Datapoint 2200

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Datapoint 2200
Computer Terminal Corporation
TypeIntelligent terminal, personal computer
Release dateMay 1970; 53 years ago (1970-05)
Discontinued1979; 45 years ago (1979)[1]
Operating systemDatapoint O/S
CPUserial, discrete logic implementation of the Intel 8008 instruction set
Memory2 KB standard; expandable to 16 KB
DisplayText only, 80×12 characters

The Datapoint 2200 was a mass-produced programmable

IBM PC
and its descendants.

Technical description

The Datapoint 2200 had a built-in full-travel

main memory, expandable to 8 KiB. The Type 2 2200 used denser 1 kbit RAM
chips, giving it a default 4 KiB of memory, expandable to 16 KiB. Its starting price was around US$5,000 (equivalent to $38,000 in 2023), and a full 16 KiB Type 2 2200 had a list price of just over $14,000.

The 8-bit processor architecture that CTC designed for the Datapoint 2200 was implemented in four distinct ways, all with nearly identical instruction sets, but very different internal microarchitectures: CTC's original design that communicated data serially, CTC's parallel design, the Texas Instruments TMC 1795, and the Intel 8008.[6]

Datapoint 2200 Version II (CTC's parallel design) was much faster than the TMC 1795, which was slightly faster than the original serial design of the Datapoint 2200, which in turn was considerably faster than the 8008.[7]

The 2200 models were succeeded by the 5500, 1100, 6600, 3800/1800, 8800, etc.

The fact that most laptops and cloud computers today store numbers in

serial processor, it needed to start with the lowest bit of the lowest byte in order to handle carries. Microprocessors descended from the Datapoint 2200 (the 8008, Z80, and the x86 chips used in most laptops and cloud computers today) kept the little-endian format used by that original Datapoint 2200.[7][8]

The seed of the x86 architecture

The original design called for a single-chip

TTL modules as was conventional at the time. In 1969, CTC contracted two companies, Intel and Texas Instruments, to make the chip. TI was unable to make a reliable part and dropped out. Intel was unable to make CTC's deadline. Intel and CTC renegotiated their contract, ending up with CTC keeping its money and Intel keeping the eventually completed processor.[2]

CTC released the Datapoint 2200 using about 100 TTL components (SSI/MSI chips) instead of a microprocessor, while Intel's single-chip design, eventually designated the Intel 8008, was finally released in April 1972.[9]

Even though the Datapoint 2200

8-bit microarchitecture.[7]

Possibly because of their speed advantages compared to MOS circuits, Datapoint continued to build processors out of TTL chips until the early 1980s.[7]

Nonetheless, the 8008 was to have a seminal importance. It was the basis of Intel's line of 8-bit CPUs, which was followed by their assembly language compatible 16-bit CPUs — the first members of the

Micral N
.

Credits

The original

TTL design they ended up using was made by Gary Asbell. Industrial design (how the box's exterior looked, including the company's logo) was done by Jack Frassanito.[2]

Specifications

Main unit

Peripherals

Users of the 2200 and succeeding terminals eventually had several optional units to choose from. Among these were:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Datapoint Corporation Datapoint 2200". OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum.
  2. ^ a b c d Wood, Lamont (August 8, 2008). "Forgotten PC history: The true origins of the personal computer". Computerworld.
  3. ^
    ISBN 9781936449361
    .
  4. ^ Weinkrantz, Allen (June 2, 2009). "San Antonio Has Claim As The Birthplace of the Personal Computer. Read All About It". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  5. ^ Datapoint 2200 Reference Manual Version I and Version II (PDF). Datapoint Corporation. 1972.
  6. S2CID 32003640
    .
  7. ^ a b c d Shirriff, Ken. "The Texas Instruments TMX 1795: the first, forgotten microprocessor".
  8. ^ "Oral History Panel on the Development and Promotion of the Intel 8008 Microprocessor" (PDF). September 21, 2006. p. 5.
  9. ^ Thompson Kaye, Glynnis (1984). A Revolution in Progress - A History to Date of Intel (PDF). Intel Corporation. p. 13. "The 8-bit 8008 microprocessor had been developed in tandem with the 4004 and was introduced in April 1972. It was originally intended to be a custom chip for Computer Terminals Corp. of Texas, later to be known as Datapoint." "As it developed, CTC rejected the 8008 because it was too slow for the company's purpose and required too many supporting chips."
  10. ^ Dalakov, Georgi (April 23, 2014). "History of Computers and Computing, Birth of the modern computer, Personal computer, Datapoint 2200".

External links

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