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Digital Equipment Corp. PDP8/e Computer

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The PDP8/E, one of the models in the PDP/8 line of the first successful “mini-computers,” was introduced in 1965. The PDP models were based on the TX-0, a computer developed for hands-on laboratory use by Wesley A. Clark and Dr. Charles E. Molnar of MIT, members of the same team that designed the LINC. The TX-0 was designed to accept input directly to its core memory via a component termed I/O (Input/Output) and was equipped with a keyboard and a cathode ray screen that could display input and output. At that time, there was a free exchange of personnel and ideas between MIT and the fledgling Digital Equipment Corporation, better known as DEC, also located in Cambridge. One of DEC’s first products was the PDP-1, a machine that incorporated many features found on the TX-0. The PDP-1 was sold, rather than leased, to users who were encouraged to modify the computer to best suit their needs. After several rounds of improvements on the basic model, the PDP-8, launched in 1965, would prove to be a bestseller in the field of mini-computers. 

The basic PDP-8 model came with 4000 words of memory split into 32 blocks of 128 words each. Supplemental memory was available with a tape drive first developed for the LINC computer and analogous to the later floppy disk drive. Hard copy output was printed via a teletype terminal. The combination of these capabilities with the relatively low price set by DEC — only $6,500 — led to the PDP-8 becoming a major commercial success. The PDP-8/E was one of the most common variants of the PDP-8; it was particularly attractive to users because of the many types of available input/output devices. PDP-8/E devices were used for office work, recording laboratory data, and controlling equipment during surgery. Over 50,000 units of the PDP-8 mini-computer were eventually sold, the last in 1979, fourteen years after the launch of the series. 

This PDP-8/E pictured here was used by Dr. James V. Silverton, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, who studied the structure and function of various chemical compounds to determine if they were suitable as drug treatments for diseases.  [90.0002.003]

Digital

Olivetti Electronic Printing Calculator Microcomputer, P652, c. 1973

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Olivetti Electronic Printing Calculator, P652
Olivetti Electronic Printing Calculator, P652

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An Italian manufacturer, Olivetti is renowned especially for its lightweight portable mechanical typewriters. In the early 1960s the company seized on the availability of integrated circuits to develop a desktop computer to supplement or even replace their line of electric calculators. The Programa 101 was launched in 1965 at the New York World’s Fair and incorporated in early form many of the features of modern desktop computers such as memory, a keyboard, an onboard printer, and a magnetic card reader/recorder. The Programa 101 is often considered the first generally available desktop computer. The production of better computer chips in the early 1970s led Olivetti engineers to design a new computer based on the Programa 101: the P652.

The P652 increased the capability for handling trigonometric and logarithmic calculations and came with a standard keyboard for common mathematical functions as well as a number of special keys for entering routines and programs. The built-in printer recorded the input data as well as the results of calculations on a roll of paper. Programs could be input directly on the keyboard, by means of a built-in magnetic card reader, or by a punched paper tape reader. A number of peripheral devices, which were sold separately, increased the utility of this microcomputer. These add-ons included: a typewriter; an auxiliary disk data storage unit; a cassette tape unit for data and program storage; and an X-Y flat bed plotter. Olivetti also made a software library of programs for various technical routines available to users. The P652 was widely used for collecting data from biomedical experiments and subjecting that data to statistical analysis; it was often listed in the footnotes of publications from that era as having been used to analyze experimental results.

This computer was used by Dr. Harry R. Keiser, Clinical Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute from 1976–1998. His primary research focus was on the activity of signaling molecules in metabolic diseases. Keiser published over 200 articles in medical journals and textbooks, and received a lifetime service award from the Washington Academy of Sciences. [89.0001.013]

Supercomputer

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CRAY X-MP 22 Supercomputer
CRAY X-MP/22 Supercomputer

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Bearing more resemblance to a modern art installation than a powerful supercomputer, the Cray X-MP/22 was the fastest computer in the world from 1983 to 1986. It ran at 105 MHz, then the quickest processing speed available, and was capable of performing 400 million calculations per second under optimal conditions. The circuits necessary to produce this processing power gave off so much heat that a conventional fan was insufficient for cooling; the circuit board had to be immersed in fluorocarbons in order to function properly. It was the first computer containing two processors that could be simultaneously accessed by a single program. Such superior technology wasn’t cheap—each Cray X-MP was built to order and cost tens of millions of dollars.

This Cray X-MP/22 was used from 1986 to 1992 at the NIH’s Laboratory of Mathematical Biology, a part of the National Cancer Institute, in the Advanced Scientific Computing Laboratory (ASCL). Although housed in Maryland, this computer was used via network by scientists across the country and has the distinction of being the first supercomputer dedicated solely to biomedical research. It was used in applications such as crystallography, DNA sequence analysis, image processing, molecular structure determination, and statistical analysis. [92.0010.001] 

Hybrid

Hewlett Packard 9845-B Desktop Computer, c. 1980

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