Editing Wang Laboratories (section)

==Products==

===Typesetters===
The company's first major project was the Linasec<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stevens |first1=Mary Elizabeth |last2=Little |first2=John L |date=1967 |title=Automatic typographic-quality typesetting techniques: a state-of-the-art review |url=https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/MONO/nbsmonograph99.pdf |journal=NIST Technical Series |publisher=National Institute of Standards and Technology |doi=10.6028/NBS.MONO.99}}</ref> in 1964, an electronic special-purpose computer designed to justify paper tape for use on automated [[Linotype machine]]s. It was developed under contract to [[phototypesetting|phototypesetter]] manufacturer [[Compugraphic]], which retained the manufacturing rights of the Linasec. The success of the machine led Compugraphic to decide to manufacture it themselves, causing Wang to lose out on a million dollars in revenue.{{sfn|Kenney|1992|p=45}}

===Calculators===
The [[Wang LOCI-2]]<ref name="Bensene_2013">{{cite web |author-first=Rick |author-last=Bensene |title=Wang LOCI-2 |date=2013-08-31 |orig-year=1997 |work=Old Calculator Web Museum |location=Beavercreek, Oregon City, Oregon, USA |url=http://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/wangloci.html |access-date=2016-01-03}}</ref><ref name="Wang_1967_LOCI"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Wang LOCI-2 Electronic Calculator |url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_334290 |access-date=2022-04-16 |website=National Museum of American History |language=en}}</ref> (Logarithmic Computing Instrument) desktop calculator<ref name="Bensene_2004">{{cite web |author-first=Rick |author-last=Bensene |title=Wang Model 360SE Calculator System |date=2004-10-23 |orig-year=1997 |work=Old Calculator Web Museum |location=Beavercreek, Oregon City, Oregon, USA |url=http://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/wang360.html |access-date=2016-01-03}}</ref> (the earlier [[Wang LOCI-1|LOCI-1]]<ref>{{citation |publisher=[[Wang Laboratories, Inc.]] |title=Extend your Personal Computing Power with the new LOCI-1 Logarithmic Computing Instrument |date=1964 |pages=2–3 |url=http://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/a-loci1br-23.html |access-date=2016-01-03}}</ref> in September 1964 was not a real product) was introduced in January 1965. Using ''[[factor combining]]'', it was the first [[desktop calculator]] capable of computing [[logarithm]]s, which was quite an achievement for a machine without any [[integrated circuit]]s.<ref name="Wang Ad 1966">{{Citation | last = Wang Laboratories | title = Now you can determine Copolymer Composition in a few minutes at your desk | journal = Analytical Chemistry | volume = 38 | issue = 13 | pages = 62A–63A | date = December 1966 | doi = 10.1021/ac50155a005 }}</ref> The electronics included 1,275 discrete [[transistor]]s. It performed multiplication by adding logarithms, and roundoff in the display conversion was noticeable: 2 × 2 yielded 3.999999999.

From 1965 to about 1971, Wang was a well-regarded calculator company. The dollar price of Wang calculators<ref>a used calculator for sale in 1977: {{cite news |newspaper=[[Computerworld]]
   |date=October 10, 1977 |page=82
   |title=Wang 700 Programmable Calculator
   |quote=with 701 output typewriter}}</ref> was in the mid-four-figures.<ref>{{US$|3000}} to {{US$|6000}}</ref> They used [[Nixie tube]] readouts, performed [[transcendental function]]s, had varying degrees of [[Programmable calculator|programmability]], and used [[magnetic core memory]]. The 200 and 300 calculator models were available as time-shared simultaneous (SE) packages that<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xnumber.com/xnumber/wang.htm |title=Wang Calculators |access-date=March 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104164535/http://www.xnumber.com/xnumber/wang.htm |archive-date=November 4, 2011 }}</ref> had a central processing unit the size of a small suitcase connected by cables leading to four individual desktop display/keyboard units. Competition included [[Hewlett-Packard|HP]], which introduced the [[Hewlett-Packard 9100A|HP 9100A]] in 1968, and old-line calculator companies such as [[Monroe Calculator Company|Monroe]] and [[Marchant Calculator|Marchant]].

Wang calculators were at first sold to scientists and engineers, but the company later became established in financial services industries, which had relied on complicated printed tables for mortgages and annuities.

In 1971, Wang believed that calculators would become unprofitable low-margin [[commodity|commodities]] and decided to leave the calculator business within a few years.{{sfn|Kenney|1992|p=53}}

===Word processors===

===={{anchor|1200|1220|1222}}The Wang 1200====
Wang's first attempt at a [[word processor]] was the Wang 1200, announced in late 1971<ref>
{{cite web   |url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/2492619/top-10-technologies-of-the-past-45-years.html
   |title=Top 10 technologies of the past 45 years
   |quote=Wang 1200 (1971)
   |date=October 22, 2012}}</ref> but not available until 1972.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/wang
|quote=began producing its first word processor, the Wang 1200, in 1972   
|title=Wang, An}}</ref> The design consisted of the logic of a Wang 500 calculator hooked up to an OEM-manufactured [[IBM Selectric]] typewriter for keying and printing, and dual cassette decks for storage. [[Harold Koplow]], who had written the [[microcode]] for the Wang 700 and its derivative the Wang 500 rewrote the microcode to perform word processing functions instead of numerical calculations.

The operator of a Wang 1200 typed text on a conventional IBM Selectric keyboard; when the Return key was pressed, the line of text was stored on a cassette tape. One cassette held roughly 20 pages of text and could be "played back" (e.g., the text retrieved) by printing the contents on [[Continuous stationery|continuous-form paper]] in the 1200 typewriter's "print" mode. The stored text could also be edited using keys on a simple, six-key array. Basic editing functions included Insert, Delete, Skip (character, line), and so on.

The Wang 1200 machine was the precursor of the Wang Office Information System (OIS).

====Wang OIS====
Following the Wang 1200, Harold Koplow and David Moros made another attempt at designing a word processor. They started by first writing the user's manual for the product.{{sfn|Kenney|1992|p=68}} A 2002 ''Boston Globe'' article refers to Koplow as a "wisecracking rebel" who "was waiting for dismissal when, in 1975, he developed the product that made computers popularly accessible."

In Koplow's words, "Dr. Wang kicked me out of marketing. I, along with Dave Moros, was relegated to Long Range Planning&nbsp;– 'LRPed'. This&nbsp;... was tantamount to being fired: 'here is a temporary job until you find another one in some other company.'"

Although he and Moros perceived the assignment to design a word processing machine as busywork, they went ahead anyway. They wrote the manual and convinced An Wang to turn it into a real project.{{sfn|Kenney|1992|p=68}} The word processing machine{{snd}}the Wang 1200 WPS{{snd}}was introduced in June 1976 and was an instant success, as was its successor, the 1977 Wang OIS<ref>{{cite web|url=http://community.fortunecity.ws/roswell/goldendawn/232/WangComputers1.htm |title=Wang-Computers1 |website=Community.fortunecity.ws |access-date=2016-05-20}}</ref> (Office Information System).

The OIS was a multi-user system. Each workstation looked like a typical [[computer terminal|terminal]] but contained its own [[Intel 8080]] microprocessor (later versions used a [[Zilog Z80|Z80]]) and 64&nbsp;KB of RAM (less than the original 1981 [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]]). [[Disk storage]] was centralized in a master unit and shared by the workstations, and the connection was via high-speed dual [[coaxial cable]] "928 Link".<ref>During the late 1970s and early 1980s Wang Labs Dept. 14, headed by Harold Koplow, was responsible for development of the WANG WPS and OIS Systems, Wang's most successful products. The internal code name for the project was "928" derived from the date of original conception of the product September 28, 1975.</ref>

===Copiers/printers===
Ahead of [[IBM]] and [[Xerox]], Wang captured the lead for "the 'intelligent' printer: a high-speed office copier that can be linked electronically" to PCs "and other automated equipment".<ref name=WANG.NYT1978/> A year later, ''The New York Times'' described the [[IBM 6670]] ''Information Distributor'' as "closer to the standard envisioned".<ref name=NYTre6670.1979>{{cite news
   |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
   |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/04/25/archives/technology-the-intelligent-copier-is-here.html 
   |url-access=subscription
   |title=Technology  |author=Peter J. Schuyten |date=April 25, 1979}}</ref>

===Early computer models===
====Wang 3300====
{{Main|Wang 3300}}
Wang's first computer, the Wang 3300, was an 8-bit integrated circuit general-purpose minicomputer designed to be the central processor for a multi-terminal [[Time-sharing|time-sharing system]]. Byte-oriented, it also provided a number of double-byte operand memory commands. Core memory ranged from 4,096 to 65,536 bytes in 4,096-byte increments.<ref>[http://wang3300.org/docs/3300ComputerReferenceManual.700-0365.10-71.pdf 3300 Computer Reference Manual]</ref>

Development began after hiring Rick Bensene in June 1968.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://wang3300.org/index.html
 |title=Wang 3300 Home
 |date=April 9, 2011
 |access-date=March 24, 2019}}</ref>  The product was announced in February 1969<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wang3300.org/docs/3300press.1970.pdf |title=Wang Labs enters mini-computer market}}</ref> and shipped to its first customer on March 29, 1971.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://wang3300.org/docs/WangProgrammerV5N5.5-71.pdf |title=WANG DELIVERS FIRST MINI-COMPUTER}}</ref>

====Wang 2200====
{{main|Wang 2200}}
Wang developed and marketed several lines of small computer systems for both word processing and data processing. Instead of a clear, linear progression, the product lines overlapped and, in some cases, borrowed technology from each other.

The most identifiable Wang [[minicomputer]] performing recognizable data processing was the [[Wang 2200]], which appeared in May 1973. Unlike some other [[desktop computer]]s such as the [[HP 9830]], it had a [[Cathode-ray tube|CRT]] in a cabinet that also included an integrated computer-controlled [[Compact Cassette (data)|compact cassette]] storage unit and keyboard. It was microcoded to run [[Interpreter (computing)|interpreted]] [[Wang BASIC]]. It was widely used in small- and medium-sized businesses worldwide; about 65,000 systems were shipped.

The original 2200 was a single-user system. The improved VP model increased performance more than tenfold and enhanced the language (renamed [[Basic-2|BASIC-2]]). The 2200 VP evolved into a desktop computer and larger MVP system to support up to 16 workstations and utilized commercial disk technologies that appeared in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The disk subsystems could be attached to up to 15 computers giving a theoretical upper limit of 240 workstations in a single [[Cluster (computing)|cluster]].

Unlike the other product lines, such as the VS and OIS (described above), Wang used [[value-added reseller]]s (VARs) to customize and market 2200 systems. One such creative solution deployed dozens of 2200 systems and was developed in conjunction with [[Hawaii]]- and [[Hong Kong]]–based firm [[Algorithms, Inc]]. It provided [[Pager|paging]] (beeper) services for much of the Hong Kong market in the early 1980s.{{Year needed|date=October 2022}}

Overshadowed by the Wang VS, the 2200 languished as a cost-effective but forgotten solution in the hands of the customers who had it. In the late 1980s, Wang revisited the 2200 series one last time, offering 2200 customers a new 2200 CS with bundled maintenance for less than customers were paying at the time just for maintenance of their aging 2200s. The 2200 CS had an [[I386|Intel 386 processor]], updated disk units, and other peripherals. Most 2200 customers upgraded to the 2200 CS, after which Wang did not develop or market any new 2200 products. In 1997, Wang reported having about two hundred 2200 systems still under maintenance around the world. Throughout, Wang had always offered maintenance services for the 2200.

The 2200 BASIC-2 language was ported to be compiled and run on non-Wang hardware and [[operating system]]s by at least two companies. Niakwa Inc<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.niakwa.com/ |title=Niakwa Programming Language - The Development Environment of Choice!!!!!!! |publisher=Niakwa.com |date=2010-02-01 |access-date=2016-05-20}}</ref> created a product named NPL (originally named Basic-2C). Kerridge Computer,<ref>{{cite web|author=CDK Global |url=http://www.kerridge.com/ |title=CDK Global. Dealer Management Systems and services from CDK Global Automatic Data processing |publisher=Kerridge.com |access-date=2016-05-20}}</ref> now a part of [[Automatic Data Processing|ADP]], created a product named KCML. Both products support [[DOS]], [[Windows]], and various [[Unix]] systems. The BASIC-2 language was enhanced and extended by both companies to meet modern needs. Compared to the 2200 Wang hardware, the compiled solutions improved speed, disk space, memory, and user limits by tens to hundreds of times; although there is no Wang support for the 2200, many software applications continue to function.

During the 1970s, about 2,000 Wang 2200T computers were shipped to the [[USSR]]. Due to the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Afghan war]] in the 1980s, US and [[COCOM]] export restrictions ended the shipment of Wang computers. The Soviets were in great need of computers. In 1981, Russian engineers at [[Minpribor]]'s [[Schetmash]] factory in [[Kursk]] [[reverse engineering|reverse engineered]] the Wang 2200T and created a computer they named the [[Iskra 226]]. The "COCOM restrictions" theory, though, while popular in the West, is challenged by some Russian computer historians on the basis that development for the Iskra-226 started in 1978, two years before the Afghan war. It is also different from the Wang 2200 in its internals, being more inspired by it rather than a direct clone.

It used the same BASIC language (named T-BASIC) with a few enhancements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wang2200.org/iskra-226.html |title=Iskra-226 Computer (Искра-226) |website=Wang2200.org |date=2013-02-27 |access-date=2016-05-20}}</ref> Many research papers reference calculations done on the Iskra 226. The machine's designers were nominated for a 1985 State Prize.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M2vUopRmnXcC&pg=PA297 |title=Advances in Computers |volume=29 |editor=Marshall C. Yovits |chapter=Soviet Computing in the 1980s |author1=Richard W. Judy |author2=Robert W. Clough |page=297 |isbn=0-12-012129-8 |date=1989 |publisher=[[Elsevier Science]] |access-date=January 2, 2020}}</ref> Later, a somewhat scaled-down [[Unix]] implementation was created for Iskra-226, which was used in the [[Soviet Union]].

==== Alliance ====

Wang had a line called Alliance, which was based on the high-end OIS (140/145) hardware architecture. It had more powerful software than the OIS word processing and list processing packages. The system was [[Tempest (codename)|Tempest certified]], leading to global deployment in American embassies after the Iran hostage crisis.<ref>Broad, William J. "Computer 'whispers' worry Washington"
 The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.:Apr 9, 1983. p. P.10</ref> The Z80 platform on which Alliance ran forced it to remain as an [[8-bit]] application in a 64&nbsp;KB workstation.