Datapoint: The Lost Story of the Texans Who Invented the Personal Computer

by Lamont Wood

Overview

Forget Apple and IBM. For that matter forget Silicon Valley.

The first personal computer, a self-contained unit with its own programmable processor, display, keyboard, internal memory, telephone interface, and mass storage of data was born in San Antonio TX. US Patent number 224,415 was filed November 27, 1970 for a machine that is the direct lineal ancestor to the PC as we know it today. The story begins in 1968, when two Texans, Phil Ray and Gus Roche, founded a firm called Computer Terminal Corporation. As the name implies their first product was a Datapoint 3300 computer terminal replacement for a mechanical Teletype. However, they knew all the while that the 3300 was only a way to get started, and it was cover for what their real intentions were - to create a programmable mass-produced desktop computer. They brought in Jack Frassanito, Vic Poor, Jonathan Schmidt, Harry Pyle and a team of designers, engineers and programmers to create the Datapoint 2200. In an attempt to reduce the size and power requirement of the computer it became apparent that the 2200 processor could be printed on a silicon chip. Datapoint approached Intel who rejected the concept as a "dumb idea" but were willing to try for a development contract. Intel belatedly came back with their chip but by then the Datapoint 2200 was already in production. Intel added the chip to its catalog designating it the 8008.
A later upgrade, the 8080 formed the heart of the Altair and IMSI in the mid-seventies. With further development it was used in the first IBM PC-the PC revolution's chip dynasty.
If you're using a PC, you're using a modernized Datapoint 2000.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940155798477
Publisher:	George Gluchowski
Publication date:	04/18/2015
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	784,829
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Lamont Wood has been a freelance writer covering the computer and technology field or more than 30 years, writing hundreds of articles for scores of magazines, plus nine books. Wood’s clients over the years have included publications in U.S., Canada, England, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Hong Kong, China, and the Philippines, including Computerworld, Smart Enterprise, Scientific American, the Chicago Tribune, and scores of others. His career made him a front-line witness to the history of the personal computer industry, putting him in contact with some of its leading figures while he reported on its events and trends. Prior to becoming a freelance writer, from 1980-1982 Wood was a publicity writer for Datapoint and became familiar with the firm’s remarkable story and the chief personalities behind it—and saw over the subsequent decades how that story was ignored or discounted by the rest of the industry. A resident of San Antonio (Datapoint’s home) Wood is married, has twin adult sons, and is a grandfather.