Data General-One Portable Computer

Description:

Data General was primarily a mini-computer company. But in 1984, it introduced the Data General/One (DG-1), a breakthrough personal computer laptop. The Data General/One weighed nine pounds, ran MS-DOS, had dual 3 ½" diskettes, a 79-key full stroke keyboard, 128 KB to 512 KB of RAM, and a monochrome LCD screen. It ran on a CMOS 80C88 processor. Unlike other "luggable" computers of the era, the DG-1 was light enough to carry on travel, but also powerful enough to emulate a desktop.

The DG-1 enjoyed only mediocre success. Its 3 ½" diskettes were slightly ahead of their time, and much popular software was not available in 3 ½" format. Adding to the problem, software copyright protection made copying into the 3 ½" format difficult. In addition, the DG-1 base price was relatively high at $2,895, and the real cost tended to be even higher, because users generally needed both more RAM and an external 5 ¼" drive to run disks from their desktop machines.

This example is a Model No. 2203 with serial number Q0026418.

The carrying case for the Data General/One (1995.0069.02) is divided into two sections. One contains the laptop-sized computer and a part for the floppy drive. the other contains:

1. two power cords

2. a modem cable

3. three 3 1/2" diskettes in a plastic fox. The diskettes all have a paper label that reads: Data General. One has no further marks. A second is marked: DATA GENERAL/ONE PERSONAL SYSTEM (/) MS-DOS REV 2.11 (/) DATA GENERAL CORPORATION (/) 1984 (/) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (/) MICROSOFT CORPORATION (/) 1981 1982 1983 (/) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. A third is marked: DATA GENERAL / ONE PERSONAL SYSTEM (/) HOW TO USE YOUR DATA GENERAL/ONE. It is copyrighted 1984

4. a spiral-bound Data General One Owner's Manual, Dated September, 1984. The manual contains a loose sheet and a sheet and an owner's manual for the carrying case.

5. six miscellaneous documents on the computer in an envelope marked: Limited Warranty and Service Booklet

Date Made: 1984

Maker: Data General Corporation

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: Massachusetts, Westborough

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Computers, Work, Computers & Business Machines

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: June E. Mallory

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 1995.0069.01Accession Number: 1995.0069Catalog Number: 1995.0069.01

Object Name: microcomputer

Physical Description: plastic (overall material)glass (overall material)metal (overall material)rubber (overall material)Measurements: overall: 7.5 cm x 30 cm x 34.5 cm; 2 15/16 in x 11 13/16 in x 13 9/16 in

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-7fc4-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_743637

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