Editing ICON (microcomputer) (section)

== Design ==

The ICON system was based on a [[workstation]]/[[file server]] model, with no storage local to the workstations. The workstations and servers were internally similar, based on [[Intel 80186]] [[microprocessor]]s running at 7.16 MHz, and connected to each other using [[ARCNET]]. Several upgrades were introduced into the ICON line over time. The ICON2 sported a redesigned case, a detached keyboard with integrated trackball, expanded RAM, and facilities for an internal hard disk. The CPU was upgraded to the 386 in the Series III, while an "ICON-on-a-card" for PCs also appeared.

The original ICON workstations were housed in a large wedge-shaped steel case, with a full-sized keyboard mounted slightly left-of-center and a trackball mounted to the right. A rubber bumper-strip ran along the front edge, a precaution against a particular type of cut users sometimes got from the PET's sharp case. Graphics were generated by a Hitachi HD46505 SP video controller, supporting [[NAPLPS]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eckert |first=Jason |date=2022 |title=Ontario's Computer: The Burroughs ICON |url=https://jasoneckert.github.io/myblog/icon-computer/ |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=Jason Eckert's Website and Blog}}</ref> The [[Enhanced Graphics Adapter|EGA]] monitor was mounted on top of a tilt-and-swivel mount, a welcome improvement on the PET. It also included [[Texas Instruments|TI]]'s [[TMS5220]] speech chip, originally designed for the [[TI-99]], and would speak the vaguely [[obscene]] word "dhtick" when starting up. Early Microtel machines were dark brown, but the vast majority of examples in the classroom were a more nondescript beige.

The fileserver, sometimes referred to as the '''LexICON''', was a simple rectangular box with an internal 10MB [[hard drive]] and a 5.25" [[floppy drive]] opening to the front, and parallel port for a shared printer.  Later Lexicons included a 64MB hard disk, divided into two partitions. User accounts on the ICON were created on the hard drive, and the users had to use Unix commands to copy files to a floppy if needed. This contrasts with the system seen on PET computers of the same era, where the user saved files directly to the shared floppy as if they were attached to the local machine.

Both the client and server ran the [[Unix-like]] [[QNX]] as their operating system with the addition of network file-sharing, the basic portions of it embedded in [[Read-only memory|ROM]]. To this they added a [[NAPLPS]]/Telidon-based graphics system, which was intended to be used with the trackball to make interactive programs. The system included a Paint programme that used the trackball, but did not include a usable [[GUI]], although there were several attempts to produce one. QNX 2.0.1 included a modest one called "House", and another was built at least to the prototype stage by [[Helicon Systems]] in Toronto and appeared in one form as Ambience, though its capabilities were limited. A later upgrade called ICONLook improved upon this greatly, but it was apparently too slow to use realistically. [[Helicon Systems]] also produced a [[MIDI]] interface for the original ICON.

The biggest problem for the machine was a lack of software. The ICON was originally designed to let teachers create and share their own lessonware, using a simple hypertext-based system where pages could either link to other pages or run programs written in C. The "anyone can create lessonware" model was rejected by the Ministry of Education before the ICON shipped (in favour of a model under which the Ministry funded and controlled all lessonware), leaving the ICON with only the QNX command line interface and the Cemcorp-developed text editor application.

The various [[Watcom]] programming languages were quickly ported to the system, but beyond that, the educational software teachers could expect was few and far between. The Ministry contracted for a number of applications, but the small target market and the sometimes difficult process required to secure such contracts were significant obstacles for realistic commercial development.