View source for MCM/70

{{Infobox information appliance
| name = MCM/70
| title = 
| aka = 
| logo = 
| image = MCM Model 70 microcomputer 1974.jpg
| caption = MCM Model 70 microcomputer, 1974
| developer = 
| manufacturer = MCM Computers
| family = 
| type = 
| generation = 
| releasedate = {{Start date and age|1974}}
| lifespan = 
| price = 
| discontinued = 
| unitssold = 
| unitsshipped = 
| media = Cassette tape
| os = [[APL (programming language)|APL language]]
| power = 
| soc = 
| cpu = [[Intel 8008]]
| memory = 2 to 8 [[kilobyte|KB]]
| storage = 
| memory card = 
| display = Alphanumeric single line display
| graphics = 
| sound = 
| input = 
| controllers = 
| camera = 
| touchpad = 
| connectivity = 
| platform = 
| service = 
| dimensions = 
| weight = 9 kg
| topgame = 
| compatibility = 
| predecessor = 
| successor = 
| related = 
| website = 
| CPUspeed = 0.8 [[MHz]]
}}
The '''MCM/70<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=MCM 70 / 700 MCM Computers |url=https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=346 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925005918/https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=346 |archive-date=2023-09-25 |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=www.old-computers.com}}</ref>''' is a pioneering [[microcomputer]] first built in 1973 in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://spacing.ca/toronto/2015/04/15/toronto-invented-pc-forgot/|title=How Toronto invented the PC, then forgot about it|last=Bateman|first=Chris|website=Spacing|date=April 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>[http://www.canadianbusiness.com/business-strategy/idea-nation/ "Idea nation"]. ''Canadian Business'', Dec 25, 2006 Andy Holloway</ref> and released the next year. This makes it one of the first microcomputers in the world, the second to be shipped in completed form, and the first [[portable computer]].{{cn|date=September 2024}}  The MCM/70 was the product of [[Micro Computer Machines]], one of three related companies set up in [[Toronto]] in 1971 by [[Mers Kutt]]. It is considered by some historians{{who|date=December 2023}} to be the first usable personal microcomputer system.<ref>Caroline Alphonso, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/canadian-hailed-as-father-of-pc/article1167114/ "Canadian hailed as father of PC"], ''Globe and Mail'', 20 September 2003</ref><ref name="Schell2007">{{cite book|last=Schell|first=Bernadette Hlubik|title=The Internet and Society: A Reference Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xPFrOIsUKTkC&pg=PA145|year=2007|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-031-5|pages=145–}}</ref><ref name="Inc.1980">{{cite journal|last=Craig|first=John|title=Viewpoint|journal=InfoWorld|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pj4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT9|date=13 October 1980|publisher=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.|pages=9–|issn=0199-6649}}</ref>

==Early history==
Kutt, a professor of mathematics at [[Queen's University, Kingston|Queen's University]] in [[Kingston, Ontario]] during the late 1960s, noted that the efficiency of computer users there was hampered by the long wait times involved in submitting [[computer program|programs]] in [[punched card]] form for [[batch processing]] by a shared [[mainframe computer]]. In 1968, Kutt and Donald Pamenter started a firm, Consolidated Computer Inc.,<ref>{{cite book|title=Executive|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CdoTAQAAMAAJ|volume=19|year=1977|publisher=Southam Business Publications|page=38}}</ref> and began to produce a data-entry device named ''Key-Edit''.<ref name=s9>Stachniak 2011, pg. 9</ref>  This was a low-cost terminal, with a one-line [[display device]], which bypassed the need for [[keypunch]]ing.

In 1971, Kutt, no longer part of CCI, began planning a machine to support software development in the recently developed [[programming language]] [[APL (programming language)|APL]]. APL was best programmed using a custom keyboard and these were very rare at the time. He initially named his design the ''Key-Cassette''; similar in design and concept to Key-Edit, it would offer editing ability and support for either two [[cassette deck]]s or one cassette and an [[acoustic coupler]] to upload programs to other machines.<ref name=s9/>
[[File:MCM Model 70 microcomputer 1974 APL keyboard.jpg|230px|thumb|right|MCM Model 70 microcomputer 1974 APL keyboard]]

The original design resembled a desktop [[electronic calculator]]. Kutt's notes of the era showed his intent to use the cover and display from an extant calculator with a modified power supply, to include a small keyboard  with 32 keys, and a display made of either 13 or 15 segmented [[LEDs]].<ref name=s9/> Kutt also created a company, Micro Computer Machines, which would later manufacture the devices.

==Development==
Through his acquaintance with [[Intel]] founder [[Robert Noyce]], Kutt had been following Intel's work on the 1201, an [[8-bit computing|8-bit]] microprocessor later renamed the [[Intel 8008]].  The processor was scheduled to be complete in late 1971, but its release was delayed until spring. In December 1971, Kutt incorporated a technology development company, Kutt Systems. He signed an agreement with Intel to supply an [[Intel 4004]], a SIM4- 01 development system, supporting chips from the [[Intel 4004#The 4004 and the MCS-4 family|MCS-4 chipset]], and an MP7-01 [[EPROM]] programmer to his new company. This equipment was used for early development work until the 8008 was available.<ref name=s9/>

Kutt hired programmer Gord Ramer, and the two began work on developing Kutt's concept. In May 1972, Kutt Systems received one of the earliest SIM8-01 kits. The team, now including hardware engineer José Laraya, software engineer André Arpin, and two APL programmers, Don Genner and Morgan Smyth, started to build what was then termed the ''M/C'', for ''microcomputer''. By then, the design had expanded to include a complete keyboard, a ''[[Chiclet keyboard|chiclet]]'' design similar to the ones used on early models of the [[Commodore PET]], and a Burroughs Self-Scan 32-character display.<ref name=s9/> Unlike the earlier ''Key-Edit'' system, the M/C would allow entering and executing APL programs.

Dissatisfied with the SIM8 equipment, the Kutt Systems staff built a motherboard from scratch, including an Omniport, an 8008-[[expansion bus]]. Meanwhile, work on porting an APL interpreter to the system continued, using an 8008 emulator written in [[Fortran]] named ''[[INTERP/8]]''. The system, mocked up in [[breadboard]] form, was first displayed publicly on 11 November 1972 at the Kutt offices in [[Kingston, Ontario]].<ref name=s10>Stachniak 2011, pg. 10</ref> In May 1973, the same system was shown at the APL Users’ Conference in Toronto, now encased in [[fibreglass]].<ref name=s11>Stachniak 2011, pg. 11</ref> The completed design, in its new [[Injection moulding|injection moulded]] case, was demonstrated for the press on 25 September 1973.<ref name=s6>Stachniak 2011, pg. 6</ref>

==Specifications==
The MCM/70, manufactured by Micro Computer Machines in Kingston, was encased in a wedge-shaped metal box about half a metre on a side, with a keyboard at the front, a [[compact audio cassette]] tape recorder(s) in the middle,<ref>{{cite book|title=Electronics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HlhJAQAAIAAJ|volume=46|date=October 1973|publisher=McGraw-Hill Publishing Company|page=52}}</ref> and a one-line plasma display at the top. The MCM/70 had a one-line display and alphanumeric keyboard, and optionally had a second tape drive. It resembled desktop calculators of the time, such as [[HP 9800 series|HP 9830A]].

An APL interpreter was built into the [[read-only memory]] (ROM),<ref name=itb>[http://www.itbusiness.ca/news/judge-dismisses-canadian-it-pioneers-intel-patent-suit/3829 "Judge dismisses Canadian IT pioneer’s Intel patent suit"]. ''IT Business'', Dave Webb, March 16th, 2005</ref> and the machine included a battery which allowed it time to save the ''workspace'' automatically when it was turned off. The MCM/70 weighed 20 pounds (9&nbsp;kg)<ref>{{cite book|title=Executive|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fd8TAQAAMAAJ|volume=15|year=1973|publisher=Southam Business Publications|page=28}}</ref> and shipped with up to 8 kilobytes of RAM and zero, one, or two cassette drives.<ref name="InnovNation">[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/innovation-nation/article18245600/?page=all "Innovation Nation"]. Steve Brearton, ''Globe and Mail'', Aug. 26, 2005</ref>

==Release==
The first complete systems were shipped to dealers in the autumn of 1974. The basic unit, model 720 with an 800&nbsp;[[kilohertz|kHz]] 8008,<ref name="Inc.1980" /> 2&nbsp;KB RAM<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170416125944/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-10-06/business/0310030724_1_first-memory-chip-system-history "Pc Pioneer Plans Another Try"]. ''Sun Sentinel'', October 6, 2003, Christine Winter</ref> and no cassette drive sold for $4,950 [[Canadian dollar|Canadian]] (at the time the dollar was about equal to the [[United States dollar|US dollar]]).<ref name="Peddie2013">{{cite book|last=Peddie|first=Jon|title=The History of Visual Magic in Computers: How Beautiful Images are Made in CAD, 3D, VR and AR|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6a8_AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA178|date=13 June 2013|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-4471-4932-3|pages=178–}}</ref>  The fully equipped model 782 with 8&nbsp;KB and two drives was $9,800, and was the only model that sold well.

At the time, the machine was already officially being called a "personal computer". The first manuals contain a personal note from Kutt to future customers, "But the simplicity of the MCM/70 and its associated computer language…make personal computer use and ownership a reality… Enjoy the privilege of having your own personal computer."<ref name=s12>Stachniak 2011, pg. 12</ref>

The MCM/70 was sold mainly to companies and government institutions with the need to make complex calculations and mathematical analysis.  MCM's customers ranged from hospitals and insurance companies to [[NASA]] and the [[United States Army]].<ref name=Stachniak2003>Zbigniew Stachniak, [http://s3data.computerhistory.org/core/core-2003.pdf "The MCM/70 Microcomputer"], ''CORE 4.1 - The Computer History Museum'', September 2003, pg. 6-12</ref>

==Later development==
In 1975, the computer was rereleased with no changes as the MCM/700.<ref name=":0" /> Also released that year were a punched card reader, [[plotter]], and several programs. The MCM/800 followed in 1976. It was faster, included 16&nbsp;KB RAM, and included the ability to drive an external monitor. [[Virtual memory]] was supported on all of the machines, although using cassettes for storage made it slow.

Released in 1978, MCM/900 was faster yet, included 24&nbsp;KB RAM, and an included a monitor. The MCM/1000, also called the MCM Power was a repackaged /900, and was later repackaged again as the MCM MicroPower. The bigger change for the /900 and /1000 was to support the HDS-10 disk [[Server (computing)|server]], which included an 8.4 [[megabyte|MB]] 8-inch [[Shugart Associates|Shugart]] [[hard drive]], an 8-inch floppy disk drive, and a 64 k [[Zilog Z80]] to control it. Up to eight /900s or /1000s could be plugged into the HDS-10.

==Demise and legacy==
By the late 1970s, after selling several hundred units,<ref name="InnovNation"/> MCM was facing competition from several [[home computer]] systems with the same computing power as their own machines. Although they were designing another more advanced microcomputer, termed ''A*2'', the funding needed for rapid development was unavailable. By 1983, the firm had ceased operating.

Rights to the in-progress A*2 design were sold to [[Ampex]]. They worked on the design for about a year before also ceasing development. This machine, called ''Sysmo'', was sold in [[France]] by Sysmo company from 1975. This start-up was funded in [[Paris]] by Michel Carlier, an engineer who had invested also in MCM, with his own capital. However, the machine was sold for management applications while it was programmed with a complex scientific language (APL) much better adapted to scientific and technical fields; Sysmo company filed for bankruptcy in 1978. The stock of MCM/Sysmo was bought by French company Generale d'Electricite (later [[Alcatel-Lucent|Alcatel]]) for its own use because of the product's mathematical computing features.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

In 2011, [[York University]] professor Zbigniew Stachniak published a book about the development of the MCM/70, titled ''Inventing the PC: The MCM/70 Story''.<ref>David C. Brock, [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/476817 "Inventing the PC: The MCM/70 Story (review)"].  ''Technology and Culture'' Volume 53, Number 2, April 2012 pp. 518-519 | 10.1353/tech.2012.0077</ref>  A collection of papers, illustrations and hardware related to the device have been included in the York University Computer Museum.

==See also==
*[[SCELBI]]
*[[Mark-8]]
*[[Micral]]
*[[Datapoint 2200]]

==References==

=== Notes ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{Refbegin}}

{{Refend}}
*{{cite book
 | last =Stachniak
 | first = Zbigniew
 | title = Inventing the PC: The MCM/70 Story
 | publisher=[[McGill-Queen's University Press]]
 | year=2011
 | location = Montréal
 | isbn = 978-0773538528}}

==External links==
* [https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca York University Computer Museum] – Includes several items from the MCM company
* [https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=346&st=1 old-computers.com website] info and pictures of MCM systems

{{APL programming language}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcm 70}}
[[Category:Early microcomputers]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1974]]
[[Category:Alcatel-Lucent]]
[[Category:8-bit computers]]
[[Category:Portable computers]]