PDP-8
Introduction
This early PDP-8 model, also known as a "Straight-8", was introduced on 22 March 1965 and priced at $18,500 US dollars. It used Diode–Transistor Logic (DTL) packaged on flip chip cards in a machine about the size of a small household refrigerator. It was the first computer to be sold for under $20,000, making it the best-selling computer in history at that time. The Straight-8 was supplanted in 1966 by the PDP-8/S, which was available in desktop and rack-mount models. Using a one-bit serial arithmetic logic unit (ALU) allowed the PDP-8/S to be smaller and less expensive, although slower than the original PDP-8. A basic 8/S sold for under $10,000, the first machine to reach that milestone.
The chief engineer who designed the initial PDP-8 was Edson de Castro, who later founded Data General. The PDP-8 combined low cost, simplicity, expandability, and careful engineering for value. The greatest historical significance was that the PDP-8's low cost and high volume made a computer available to many new customers for many new uses. This was at a time when there were no smaller computers and larger systems from established vendors (IBM, Sperry, Univac, GE, etc.) usually cost close to a million dollars or were leased due to the high ownership cost. This entry price was similar in afford-ability to buying a personal computer today.
Its continuing significance is as a historical example of value-engineered computer design.
PDP-8, Source: Computer History Museum
PDP-8 Backplane, Source: Computer History Museum
Sources:- Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDP-8