Editing Digital Equipment Corporation (section)

=== Early microcomputers (1982–1986) ===
When a DEC research group demonstrated two prototype [[microcomputer]]s in 1974—before the debut of the [[MITS Altair]]—Olsen chose to not proceed with the project. The company similarly rejected another personal computer proposal in 1977.<ref name="ahl198403">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/creativecomputing-1984-03/Creative_Computing_v10_n03_1984_Mar#page/n39/mode/2up | title=Digital | work=Creative Computing | date=March 1984 | access-date=February 6, 2015 | author=Ahl, David H. | pages=38–41 | authorlink=David H. Ahl}}</ref> At the time these systems were of limited utility, and Olsen famously derided them in 1977, stating "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home."{{efn|Olsen later claimed he was referring to [[home automation]], see [http://www.snopes.com/quotes/kenolsen.asp "Ken Olsen"]}} Unsurprisingly, DEC did not put much effort into the microcomputer area in the early days of the market. In 1977, the [[Heathkit H11]] was announced; a PDP-11 in kit form. At the beginning of the 1980s, DEC built the [[VT180]] (codenamed "Robin"), which was a [[VT100]] terminal with an added [[Zilog Z80|Z80]]-based microcomputer running [[CP/M]], but this product was initially available only to DEC employees.<ref name="Croxton">{{cite web|last=Croxton|first=Greg|title=DEC Robin (VT-180) & documentation|url=http://www.digibarn.com/collections/systems/dec-robin/|work=DigiBarn Computer Museum|access-date=March 21, 2011}}</ref>

It was only after IBM had successfully launched the [[IBM PC]] in 1981 that DEC responded with their own systems. In 1982, DEC introduced not one, but three incompatible machines which were each tied to different [[Proprietary hardware|proprietary]] architectures. The first, the [[DEC Professional (computer)|DEC Professional]], was based on the PDP-11/23 (and later, the 11/73) running the [[RSX-11|RSX-11M+]] derived, but menu-driven, [[P/OS]] ("Professional Operating System"). This DEC machine easily outperformed the PC, but was more expensive than, and completely incompatible with IBM PC hardware and software, offering far fewer options for customizing a system.

Unlike CP/M and DOS microcomputers, every copy of every program for the Professional had to be provided with a unique key for the particular machine and CPU for which it was bought. At that time this was mainstream policy, because most computer software was either bought from the company that built the computer or custom-constructed for one client. However, the emerging third-party software industry disregarded the PDP-11/Professional line and concentrated on other microcomputers where distribution was easier. At DEC itself, creating better programs for the Professional was not a priority, perhaps from fear of cannibalizing the PDP-11 line. As a result, the Professional was a superior machine, running inferior software.<ref>Katan, M.B., Scholte, B.A., 1984. Application of a Professional 350 in a university department&nbsp;— a consumer's report, in: Proceedings Digital Equipment Computer Users Society. Amsterdam, p. 368.</ref> In addition, a new user would have to learn an awkward, slow, and inflexible menu-based user interface which appeared to be radically different from [[PC DOS]] or [[CP/M]], which were more commonly used on the 8080- and 8088-based microcomputers of the time. A second offering, the [[DECmate|DECmate II]] was the latest version of the PDP-8-based word processors, but not really suited to general computing, nor competitive with [[Wang Laboratories]]' popular word processing equipment.

[[File:DEC Rainbow 100 floor model.JPG|thumb|right|upright|DEC [[Rainbow 100]], floor-mounted]]
The most popular early DEC microcomputer was the dual-processor (Z80 and 8088) [[Rainbow 100]],{{r|ahl198403}} which ran the 8-bit [[CP/M]] operating system on the Z80 and the 16-bit [[CP/M-86]] operating system on the [[Intel 8088]] processor. It could also run a [[UNIX System III]] implementation called [[Venix|VENIX]]. Applications from standard CP/M could be re-compiled for the Rainbow, but by this time users were expecting custom-built (pre-compiled binary) applications such as [[Lotus 1-2-3]], which was eventually ported along with [[MS-DOS]] 2.0 and introduced in late 1983. Although the Rainbow generated some press, it was unsuccessful due to its high price and lack of marketing and sales support.<ref name="rainbow-faq">{{cite web|title=Q: What is a Rainbow 100 anyway?|work=The Rainbow 100 Frequently Asked Questions|url=http://rainbow-100.com/faq/question/1/|publisher=Approximatrix, LLC|access-date=December 15, 2010|year=2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825144124/http://rainbow-100.com/faq/question/1/|archive-date=August 25, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> By late 1983 IBM was outselling DEC's personal computers by more than ten to one.{{r|ahl198403}}

A further system was introduced in 1986 as the [[VAXmate]], which included [[Microsoft Windows 1.0]] and used VAX/VMS-based file and print servers along with integration into DEC's own [[DECnet]]-family, providing LAN/WAN connection from PC to mainframe or supermini. The VAXmate replaced the Rainbow, and in its standard form was the first widely marketed [[diskless workstation]].