspired a series of newer models
`based on the same basic design that would go on to be more famous than
`its parent.
`
`A PDP-8 on display at the
`Smithsonian's National Museum of
`American History in Washington,
`D.C.. This example is from the first
`generation of PDP-8s, built with
`discrete transistors and later known
`as the Straight 8.
`
`On 22 March 1965, DEC introduced the PDP-8, which replaced the
`PDP-5's modules with the new R-series modules using Flip Chips. The
`machine was re-packaged into a small tabletop case, which remains
`distinctive for its use of smoked plastic over the CPU which allowed one
`to easily see the wire-wrapped internals of the CPU. Sold standard with
`4 kWords of 12-bit core memory and a Teletype Model 33 ASR for
`basic input/output, the machine listed for only $18,000. The PDP-8 is referred to as the first real minicomputer
`because of its sub-$25,000 price.[32][33] Sales were, unsurprisingly, very strong, and helped by the fact that several
`competitors had just entered the market with machines aimed directly at the PDP-5's market space, which the
`PDP-8 trounced. This gave the company two years of unrestricted leadership,[34] and eventually 1450 "straight
`eight" machines were produced before it was replaced by newer implementations of the same basic design.[31]
`
`DEC hit an even lower price-point with the PDP-8/S, the S for "serial". As the name implies the /S used a serial
`arithmetic unit, which was much slower but reduced costs so much that the system sold for under $10,000.[35]
`DEC then used the new PDP-8 design as the basis for a new LINC, the two-processor LINC-8. The LINC-8
`used one PDP-8 CPU and a separate LINC CPU, and included instructions to switch from one to the other. This
`allowed customers to run their existing LINC programs, or "upgrade" to the PDP-8, all in software. Although not a
`huge seller, 142 LINC-8s were sold starting at $38,500.[31] Like the original LINC to PDP-5 evolution, the
`LINC-8 was then modified into the single-processor PDP-12, adding another 1000 machines to the 12-bit
`family.[31][36] Newer circuitry designs led to the PDP-8/I and PDP-8/L in 1968.[14] In 1975, one year after an
`agreement between Digital and Intersil, the Intersil 6100 chip was launched, effectively a PDP-8 on a chip. This
`was a way to allow PDP-8 software to be run even after the official end-of-life announcement for the Digital PDP-
`8 product line.
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`PDP-10 family
`
`Main article: PDP-10
`
`Digital Equipment Corporation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
`
`While the PDP-5 introduced a lower-cost line, 1963's PDP-6 was
`intended to take DEC into the mainframe market with a 36-bit machine.
`However, the PDP-6 proved to be a "hard sell" with customers, as it
`offered few advantages over similar machines from the better established
`vendors like IBM or Honeywell, in spite of its low cost around
`$300,000. Only 23 were sold,[37] or 26 depending on the source,[38]
`and unlike earlier models the low sales meant the PDP-6 was not
`improved with intermediate versions. However, the PDP-6 is historically
`important as the platform that introduced "Monitor", an early time-sharing
`operating system that would evolve into the widely used TOPS-10.[39]
`
`A "B" (blue) series Flip Chip module
`containing nine transistors, 1971
`
`In spite of the PDP-6's limited commercial success, it introduced many features that clearly had commercial benefit.
`When the Flip Chip packaging allowed the PDP-6 to be re-implemented at a much lower cost, DEC took the
`opportunity to carry out a similar evolution of their 36-bit design and introduced the PDP-10 in 1968. The PDP-10
`was as much a success as the PDP-6 was a failure; during its lifetime about 700 mainframe PDP-10s were sold
`before production ended in 1984.[37] The PDP-10 was widely used in university settings, and thus was the basis of
`many advances in computing and operating system design during the 1970s. DEC later re-branded all of the models
`in the 36-bit series as the "DECsystem-10", and PDP-10s are generally referred to by the model of their CPU, like
`"KA10". Later upgrades produced the compatible DECSYSTEM-20, along with TOPS-20 that included virtual
`memory.
`
`DECtape
`
`Main article: DECtape
`
`One of the most unusual peripherals produced for the PDP-10 was the DECtape. The DECtape was a length of
`special 3/4-inch wide magnetic tape wound on 5-inch reels. The recording format was a 10-track approach using
`fixed-length numbered 'blocks' organized into a standard file structure, including a directory. Files could be written,
`read, changed, and deleted on a DECtape as though it were a disk drive. For greater efficiency, the DECtape drive
`could read and write to a DECtape in both directions.
`
`In fact, some PDP-10 systems had no disks at all, using DECtapes alone for their primary data storage. The
`DECtape was also widely used on other PDP models, since it was much easier to use than hand-loading multiple
`paper tapes. Primitive early time-sharing systems could use DECtapes as system devices and swapping devices.
`Although superior to paper tape, DECtapes were relatively slow, and were supplanted as reliable disk drives
`became affordable.
`
`PDP-11
`
`Main article: PDP-11
`
`In 1968, DEC was developing a PDP machine that would be based on 8-bit bytes instead of 6-bit characters.
`Known as the "PDP-X", the project was eventually cancelled. Several team members decamped and set up Data
`General in May 1968, and rapidly brought the 16-bit NOVA minicomputer to market. DEC immediately found
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`itself behind in the industry transition to 8-bit bytes, and soon lost its crown as the largest minicomputer
`vendor.[citation needed]
`
`The PDP-11 16-bit computer was designed in a crash program by Harold McFarland, Gordon Bell, Roger Cady,
`and others.[40] The project was able to leap forward in design with the arrival of Harold McFarland, who had been
`researching 16-bit designs at Carnegie Mellon University. One of his simpler designs became the PDP-11, although
`when they first viewed the proposal, management was not impressed and almost cancelled it.[40]
`
`In particular, the new design did not include many of the addressing modes that were intended to make programs
`smaller in memory, a technique that was widely used on other DEC machines and CISC designs in general. This
`would mean the machine would spend more time accessing memory, which would slow it down. However, the
`machine also extended the idea of multiple "General Purpose Registers" (GPRs), which gave the programmer
`flexibility to use these high-speed memory caches as they needed, potentially addressing the performance issues.
`
`A major advance in the PDP-11 design was Digital's Unibus, which supported all peripherals through memory
`mapping. This allowed a new device to be added easily, generally only requiring plugging a hardware interface
`board into the backplane, and then installing software that read and wrote to the mapped memory to control it. The
`relative ease of interfacing spawned a huge market of third party add-ons for the PDP-11, which made the machine
`even more useful.
`
`The combination of architectural innovations proved superior to competitors and the "11" architecture was soon the
`industry leader, propelling DEC back to a strong market position. The design was later expanded to allow paged
`physical memory and memory protection features, useful for multitasking and time-sharing. Some models supported
`separate instruction and data spaces for an effective virtual address size of 128 kB within a physical address size of
`up to 4 MB. Smaller PDP-11s, implemented as single-chip CPUs, continued to be produced until 1996, by which
`time over 600,000 had been sold.[29]
`
`The PDP-11 supported several operating systems, including Bell Labs' new Unix operating system as well as
`DEC's DOS-11, RSX-11, IAS, RT-11, DSM-11, and RSTS/E. Many early PDP-11 applications were
`developed using standalone paper-tape utilities. DOS-11 was the PDP-11's first disk operating system, but was
`soon supplanted by more capable systems. RSX provided a general-purpose multitasking environment and
`supported a wide variety of programming languages. IAS was a time-sharing version of RSX-11D. Both RSTS and
`Unix were time-sharing systems available to educational institutions at little or no cost, and these PDP-11 systems
`were destined to be the "sandbox" for a rising generation of engineers and computer scientists. Large numbers of
`PDP-11/70s were deployed in telecommunications and industrial control applications. AT&T Corporation became
`DEC's largest customer.
`
`RT-11 provided a practical real-time operating system in minimal memory, allowing the PDP-11 to continue
`Digital's critical role as a computer supplier for embedded systems. Historically, RT-11 also served as the
`inspiration for many microcomputer OS's, as these were generally being written by programmers who cut their teeth
`on one of the many PDP-11 models. For example, CP/M used a command syntax similar to RT-11's, and even
`retained the awkward PIP program used to copy data from one computer device to another. As another historical
`footnote, DEC's use of "/" for "switches" (command-line options) would lead to the adoption of "\" for pathnames in
`MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows as opposed to "/" in Unix.[41]
`
`The evolution of the PDP-11 followed earlier systems, eventually including a single-user deskside personal
`computer form, the MicroPDP-11. In total, around 600,000 PDP-11's of all models were sold. and a wide variety
`of third-party peripheral vendors had also entered the computer product ecosystem.
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`Many PDP-11-like machines were also introduced by competitors. The PDP-11 series was cloned in
`COMECON countries as the SM EVM series, and was produced in quantities comparable to original PDP-11
`production.[citation needed]
`
`VAX
`
`Main article: VAX
`
`In 1976, DEC decided to extend the PDP-11 architecture to 32-bits while adding a complete virtual memory
`system to the simple paging and memory protection of the PDP-11. The result was the VAX architecture, where
`VAX stands for Virtual Address eXtension (from 16 to 32 bits). The first computer to use a VAX CPU was the
`VAX-11/780, which DEC referred to as a superminicomputer. Although it was not the first 32-bit minicomputer,
`the VAX-11/780's combination of features, price, and marketing almost immediately propelled it to a leadership
`position in the market after it was released in 1978. VAX systems were so successful that in 1983, DEC canceled
`its Jupiter project, which had been intended to build a successor to the PDP-10 mainframe, and instead focused on
`promoting the VAX as the single computer architecture for the company.[42]
`
`Supporting the VAX's success was the VT52, one of the most successful smart terminals. Building on earlier less
`successful models (the VT05 and VT50), the VT52 was the first terminal that did everything one might want in a
`single chassis. The VT52 was followed by the even more successful VT100 and its follow-ons, making DEC one of
`the largest terminal vendors in the industry. With the VT series, DEC could now offer a complete top-to-bottom
`system from computer to all peripherals, which formerly required collecting the required devices from different
`suppliers.
`
`The VAX processor architecture and family of systems evolved and expanded through several generations during
`the 1980s, culminating in the NVAX microprocessor implementation and VAX 7000/10000 series in the early
`1990s.[43]
`
`Early microcomputers
`
`The introduction of the first general purpose microprocessors inevitably led to the first microcomputers around
`1975. At the time these systems were of limited utility, and Ken Olsen famously derided them in 1977, stating
`"There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home."[44] Unsurprisingly, DEC did not put much
`effort into the microcomputer area in the early days of the market. At the beginning of the 1980s, DEC built the
`VT180 (codenamed "Robin"), which was a VT100 terminal with an added Z80-based microcomputer running
`CP/M, but this product was initially available only to DEC employees.[45]
`
`It was only after IBM had successfully launched the IBM PC in 1981 that DEC responded with their own systems.
`In 1982, Digital introduced not one, but three incompatible machines which were each tied to different proprietary
`architectures. The first, the DEC Professional, was based on the PDP-11/23 (and later, the 11/73) running the
`RSX-11M+ derived, but menu-driven, P/OS ("Professional Operating System"). This DEC machine easily
`outperformed the PC, but was more expensive than, and completely incompatible with IBM PC hardware and
`software, offering far fewer options for customizing a system. Unlike CP/M and DOS microcomputers, every copy
`of every program for the Professional had to be provided with a unique key for the particular machine and CPU for
`which it was bought. At that time this was mainstream policy, because most computer software was either bought
`from the company that built the computer or custom-constructed for one client. However, the emerging third-party
`software industry disregarded the PDP-11/Professional line and concentrated on other microcomputers where
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`distribution was easier. At DEC itself, creating better programs for the Professional was not a priority, perhaps
`from fear of cannibalizing the PDP-11 line. As a result the Professional was a superior machine, running inferior
`software.[46] In addition, a new user would have to learn an awkward, slow, and inflexible menu-based user
`interface which appeared to be radically different from PC DOS or CP/M, which were more commonly used on
`the 8080 and 8088 based microcomputers of the time. A second offering, the DECmate II was the latest version of
`the PDP-8 based word processors, but not really suited to general computing, nor competitive with Wang
`Laboratories' popular word processing equipment.
`
`The best known of DEC's early microcomputers was the dual-processor (Z80 and 8088) Rainbow 100, which ran
`the 8-bit CP/M operating system on the Z80 and the 16-bit CP/M-86 operating system on the Intel 8086
`processor. It could also run a UNIX