Japanese Computer Company

Third topic is "Japanese Computer Company".
I introduce Japanese company which developed in field of computer.

I introduce NEC(Nippon Electric Company). NEC has the number of employees maximum in the Sumitomo group, and is the 9th in all the Japanese companies.

 NEC make “teaching material” called “TK-80” in order to let people know a microcomputer. “TK” is an abbreviation for “Training Kit”. It is a computer aiming at actually assembling a microcomputer in what kind of thing, and letting people understand microcomputer. The price is 88,500 yen. Contrary to expectations, TK-80 began to be sold. However, a power supply not being attached to TK-80. It had to prepare individually in order to use it. Furthermore, there is a serious problem. First of all, it is storage capacity and processing language. Storage capacity is 512 byte about 1/2500 of a floppy disk. Since it is too little capacity, nothing can be done. Processing language input in a machine language is lower level than C language. Then, TK-80 user performed various improvement after sale. The improvement by the user of TK-80 progressed, the power supply which must be prepared individual was sold by the maker who did not have relation with NEC, and each peripheral equipment such as memory and interface circuit was put on the market one after another. Users improved so that it could be practical use. Then, NEC put TK-80BS on the market in 1977. TK-80BS is the product into which the parts for using BASIC were packed, and it can be called big progress that BASIC could be used with such a product. However,  there was voice from users referred to as " to use the done computer rather than to assemble a kit by oneself." “COMPO BS” realized it. It was a computer of the form where adopted the power supply and the cassette deck as the external storage, and it stored them in the case. 

COMPO BS was put on the market and the foundation of the personal computer was made. However, in NEC, they thought that they would develop a next-generation new computer. It is PC-8000 series which can be called first real personal computer. PC-8001 adopted Microsoft BASIC and had main memory:16KB, CPU:uPD780C/14MHz and 8-color colored presentation.

In 1982, NEC announced “PC-9801”. PC-9801 appeared as first 16 bit PC. Although start of PC-9801 was good, it did not accept in the important business layer easily because there were few numbers of software. The software named the object for PC-9801 after a while was also put on the market from the software house, and it became a number of software to the extent that an 8-bit personal computer is reached at last. It sweeps over the personal-computer market in Japan over about 15 years, and even "a national machine" came to be called for the heyday.