Computers & Business Machines

Wang LOCI-2 Electronic Calculator

Description

One of the first programmable electronic calculators, this instrument was announced in 1964 and sold from 1965. It was designed by An Wang (1920-1990) and his associates. Wang, a native of Shanghai, immigrated to the United States after World War II, studied computer science at Harvard University, and worked at the Harvard Computation Laboratory. He started his own business in 1951, producing magnetic core memories and other electronic equipment on order. The LOCI or “logarithmic calculating instrument” was the first product marketed by the company. Two versions of the machine were announced: the LOCI I, which was not programmable, and the LOCI II, which was.

The desktop machine has nine digit keys arranged in an array, as well as a zero bar and a decimal point key. Depressing other keys changes the sign of the number, shifts the decimal point, shifts from the logarithmic to the work register, and shifts from the work to the logarithmic register. Further keys are for arithmetic operations, squares, square roots, inverse squares, inverse square roots, inverse logarithms, and clearance of various registers. To the right are controls for the decrement counter, the program counter, and the operation code. According to company advertising, the machine offers ten-digit precision in addition and subtraction and eight-digit precision in multiplication, division, exponentiation, root extraction, and logarithm computation. It has five storage registers of ten-digit capacity and a ten-digit display, plus a display for the sign of the answer. A cooling fan and a cord are at the back. The card reader attachment that plugs into the back holds program cards.

A tag on the front of the machine reads: LOCI-2. A tag on the back reads: ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DEVICES (/) LOCI II (/) MODEL NO. 2AB (/) SERIAL NO. 2734 (/) TEWKSBURY, MASS. U.S.A. A paper tag on the back of the machine indicates that it was serviced 4/28/68, 9/12/68, and 2/9/71.

According to a 1964 flier, the machine was to sell for $4,750.00. Kenney says that the initial price was $6,500. Wang Laboratories would go on to sell the 300 series of calculators (from 1966) and the 700 series (from 1969), and to manufacture minicomputers and networked microcomputers.

For related objects and documents, see 1980.0096.02 through 1980.0096.10.

Compare 1980.0096.01 with the later 1983.0171.01 (a Wang Series 700 calculator), and the even later 2011.0022.01 (a Wang Series 600 calculator).

References:

There is an extensive discussion of the LOCI II at the website of the Old Calculator Museum. See:http://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/wangloci.html

Wang Laboratories, Inc., “LOCI-2 Open New Vistas to your Personal Computing . . .,” Tewksbury, Ma., 1964. This is 1980.0096.08. A similar leaflet describes the LOCI-1 and has museum number 1980.0096.07.

Charles C. Kenney, Riding the Runaway Horse: The Rise and Decline of Wang Laboratories, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1992.

date made

1965 or later

date received

1980

maker

Wang Laboratories

ID Number

1980.0096.01

catalog number

1980.0096.01

accession number

1980.0096

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Federal Express SuperTracker

Description

This is a Federal Express SuperTracker handheld barcode scanner, first introduced in 1986. The SuperTracker is a critical part of FedEx’s Customers, Operations, and Services Master On-line System (COSMOS) used to track packages and confirm deliveries. Customer agents, couriers, and sorting personnel use the SuperTracker to scan barcodes on packages as they move through the Federal Express system. Providing information about a package’s location, status, and movement became an integral part of delivery companies, with every major carrier implementing a package tracking system.

Reference:

Carl Niehls, “Custodial Package Tracking at Federal Express,” in Managing Innovation: Cases from the Services Industries, ed. Bruce R. Guile and James Brian Quinn (Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1988), 57–81.

date made

1986

ID Number

1993.0228.01

catalog number

1993.0228.01

accession number

1993.0228

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Monitor, Radio Shack TRS-80 Monitor

Description

Don French, a buyer for the consumer electronics chain Tandy Radio Shack (TRS), believed that Radio Shack should offer an assembled personal computer and hired engineer Steve Leininger to design it. In the summer of 1977, Radio Shack introduced the TRS-80 for $599. You could purchase the computer without a display for $399.95, but the most common configuration was buying the computer, monitor, and datacassette recorder for $599. For the accompanying keyboard and computer, see 1983.0169.01.

date made

1977-1981

maker

Tandy Corporation

ID Number

1983.0169.02

catalog number

1983.0169.02

accession number

1983.0169

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Employee Badge for Michael Dell

Description

This employee badge was used by Dell Inc. founder and CEO Michael Dell and provided global access to all Dell facilities. The ID badge was used from around 1994 until the time it was donated to the Museum in 2007. The badge is white with a blue Dell logo at the top and a head shot of Michael Dell in the center. The bottom of the badge features the employee's name, "Michael Dell," and his employee number, "1.” An image of Dell Inc.’s headquarters, Round Rock 1, is in the background, and the badge is covered with a holographic layer to prevent tampering.

date made

1984

maker

Dell Inc.

ID Number

2007.0042.05

catalog number

2007.0042.05

accession number

2007.0042

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Educational Software for Use with the Commodore 64 Microcomputer

Description

This group of five educational computer programs was developed for the Commodore 64 during the 1980s. Each program has its original box, the 5 ¼” software diskettes, and the user manual.

Word Shuttle

This word processing program was released in 1985 and included a 42-page user guide and two keyboard overlays. Word Shuttle was the official word processor of the Young Astronaut Program which operated between 1984 and 2004. The objective of this international educational curriculum was to promote greater interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through space-themed activities, experiments, and conferences.

Sky Travel

This astronomy program, designed for persons ages 12 and up, was released in 1984 and included a 138-page manual. It provided an interactive guided tour of the universe—in the past, present, and future. The universe model could show the location of more than 1,200 stars, 88 constellations, 8 planets, deep sky objects, and the (then) future appearance (1986) of Halley’s comet. The program had four basic modes: map, set, sky, and chart. Map was used to select the location on Earth; month, day, year, and time were determined in set; optional displays were chosen in sky; and chart was used to project the sky on a celestial sphere with coordinate lines for creating, viewing, and printing your own star charts.

JUST IMAGINE…

This creative writing program, released in 1984 for individuals of all ages, included a 20-page manual. The user could create colorful animated stories by selecting up to three animated characters from the twenty-five provided, choosing one of nine backgrounds, and a few of the 48 stationary objects. The author then wrote a story to match the selected graphics. While different parts of the program loaded it displayed random trivia facts from the 300 stored on the diskette. The story could be played back and saved to diskette. The introduction in the manual states that “JUST IMAGINE… is another example of Commodore’s commitment to excellence-in-education through technology.”

Reading Professor

This reading program, released in 1984, was designed to teach reading skills to high school-age students as well as adults. Included with the two software diskettes was a 40-page user guide. The program provided a series of ten 20-minute lessons to increase reading speed and improve comprehension by presenting specific techniques for eliminating bad reading habits and developing new skills. It has a library of reading materials with three reading levels--High School, College and Adult, and Professional--each level with 32 reading selections. The program used seven types of exercises to monitor and log progress and success.

Typing Professor

This typing program, released in 1984 for individuals ages 12 and up, included a 20-page manual, two cassettes for use with a Commodore 16, and a diskette for use with either a Commodore 64 or Commodore Plus/4.

Students could learn the basics of touch typing or learn to improve their typing speed. The program had 19 exercises which increased in difficulty. Each exercise contained a score chart that calculated and recorded the number of errors, error rate, and typing speed. The exercises were timed and the student could not exceed the acceptable error rate before beginning the next exercise. The allowed error rate started at 4% for lesson 1 and decreased to 1% for lessons 16-19. The goal for lesson 19 was 35 words per minute with a less than 1% error rate.

Date made

ca 1984

maker

Commodore Business Machines, Inc.

ID Number

2006.0132.28.01

catalog number

2006.0132.28.01

accession number

2006.0132

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Intel 8080A Microprocessor

Description

Intel introduced its 8080A 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) microprocessor in April 1974. Generally considered as the first truly usable microprocessor, the chip ran at 2 megahertz and powered the Altair 8800 and the IMSAI 8080, two of the first Personal Computers. Housed in a 40-pin DIP package that contained 6,000 transistors, the integrated circuit could receive 8-bit instructions and perform 16-bit operations. This particular example is marked "8321"indicating it was made in the 21st week of 1983. The "D8080A" means the unit has a housing of black ceramic.

date made

1983-05

maker

Intel Corporation

ID Number

1984.0124.04

accession number

1984.0124

catalog number

1984.0124.04

maker number

8080

Data Source

National Museum of American History

National Semiconductor 103A Handheld Electronic Calculator

Description

This handheld electronic calculator comes in a checkbook and is designed to assist in balancing checking accounts. It has a total of thirty-one plastic keys. On the left side are ten digit keys, a clear entry/clear key, a decimal point key, and four arithmetic function keys. At the center are a % key, a total key, an off key, an on key, and a DB key. On the right is a row of keys for a checking account for entering checks and deposits, and finding balances. A second row of three keys is for indicating charges, payments, and balances in a charge account. A third row of keys for a second charge account. At the bottom right corner is a grand total key.

Behind the keyboard is an eight-digit LCD display. To the right of it are three brightly colored dots. Text to the left reads: NSC National Semiconductor 103A.

The back of the calculator is riveted to the calculator, so marks there were not recorded. A mark on the circuit board reads: NS-103B-1 (/) A=5 (/) B=10.

Text on the inside of the checkbook reads: MADE IN TAIWAN. The checkbook also includes space for a pen.

Compare 1986.0988.227 and 1986.0988.336.

References:

Frank Macias, “Calculating Friends: Delegate That Everyday Balancing Act to These Little Guys with Big Brains,” Los Angeles Times, November 19, 1978, p. O64.

[Advertisement], Washington Post, February 13, 1981, p. A41. On sale for $29.95, regularly $34.95.

date made

1978-1981

maker

National Semiconductor Corporation

ID Number

1986.0988.148

catalog number

1986.0988.148

accession number

1986.0988

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Apple Macintosh Personal Computer

Description

The Apple Macintosh introduced a graphic user interface (GUI) to the Apple line of computers. The idea had originated at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center in the 1970s, but Xerox was slow to commercialize it. Apple proved far more successful when it introduced the Macintosh in January 1984, with a splashy television advertisement during the Superbowl. The original price was around $2,500.

Instead of typing out names of programs on command lines, users with a GUI could click "icons," or pictures that represented the programs they wanted to run. They could also execute functions like saving, moving, or deleting files by clicking and dragging the icons around the screen with a pointing device called a mouse. Apple's version of the mouse had a single button, which became an Apple standard. The first Macintosh had only 128K RAM, and users quickly found this insufficient. The Macintosh 512 KB, nicknamed "Fat Mac," was introduced in September 1984. It gave users four times as much memory, and allowed them to keep several major programs open simultaneously. The vertical processor case and 9" monochrome screen were distinguishing features of all the early Macintosh line.

The Macintosh 512 KB contained a Motorola 68000 microprocessor which ran at 8 MHz. It contained 512 KB of RAM and 64 KB of ROM and initially had a 400 KB Floppy disk drive. Applications included MacWrite, a word processor, and MacPaint, a drawing program that turned the mouse into a paintbrush. Shortly after the 512 KB appeared, Apple also introduced a LaserWriter printer, which enabled desktop publishing for individuals and small businesses. Over time, Apple computers would appeal most strongly to artists and designers, while the IBM/DOS line of computers sold better in business markets.

After selling hundreds of thousands of units, Apple discontinued the "Mac Classic" line of computers in April 1986.

Date made

1984

maker

Apple Computer

ID Number

1985.0118.01

catalog number

1985.0118.01

accession number

1985.0118

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Radio Shack EC-2001 Desktop Electronic calculator

Description

This lightweight, non-printing electronic calculator has an array of nine digit keys at the center, with a zero bar and a decimal point key below these. On the right are arithmetic and clear keys. On the left are percentage, percent change, gross profit margin, item count, clear memory, recall memory, memory subtraction, and memory addition keys. Above the keys are switches between a floating and a fixed decimal point, a constant switch, and a power switch. Behind is a ten-digit vacuum fluorescent diode display. A cabinet has space for two D batteries. A jack for a cord is at the back but there is no cord.

A mark on the front of the machine reads: Radio Shack. A label on the back reads: CAT. NO. 65-660 (/) MODEL EC-2001 (/) Radio Shack, A DIVISION (/) OF TANDY CORPORATION. It also reads: S/NO. 430793 4A2 (/) MADE IN TAIWAN. The interior of the calculator has a single circuit board which has a mark that reads: J (/) 5729 (/) K. The chip by Texas Instruments has a mark that reads: TMC1073NL (/) MBS 8205 (/) PHILLIPINES.

Radio Shack advertised the EC-2001 in American newspapers as early as 1978 and as late as 1985. The regular price in 1978 was $29.95.

Compare the Lloyd’s Accumatic E680-3 (1986.0998.006) and Unisonic XL-101 (1986.0988.004).

References:

[advertisement], Boston Globe, December 5, 1978, p. 15.

[advertisement], New York Times, March 21, 1985, p. A22.

date made

1978-1985

maker

Tandy Corporation

ID Number

1986.0988.007

catalog number

1986.0988.007

accession number

1986.0988

Data Source

National Museum of American History

TRS-80 Model 100 Microcomputer

Description

The Tandy/Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 was one of the precursors to the modern laptop. The functions were fairly limited but the size and battery power were well recieved.

This computer was actually made by Kyocera, now a brand name recognized worldwide as a manufacturer of popular cell phone and PDA hybrids.

date made

ca 1983

user

Ceruzzi, Paul

maker

Tandy Corporation

ID Number

1995.0176.01

accession number

1995.0176

catalog number

1995.0176.01

Data Source

National Museum of American History

WorkSlate Microcomputer

Description

In 1983 Convergent Technologies, Inc., introduced this light weight portable personal computer. Advertised as “an information processing tool designed to meet business needs,” it sold with an integrated set of three business applications – memo pad, phone list, and calendar. At least eight other proprietary software worksheets were available.

Power sources included AC power, or a NiCad battery pack, or four AA batteries. Two “button” type batteries (Union Carbide #186, made in USA) maintained the contents of the memory for about 7 days without other power sources connected. To conserve power, the WorkSlate automatically shut off after five minutes of non-use.

The computer display screen is a liquid crystal display (LCD), approximately 6”w x 3”h. It displayed forty-six characters across and fourteen rows down.

The sixty keys of the keyboard were color coded to indicate their purpose. Yellow represented principal operations such as backspace, cancel, on/off, and Do It. (The Do It key performs execute/enter functions). White identified the letters, numbers, and main punctuation marks. Keys marked in green were used in conjunction with the green “Special” key to access extended operations and characters.

The microcassette player/recorder used 1½” h x 2½ w tape cassettes to load software worksheets, store data, and record phone messages.

The computer included communication connections. Connected to a phone with standard RJ11 cable, it could be used as a speaker phone. Using the phone list application, it could auto-dial numbers. Using a microcassette, it could function as an answering machine. The Comm Port, when linked to the WorkSlate, provided the means to connect with other WorkSlate devices to send or receive worksheets, with printers, or link to a modem to access an electronic information service. According to the reference guide, by subscribing to an electronic information service, you could “receive data on almost any subject imaginable”.

The objects in accession 2016.0253 and non-accession 2016.3134 are related.

date made

1983

maker

Convergent Technologies, Inc.

ID Number

2016.0253.01

accession number

2016.0253

catalog number

2016.0253.01

Data Source

National Museum of American History

PC's Limited Turbo Keyboard

Description

Michael Dell’s PC’s Limited Turbo PC came with an eighty-four-key AT-style keyboard. The AT-style keyboard was compatible with the IMB PC/AT computer and featured the function keys to the left, ten numerical keys at the top, and light-up buttons indicating Caps Lock, Number Lock, and Scroll Lock. The keyboard connected to the Turbo PC via a five-pin DIN connector.

date made

1985

maker

Dell Inc.

ID Number

2007.0042.03

catalog number

2007.0042.03

accession number

2007.0042

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Amdek Video 310A Monitor

Description

The Amdek Video 310A twelve-inch cathode ray tube monochrome display monitor accompanied a 1985 PC’s Limited Turbo PC (2007.0042.01). Monochrome monitors only have the ability to display text in one color. The shade of the text depends on the type of phosphor used in the cathode ray tube. The Amdek 310A contained P3 phosphor, displaying amber characters on the screen.

Reference:

Amdek Corporation, Model 310/310A Owner’s Manual, 1984.

date made

1985

maker

Dell Inc.

ID Number

2007.0042.02

catalog number

2007.0042.02

accession number

2007.0042

Data Source

National Museum of American History

PC'S Limited Microcomputer

Description

In 1984 Michael Dell was a freshman at the University of Texas, building PCs and selling them to fellow students and faculty. By 1985 Dell’s company, PC’s Limited, was selling Turbo PC IBM clones that came with an Intel 8088 microprocessor, 640 kilobytes of RAM, a 360-kilobytes drive, a 130-watt power supply, eight expansion slots, and the ability to connect to local area networks (LAN). One of Dell’s selling points was the option to order a PC over the phone with customized components. This connection with the consumer and the ability to keep inventory low until a computer was ordered gave Dell a distinct business advantage going forward. This computer was sold to Clint Johnson, a freelance writer in North Carolina. In 2005 he donated the computer back to Dell Inc., which gave it to the Museum in 2007.

References:

Owen Edwards, “Baby Dell,” Smithsonian Magazine, August 2007.

Nancy Fowler Koehn, Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers' Trust from Wedgwood to Dell (Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2001), 276–305.

date made

1985

maker

Dell Inc.

ID Number

2007.0042.01

catalog number

2007.0042.01

accession number

2007.0042

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 1 Personal Computer

Description

In the early 1970s, most personal computers came as hobbyist kits requiring a high level of technical expertise to assemble. Don French, a buyer for the consumer electronics chain Tandy Radio Shack (TRS), believed that Radio Shack should offer an assembled personal computer and hired engineer Steve Leininger to design it. In the summer of 1977, Radio Shack introduced the TRS-80 for $599. This offering included a BASIC language interpreter, four kilobytes of RAM, a Zilog Z80 processor at 1.77 megahertz, a twelve-inch video monitor, a cassette recorder, a power supply, and a cassette tape containing the games Blackjack and Backgammon. While some Tandy executives were skeptical about the success of the PC market, the availability of the TRS-80 on five thousand Radio Shack store shelves helped the Model 1 sell over one hundred thousand units during its first year, which was 50 percent of the total PCs sold in 1978.

The TRS-80 had its microprocessor inside its keyboard. While you could purchase just the TRS-80 for $400, most opted for the package that included the twelve-inch monitor and cassette recorder for $600. This example of the object includes the TRS-80 Expansion Interface for $299 (the monitor sits on it) that gave the machine an extra thirty-two kilobytes of memory. Also part of the system are two Mini-Disk drives that sold for $499 and a suitcase for carrying all this around.

One also could purchase such accessories as a TRS-80 Telephone Interface II for $199 that allowed for network communication and printer for $399. Examples of these are in the Smithsonian collections, although they were not received with this specific microcomputer.

References:

Radio Shack, A Tandy Company, 1978 Catalog No. 289, page 166, accessed September 1, 2014, http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalogs/1978

Radio Shack, A Tandy Company, 1979 Catalog No. 302, pages 79–82, accessed September 1, 2014, http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalogs/1979

“BYTE News,” BYTE, May 1979, 117.

Peggy A. Kidwell and Paul E. Ceruzzi, Landmarks in Digital Computing (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994), 96–99.

date made

1977-1981

maker

Tandy Corporation

ID Number

1983.0169.01

catalog number

1983.0169.01

accession number

1983.0169

Data Source

National Museum of American History