Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
• Groupe Bull
• Hitachi
• Mitsubishi
• Nixdorf
• Olivetti
• Scientific Data Systems (SDS)
• Sun
• Wang
• Xerox
Not all of these appeared in the 1960s, but it is clearer to list them all in one
place rather than scattering them through several chapters.
In addition to digital mainframe computers, there were also a number of spe-
cialized analog-digital hybrid computers mainly used for engineering and scientif-
ic problems. These are not as well known as pure digital computers. Two ex-
amples of hybrids were the HYCOMP desktop analog/digital hybrid from 1961
and the larger HYDAC 2400 analog/digital computer from 1963. Others included
the Beckman hybrid from 1960 and the EAI 680 scientific hybrid used in engin-
eering.
Pure analog computers remained in widespread military service as bombsights,
torpedo guidance computers, and missile-navigation systems. Analog computers
would dominate military weapons for more than another decade. The use of digital
computers on the Apollo spaceships would soon pave the way for digital com-
puters to take over from analogs on aircraft and missiles.
Portable computers and notebook computers will be discussed in later chapters.
However, although commercial notebook computers did not exist in this decade,
Alan Kay created an early concept of a notebook computer called
Dynabook
in
1968. His idea was to provide schoolchildren with portable learning devices.
An article published by Kay in 1972 showed a device that looked remarkably
like a cross between a modern tablet computer and a notebook. This was a vision-
ary idea that would later grow into powerful concepts at the Xerox Palo Alto Re-
search Center (PARC) in California where Kay worked. Xerox PARC will come
up again in the next decade due to the impact that Xerox technologies had on Steve
Jobs and Apple Computer.
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