Computers & Business Machines - Overview
Imagine the loss, 100 years from now, if museums hadn't begun preserving the artifacts of the computer age. The last few decades offer proof positive of why museums must collect continuously—to document technological and social transformations already underway.
The Museum's collections contain mainframes, minicomputers, microcomputers, and handheld devices. A Cray2 supercomputer is part of the collections, along with one of the towers of IBM's Deep Blue, the computer that defeated reigning champion Garry Kasparov in a chess match in 1997. Other artifacts range from personal computers to ENIAC, the Altair, and the Osborne 1. Computer components and peripherals, games, software, manuals, and other documents are part of the collections. Some of the instruments of business include adding machines, calculators, typewriters, dictating machines, fax machines, cash registers, and photocopiers
"Computers & Business Machines - Overview" showing 81 items.
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CompuPro S-100 Personal Computer
- Description
- Introduced in March of 1983, the CompuPro S-100 system was one of the last and most expensive CP/M systems that appeared. It was a very flexible system that could accommodate a wide range of S-100 bus cards built by a wide range of manufacturers.
- Compupro itself manufactured a large number of S-100 cards. Its S-100 system could be fitted with either 8-bit and/or 16-bit processor cards. One of the best-selling cards was a dual processor 8808 + 8085. This allowed running both 8 bit CP/M and 16 bit MP/M software at a speed of 2 or 5 MHz in a multitasking environment.
- The CompuPro S-100 included several cards from 8088 + 8085 to Z80 to 80286 at a speed of 4 MHz and up. There are 2 8"floppy disk drives. The three major options for operating systems were CP/M, CP/M-86, and MP/M. The machine had 16 KB of RAM, which could be expanded to 1 MB. Depending on how the computer was configured, its price ranged from around $5,500 up to almost $20,000.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1983
- maker
- CompuPro
- ID Number
- 1989.0070.01.01
- catalog number
- 1989.0070.01.1
- accession number
- 1989.0070
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Badge from Cruft Laboratory of Harvard University
- Description
- This metal badge reads "Cruft Laboratory, Staff No. 62, Harvard University", and was donated to the Smithsonian by Grace Murray Hopper (1906–1992). Hopper had joined the United States Naval Reserves in December 1943 and attended the Naval Reserve Midshipman’s School for Women through June 1944. She was then posted to the U.S. Navy’s Computation project that was housed at the Cruft Laboratory.
- Hopper had a PhD in mathematics (Yale 1934) and her assignment was to write computer code for the Mark I computer, formally known as the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator. Hopper continued working at the Harvard Computational Laboratory until 1949 although she, along with other women in the Naval Reserve, had been released from active duty in 1946.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1944
- ID Number
- 1989.0093.01
- accession number
- 1989.0093
- catalog number
- 1989.0093.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
World War II US Navy Specialist Arm Patch
- Description
- This machine-embroidered cloth arm patch was worn around 1944 by a US Navy Specialist I, Third Class. Navy Specialist is a rating that refers to an enlisted sailor's job specialty and the letter I inside the diamond indicates that the sailor who wore this patch had been trained to be a machine operator for a punch-card accounting machine, an electric accounting machine, or a tabulating machine. The single red chevron below the diamond indicates that the specialist's rate, or pay grade, was equivalent to that of a Petty Officer Third Class.
- Grace Murray Hopper (1906-1992), a mathematician who became a naval officer and computer scientist during World War II, donated this patch to the Smithsonian. Hopper joined the U.S. Naval Reserves in December 1943. From July 1944 she worked with the Navy’s Computation Project at Harvard University’s Cruft Laboratory writing computer code for the Mark I computer, formally known as the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator.
- Similar patches (with white background) are shown on World War II images of specialists working on the Computation Project. Hopper herself had been commissioned a lieutenant (junior grade) before she was assigned to the project, so she would not have worn this patch.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1944
- ID Number
- 1989.0093.02
- accession number
- 1989.0093
- catalog number
- 1989.0093.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
NorthStar Horizon Personal Computer
- Description
- Northstar developed from a computer store called "The Original Kentucky Fried Computer." It changed its name due to impending litigation by Kentucky Fried Chicken! The company's first product was a Floating Point Math Board for S-100 computers. They then developed an inexpensive floppy drive system. This led the way to the Horizon, one of the first computers with built in floppy drives.
- Announced in November 1977, the Horizon was sold in a wooden cabinet, as opposed to the more usual metal or plastic. The initial price was $1,899 assembled and $1,599 unassembled. The Horizon ran on a Z-80 microprocessor that ran at 4 MHz. It contained 16 KB of RAM, which could be expanded to 64 KB and 1 KB of ROM. The operating system was both CP/M and Northstar DOS. The machine was among the first to offer floppy drives, and customers could order one or two 90 KB 5 ¼" drives. Northstar was also one of the first machines to offer a hard disk drive. This was called an HD-18, and had 18 Megabytes on an 18" platter. The Northstar Horizon was suited for business, education, and software development applications.
- This particular machine was donated to the Smithsonian by Peter A. McWilliams, author of the popular book, The Personal Computer book, (1983) which became a runaway bestseller. This was his first computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1977
- maker
- Northstar
- ID Number
- 1989.0354.01
- catalog number
- 1989.0354.01
- accession number
- 1989.0354
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Kaypro IV Portable Computer
- Description
- Kaypro was a manufacturer of portable microcomputers running the CP/M operating system. Its first commercial model, Kaypro II, was launched in 1982. The Kaypro IV was introduced in 1983. Surprisingly, it is not the same as the Kaypro 4, which was released in 1984.
- The Kaypro IV was basically a Kaypro II with added Double Sided/Double Density Drives. It had a Z80 microprocessor that ran at 2.5 MHz. The memory included 4 KB of RAM and 2 KB of ROM. Kaypro IV had a 9" monochrome monitor and a built-in speaker. The operating system was CP/M 2.2. The Kaypro IV included the word processor Wordstar, which was included in the Perfect Software Suite.
- The introduction of the IBM PC in 1981 led to the rapid growth in popularity of the MS-DOS operating system for personal computers. Software developers migrated to writing for MS-DOS instead of CP/M. Kaypro was slow to make the transition in their machines, and the company never gained the kind of prominence in the MS-DOS arena that it had enjoyed with CP/M. A prime competitor for the MS-DOS portable market was Compaq, which sold an "all in one" computer that was similar to its own CP/M portable. In March 1990 Kaypro filed for bankruptcy.
- This Kaypro IV was purchased with funds from a research grant obtained by Robert M. Smith, of the Department of Space History of the National Air and Space Museum. Smith's book, The Space Telescope, was written in part on this computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1983
- maker
- Kaypro
- ID Number
- 1992.0522.01
- catalog number
- 1992.0522.01
- accession number
- 1992.0522
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Digital Equipment Rainbow 100 Computer
- Description
- In the early 1980s, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was the second largest computer company in the United States, following IBM, and was the leading producer of minicomputers. DEC had missed the initial development of personal computers, but decided to enter the market with a 16 bit machine. In 1982, it introduced the DEC Rainbow 100, for a price of $2,500.
- The Rainbow 100 had both a Z-80 and an Intel 8088 microprocessor that ran at 4 MHz. It had 64 KB or RAM and 24 KB of ROM and had two built in floppy drives that could accommodate 400 KB single-sided quad density disk. It had three operating systems: MS-DOS, CP/M-86, and CP/M. Users made a selection by a menu at boot time. The Rainbow could be used for word processing, spreadsheets, and games, although it had a monochrome screen. In addition to operating as a stand-alone computer, the Rainbow worked effectively as a VT-100 or VT-220 terminal emulator on larger machines, such as DEC's minicomputers. Although the Rainbow was a powerful and effective personal computer, it was not fully compatible with IBM systems, and eventually was overshadowed and undersold by IBM clones.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1982
- maker
- Digital Equipment Corporation
- ID Number
- 1994.0078.01.1
- accession number
- 1994.0078
- catalog number
- 1994.0078.01.1
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Log Book With Computer Bug
- Description
- American engineers have been calling small flaws in machines "bugs" for over a century. Thomas Edison talked about bugs in electrical circuits in the 1870s. When the first computers were built during the early 1940s, people working on them found bugs in both the hardware of the machines and in the programs that ran them.
- In 1947, engineers working on the Mark II computer at Harvard University found a moth stuck in one of the components. They taped the insect in their logbook and labeled it "first actual case of bug being found." The words "bug" and "debug" soon became a standard part of the language of computer programmers.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1947
- user
- Hughey, Ray
- director
- Aiken, Howard Hathaway
- user
- Harvard University
- maker
- IBM
- Harvard University
- Aiken, Howard
- ID Number
- 1994.0191.01
- catalog number
- 1994.0191.1
- accession number
- 1994.0191
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Apple IIGS Personal Computer
- Description
- The computers in the Apple II family were among the most popular personal computers in the late 1970s and 1980s. The last model and most impressive of the Apple II family was the Apple II GS (GS=graphics + sound). When it was released in September of 1986—Apple's 10th anniversary—at the price of $999 (without a monitor—or $1498 with an RGB monitor), the Apple II GS competed against other computers such as the Commodore Amiga and the Atari ST.
- The Apple II GS used the Western Design Center 65816 16 bit microprocessor, which ran at 2.8 Mhz. It had 256 KB of RAM, which could be expanded to 8 MB. There were seven slots to accommodate an expansion of memory. It was the first computer to utilize the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) which linked standard input device such as keyboards, mice, and graphics tablets. This made it possible for Apple to sell a single set of peripherals that both the Apple Computer and later the Macintosh could use. The IIGS display had a 600 X 200 pixel mode with 2-bit palletized cooler and a 320 X 200 pixel mode with a 4-bit palletized color. The Apple II GS could display 256 colors on the screen. Its ProDOS 16 as system software allowed users to handle any number of open files at the same time.
- The IIGS seemed well positioned to capture a large market. However, by the time it was released, Apple was putting its energy into developing the Macintosh and the IIGS suffered from limited marketing. Apple discontinued the line in December 1992.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1986
- maker
- Apple Computer
- ID Number
- 1998.0199.01
- catalog number
- 1998.0199.01
- accession number
- 1998.0199
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Blackberry Model R900M
- Description
- The Blackberry is a handheld wireless Personal Data Assistant (PDA) and communication device. It has a thumb keyboard and a wheel for navigation, as opposed to using a stylus like its competitors. This unit was owned by a law firm partner who arrived at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, just minutes after the first tower was hit. Using this Blackberry, he stayed in constant communication with his staff all day until he had located everyone.
- Blackberry devices were also instrumental in the publication of the Wall Street Journal on September 12, 2001. Although their offices were vacated and their staff scattered, WSJ writers were able to use their Blackberrys to write stories and submit them to editorial staff as events unfolded on September 11th.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Research In Motion
- ID Number
- 2002.0355.01
- accession number
- 2002.0355
- catalog number
- 2002.0355.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
The Guardian IMY2KC Baseball Cap
- Description
- In the early days of electronic computers, memory was not as efficient or inexpensive as it is today. To save memory space, programs stored as few digits as possible for dates. In COBOL, for instance, January 1, 1999, was stored as 010199. As Year 2000, or Y2K for short, approached, it became apparent that there might be serious problems because many large-scale systems were based on older programs. Simply, the problem with storing only two digits for the year is that a year written as “00” might be read by a computer as the year 1900 instead of the year 2000. If left unfixed, computer hardware, software, and communications worldwide could have malfunctioned. The impact of the “Millennium Bug” might have been catastrophic because the use of computers and networks has become integral to our lives: banking, communications, transportation, medicine, and even cooking is rarely done without some kind of computerized assistance.
- To fix this potential problem, governments and businesses began operations in the 1990s to make sure all necessary computer systems had been checked or converted to new systems to minimize loss of services. The Guardian Life Insurance Company is an example of a large business that needed to fix their systems. The company's Y2K Project Team analyzed over 20 million lines of code and over 17 thousand computer programs and verified that all of their systems were in compliance and ready to go by December 31, 1999. To approach their goals, the Y2K Project Team distributed these baseball caps to internal departments as their systems were confirmed Y2K-compliant. This worked to foster healthy internal competition and cooperation at Guardian and helped the team complete its task. The embroidered letters on the front of each cap read “IMY2KC,” which stands for “I am Y2K Complaint.” The embroidered letters on the back of the cap read “RU,” which stands for “Are you?”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1999
- maker
- Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
- ID Number
- 2004.3020.01
- accession number
- 2004.3020
- catalog number
- 2004.3020.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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