AT&T UNIX PC
![]() AT&T UNIX PC | |
Manufacturer | Convergent Technologies[1][2] |
---|---|
Type | Professional Computer |
Release date | March 26, 1985[3] |
Introductory price | US$5,095 (equivalent to $12,300 in 2020) - US$7,290 (equivalent to $17,500 in 2020)[3][4] |
Media | 5¼-inch floppy disks,[2] optional QIC tapes |
Operating system | AT&T UNIX v3.51[1] |
CPU | Motorola 68010 with custom MMU clocked at 10 MHz[2] |
Memory | 512 KB to 4 MB RAM[2] |
Storage | Optional 10 MB, 20 MB, 40 MB,[2] and 67 MB hard drives[1] |
Display | 12 inches (30 cm), 720 x 348[2] |
Input | Keyboard, 3-button Mouse[2] |
Connectivity | RS-232 port, Parallel port, 3 phone jacks |
Mass | 40 lb (18 kg) |
The AT&T UNIX PC is a Unix desktop computer originally developed by Convergent Technologies[2] (later acquired by Unisys),[1] and marketed by AT&T in the mid- to late-1980s. The system was codenamed "Safari 4"[5] and is also known as the PC 7300, and often dubbed the "3B1". Despite the latter name, the system had little in common with AT&T's line of 3B series computers. The system was tailored for use as a productivity tool in office environments and as an electronic communication center.[6]
Hardware configuration[]
- 10 MHz Motorola 68010 (16-bit external bus, 32-bit internal) with custom, discrete MMU[2]
- Internal MFM hard drive, originally 10 MB,[3] later models with up to 67 MB[1]
- Internal 5-1/4" floppy drive[2]
- At least 512 KB RAM on main board, expandable via expansion cards[2]
- Monochrome green phosphor 12-inch (300 mm) monitor[2]
- Internal 300/1200 bit/s modem[2]
- RS-232 serial port[2]
- Centronics parallel port[2]
- 3 S4BUS expansion slots[2]
- 3 phone jacks[2]
PC 7300[]
The initial PC 7300 model offered a modest 512 KB[2] of memory and a small, low performance 10 MB hard drive.[3] This model, although progressive in offering a Unix system for desktop office operation, was underpowered and produced considerable fan and drive bearing noise even when idling. The modern-looking "wedge" design was innovative, and in fact the machine gained notoriety appearing in many movies as the token "computer."[citation needed]
AT&T 3B1[]
A later enhanced model was renamed "3B1".[1] The cover was redesigned to accommodate a full-height 67 MB hard drive.[1] This cover change added a 'hump' to the case, expanded onboard memory to 1 or 2 MB, as well as added a better power supply.[1]
S/50[]
Convergent Technologies offered an S/50 which was a re-badged PC 7300.[7]
Olivetti AT&T 3B1[]
British Olivetti released the "Olivetti AT&T 3B1 Computer" in Europe.[8]
Operating system[]
The operating system is based on Unix System V Release 2,[2] with extensions from 4.1 and 4.2 BSD, System V Release 3 and Convergent Technologies.[1] The last release was 3.51.[1]
Programming languages[]
- Microsoft BASIC[1][3]
- SMC BASIC[1]
- RM COBOL[1]
- RM Fortran[1]
- LPI Fortran[3][1]
- LPI Pascal[3][1]
- LPI C[3][1]
- LPI PL/I[3]
- LPI COBOL[3]
- SVS Fortran[1]
- SVS Pascal[1]
- AT&T BASIC[1]
- GNU C++
- LISP
- dBase III[3]
Application software[]
- SMART System (Office Suite)
- dBASE III (DBM)[3]
- Informix (DBM)
- Oracle (DBM)
- Paint Power (drawing package)
- Sound Presentations (presentation graphics)[9]
- Samna/AT&T Write Power 2 (word processor/spreadsheet)
- Samna Plus (word processor/spreadsheet)[10]
Spreadsheet software[]
Word processors[]
- Microsoft Word[9][3][1]
- AT&T Word Processor[9][1]
- Crystal Writer[1]
- WordStar 2000[1]
- Samna Word[1]
- WordMarc[1]
- SMART Word Processor[1]
Games[]
- Pac-Man clone
- NetHack
- Chess
- Klondike[11]
- Life
- Mahjongg[12]
- Moria
- Robots
- Rocks (Asteroids clone)
- Super-Rogue 9.0
- Tetris clone
Utility[]
- EMACS
- HoneyDanBer UUCP package.
- Various Shells: Bourne, C, and Korn
- Kermit
- MGR window system
- SPICE/NUTMEG (circuit simulation tool)[13]
- TeX
- Pcomm (ProComm clone)
Expansion cards[]
- DOS-73 8086 co-processor card running at 8 MHz with 512 KB RAM, an RS-232 COM2 port and optional 8087 math co-processor chip. It included MS-DOS 3.1. This board was designed and built for AT&T by Alloy Computer Products of Framingham MA.
- RAM card could be added using 512 KB RAM or 2 MB RAM cards, up to a maximum of 4 MB (2 MB on the motherboard and 2 MB on expansion cards).
- EIA/RAM combo cards contained extra RAM (512 KB, 1 MB, or 1.5 MB) and two RS-232 serial ports.
- Dual EIA port card
- StarLAN 1 Mbit/s (1BASE5) network over twisted-pair wire local area network typically used in star format
- Ethernet 10 Mbit/s LAN card (AMD Lance-based) using AUI connector and Wollongong TCP/IP stack/drivers
- AUDIX Voice Power (“Speech Processor”) card allowed for the capture and digital recording of voice conversations. This was an option of the "Integrated Solution" package for the AT&T System 25 PBX where the UNIX PC served as the "Master Controller".[14]
- Floppy Tape card provided interface for 23 MB MFM Tape Cartridge Drive.
- QIC-02 card for tape backup
- Expansion chassis card was hard-wired to Expansion Chassis (with five added slots)
Public domain software[]
The Store is a public domain software repository which was available for all 3B1 users.[15]
Emulation[]
The FreeBee emulator is available at FreeBee on GitHub.
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "3b1 FAQ". unixpc.org. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Mayer, Alastair J. W. "System Review: The AT&T UNIX PC" (PDF). Byte. No. May 1986. pp. 254–262. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Howitt, Doran (1984-04-08). "At Last, AT&T's 7300/Unix PC". Infoworld. p. 17. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
- ^ http://tech-insider.org/unix/research/1985/0327.html
- ^ "NEW AT&T COMPUTER OFFICE GEAR". Chicago Tribune. March 27, 1985.
- ^ AT&T, Select Code 999-601-311IS, AT&T UNIX PC Owner's Manual (1986)
- ^ "Vendors of Multiuser Microcomputer Products". Infoworld. 1986-10-13.
- ^ "Olivetti Technical Specifications". Olivetti.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Satchell, Stephen (1985-09-23). "A Look at Software for AT&T's Unix PC". Infoworld. pp. 32–33. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ^ "Samna Plans Unix-based Product Line". InfoWorld. June 16, 1986. p. 17.
- ^ http://unixpc.taronga.com/games/
- ^ http://unixpc.taronga.com/comp.sources.3b1/volume01/
- ^ http://unixpc.taronga.com/misc/
- ^ "AT&T System 25 Reference Manual" (1). September 1989. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - ^ http://unixpc.taronga.com/STORE/
External links[]
- AT&T Leapfrogs IBM With the Unix PC., InfoWorld, April 15, 1985, pp. 15–17
- The AT&T Unix PC, article from BYTE magazine Volume 10 Number 05: Multiprocessing (May 1985), pp. 98–106
- The AT&T Unix PC Review, article from BYTE magazine Volume 11 Number 05: Multiprocessing (May 1986), pp. 254–262
- comp.sys.3b1 FAQ
- AT&T 3B1/7300 (UNIX PC) Information
- AT&T UNIX PC at old-computers.com
- http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/att/3b1/
- http://www.unixpc.org
- Computer-related introductions in 1985
- AT&T computers
- Computer workstations
- 68k architecture