Wang 2200

The Wang 2200 was an all-in-one minicomputer released by Wang Laboratories in May 1973. Unlike some other desktop computers, such as the HP 9830, it had a cathode-ray tube (CRT) in a cabinet that also included an integrated computer-controlled cassette tape storage unit and keyboard. It was microcoded to run BASIC on startup, making it similar to home computers of a few years later. About 65,000 systems were shipped in its lifetime and it found wide use in small and medium-size businesses worldwide. The 2200 series evolved from a singular desktop computer into larger systems able to support up to 16 workstations which utilized commercial disk technologies that appeared in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The disk subsystems could be attached to up to 15 computers giving a theoretical upper limit of 240 workstations in a single cluster. Unlike other Wang product lines such as the VS and OIS, value-added resellers (VARs) were used to customize and market 2200 systems to customers. One such solution deployed dozens of 2200 systems and was developed in conjunction with Hawaii- and Hong Kong-based firm, Algorithms, Inc. It provided paging (beeper) services for much of the Hong Kong market in the early 1980s. The first models of the 2200, released in April 1973, were the 2200A and B. This differed in the amount of microcode, with the B model holding additional commands in Wang BASIC. The extra commands in the B model were mostly related to data handling, allowing BASIC programs to construct databases with relative ease. The later C model added a small number of additional commands, including simple error handling. The A, B and C were replaced by the S and T models, which re-implemented the CPU using newer, higher-density large-scale integration parts. S models added commands to convert strings to and from numbers and a few other commands. The T version added a complete set of matrix math commands like those seen in later versions of Dartmouth BASIC as well as new input/output functions.