A NASA family of minicomputer systems, Appendix A

This investigation was undertaken to establish sufficient specifications, or standards, for minicomputer hardware and software to provide NASA with realizable economics in quantity purchases, interchangeability of minicomputers, software, storage and peripherals, and a uniformly high quality. The standards will define minicomputer system component types, each specialized to its intended NASA application, in as many levels of capacity as required

Computers: Equipment and Services

published or submitted for publicatio

Firm Capabilities, Competition and Industrial Policies in a History-Friendly Model of the Computer Industry

In this paper, we explore some problems that industrial policy faces in industries characterized by dynamic increasing returns on the basis of a 'history friendly model' of the evolution of the computer industry. How does policy affect industry structure over the course of industry evolution? Is the timing of the intervention important? Do policy interventions have indirect and perhaps unintended consequences on different markets at different times? We focus on two sets of policies: antitrust and interventions aiming at supporting the entry of new forms in the industry. The results of our simulations show that, if strong dynamic increasing returns are operative, both through technological capabilities and through customer tendency to stick with a brand, there is little that antitrust and entry policy could have done to avert the rise of a dominant firm in mainframes. On the other hand, if the customer lock in effect had been smaller, either by chance or through policies that discouraged efforts of firms to lock in their customers, the situation might have been somewhat different. In the first place, even in the absence of antitrust or entry encouraging policies, market concentration would have been lower, albeit a dominant firm would emerge anyhow. Second, antitrust and entry encouraging policies would have been more effective in assuring that concentration would decrease. The leading firm would continue to dominate the market, but its relative power would be reduced. © Elsevier Science B.V

From Mill Town to Mill Town: The Transition of a New England Town from a Textile to a High-Technology Economy

This article describes and analyzes the economic transformation of Maynard, Massachusetts. Located twenty-six miles west of Boston, Maynard was the home of the world\u27s largest woolen mill. In 1950 the mill closed and 1,200 jobs were lost. During the next ten years, the town gradually recovered as the mill became the home of several innovative companies. Ultimately, the mill became the headquarters for the world\u27s largest manufacturer of minicomputers. The circle is now complete: the mill is full and houses a company that claims a world\u27s largest designation. The article analyses the rise and fall of the American Woolen Company; examines the steps taken to stimulate recovery, and their results; identifies and examines the important elements that led to the economic transformation; and offers potential lessons for planners in towns undergoing similar changes

Technology Change or Resistance to Changing Institutional Logics: The Rise and Fall of Digital Equipment Corporation

This article uses an institutional lens to analyze organizational failure. It does this through a historical case study of Digital Equipment Corporation, an innovator and market leader of minicomputers who faltered and eventually failed during the period of technological change brought on by the emergence of the personal computer. The failure of Digital Equipment Corporation is interesting because it occurred despite its ability to adapt to changing technological forces. An institutional analysis shows that while Digital Equipment Corporation was able to develop personal computers widely considered technologically superior to its competitors, it resisted broader changes occurring in its institutional context. This study suggests that responding to external forces of change, such as technology, may not be enough. An organization must determine if and how such change might lead to a shift in its institutional context and then develop strategies to address such change