For more information on the history of the mainframe and its uses today, visit the
following Web sites: Rock Painter's Mainframe Links http://www.texasrock.com/oem.shtml
Techweb Encyclopediawww.techweb.com/encyclopedia
The Machine That Changed the World ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/TMTCTW.html
Stanford University gobi.stanford.edu/computer_history/Minicomputers
Theminicomputer(see Figure 1-4) was developed to serve the computing needs of smaller
companies and the larger departments of corporations. The minicomputer, also known
today as a midrange computer, has essentially the same functionality of the larger main-
framecomputerbutonasmallerscale—andnotmuchsmaller,atthat.Theminicomputer
was developed largely to open new markets for computers after most of the larger com-
panies had purchased mainframes. The mainframe was scaled into a smaller package
with most of its functions remaining and a little less storage and processing power, sold
at a reduced price. There are computing devices today, made by Hewlett Packard,
Compaq, and others, that are manufactured under the name minicomputer that are in
fact midlevel computers that are more powerful than personal computers and less pow-
erful than a mainframe. Because of advances in technology, today’s minicomputer can(^6) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide
Figure 1-3. Terminals, like the VT 520, are one way to connect to a mainframe. Photo courtesy
of Boundless Technologies