Cromemco
Encyclopedia
Cromemco was a Mountain View, California
microcomputer
company known for its high-end Z80
-based S-100 bus
computers in the early days of the home computer revolution. The Cromemco Dazzler
was the first color graphics card available for personal computers.
The company began as a partnership in 1974 between Harry Garland and Roger Melen, two Stanford PhD students. The company was named for their residence at Stanford University
, Crothers Memorial, a Stanford dormitory reserved for engineering graduate students. Cromemco was incorporated in 1976.
The first computer released by Cromemco was the Z-1 in August 1976. The Z-1 came with 8K of static RAM and used the same chassis as the IMSAI 8080
but featured the Z80
microprocessor rather than the IMSAI computer's Intel 8080
chip. The Z-1 was succeeded by the Z-2 in June 1977, which featured 64K of RAM and the ability to run Cromemco CDOS, a variant of the CP/M
operating system. The Z-2 also added a parallel interface
in addition to an RS-232C serial port and no longer included the large panel of switches that had been part of the Z-1 model.
Cromemco re-packaged their systems to produce the System One, followed by the larger System Two and System Three. The System Three, announced in 1978 was capable of running both FORTRAN IV
and Z80 BASIC
programming languages. The System Three was designed for multiuser professional use and included an optional hard disk
, CRT terminal, printer
and the main computer unit. In 1979, Cromemco released CROMIX, the first Unix-like
operating system for microcomputers. CROMIX initially ran on the System Three and would later run on Cromemco systems using the Motorola 68K family of microprocessors.
Another re-packaging of the basic hardware resulted in the C-10, which looked more like a contemporary terminal than a microcomputer. The computer consisted of a keyboard attached to a monitor via a flexible cable, with an optional external floppy disk
drive. Introduced in 1982 for $1785, this was the company's only attempt to break into the small office business.
In 1982, Cromemco introduced their 100-series of Unix machines, based on the Motorola 68000
family instead of the Zilog Z80. The original CS100 was packaged in a relatively small case, while the CS200 was based on the larger Z-family case using MC68010, and the 400 was in a PC-style tower case with either the 68010 or 68020.
At its peak in 1983, Cromemco employed over 500 people and had annual revenues of US$55 million. The company was wholly owned by Garland and Melen until it was sold to Dynatech in 1987 as a supplier to their ColorGraphics Weather Systems
subsidiary. The European division of Cromemco reorganized as Cromemco AG and is still in business.
The Software Update Service was a fee based subscription offering. Subscribers obtained software updates, usually on 5.25 or 8 inch diskette, together with a comprehensive update reference.
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
microcomputer
Microcomputer
A microcomputer is a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit. They are physically small compared to mainframe and minicomputers...
company known for its high-end Z80
Zilog Z80
The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes...
-based S-100 bus
S-100 bus
The S-100 bus or Altair bus, IEEE696-1983 , was an early computer bus designed in 1974 as a part of the Altair 8800, generally considered today to be the first personal computer...
computers in the early days of the home computer revolution. The Cromemco Dazzler
Cromemco Dazzler
Cromemco's Dazzler was a graphics card for S-100 bus computers. Released in 1976, it is the first commercial graphics card available for microcomputers. Multiple Dazzler cards could be installed in a single machine and synched together, a feature which could, with minor modification, be used to...
was the first color graphics card available for personal computers.
The company began as a partnership in 1974 between Harry Garland and Roger Melen, two Stanford PhD students. The company was named for their residence at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Crothers Memorial, a Stanford dormitory reserved for engineering graduate students. Cromemco was incorporated in 1976.
The first computer released by Cromemco was the Z-1 in August 1976. The Z-1 came with 8K of static RAM and used the same chassis as the IMSAI 8080
IMSAI 8080
The IMSAI 8080 was an early microcomputer released in late 1975, based on the Intel 8080 and later 8085 and S-100 bus. It was a clone of its main competitor, the earlier MITS Altair 8800. The IMSAI is largely regarded as the first "clone" computer. The IMSAI machine ran a highly modified version of...
but featured the Z80
Zilog Z80
The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes...
microprocessor rather than the IMSAI computer's Intel 8080
Intel 8080
The Intel 8080 was the second 8-bit microprocessor designed and manufactured by Intel and was released in April 1974. It was an extended and enhanced variant of the earlier 8008 design, although without binary compatibility...
chip. The Z-1 was succeeded by the Z-2 in June 1977, which featured 64K of RAM and the ability to run Cromemco CDOS, a variant of the CP/M
CP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...
operating system. The Z-2 also added a parallel interface
Parallel port
A parallel port is a type of interface found on computers for connecting various peripherals. In computing, a parallel port is a parallel communication physical interface. It is also known as a printer port or Centronics port...
in addition to an RS-232C serial port and no longer included the large panel of switches that had been part of the Z-1 model.
Cromemco re-packaged their systems to produce the System One, followed by the larger System Two and System Three. The System Three, announced in 1978 was capable of running both FORTRAN IV
Fortran
Fortran is a general-purpose, procedural, imperative programming language that is especially suited to numeric computation and scientific computing...
and Z80 BASIC
BASIC
BASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use - the name is an acronym from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code....
programming languages. The System Three was designed for multiuser professional use and included an optional hard disk
Hard disk
A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...
, CRT terminal, printer
Computer printer
In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a text or graphics of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most new printers, a...
and the main computer unit. In 1979, Cromemco released CROMIX, the first Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
operating system for microcomputers. CROMIX initially ran on the System Three and would later run on Cromemco systems using the Motorola 68K family of microprocessors.
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
drive. Introduced in 1982 for $1785, this was the company's only attempt to break into the small office business.
In 1982, Cromemco introduced their 100-series of Unix machines, based on the Motorola 68000
Motorola 68000
The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor...
family instead of the Zilog Z80. The original CS100 was packaged in a relatively small case, while the CS200 was based on the larger Z-family case using MC68010, and the 400 was in a PC-style tower case with either the 68010 or 68020.
At its peak in 1983, Cromemco employed over 500 people and had annual revenues of US$55 million. The company was wholly owned by Garland and Melen until it was sold to Dynatech in 1987 as a supplier to their ColorGraphics Weather Systems
ColorGraphics Weather Systems
ColorGraphics Weather Systems was a computer graphics company that pioneered the use of computer graphics for displaying weather forecasts on local television...
subsidiary. The European division of Cromemco reorganized as Cromemco AG and is still in business.
The Software Update Service was a fee based subscription offering. Subscribers obtained software updates, usually on 5.25 or 8 inch diskette, together with a comprehensive update reference.
Eminent Cromemco Personnel
- Dr Harry Garland - President of Cromemco
- Professor Roger Melen - Cromemco co-founder
- Dr Egon ZakrajsekEgon ZakrajšekEgon Zakrajšek was a Slovene mathematician and computer scientist.Zakrajšek was born in Ljubljana, SFR Yugoslavia . He became an orphan even before he started to attend school. He went to elementary school and gymnasium in Jesenice. He was a good student and he showed his talent and abilities very...
- author of Cromix Plus - Roger Sippl and Laura King - who built ISAMISAMISAM stands for Indexed Sequential Access Method, a method for indexing data for fast retrieval. ISAM was originally developed by IBM for mainframe computers...
and Report Writer as Cromemco employees, and left to InformixInformixIBM Informix is a family of relational database management system developed by IBM. It is positioned as IBM's flagship data server for online transaction processing as well as integrated solutions... - Roy Harrington - creator of Z80 Cromix an eight bit unix-like operating system.
- Joe McCrate - software visionary
- Tom McCalmont - Director of Software
- Dr. Curt Terwilleger - Director of Hardware
- Nik Ivancic and Boris Krtolica key software designers at Cromemco
- Dr. Gerald May - system design and manufacturing
- Dr. J Terry Walker - advanced circuit design
- Edward Lupin - circuit engineering manager
- Behzad Khodadad-Mostashiry - electronic circuit designer
- Marvin Kausch - computer system mechanical design
- Richard Moore - Chief Executive officer Cromemco after purchase by Dynatech
Systems
- Cromemco Z-1
- Cromemco Z-2Cromemco Z-2Z-2 was the name of a series of microcomputer made by Cromemco, Inc. which were produced in the middle to late 1970s.They were available in assembled or kit form and, although primarily intended for a business market, achieved some popularity among early computer enthusiasts owing to their speed,...
- Cromemco C-10
- Cromemco SCC
- Cromemco System Zero
- Cromemco System One
- Cromemco System Two
- Cromemco System Three
- Cromemco System CS100
- Cromemco System CS200
- Cromemco System CS300
- Cromemco System CS400
- Versions of Cromemco Software
- Cromemco Z-1 Monitor
- Cromemco Z-80 Monitor
- Cromemco CDOS version 1
- Cromemco CDOS version 2
- RDOS Initialisation and Bootstrapping Program
- Z80 Cromix
- Cromemco 68010 Cromix Administrators Guide
- XDOS Diagnostic and Bootstrap program for XXU
- V5.2 UNIX
External links
- Stanford University: "Cromemco History" page. The beginnings...
- Marcus Bennett: "Cromemco Treasure Trove". Downloadable Cromemco S-100 Photos, Manuals, & Cromemco CDOS and Cromix software.
- Cromemco Z-1 brochure (circa 1976).
- "Cromemco Z-2D" (circa 1977) Zilog Z80, S-100 computer.
- "Cromemco System One" Motorola 68000, picture & specs (circa 1982).
- Another view of the "Cromemco System One".
- The compact "Cromemco System Zero" 6-slot S-100 computer.
- "Cromemco C-10SP" review from Creative Computing magazine, January 1984.
- "Cromemco C-10" personal computer photograph, specs, & advertisement (circa 1982).
- "Cromemco CS-100 & CS-300" computers (circa 1984–1985).
- "Cromemco CS-250" (circa 1990), Motorola MC68020, S-100 computer.
- "Cromemco CS-250" (circa 1990) Maxtor 190MB ST506 MFM hard-drive.
- "Comprehensive Cromemco Part Number Xref" S-100 Systems, Boards, Peripherals, & Manuals (Hardware & Software).
- Digibarn Cromemco Systems
- Dave's Old Computers, pictures, disk imageDisk imageA disk image is a single file or storage device containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, tape drive, floppy disk, CD/DVD/BD, or USB flash drive, although an image of an optical disc may be referred to as an optical disc image...
s and manuals. - Early Hard Drive Ads
- X:\static\S100\cromemco, software and various documents
