Given how remarkably modern computers, applications and IT services can feel, particularly ones that are regularly updated, monitored and upgraded, it can be surprising how far back the modern computer-driven office can be traced.
The standard laptop running a version of Microsoft Windows and often featuring a version of Microsoft Office that so many members of staff are familiar with is often traced back to 1995 when the groundbreaking Windows 95 made computers more accessible to everyone.
However, Windows 95 was largely built on the achievements of Windows 3.1, and Windows itself was first launched in 1985.
Going further than this, Windows was initially a program launched on top of a text-based operating system, MS-DOS, initially launched in 1981 alongside the IBM Personal Computer, not only the computer which coined the term PC but also established the industry standard for computers up to the present day.
However, whilst this is often where people believe the PC as we know it began, the true origins of the computer so many office users are familiar with today can be traced all the way back to 1970, to a rather forgotten pioneer that would secretly shape IT as we know it.
Do Not Call It A Computer
Computing up until the 1970s consisted of room-sized stacks of supercomputer terminals which often required programming using punch cards or discrete sets of switches with data output coming from noisy Teletype machines.
This frustrated two engineers who had been contracted to work on NASA’s Apollo programme, to the point that they decided that they could make something better and change computing history forever.
John Phil Ray and Austin “Gus” Roche, then working for General Dynamics, opted to leave their jobs on the advice of a tutor from the University of Texas and incorporated Computer Terminal Corporation thanks to the help of backers from San Antonio.
They initially worked, as the name suggested, on computer terminals, known at the time as “glass TTYs” (TTY standing for Teletype), with the Datapoint 3300 being one of the first computer monitor screens ever made.
The Secret Computer
The Datapoint 3300 was a major success once they had the capacity to make it, but they had even greater ambitions to create a more intelligent terminal that could be used for programming and running emulations of many common mainframe computers from tape rather than being hardwired.
However, the Datapoint 2200 would go even further, even if they tried to keep that a secret at first.
It was the first computer to have a typewriter-style keyboard, something that is common even today with the QWERTY standard. It also featured support for cassette drives, networking, interfaces, a card reader and a printer, making it possible to use as a standard computer with its terminal.
However, it was originally marketed as a terminal screen which just happened to have a keyboard that allowed it to access a central computer system more easily, despite the fact it had the capability to be a complete computer system of its own.
According to John “Jack Frassanito”, the original industrial designer of the machine, this was always Mr Ray and Mr Roche’s plan, but the ambition of making a computer so small might panic investors and could put them in direct competition with customers such as IBM.
However, this was eventually noticed by CTC salesman Dave Gust, who when discussing the requirements of Pillsbury Foods for a field-based personal computer, noticed that the “programmable terminal” would suit their needs perfectly.
Word spread, CTC changed their name to Datapoint and marketed the 2200 as a personal computer, making it the first of its kind and becoming the most successful product the company ever made.
However, its legacy goes beyond simply being the first personal computer; it was the genesis of the IT hardware that we use today.
Seed Of The Future
The Datapoint 2200 used a processor system made from multiple parts, which was the standard convention of the time and part of the reason why computer mainframes were so large.
However, this was not the original plan for the computer.
Initially, the team wanted to use a single microprocessor, contracting Intel and Texas Instruments to try and make it happen. TI could not make a reliable chip, whilst Intel took too long, leading to the most important compromise in computing history.
CTC kept their money and eventually replicated their chip design using 100 separate chips instead, allowing Intel to keep the rights to the processor once they finished it.
This became the Intel 8008, the world’s first 8-bit microprocessor and the basis for the Intel 8088 processor used in the IBM PC, which forms the basis for how the vast majority of business computers still work today.
