Keydata Corporation
Encyclopedia
Keydata Corporation was one of the first companies in the time-sharing
business in the 1960s. It was the brainchild of Charles W. Adams, an entrepreneur
who had founded "Adams Associates" who are best remembered as the authors of computer equipment surveys during this period.
Keydata was located in Technology Square
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, where project MAC, the seminal venture sponsored by MIT which saw the developmemt of MULTICS
one of the earliest time sharing software systems. UNIX
is a derivative of MULTICS. In addition, IBM's Scientific Development center was located in Technology Square and this R&D center developed the first IBM virtual memory
system computer. This was initially installed on a modified IBM 360/40 computer with the informal name of the "Cambridge box." Later IBM
used modernized technology for the 360/67 and, today, all modern computers use "virtual memory."
The coincident location of the nexus of time sharing and virtual memory developers in Cambridge resulted in a heady climate of information technology state-of-the-art knowledge sharing which Keydata profited by, although its UNIVAC
computer architecture permitted only software-based implementations. At the time, the fashion was the idea that computer power would be made available on a network connection of a "dumb" terminal to a "smart" mainframe computer
utility, sharing mammoth computer
power with thousands, if not millions, of users.
Keydata used a UNIVAC 490
computer to provide commercial applications such as inventory management and accounting applications on a network basis to slow Teletype-based terminals in customer locations and replaced in-house computers and other services with its highly customized parameter-driven distribution and manufacturing applications.
Other seminal services were initially implemented on this service, such as Instinet
, a stock trading service now owned by Reuters which trades large block transactions on US securities markets, and a very early network inventory network application for Shell Oil company.
At its peak, Keydata had hundreds of customers on-line but was never able to compete with emerging micro-computer applications which took over the market, at first, with copies of Keydata developed applications.
Time-sharing
Time-sharing is the sharing of a computing resource among many users by means of multiprogramming and multi-tasking. Its introduction in the 1960s, and emergence as the prominent model of computing in the 1970s, represents a major technological shift in the history of computing.By allowing a large...
business in the 1960s. It was the brainchild of Charles W. Adams, an entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
who had founded "Adams Associates" who are best remembered as the authors of computer equipment surveys during this period.
Keydata was located in Technology Square
Technology Square
Technology Square, commonly called Tech Square, is a mixed-use district on the block of Fifth Street between the Downtown Connector and Spring Street in Atlanta, Georgia. Announced in 2000 and opened in 2003, the district was built over previously vacant surface parking lots and has contributed to...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, where project MAC, the seminal venture sponsored by MIT which saw the developmemt of MULTICS
Multics
Multics was an influential early time-sharing operating system. The project was started in 1964 in Cambridge, Massachusetts...
one of the earliest time sharing software systems. UNIX
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
is a derivative of MULTICS. In addition, IBM's Scientific Development center was located in Technology Square and this R&D center developed the first IBM virtual memory
Virtual memory
In computing, virtual memory is a memory management technique developed for multitasking kernels. This technique virtualizes a computer architecture's various forms of computer data storage , allowing a program to be designed as though there is only one kind of memory, "virtual" memory, which...
system computer. This was initially installed on a modified IBM 360/40 computer with the informal name of the "Cambridge box." Later IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
used modernized technology for the 360/67 and, today, all modern computers use "virtual memory."
The coincident location of the nexus of time sharing and virtual memory developers in Cambridge resulted in a heady climate of information technology state-of-the-art knowledge sharing which Keydata profited by, although its UNIVAC
UNIVAC
UNIVAC is the name of a business unit and division of the Remington Rand company formed by the 1950 purchase of the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, founded four years earlier by ENIAC inventors J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, and the associated line of computers which continues to this day...
computer architecture permitted only software-based implementations. At the time, the fashion was the idea that computer power would be made available on a network connection of a "dumb" terminal to a "smart" mainframe computer
Mainframe computer
Mainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...
utility, sharing mammoth computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
power with thousands, if not millions, of users.
Keydata used a UNIVAC 490
UNIVAC 490
The UNIVAC 490 was a 30-bit word core memory machine with 16K or 32K words; 4.8 microsecond cycle time made by UNIVAC. It was a commercial derivative of a computer Univac Federal Systems developed for the U..S. Navy. That system was the heart of the Naval Tactical Data System which pioneered the...
computer to provide commercial applications such as inventory management and accounting applications on a network basis to slow Teletype-based terminals in customer locations and replaced in-house computers and other services with its highly customized parameter-driven distribution and manufacturing applications.
Other seminal services were initially implemented on this service, such as Instinet
Instinet
Instinet is an institutional, agency-only broker. As such, it executes trades for roughly 1,500 “buyside” clients such as asset management firms, hedge funds, insurance companies, mutual funds and pension funds...
, a stock trading service now owned by Reuters which trades large block transactions on US securities markets, and a very early network inventory network application for Shell Oil company.
At its peak, Keydata had hundreds of customers on-line but was never able to compete with emerging micro-computer applications which took over the market, at first, with copies of Keydata developed applications.