24 Jul
2014
24 Jul
'14
7:48 a.m.
I remember reading an article in an old, old, old magazine that talked a
little bit about Perkin-Elmer computers but those that were being
referenced were little desktop UNIX machines, kind of reminiscent of a
Fortune 32:16 or something (IIRC??)... Maybe I am just getting my wires
crossed with the Fortune 32:16 itself, LOL. I never really knew of any
Perkin-Elmer minis, but from what I've read, apparently that was once
Interdata. My assumption then is that any P-E branded mini is simply a
descendent of the Interdata line?
I suppose the computer biz was just a distraction for P-E (as it was for,
say, Gould, Harris, etc); their primary line of business was producing
stuff like laboratory instruments (more for chemistry and biology labs than
HP's generally electronics-focused test gear), photolithography equipment,
military equipment, etc.
Best,
Sean
On Thu, Jul 24, 2014 at 4:18 AM, Philip Belben <philip at axeside.co.uk> wrote:
There were lots of minicomputer makers. For example,
I've seen no
discussion on Varian minis and darned little on
TI 990s or CDC 1700s, as
a start.
A name that I remember from advertisements in the 1980s (I don't think I
ever encountered a machine) was Perkin Elmer, who made 32-bit minis. Does
anyone recall them? The Wikipedia article concentrates on the much more
recent history of the corporation, but it does seem that, like HP, their
computers were a spinoff of their scientific instruments.
Philip.