Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 29th Nov 2008 00:43 UTC
El Reg has a write-up on the amazingly beautiful and hopelessly impractical Honeywell Kitchen Computer. We've covered this bizarre piece of computing history before on OSNews, in my list of the ten most beautiful computers. For those that have no idea what I'm talking about, read on for more details. Trust me, you want to know.
Permalink for comment 338754
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Recent Original Stories
Recent Comments
Headlines
Random Comments
Random Stories
Random OS Link
Member since:
2006-04-14
Actually, one interacted with this system via an ASR33 (a hard copy teletype) and a card reader, neither of which is shown in the photo referenced.
Yes, the concept of using this system as a "kitchen computer" was another brain-damaged marketing idea from Honeywell. Honeywell's marketing focus always was, up until the time they divested their computer business, almost exclusively targeted toward their large mainframes. These idiots really had no idea how to market minicomputers, and actually saw them as a threat to their large-scale business.
However, Honeywell's minicomputers, both the x16 line, as well as the later Level 6/DPS6 line actually were quite successful in spite of the corporate focus on and bias towards their mainframes.
It was a real shame that Honeywell drove their computer business into the ground through stupid marketing decisions, particularly when Honeywell Information Systems had many very sharp technicians and engineers. Some of their more notable contributions were the first secure timesharing system (MULTICS), work on the ARPANET (forerunner to the Internet), and a system (SCOMP) that received the highest ever Orange Book rating from the NSA for multi-level security.
Disclaimer - I worked for Honeywell Federal Systems Division for 17 years.