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Tangentially related: is there a history covering IBM's development of microcomputers? It is clear that the traditional story of the development of the IBM PC l

by II2II 7mo ago

Tangentially related: is there a history covering IBM's development of microcomputers? It is clear that the traditional story of the development of the IBM PC leaves out many important details. There the 5100/5110/5120, which goes back to the mid-1970's and reflects the stereotype of IBM. There is also the System/23 DataMaster, where the hardware seems to be the basis of the IBM PC. This seems to go against the traditional story that the IBM PC was some sort of renegade project. (If anything, they appear to be companion projects. The main difference being the DataMaster's focus upon IBM firmware/software.)

kens 7mo ago
Like I need another big project :-) The IBM Datamaster is an interesting system, but it was doomed. It had an 8-bit Intel 8085 processor, cost $9000, and came out in July 1981. The IBM PC had a 16-bit 8088 processor, cost $1565, and came out a month later. So there was no reason to buy a Datamaster There's a good description of Datamaster in "A Personal History of the IBM PC" by Dave Bradley (one of the PC's designers). Unfortunately, it's paywalled.[1] [1] https://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2011.163 https://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2011.163
- II2II 7mo ago
  That sounds like a great starting point. There's a university library 500 meters from where I work, so bypassing the paywall ought to be easy. And thank you for all of your articles over the years. They border so close to applied physics they are fascinating reads.
- pinewurst 7mo ago
  https://annas-archive.gl/scidb/10.1109/mc.2011.163/ https://annas-archive.gl/scidb/10.1109/mc.2011.163/
- rbanffy 7mo ago
  > Like I need another big project :-) You know you want it. > So there was no reason to buy a Datamaster It did use a screen font closer to the 3270 series. That is a big pro ;-) IBM also was studying home computers, and was talking to Atari. There are other gorgeous design studies in “ Delete - a Design History of Computer Vaporware”, a lovely book. I want to 3D print half of those designs.
deleted 7mo ago
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by II2II 7mo ago

kens 7mo ago

Like I need another big project :-) The IBM Datamaster is an interesting system, but it was doomed. It had an 8-bit Intel 8085 processor, cost $9000, and came out in July 1981. The IBM PC had a 16-bit 8088 processor, cost $1565, and came out a month later. So there was no reason to buy a Datamaster There's a good description of Datamaster in "A Personal History of the IBM PC" by Dave Bradley (one of the PC's designers). Unfortunately, it's paywalled.[1] [1] https://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2011.163 https://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2011.163

II2II 7mo ago
That sounds like a great starting point. There's a university library 500 meters from where I work, so bypassing the paywall ought to be easy. And thank you for all of your articles over the years. They border so close to applied physics they are fascinating reads.
pinewurst 7mo ago
https://annas-archive.gl/scidb/10.1109/mc.2011.163/ https://annas-archive.gl/scidb/10.1109/mc.2011.163/
rbanffy 7mo ago
> Like I need another big project :-) You know you want it. > So there was no reason to buy a Datamaster It did use a screen font closer to the 3270 series. That is a big pro ;-) IBM also was studying home computers, and was talking to Atari. There are other gorgeous design studies in “ Delete - a Design History of Computer Vaporware”, a lovely book. I want to 3D print half of those designs.

deleted 7mo ago

[deleted]