The Obituary
DEC was founded in 1957 by Ken Olsen and became the dominant maker of minicomputers, the powerful mid-sized machines that filled labs and businesses too small for IBM mainframes. Its PDP-11 and VAX systems were enormously influential, and at its peak DEC was the second-largest computer company in the world with around 140,000 employees. But Olsen and the company underestimated the personal computer and were slow to adapt as cheap microprocessors made minicomputers obsolete. Losses mounted in the early 1990s. In 1998 DEC was acquired by Compaq, which in turn merged with Hewlett-Packard in 2002.
Worth remembering
- Its PDP and VAX minicomputers were the backbone of corporate and university computing in the 1970s and 1980s.
- Founder Ken Olsen famously said in 1977 there was no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.
Sources
- Digital Equipment Corporation was acquired by Compaq in 1998 after its minicomputer business was overtaken by personal computers Wikipedia
- DEC founder Ken Olsen reportedly doubted the need for home computers The New York Times
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.