Imagineering Australia
Encyclopedia
Imagineering was a software distribution company founded by Jodee Rich
in the early 1980s. It grew rapidly before running into financial trouble in the late 1980s. Imagineering was sold to First Pacific
in 1990 at which time Jodee Rich
left the business. Graham Pickles, managing director of sister company Tech Pacific
, took the helm of the group and merged the two businesses together under the Tech Pacific banner in 1990.
The company was most famous for distributing the following product ranges:
In addition, the company maintained a factory in Taipei
, Taiwan
, where it manufactured its own line of Personal computer
s under the "Ultra By Imagineering" brandname. The majority of these were based on components manufactured by DTC computer. These machines proved very popular with home and small business users in Australia
and New Zealand
, because of their low entry price, the availability of telephone support and full service in case of failure. A rough chronology of the Ultra product family was:
Mid 1987: The original Ultra XT was created by Tony Ianuzzelli. It used a 6 MHz 8088
CPU
, was supplied with 640KB of RAM
, a single 5.25" floppy disk
ette drive, CGA
graphics and an optional 20Mb hard disk drive.
June 1988: The second generation Ultra XT was created by Lindsay Vagg. CPU speed was now 8 MHz, and an EGA
display was available.
December 1988: Chris Moran and Carlo Incorvia created the Ultra AT. A "Baby-AT" chassis with 10 MHz 80286 CPU, 1MB RAM, EGA or VGA
graphics (using Twinhead company cards). All models had either 20 or 40MB half-height hard drives.
June 1989: Chris Moran created the second generation Ultra AT. CPU Speed increased to 12 MHz, and 80 - 141MB hard drive options were offered.
November 1989: The MyPC, basically an Ultra XT using cut-price components and secondhand CPUs in brightly coloured chassis, was released for sale through Grace Brothers
and Myer stores
at Christmas
.
Other machines were developed, but never released for sale. These included:
Jodee Rich
John David "Jodee" Rich is an Australian businessman, who founded Imagineering Ltd, a microcomputer software and hardware distributor, One.Tel Ltd, an Australian based telecommunications company, and PeopleBrowsr, a data mining, analytics and brand engagement service provider. at events around...
in the early 1980s. It grew rapidly before running into financial trouble in the late 1980s. Imagineering was sold to First Pacific
First Pacific
First Pacific Company Limited is a Hong Kong-based investment and management company with operations located in Asia. It involves telecommunications, consumer food products and infrastructure. Its chairman is Anthoni Salim , an Indonesian Chinese entrepreneur....
in 1990 at which time Jodee Rich
Jodee Rich
John David "Jodee" Rich is an Australian businessman, who founded Imagineering Ltd, a microcomputer software and hardware distributor, One.Tel Ltd, an Australian based telecommunications company, and PeopleBrowsr, a data mining, analytics and brand engagement service provider. at events around...
left the business. Graham Pickles, managing director of sister company Tech Pacific
Tech Pacific
Tech Pacific functioned as an Asian-Pacific IT wholesale distributor with offices throughout Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Hong Kong....
, took the helm of the group and merged the two businesses together under the Tech Pacific banner in 1990.
The company was most famous for distributing the following product ranges:
- Lotus SoftwareLotus SoftwareLotus Software is a software company with headquarters in Westford, Massachusetts...
- Ashton-TateAshton-TateAshton-Tate was a US based software company best known for developing the popular dBASE database application. Ashton-Tate grew from a small garage-based company to become a multinational corporation...
- ASTAST ResearchAST Research, Inc. was a personal computer manufacturer, founded in Irvine, California in 1980 by Albert Wong, Safi Qureshey and Thomas Yuen. AST's original business was the manufacture and marketing of a broad range of microcomputer expansion cards, later focusing on higher-density replacements...
- WyseWyseWyse Technology is an American company that is a leading manufacturer in Cloud Client Computing. Products include thin client hardware and software as well as desktop virtualization. Other products include cloud software-supporting desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices...
- Control Data (Storage Products only)
- Mountain Computer
- SeagateSeagate TechnologySeagate Technology is one of the world's largest manufacturers of hard disk drives. Incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology, Seagate is currently incorporated in Dublin, Ireland and has its principal executive offices in Scotts Valley, California, United States.-1970s:On November 1, 1979...
- 3Com3Com3Com was a pioneering digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network infrastructure products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney, Bruce Borden, and Greg Shaw...
- Intel
- NetComm
In addition, the company maintained a factory in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, where it manufactured its own line of Personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s under the "Ultra By Imagineering" brandname. The majority of these were based on components manufactured by DTC computer. These machines proved very popular with home and small business users in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, because of their low entry price, the availability of telephone support and full service in case of failure. A rough chronology of the Ultra product family was:
Mid 1987: The original Ultra XT was created by Tony Ianuzzelli. It used a 6 MHz 8088
Intel 8088
The Intel 8088 microprocessor was a variant of the Intel 8086 and was introduced on July 1, 1979. It had an 8-bit external data bus instead of the 16-bit bus of the 8086. The 16-bit registers and the one megabyte address range were unchanged, however...
CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
, was supplied with 640KB of RAM
Random-access memory
Random access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order with a worst case performance of constant time. Strictly speaking, modern types of DRAM are therefore not random access, as data is read in...
, a single 5.25" floppy disk
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...
ette drive, CGA
Color Graphics Adapter
The Color Graphics Adapter , originally also called the Color/Graphics Adapter or IBM Color/Graphics Monitor Adapter, introduced in 1981, was IBM's first color graphics card, and the first color computer display standard for the IBM PC....
graphics and an optional 20Mb hard disk drive.
June 1988: The second generation Ultra XT was created by Lindsay Vagg. CPU speed was now 8 MHz, and an EGA
Enhanced Graphics Adapter
The Enhanced Graphics Adapter is the IBM PC computer display standard specification which is between CGA and VGA in terms of color and space resolution. Introduced in October 1984 by IBM shortly after its new PC/AT, EGA produces a display of 16 simultaneous colors from a palette of 64 at a...
display was available.
December 1988: Chris Moran and Carlo Incorvia created the Ultra AT. A "Baby-AT" chassis with 10 MHz 80286 CPU, 1MB RAM, EGA or VGA
Video Graphics Array
Video Graphics Array refers specifically to the display hardware first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, but through its widespread adoption has also come to mean either an analog computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector or the 640×480 resolution...
graphics (using Twinhead company cards). All models had either 20 or 40MB half-height hard drives.
June 1989: Chris Moran created the second generation Ultra AT. CPU Speed increased to 12 MHz, and 80 - 141MB hard drive options were offered.
November 1989: The MyPC, basically an Ultra XT using cut-price components and secondhand CPUs in brightly coloured chassis, was released for sale through Grace Brothers
Grace Bros.
Grace Bros was an Australian department store chain, founded in 1885. It was bought by Myer in 1983. There were 25 stores across New South Wales and the ACT, until they were re-branded under the Myer name in 2004.-History:...
and Myer stores
Myer
Myer is Australia's largest department store chain, retailing a broad range of merchandise including women's, men's and children's clothing, footwear and accessories; cosmetics and fragrance; homewares; electrical; furniture and bedding; toys; books and stationery; food and confectionery; and...
at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
.
Other machines were developed, but never released for sale. These included:
- The Ultra 386. This was eventually replaced by an OEM Intel 80386Intel 80386The Intel 80386, also known as the i386, or just 386, was a 32-bit microprocessor introduced by Intel in 1985. The first versions had 275,000 transistors and were used as the central processing unit of many workstations and high-end personal computers of the time...
system. - The Ultra SX. Using an 80386SX motherboardMotherboardIn personal computers, a motherboard is the central printed circuit board in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, or, on Apple...
in the Ultra AT chassis. - Gallileo: A high-end server for 3Com3Com3Com was a pioneering digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network infrastructure products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney, Bruce Borden, and Greg Shaw...
networks, using a 25 MHz 80386 processor and up to 2 141MB SCSISCSISmall Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
Hard Drives