MCM/800
Subseries
· 1976-1979
· ca-yucom-mcm-01-mcm800
Description
Repository
York University Computer Museum
Date
1976-1979
Reference code
ca-yucom-mcm-01-mcm800
Access conditions
Reproduction conditions
Notes
Notes
The MCM/800 was MCM's second generation computer. As was the case with the MCM/70, the /800's hardware was designed by Jose Laraya's team while Gord Ramer was the chief software engineer. From hardware and software point of view, the computer was similar to the MCM/70 PC. The /800 functioned under similar AVS/EASY operating system and had MCM/APL interpreter built-in. However, there were also significant differences. The new computer was not portable and was not powered by a single-chip microprocessor. Instead, the computer's CPU was implemented using bitslice technology with discrete components. While this design choice allowed to execute the same instruction set as the MCM/70's 8008 microprocessor at much higher speed, this technological switch marked MCM's departure from the microprocessor direction trailblazed by the company in the early 1970s.
The computer was announced in July 1976 as "the combination of data processing and word processing for as little as $400 a month." It was targeted at problem solving and small business markets. In 1976, the computer was sold for between $8,400 (4KB ROM configuration) and $10,800 (16KB ROM configuration).
Control
Date of description
This description was last updated on 2026-05-09.