You are offerding on a vintage 1980s advertising booklet / user manual / technical documentation for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) computers, published in 1984.Guide To Small Business Computers - 96 glossy pages with photosneat item if you collect vintage computer ephemera - old defunct electronic/tech companies - etcCopyright © 1984
Digital Equipment Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.Digital Equipment Corporation makes no representation that the interconnection of its products in the manner described herein will not infringe on existing or future patent rights, nor do the descriptions contained herein imply the granting of license to make, use, or sell equipment constructed in accordance with this description.The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Digital Equipment Corporation. Digital Equipment Corporation assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this manual.CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research, Inc. MBASIC is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. MULTIPLAN is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. VisiCalc is a registered trademark of VisiCorp, Inc.The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation:
DECthe Digital Processor[Right Page]ContentsChapter 1
Getting Serious About Business Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Chapter 2
Learning to Work in New Ways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Chapter 3
What You Need to Know About Hardware and Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Chapter 4
Laying the Groundwork for Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chapter 5
How to Live With a Computer (in Four Easy Lessons) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chapter 6
What Does a Computer Really Cost? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chapter 7
A Few Well-Chosen Words From Your Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Product AppendixDigital Equipment Corporation (DEC), often branded simply as Digital, was a titan of the 20th-century computer industry. Founded in 1957 by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in a former wool mill in Maynard, Massachusetts, it grew to become the second-largest computer company in the world, trailing only IBM. [1, 2, 3]Key Innovations and ProductsDEC's legacy is defined by its role in "democratizing" computing through the development of minicomputers, which were smaller and more affordable than contemporary mainframes. [1, 2]

• PDP Series: The PDP-1 (1960) was their first computer, but the PDP-8 (1965) became the world’s first mass-market minicomputer. The later PDP-11 (1970) was incredibly successful, selling over 600,000 units. [1, 2, 3]
• VAX Series: Launched in 1977, the VAX-11/780 introduced a 32-bit architecture and virtual memory, becoming the company's flagship line through the 1980s. [1, 2]
• Networking & Software: DEC was a pioneer in Ethernet implementation, developed the AltaVista search engine (years before Google), and its VMS operating system engineers later helped create Windows NT. [1, 2]
• Alpha Processor: In 1992, they introduced the Alpha, a high-performance 64-bit RISC microprocessor. [1, 2]

The Decline and LegacyDespite its technical brilliance, DEC struggled to adapt to the rapid rise of personal computers (PCs) in the 1990s. [1, 2]

• 1992: Founder Ken Olsen resigned as the company faced declining sales.
• 1998: DEC was acquired by Compaq for $9.6 billion.
• 2002: Compaq (and thus DEC's remaining assets) was acquired by Hewlett-Packard (HP)