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 80 items.
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Ethernet Prototype Circuit Board
- Description
- This Ethernet board is a prototype developed by Robert Metcalf in 1973 while at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Metcalf based his idea for the Ethernet on the ALOHAnet, a packet-switching wireless radio network developed by Norman Abramson, Frank Kuo, and Richard Binder at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. The ALOHAnet sent computer data communication between the university's campuses on several islands. Metcalf improved upon ALOHAnet's design and created the "Alto ALOHA Network," a network of computers hard-wired together by cables that he soon called the Ethernet. In 1985, the Ethernet became the
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) standard for connecting personal computers via a Local Area Network (LAN). Today, LANs often use WiFi, or Wireless Fidelity, a way of connecting computers without wires.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1973
- developer
- Metcalf, Robert
- maker
- Xerox Corporation
- ID Number
- 1992.0566.01
- catalog number
- 1992.0566.01
- accession number
- 1992.0566
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Microsoft Windows NT OS/2 Design Workbook
- Description
- This binder contains the original design specifications for OS/2 NT, an operating system designed by Microsoft that eventually became Windows NT. In the late 1980s, Microsoft's 16-bit operating system, Windows, gained popularity, prompting IBM and Microsoft to end their OS/2 development partnership. Although Windows 3.0 proved to be successful, Microsoft wished to continue developing a 32-bit operating system completely unrelated to IBM's OS/2 architecture. To head the redesign project, Microsoft hired David Cutler and others away from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). Unlike Windows 3.x and its successor, Windows 95, NT's technology provided better network support, making it the preferred Windows environment for businesses. These two product lines continued development as separate entities until they were merged with the release of Windows XP in 2001.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1989
- creator
- Microsoft Corporation
- team leader
- Cutler, David N.
- maker
- Microsoft Corporation
- ID Number
- 2001.3014.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3014
- catalog number
- 2001.3014.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Apple II Microcomputer, "Black Apple"
- Description
- This Black Apple, model number A2S1048B, was a version of the Apple II Plus made by Apple Computer, Inc. and sold only to educational institutions by Bell & Howell, at that time a company specializing in audiovisual equipment. It earned the nicknames "Black Apple" and "Darth Vader" because its case was black instead of the usual beige color of the Apple II Plus. To make the computer more versatile, Bell & Howell added audio and video slots onto the Apple II Plus and also made it UL-compliant. By allowing Bell & Howell to sell their modified product, Apple was able to succeed in the educational market.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1980s
- maker
- Bell & Howell
- Apple Computer
- ID Number
- 2002.0153.01
- accession number
- 2002.0153
- catalog number
- 2002.0153.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Magnetic Tape Station for the RCA 501 Computer
- Description
- This transistorized unit was used to read, write, and erase binary characters on mylar-based magnetic tape for entry into the RCA 501 computer. The central rack assembly has components for reading, writing, and erasing magnetic tape. These include a tape transport mechanism, amplifiers, control circuits, and a power supply. This example has a single tape reel.
- The rack assembly fits into a specially built cabinet, from which it could be removed. In this instance the cabinet is painted blue-gray and white. Each RCA 501 computer had at least 6 tape stations. Depending on the components selected, the entire computer system rented for $11,700 to $20,445 per month. Should a business choose to buy the system, the list price of one magnetic tape station alone was $25,000 – $30,000. This is over twice the price of a typical American single family house at the time.
- The tape station is marked on the inside at the center toward the top: R58111. It is marked on the inside of the lower portion of the cabinet: RCA (/) MI SER 1515 (/) RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA. A plaque attached to the right side of the cabinet is marked : UNIVAC SPERRY RAND (/) SERIES 70. The form of the Sperry Rand trademark on the plaque was, according to trademark records, first used in commerce in 1967.
- References:
- "Tape Station," RCA 501 Electronic Data Processing System, Catalog EDP 581, Camden, N.J.: Radio Corporation of America, 1958.
- Martin H. Weik, "A Third Survey of Domestic Electronic Digital Computing Systems," Aberdeen Proving Ground: Ballistics Research Laboratories, March, 1961, pp. 778-803.
- U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Historical Census of Housing Tables Home Values. Available online.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1959 or later
- date made
- 1959
- maker
- RCA Corporation
- ID Number
- 1979.0418.06
- catalog number
- 1979.0418.06
- accession number
- 1979.0418
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Unityper II, Data Entry Device for the Univac Computer
- Description
- The Unityper II, a modified Remington electric typewriter, was equipped with electronic circuits that converted type strokes into pulse patterns and recorded them on magnetic tape. The tape housing is located slightly above and behind the typewriter carriage. The coded tapes were used as input for UNIVAC computers.
- Reference: Remington Rand Univac, "Operator’s Manual Unityper II," 1955.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1957
- maker
- Remington Rand Univac Division of Sperry Rand Corporation
- ID Number
- 1982.0638.02
- accession number
- 1982.0638
- catalog number
- 1982.0638.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Commodore PET 2001 Personal Computer
- Description
- In 1977, Commodore introduced the PET (Personal Electronic Transactor) home/personal computer. Appearing before either the Apple II or the Radio Shack TRS80, it was among the first personal computers. The PET 2001, Commodore's first model, included 4 kilobytes of memory, cost $495, and was fully functional out the box. The computer sold well, but initially Commodore could produce only a meager 30 units a day.
- The PET had a main board with a 1 MHz MOS 6502 processor and room for additional RAM. The machine included a built-in cassette on the front of the case for data storage. Users could write their own programs in BASIC, but many complained about the small keyboard, which made touch typing difficult. The screen of the PET computer was small (9"), and had a black or blue display. Users could design simple graphics, do animations, or work out math problems. A notable feature of the PET 2001 was that the top of the computer opened for maintenance--like the hood of a car.
- PET 2001 was designed by computer pioneer Chuck Peddle. He came to Commodore during the company's acquisition of MOS Technology in 1976. AT MOS, he had designed the KIM (Keyboard Input Monitor) computer. At Commodore, he convinced managers that computers were "in" and won approval to design the PET. It paved the way for later Commodore machines, such as the Commodore-64.
- This particular PET 2001 was donated by Louis Mittleman, who noted not only that the keyboard was a serious "drawback," but also that the manual did not have much information.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1977
- maker
- Commodore Business Machines, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1985.0591.01
- catalog number
- 1985.0591.01
- accession number
- 1985.0591
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Xerox 914 Plain Paper Copier
- Description
- Introduced in 1959, the Xerox 914 plain paper copier revolutionized the document-copying industry. The culmination of inventor Chester Carlson's work on the xerographic process, the 914 was fast and economical. One of the most successful Xerox products ever, a 914 model could make 100,000 copies per month. In 1985, the Smithsonian received this machine, number 517 off the assembly line. It weighs 648 pounds and measures 42" high x 46" wide x 45" deep.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1960
- maker
- Haloid Xerox Corporation
- ID Number
- 1985.0669.01
- catalog number
- 1985.0669.01
- accession number
- 1985.0669
- catalog number
- 85.669.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Altair 8800 Microcomputer
- Description
- Not long after Intel introduced its 8080 chip, a small firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, named MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) announced a computer kit called the Altair, which met the social as well as technical requirements for a small personal computer. MITS succeeded where other, more established firms had failed, and it was their machine that inaugurated the personal computer age. MITS got its start in computing in 1971, when it introduced an electronic calculator kit. Several thousand sold before 1974, when the sharp reduction in calculator prices drove the company out of that market.
- H. Edward Roberts, the Florida-born former U.S. Air Force officer who headed MITS, decided to design a small, affordable computer around the Intel 8080. His daughter named the new machine after the star Altair. It was the first microcomputer to sell in large numbers. In January 1975, a photograph of the Altair appeared on the cover of the magazine Popular Electronics. The caption read "World's First Minicomptuer Kit to Rival Commercial Models." According to the magazine, the machine sold as a kit for $395, and assembled for $498. Roberts had hoped to break even by selling 200 Altairs. Within three months he had a backlog of 4,000 orders.
- The kit offered by MITS represented the minimum configuration of circuits that one could legitimately call a computer. It had little internal and no external memory, no printer, and no keyboard or other input device. An Altair fitted out with those items might cost $4,000—the equivalent to the cheapest PDP-8 minicomputer, a reliable and established performer. Most purchasers found the kit was difficult to assemble, unless they had experience with digital electronics and a workbench fitted out with sophisticated test equipment. And even if one assembled the kit correctly it was sometimes difficult to get the Altair to operate reliably. Gift of Forrest M. Mims III
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1974
- the head of MITS
- Roberts, H. Edward
- unspecified
- Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems
- component parts are used
- Intel Corporation
- maker
- Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems
- ID Number
- 1987.0066.01
- catalog number
- 1987.0066.01
- accession number
- 1987.0066
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Jack Kilby's Integrated Circuit
- Description (Brief)
- Jack Kilby’s demonstration of the first working integrated circuit (IC) in 1958 revolutionized the field of microelectronics. Instead of using discrete transistors, resistors, and capacitors to form a circuit, Kilby’s IC design integrated a transistor, a capacitor, and the equivalent of three resistors all on the same chip. Kilby fabricated three types of circuits to test his idea: a flip flop, a multi vibrator and a phase shift oscillator. This chip is the phase-shift oscillator.
- The first IC was made out of a thin slice of germanium (the light blue rectangle) as a bulk resistor and contained a single bipolar transistor (under the large aluminum bar in the center). It had four input/output terminals (the small vertical aluminum bars), a ground (the large bar on the far right), and wires of gold. The microchips of today have been improved by hundreds of innovations, but Kilby’s prototype was an important early step.
- date made
- 1958
- maker
- Texas Instruments
- Kilby, Jack S.
- ID Number
- 1987.0487.320
- accession number
- 1987.0487
- collector/donor number
- G00012
- catalog number
- 1987.0487.320
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Control Panel, Bell Telephone Laboratories Model 5 Computer
- Description
- This control panel is a small part of a very large programmable calculator built by Bell Telephone Laboratories of New York for the U.S. Army. By the mid-twentieth century, improving communications required complicated calculations. In order to improve the clarity and range of long distance voice signals, George Stibitz, a research mathematician at Bell Labs, needed to do calculations using complex numbers. Stibitz and Bell Labs engineer Sam Williams completed a machine for this purpose in 1939–it later was called the Bell Labs Model I. With the outbreak of World War II, Stibitz and Bell Labs turned their attention to calculations related to the aiming and firing of antiaircraft guns. Stibitz proposed a new series of relay calculators that could be programmed by paper tape to do more than one kind of calculation. The BTL Model 5. was the result. The machine consisted of 27 standard telephone relay racks and assorted other equipment. It had over 9000 relays, a memory capacity of 30 7-digit decimal numbers, and took about a second to multiply 2 numbers together. Two copies of the machine were built. This one was used by the U.S. Army for ballistics work at Aberdeen, Maryland and then at Fort Bliss, Texas. Machines that used relays were reliable, but slower than those using vacuum tubes, and soon gave way to electronic computers.
- Location
- Currently on loan
- Date made
- 1947
- maker
- Bell Telephone Laboratories
- ID Number
- 1987.0821.01
- accession number
- 1987.0821
- catalog number
- 1987.0821.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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