General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

4

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

METAL CASING; SYNTHETIC CASING FRONT, METAL & SYNTHETIC WORKING PARTS/ RUBBER FEET

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

46.4 cm

Width

45.0 cm

Height

15.2 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Computing Technology

Category

Digital computing devices

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Mini Peripherals

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Ottawa

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

MID 1970S-1982

Canada

A COMPUTER SYSTEM DEVELOPED BY A CANADIAN, DR. MCKAY OF OTTAWA, & SOLD BY HIS COMPANY MINI-PERIPHERALS INC. IT WAS USED BY A SMALL CANADIAN COMPUTER SOFTWARE WRITING FIRM OPERATED BY THE GURNEYS, WHO WROTE SOFTWARE UNDER CONTRACT. THEY CEASED USING THIS SYSTEM BECAUSE ITS MEMORY & PROGRAMMING WERE INADEQUATE FOR HANDLING LARGE JOBS.

Function

A PROGRAMMMABLE MACHINE THAT ACCEPTS, PROCESSES, & DISPLAYS DATA. IT CONTAINS A MICROPROCESSOR & WAS USED BY AN INDIVIDUAL FOR PERSONAL OR BUSINESS PURPOSES. THE SYSTEM INCLUDES A DISK DRIVE MEMORY DEVICE, & KEYBOARD & MONITOR FOR DATA INPUT & OUTPUT. THIS EXAMPLE WAS USED BY A SMALL BUSINESS.

Technical

AN EXAMPLE OF AN EARLY PC CONTAINING THE 8080 MICROPROCESSOR. THIS EARLIER VERSION OF MINIPERIPERAL'S PRODUCT USED SWITCHES TO PROGRAM THE OPERATING SYSTEM MANUALLY. IT HAS 18 K RAM. A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THE MACHINE WAS THAT THERE WAS A LIMIT TO THE SIZE OF FILE THAT COULD BE OPENED. THIS PC WAS CONTEMPORANEOUS WITH MIT'S ALTAIR.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

WHITE LETTERING ON FRONT READING 'M101' & 'MINI-PERIPHERALS INC'/ WHITE LETTERING FOR CONTROL FUNCTIONS

Missing

N/A

Finish

TEXTURED BLUE PAINTED CASING; GLOSSY BLACK SYNTHETIC FRONT; GOLD COLOURED CHASSIS; PLATED METAL & BLACK SYNTHETIC SWITCHES

Decoration

N/A