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up on Intel microprocessors and working with proven technolo-
gies, such as
TTL
, instead. The other was to continue on the
microprocessor path by first adopting a more advanced Intel
8080 microprocessor. Ramer was aware that the 8080 ap-
proach would increase the computer's
RAM
memory and speed.
Furthermore, these gains could reduce the reliance on virtual
memory, first developed for the
MCM
/70, a memory system
which was vast in capacity but slow in operation.
At the time of writing his report, Ramer was concerned with
the semiconductor industry's long-term commitment to the de-
velopment of new-generation microprocessors and, as a result,
he was not in favour of the microprocessor direction. But by
1976, at the time of the
MCM
/800's development, the situa-
tion had changed entirely. Not only were more and more semi-
conductor companies offering their own microprocessors, but
also a rapidly growing number of small and well-established
companies outside of the semiconductor industry were begin-
ning to offer complete microcomputer systems, ranging from
hobby microcomputers and microprocessor development sys-
tems to full-fledged general purpose microcomputers and
microprocessor-based minis. Among the established minicom-
puter makers, Computer Automation, General Automation,
and Digital Equipment Corporation were the first to incorpor-
ate microprocessors into their products. Microprocessor-based
minis were promoted as low-end and low-cost machines com-
plementing an established line. They were designed to use the
extensive software libraries available with the rest of the line.
For instance, General Automation's
LSI
-12/16 microcomputer
was built to replace the company's
SPC
-12 mini. The 16-bit ver-
sion of the
LSI
-12 microcomputer was said to be functionally
equivalent to the company's speedy
SPC
-16 mini. The
CPU
s of
both of these microcomputers employed Rockwell Internation-
ments,
MCM
decided to sacrifice its microprocessor heritage -
