15 Mar
2023
15 Mar
'23
4:56 p.m.
On Mar 15, 2023, at 3:55 PM, Rich Alderson via cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
wrote:
The term "minicomputer" was marketing speak: The first computer to receive
the
appellation was the PDP-8/e, which was the third generation of the PDP-8 family
(where the PDP-5 is "generation zero"). The first generation PDP-8 fit into
the back of a VW convertible (a famous marketing photo); the third would fit on
the passenger side front seat. It came out at a time when the miniskirt was in
full bloom, and everything in the marketing world was "Mini! Mini!
Mini!"--even
when it wasn’t.
The first time I saw a PDP-8 was in the Museum of American History in Washington DC in
1990. Along with a straight-8, they had that marketing photo.
Zane