from Wikipedia:
Cromemco, Inc. was a Mountain View, California microcomputer company known for its high-end Z80-based S-100 bus computers and peripherals in the early days of the personal computer revolution.
The company began as a partnership in 1974 between Harry Garland and Roger Melen, two Stanford Ph.D. 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 and their first products were the Cromemco Cyclops digital camera, and the Cromemco Dazzler color graphics interface - both groundbreaking at the time - before they moved on to making computer systems.
In December 1981, Inc. magazine named Cromemco in the top ten fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S.[1] In 1987, it was acquired by Dynatech Corporation of Boston.
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Southwest Technical Products Corporation, or SWTPC, was an American producer of electronic kits, and later complete computer systems. It was incorporated in 1967 in San Antonio, Texas, succeeding the Daniel E. Meyer Company. In 1990, SWTPC became Point Systems, before ceasing a few years later.
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Shugart Associates - Wikipedia
Shugart Associates (later Shugart Corporation) was a computer peripheral manufacturer that dominated the floppy disk drive market in the late 1970s and is famous for introducing the 5+1⁄4-inch "Minifloppy" floppy disk drive. In 1979 it was one of the first companies to introduce a hard disk drive form factor compatible with a floppy disk drive, the SA1000 form factor compatible with the 8-inch floppy drive form factor.
Founded in 1973, Shugart Associates was purchased in 1977 by Xerox, which then exited the business in 1985 and 1986,[1] selling the brand name and the 8-inch floppy product line (in March 1986) to Narlinger Group,[2] which ultimately ceased operations circa 1991.
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Sage Computer Technology - Wikipedia
SAGE Computer Technology was a computer company based in Reno, Nevada, United States. It was founded in 1981 by Rod Coleman, Bill Bonham and Bob Needham; it went through several name changes. The change from Sage computer came about when "Sage Software" in Maryland demanded cessation of use of the name Sage in the computer segment.[1]
- SAGE Computer Technology
- - created the Sage II and Sage IV computers based on the Motorola 68000 microprocessor.
- SAGE Computer
- Stride Micro
- MicroSage Computer Systems (a wholly owned subsidiary, 1987)
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Percom Data Corporation was an early microcomputer company formed in 1976 to sell peripherals into the emerging microcomputer market. They are best known for their floppy disk systems, first for S-100 machines, and the later for other platforms like the TRS-80 and Atari 8-bit computers.[2] The company was purchased by Esprit Systems in 1984.
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Anderson Jacobson, also known for a time as CXR Anderson Jacobson and today as CXR Networks, is a vendor of communications equipment.
Anderson Jacobson formed in California in 1967 as a spin-off from SRI International (then the Stanford Research Institute),[1] to commercialize its acoustic coupling modem designs. In the 1970s and 1980s, the company manufactured modems, some intended for consumers.[2] The introduction of the Hayes Smartmodem in 1981 led to many early vendors, including Anderson Jacobson, being forced from the market as newer companies entered at ever lower price points.
The company was acquired by CXR Telecom in 1988,[1][3] at which time The Times was following Anderson Jacobson's earnings reports.[4] The flow of new products continued.[5]
Today the company is a privately owned communication equipment vendor supplying products to Telecom Carriers, Service Providers, and the Defense, Transport and Utility markets. The company is headquartered in Abondant, France.[6][7]
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Mountain Computer, Inc. (also known as Mountain Hardware[1]) was a privately held[2] American computer peripheral manufacturer active as an independent company from 1977 to 1988. In its early years, the company chiefly developed products for the Apple II, including sound synthesizers, samplers, and hard disk and tape drives. Mountain also produced floppy disk duplicators for enterprise use. In the mid-1980s Mountain pivoted to focusing on products for the IBM Personal Computer and compatibles. In late 1988, the company was acquired by Nakamichi.
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Digital Research, Inc. (DR or DRI) was a privately held American software company created by Gary Kildall to market and develop his CP/M operating system and related 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit systems like MP/M, Concurrent DOS, FlexOS, Multiuser DOS, DOS Plus, DR DOS and GEM. It was the first large software company in the microcomputer world.[9] Digital Research was originally based in Pacific Grove, California, later in Monterey, California.
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Gary Arlen Kildall (/ˈkɪldɔːl/; May 19, 1942 – July 11, 1994) was an American computer scientist and microcomputer entrepreneur. During the 1970s, Kildall created the operating system CP/M among other operating systems and programming tools,[5] and subsequently founded Digital Research, Inc. to market and sell his software products. He is considered a pioneer of the personal computer revolution.[6][7]
In 1974 in Pacific Grove, California, Kildall demonstrated the first working prototype of CP/M, which would later become the dominant operating system for microcomputers for a time.[8] Together with his invention of the BIOS (Basic Input Output System), his operating system allowed a microprocessor-based computer to communicate with disk storage.[9] Kildall was among the earliest individuals to recognize microprocessors as fully capable computers.[6] During the 1980s, Kildall also appeared on PBS as co-host of Computer Chronicles, a weekly informational program that discussed the latest developments in personal computing.
Several notable employees worked at Digital Research, some of which later made important contributions to the IT industry, such as:
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Stewart Cheifet (/ʃɛˈfeɪ/ ⓘ; September 24, 1938 – December 28, 2025) was an American television presenter, best known for his work presenting and producing Computer Chronicles and Net Cafe. He also worked in other reporting positions for PBS and ABC, and others. Raised in Philadelphia, he attended Central High School and graduated from the University of Southern California in 1960 with a degree in Mathematics and Psychology and went on to graduate from Harvard Law School. Cheifet taught broadcast journalism classes at the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Cheifet died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 28, 2025, at the age of 87, from the flu, according to his daughter.[4][5][6]
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Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas.[5] It is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies worldwide based on sales volume.[6] The company's focus is on developing analog chips and embedded processors, which account for more than 80% of its revenue.[7] TI also produces digital light processing (DLP) technology and education technology[7] products including calculators, microcontrollers, and multi-core processors.[8]
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Percom Data Corporation was an early microcomputer company formed in 1976 to sell peripherals into the emerging microcomputer market. They are best known for their floppy disk systems, first for S-100 machines, and the later for other platforms like the TRS-80 and Atari 8-bit computers.[2] The company was purchased by Esprit Systems in 1984.
