Fifty Years Ago .... from the pages of Computer Weekly
/
February 1976 computing, compiled by TNMOC volunteer archivist, Brian Aldous.
A selection of stories from Computer Weekly from February 1976. The full archive of Computer Weekly can be seen at TNMOC, where there are special rolling displays of front pages from 25 and 40 years ago.
Command system for Staffs police:
An on-line real time command and control system is to be installed by Staffordshire police at the regional headquarters in Stafford. Based on Ferranti minicomputers the system will have three applications, command and control, message switching and management information. At its heart will be Argus 700S and Argus 700E minicomputers and peripherals will include 27 VDUs, teletypes and an interface to the force’s teleprinter network. The system is scheduled to come into operation early next year linked to the county council’s IBM 370/145. VDUs for Staffordshire and for Suffolk police systems are now being evaluated. Whatever unit is chosen, it will need a 2,000-character screen capacity and be Burroughs-compatible in order to access the B6700s at the Police National Computer Unit at Hendon. (CW 483 5/2/1976 p4)
World first claimed DRI:
The UK based disc drive manufacturer, Data Recording Instruments, of Staines, Middlesex, has claimed a world first with the introduction of a 12 Megabyte front loading single disc unit. This is the 3212, part of the Series 3200. The Series 3200 comprises three models. The 3206 stores six Megabytes on one front loading disc and offers a 1.5 MHz data transfer rate. The 3208 is like the 3206. but is aimed specifically at users of DRI Series 30 drives, being controller compatible with them. The 12 Megabyte 3212 has a transfer rate of three MHz. DRI claims that the 3212 is the only front-loading single disc drive with a track density of 200 tracks per inch and a recording density of 4,400 bits per inch. (CW 483 5/2/1976 p28)
Table top drum plotter:
A low-cost table top drum plotter, the Calcomp 836, will be introduced in the UK by Calomp soon. The 836 takes over from the Calcomp 563 drum plotter, which has been sold by the company for the last 15 years. The 836 can interface on-line with any computer or minicomputer, via the Calcomp 500 series interface and also can be driven off line by any Calcomp 900 series controller. The 836 measures 51 inches (130 cms) across, by 18.75 inches (48 cms) deep, and uses a quiet DC motor to drive the drum and carriage and a linear motor to move the pen mechanism. This draws at 1.97 inches (5 cms), per second, with an increment of 0.004 inches (0.1 mm). The pen can be a ballpoint, plastic tipped or liquid ink, as required. The 836, which will cost around £4,000 in the UK, can produce drawings up to 34 inches (86 cms), in width, and up to 120 feet (36 metres), long. (CW 484 12/2/1976 p7)
Geneva data entry system success:
A data entry software system developed by Service Informatique SA of Geneva has already achieved a notable success with a multiple purchase by Grace Industrial Chemicals, one of the major international chemical companies. Grace will install the Generalised Data Entry system on Digital Equipment PDP-11 configurations at 10 locations throughout Europe. These will include a 28K-word PDP-11 40 at the UK division, W. R. Grace, in London. The software has already been under test in this office for about four months, but the company expects it to be a further six months, before conversion of other local software from the old punched card system to the new five-station visual display entry system is complete. (CW 484 12/2/1976 p40)
Low-cost main memory system from EMM:
A main memory system, claimed to be over 60 percent cheaper than equivalent IBM kit, has been introduced by Electronic Memories and Magnetics, of Hawthorne, California. Designated the Multimemory 158, it is based on N channel MOS devices with 4Kbit capacity which EMM has used successfully in OEM and end user applications. These NMOS RAMs are manufactured by subsidiary EMM Semi, of Phoenix, Arizona. Modules are built up from the 4Kbit devices into units with a 16K byte bi-directional interface data path, with a 345 nanoseconds access time, a 460 nanosecond fast write time, a 920 Nanosecond write time and an 805-nanosecond fetch time. EMM can supply Multimemory systems for all versions of the 370/158 including the Model 3 and multiprocessor systems. The maximum size available is four Megabytes. (CW 485 19/2/1976 p7)
Euronet plan moves forward:
The nine Common Market PTTs have agreed to go ahead with the development of the European data transmission network, Euronet. This should go live within two years, and by1980, more than 1,000 terminal users all over the EEC will have access to about 20 computer databases via the packet switching network. The nine PTTs have formed a consortium to liaise with the EEC Commission in Brussels, which is funding the whole project. At the same time two sub-committees have been set up by the consortium, one to deal with the commercial problems of running Euronet, and one to supervise the planning, specification and implementation of the network. (CW 485 19/2/1976 p32)
Mainframe power with Prime 400:
One of the fastest growing firms in the minicomputer business, Prime, has launched a supermini, the 400, claimed to be in the IBM 370/158 power bracket. The firm is now packaging its hardware and software into systems under the brand name, Tempus, identifying four market areas, timesharing, transaction processing, data acquisition and communications. The Prime 400 joins a line-up of super minis that includes the Digital Equipment PDP-11/70, the Data General Eclipse, the Interdata Megamini, and the General Automation16/440. Notable features of the Prime 400 include a main memory capacity of up to eight Megabytes. This can be segmented into virtual machine spaces of 64K words, each of which, in turn, can be divided into 1Kword, 2Kbyte, pages. Prime points out that this maximises the efficiency of the 2Kbyte 80 nanosecond cache memory on the 400. The single 2Kbyte cache is held in the CPU. This method contrasts with the technique of having a small cache on each memory module used in some other big minis. (CW 486 26/2/1976 p4)
Hand-held data collection unit from Muirhead:
A handheld data collection unit, which incorporates a semiconductor memory holding up to 64K characters of data has been launched in the UK by the computer systems division of Muirhead. Known as the Infopac data terminal, the unit complements the division’s other main product line, the Voicepac voice response order entry and inquiry system. The Infopac is the size of a hand calculator and competes with the portable data collection terminals now being marketed by MSI, Plessey, Senosa, Techmation and Senodean and has the advantage that there is no need for a shoulder bag to carry a cassette recorder. In fact. Muirhead has now stopped manufacturing its own Dace Datalink key to cassette unit in favour of Infopac, which is built in the US by Azur Data Inc., Richland, Washington state. The Infopac unit comes with a 15-character LED display and a keyboard which includes keys for retrieving data already entered. The complete Infopac system comes with a compact desktop data transmission unit, into which the handheld unit slots, literally. Data can then be sent down the line to the remote computer centres at up to 120chps. No special receiver unit is needed at that end, says Muirhead. The basic Infopac unit is supplied with 4K characters of semiconductor memory and costs about £800. (CW 486 26/2/1976 p7)
