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Now Available

DEC PDP 8/e
Late 1960s
Model 40 Type 2, Serial 000003797

The PDP-8 was the first commercially successful minicomputer. It was built by DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) in Maynard, Mass., and sold for $18,000, a bargain compared to the IBM 360, the preeminent business computer of the day. The PDP-8 could operate at room temperature, avoiding the need for a special cold-room, something the IBM 360 could never do. The PDP-8 became the mainstay of emerging smaller computing environments that were challenging the stranglehold of mainframe computers. Legend has it the term "minicomputer" was spurred by a piece of woman's clothing popular in that era, the miniskirt.

Donor: Mike Province


 


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