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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