Unveiling the Future - Inventing the PC - page 66

computer systems and programmable desktop calculators of-
fered by Digital Equipment, Hewlett-Packard, Wang Laborator-
ies, and German manufacturer Diehl Datensystem. What did go
unnoticed at SICOB , despite Kutt's and Truong's best efforts,
was the harbinger of a dramatic shift in the computer industry
soon to be brought about by microprocessor-powered comput-
ers such as the MCM /70 and the Micral. R 2 E and MCM prod-
ucts were aimed at distinct markets which already represented
two major application areas for future computers; the Micral
represented inexpensive controllers and embedded computer
systems, and the MCM /70 was the forerunner of a versatile per-
sonal computer.
Kutt understood well that to sell novel hardware, a company
needs to promote a killer application. But at SICOB , he could
only offer MCM / APL and the Horse Race game. Perhaps there
were visitors who tried to do an ad hoc APL calculation on the
displayed MCM /70. But many more SICOB attendees descended
on Digital Equipment's booth, mesmerized by the moon-landing
simulation that ran on DEC 's PDP -11/45 system. As one visitor
recollected, “One could control, by means of a 'light pen' acting
on the screen, the thrust and orientation of one's space-ship,
while the machine kept track of the residual fuel, and displayed
your position and orientation relative to a rugged landscape.” 9
Remember that in the fall of 1973, the Micral N had just
started to ship, the MCM /70 existed only as a prototype, and
the world of electronics was still under the spell of desktop and
pocket calculators. Some of these calculators, such as Hewlett-
Packard's 9830, could even execute simple BASIC programs,
which was seen as a major step forward. It was not until years
later that people realized that these programmable calculators
could be replaced by general purpose microcomputers.
The veil of secrecy about MCM and its microcomputer was
finally lifted in North America at the end of the MCM /70's
European tour. The MCM computer was officially announced