Difference between revisions of "Digital Equipment Corporation"

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'''Digital Equipment Corporation''', or '''DEC''', was a large computer company (at one time, the second-largest in the world after [[IBM]]). They made [[minicomputer]]s, their signature product (and the one that led to their success), for a period, the most popular kind of computers in the world. Their product range eventually extended from small [[mainframe]]s to [[personal computer]]s.
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'''Digital Equipment Corporation''', or '''DEC''', was a large computer company (at one time, the second-largest in the world after [[International Business Machines|IBM]]). They made [[minicomputer]]s, their signature product (and the one that led to their success), for a period, the most popular kind of computers in the world. Their product range eventually extended from small [[mainframe]]s to [[personal computer]]s.
  
 
It was started in 1957, in an old wool mill in Maynard, Massachusetts. The original product line was modules, [[System Module]]s. Once those were established, they started producing computers using them.
 
It was started in 1957, in an old wool mill in Maynard, Massachusetts. The original product line was modules, [[System Module]]s. Once those were established, they started producing computers using them.
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==See also==
 
==See also==
  
* [[:Category:DEC Hardware|DEC hardware]]
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* [[List of Programmed Data Processors]]
* [[:Category:DEC Software|DEC software]]
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* [[DEC part number]]s
* [[:Category:DEC Operating Systems|DEC operating systems]]
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* [[DEC engineering drawing numbers]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Hardware]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Boards]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Architectures]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Buses]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Systems]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Processors]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Memories]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Peripherals]]
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** [[:Category:DEC Storage Controllers]]
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** [[:Category:DEC Disk Drives]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Terminals]]
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* [[:Category:DEC Software]]
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** [[:Category:DEC Operating Systems]]
  
 
==Further reading==
 
==Further reading==
  
* Glenn Rifkin, George Harrar, ''The Ultimate Entrepreneur: The Story of Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corporatio'', Contemporary, Chicago, 1988 - The best general history of DEC, but stops at 1987
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* Glenn Rifkin, George Harrar, ''The Ultimate Entrepreneur: The Story of Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corporation'', Contemporary, Chicago, 1988 - The best general history of DEC, but stops at 1987
 
* Edgar H. Schein, ''DEC is Dead, Long Live DEC'', Berett-Koehler, San Francisco, 2003
 
* Edgar H. Schein, ''DEC is Dead, Long Live DEC'', Berett-Koehler, San Francisco, 2003
 
* Clayton M. Christensen, ''The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail'', Harvard Business School, Boston, 1997 - Briefly discusses DEC's inability to adapt to the world with personal computers
 
* Clayton M. Christensen, ''The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail'', Harvard Business School, Boston, 1997 - Briefly discusses DEC's inability to adapt to the world with personal computers
* Jamie Parker Pearson,''Digital at Work: Snapshots from the First Thirty-Five Years'', Digital, Burlington, 1992
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* Jamie Parker Pearson, [http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/gbell/digital/Digital%20at%20work%201992.pdf ''Digital at Work: Snapshots from the First Thirty-Five Years''], Digital, Burlington, 1992
 
* Alan R. Earls, ''Digital Equipment Corporation (Images of America)'', Arcadia, Charleston, 2004 - Mostly covers the early years
 
* Alan R. Earls, ''Digital Equipment Corporation (Images of America)'', Arcadia, Charleston, 2004 - Mostly covers the early years
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* C. Gordon Bell, J. Craig Mudge, John. E. McNamara, ''Computer Engineering: A DEC View of Hardware Systems Design'', Digital Press, Bedford, 1978
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
  
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* [http://www.decconnection.org/digitalstechnology.htm Digital's Technology Heritage]
 
* [http://www.avanthar.com/healyzh/decemulation/decemu.html The DEC Emulation Website]
 
* [http://www.avanthar.com/healyzh/decemulation/decemu.html The DEC Emulation Website]
  
[[Category:Computer Manufacturers]]
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{{semi-stub}}
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[[Category: Digital Equipment Corporation]]

Revision as of 13:08, 13 May 2021

Digital Equipment Corporation, or DEC, was a large computer company (at one time, the second-largest in the world after IBM). They made minicomputers, their signature product (and the one that led to their success), for a period, the most popular kind of computers in the world. Their product range eventually extended from small mainframes to personal computers.

It was started in 1957, in an old wool mill in Maynard, Massachusetts. The original product line was modules, System Modules. Once those were established, they started producing computers using them.

They reached the peak of their success in the 1980s, with their VAX line. However, they were unable to successfully adapt to the rise of personal computers, which turned computers into commodities, and were bought by Compaq in 1998.

See also

Further reading

  • Glenn Rifkin, George Harrar, The Ultimate Entrepreneur: The Story of Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corporation, Contemporary, Chicago, 1988 - The best general history of DEC, but stops at 1987
  • Edgar H. Schein, DEC is Dead, Long Live DEC, Berett-Koehler, San Francisco, 2003
  • Clayton M. Christensen, The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail, Harvard Business School, Boston, 1997 - Briefly discusses DEC's inability to adapt to the world with personal computers
  • Jamie Parker Pearson, Digital at Work: Snapshots from the First Thirty-Five Years, Digital, Burlington, 1992
  • Alan R. Earls, Digital Equipment Corporation (Images of America), Arcadia, Charleston, 2004 - Mostly covers the early years
  • C. Gordon Bell, J. Craig Mudge, John. E. McNamara, Computer Engineering: A DEC View of Hardware Systems Design, Digital Press, Bedford, 1978

External links