The Day After - Inventing the PC - page 144

In January 1978, bad news about the dismal sales of MCM
computers was followed by more bad news, courtesy of IBM ,
which had launched an improved general-purpose APL desktop
computer - the IBM 5110 - targeting the data-processing needs
of small companies. IBM offered its new computer in a range of
configurations with up to 64K of main memory and tape or
diskette storage (up to four external diskette drives could be at-
tached). An extensive business-oriented software library was of-
fered, as well as two programming languages, APL and BASIC .
The computer was priced between $8,475 to $15,725 depending
on software and hardware configurations. According to IBM ,
within a week of the 5110's announcement, several hundred
orders had already been received. The MCM /800 was no match
for the 5110, not by any stretch of the imagination, and, once
again, MCM found itself in desperate need of a new computer.
In June 1978, to combat its financial crisis, MCM passed a
by-law to increase the authorized capital from $2 million to $5
million by the creation of an additional three million shares
without per value. To deal with the IBM 5110 threat, MCM
developed its new APL computer - the MCM /900 - in record
time. The new computer, whose main architect was André
Arpin, was announced in September 1978 and advertised as a
minicomputer business system especially well-suited for actu-
arial applications. It was priced between $9,300 and $25,000
depending on configuration and presented as an alternative to
expensive APL time-sharing systems. “If you spend more than
$500 a month for APL time-share … you should own an MCM
System 900,” reads one of the MCM /900's promotional bro-
chures. The computer's virtual memory, claimed MCM , would
satisfy the storage requirements of even mid-sized companies.
In spite of its rather dull-looking packaging, the computer was
reliable and, in time, was provided with a well-stocked software
library developed mostly by APL Datasystems Ltd.