15 Mar
2023
15 Mar
'23
4:40 p.m.
On Wed, Mar 15, 2023 at 4:11 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.
This, above all other explanations, rings the most true.
I remember when the internet and e-mail became all the rage in the late
1990s, everything was eThis and eThat. And when Apple coined the iPhone,
everything started to become iThis and iThat.
So it makes complete sense that in the era of mini-everything, someone in
the computer industry would grab onto the mini-zeitgeist.
Thanks for the contributions to the discussion, Rich.
Sellam