Editing ICON (microcomputer) (section)

==== CEMCORP ====

To deliver such a machine, Robert Arn, a member of the CATA team, set up [[CEMCORP]], the ''Canadian Educational Microprocessor Corporation''. When the specification was announced in 1983, CEMCORP was announced as the winner of a $10 million contract to develop and supply the initial machines.<ref name=infoworld33>Wierzbicki 1983, pg. 33</ref> An additional $5 million in funding was announced to cover development of new software applications, while the [[Ontario Institute for Studies in Education]] (OISE) was asked to convert 30 existing programs to the new machine.<ref name= McLean/><ref name=infoworld33/> In order to be able to afford what was expected to be an expensive machine, the Ministry announced a special "Recognized Extraordinary Expenditure" (REE) grant that would provide for up to 75% of the purchase costs of machines meeting the "Grant Eligible Microcomputer Systems" or "G.E.M.S." specifications.<ref name= McLean/>

At the time, only the ICON met the GEMS requirements, which cut its purchase price from around CAD$2500 to a mere $495<ref name=infoworld34>Wierzbicki 1983, pg. 34</ref> (USD$2700 and $696)<ref name=m271>Mangan 1994, pg. 271</ref> – less expensive than most existing microcomputers. The entire program was politically explosive throughout its gestation as a result, causing a continual stream of news stories. Critics complained that other machines could be bought for half the cost, but supporters pushed back that no other machine at that price point supported the GEMS specifications. The release of the [[IBM Personal Computer/AT]] in 1984 reopened the debate and made nightly news, as it used a newer and more advanced CPU than the ICON: the 80286. Around this time other platforms, such as the [[Waterloo PORT]] networking system, gained approval for the government support that had originally been the province of the ICON.