Dataindustrier AB
Encyclopedia
Dataindustrier AB or DIAB was a Swedish
computer engineering and manufacturing firm, founded in 1970 by Lars Karlsson and active in the 1970s through 1990s. The company's first product was a board-based computer centered around a specific bus named Data Board 4680. This unit was used for automatic control
in several Swedish industries as would be almost all of DIAB's computers. DIAB is mostly known for engineering the ABC 80, the first Swedish home computer
, manufactured by Luxor AB
.
They would subsequently develop all the ABC-models (ABC 800, ABC 1600 and ABC 9000) before rebranding their own make of the ABC 9000 as DIAB DS-90 and develop a series of Unix
-compatible computers, using code licensed from AT&T
Version 5 Unix release, but with a unique in-house kernel using the brand name DNIX
. DIAB would continue to provide OEM
services past Luxor AB, the most prominent probably being the entire Unix server product line from Cromemco
.
The compiler technology developed by Tomas Evensen at DIAB was bought by Wind River Systems
and was renamed to the "Wind River Compiler". Further information about the Wind River Compiler can be found at the Wind River Compiler product home page.
The Unix computer support and customers was acquired by Bull Computer
in 1990 ending the history of the company.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
computer engineering and manufacturing firm, founded in 1970 by Lars Karlsson and active in the 1970s through 1990s. The company's first product was a board-based computer centered around a specific bus named Data Board 4680. This unit was used for automatic control
Automatic control
Automatic control is the application of concepts derived from the research area of modern control theory. Automatic control is also a technology for application of control strategies. The implementing requires prior of analyzing and modeling of the subject to be controlled...
in several Swedish industries as would be almost all of DIAB's computers. DIAB is mostly known for engineering the ABC 80, the first Swedish home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
, manufactured by Luxor AB
Luxor AB
Luxor was a Swedish home electronics and computer manufacturer located in Motala, acquired by Nokia in 1985.Originally a manufacturer of tape recorders, radios, television sets, stereo systems, and other home electronics, it launched its first home computer, the ABC 80 in 1978...
.
They would subsequently develop all the ABC-models (ABC 800, ABC 1600 and ABC 9000) before rebranding their own make of the ABC 9000 as DIAB DS-90 and develop a series of Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
-compatible computers, using code licensed from AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
Version 5 Unix release, but with a unique in-house kernel using the brand name DNIX
DNIX
DNIX was a Unix-like real-time operating system from the Swedish company Dataindustrier AB . A version called ABCenix was also developed for the ABC1600 computer from Luxor. DNIX was a Unix-like real-time operating system from the Swedish company Dataindustrier AB (DIAB). A version called ABCenix...
. DIAB would continue to provide OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer
An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...
services past Luxor AB, the most prominent probably being the entire Unix server product line from Cromemco
Cromemco
Cromemco was a Mountain View, California microcomputer company known for its high-end Z80-based S-100 bus computers in the early days of the home computer revolution. The Cromemco Dazzler was the first color graphics card available for personal computers....
.
The compiler technology developed by Tomas Evensen at DIAB was bought by Wind River Systems
Wind River Systems
Wind River Systems, Inc. is a company providing embedded systems, development tools for embedded systems, middleware, and other types of software. The company was founded in Berkeley, California in 1981 by Jerry Fiddler and David Wilner. On June 4, 2009, Wind River announced that Intel had bought...
and was renamed to the "Wind River Compiler". Further information about the Wind River Compiler can be found at the Wind River Compiler product home page.
The Unix computer support and customers was acquired by Bull Computer
Groupe Bull
-External links:* * — Friends, co-workers and former employees of Bull and Honeywell* *...
in 1990 ending the history of the company.
Card-based microcomputers
- 1974: Data Board 4680 - the number is a short form of the three microprocessorMicroprocessorA microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
s supported by the bus of this system: Intel 4004Intel 4004The Intel 4004 was a 4-bit central processing unit released by Intel Corporation in 1971. It was the first complete CPU on one chip, and also the first commercially available microprocessor...
, Motorola 6800Motorola 6800The 6800 was an 8-bit microprocessor designed and first manufactured by Motorola in 1974. The MC6800 microprocessor was part of the M6800 Microcomputer System that also included serial and parallel interface ICs, RAM, ROM and other support chips...
and Zilog Z80Zilog Z80The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes...
. Eventually only Z80 was ever used in this product.
Home and office computers
- 1977: 7S "Seven S" a combined monochrome terminal and computer built on the Data Board 4680 bus and a Z80 processor.
- 1978: ABC 80 a Z80-based monochrome home computer.
- 1983: ABC 800 an enhanced office and home computer, 32 KB RAM, also based on Z80, with color graphics.
- 1983: ABC 802 a variant of ABC 800 with 64 KB RAM whereof 32 KB were used as a RAM diskRAM diskA RAM disk or RAM drive is a block of RAM that a computer's software is treating as if the memory were a disk drive...
. - 1983: ABC 806 a variant of ABC 800 with 160 KB RAM whereof 128 were used as a RAM disk.
Periphials
- 1982: ABC 838 - 2x 8" 1 MB floppy drive
- 1982: ABC 830 - 2x 5,25" 160 kB floppy drive
- 1982: ABC 890 - 8x ABC-bus slot expansion
- 1982: ABC 815 - 14" monochrome screen
- 1983: ABC 812 - 14" colour screen
- 1983: ABC 850 - 10 MB Harddisc and 640 kB floppy disc as well as 8x ABC-bus slots
- 1984: ABC 834 - 2x 5,25" 640 kB floppy drive, compact version. Introduction price at 12000 SEK.
- 1985: ABC 1656 - 40-80 MB Harddisc and tape drive for backup.
- 1985: ABC 1615 - 1024 x 768 pixel screen
- ABC 820 - Compact CassetteCompact CassetteThe Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
storage (for ABC 80) - ABC 821 - Compact Cassette storage (for ABC 80, 800, 802)
- ABC 22 - Function and numeric only keyboard
- ABC-55 - Keyboard
- ABC-77 - Keyboard
- ABC-99 - Keyboard
- ABC R8 - Mouse
- LUX-NET - 50 computer, 1000 meter range, 500 kbit/s, EIA-422EIA-422RS-422 is a technical standard that specifies electrical characteristics of a digital signalling circuit. Differential-mode signals can be sent at rates as high as 10 million bits per second, or may be sent on cables as long as 1200 metres. Some systems directly interconnect using RS 422 signals,...
external networking adapter
UNIX computers
- 1985: ABC 1600ABC 1600ABC 1600 was a personal computer from Luxor that was introduced in 1985. The model was built around the Motorola 68008 processor, had of memory and used the operating system ABCenix, a Unix-like system developed from DNIX....
a personal computer running ABCenix. - 1985: ABC 9000 really a DS90 in disguise, running DNIXDNIXDNIX was a Unix-like real-time operating system from the Swedish company Dataindustrier AB . A version called ABCenix was also developed for the ABC1600 computer from Luxor. DNIX was a Unix-like real-time operating system from the Swedish company Dataindustrier AB (DIAB). A version called ABCenix...
. - 1985: beginning of the DS90-line
- DS90-00, DS90-10, DS90-11, Motorola 68010Motorola 68010The Motorola MC68010 processor is a 16/32-bit microprocessor from Motorola, released in 1982. In line with the Motorola 68000 naming convention, it is usually just referred to as the 010 ....
-based UNIX servers intended for use via terminals. - DS90-20, DS90-21, quad Motorola 68020Motorola 68020The Motorola 68020 is a 32-bit microprocessor from Motorola, released in 1984. It is the successor to the Motorola 68010 and is succeeded by the Motorola 68030...
-based computers - DS90-30, DS90-30S, DS90-31, dual Motorola 68030Motorola 68030The Motorola 68030 is a 32-bit microprocessor in Motorola's 68000 family. It was released in 1987. The 68030 was the successor to the Motorola 68020, and was followed by the Motorola 68040. In keeping with general Motorola naming, this CPU is often referred to as the 030 .The 68030 features on-chip...
-based computers - DS101, actually a DS90-31 with exterior design by the famous pop-artist Richard HamiltonRichard Hamilton (artist)Richard William Hamilton, CH was a British painter and collage artist. His 1956 collage, Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?, produced for the This Is Tomorrow exhibition of the Independent Group in London, is considered by critics and historians to be one of the...
- DS90-41, DS90-45, DS90-47, Motorola 68040Motorola 68040The Motorola 68040 is a microprocessor from Motorola, released in 1990. It is the successor to the 68030 and is followed by the 68060. There was no 68050. In keeping with general Motorola naming, the 68040 is often referred to as simply the '040 ....
-based computers
- DS90-00, DS90-10, DS90-11, Motorola 68010
- the DIAB line, these are actually partly rebranded DSnn-computers:
- DIAB2320, DIAB2340, Motorola 68030Motorola 68030The Motorola 68030 is a 32-bit microprocessor in Motorola's 68000 family. It was released in 1987. The 68030 was the successor to the Motorola 68020, and was followed by the Motorola 68040. In keeping with general Motorola naming, this CPU is often referred to as the 030 .The 68030 features on-chip...
-based sequels to the DS90-31 - DIAB2420, DIAB2440, DIAB2450, Motorola 68040Motorola 68040The Motorola 68040 is a microprocessor from Motorola, released in 1990. It is the successor to the 68030 and is followed by the 68060. There was no 68050. In keeping with general Motorola naming, the 68040 is often referred to as simply the '040 ....
-based sequels to the DS90-47 - DIAB9030, DIAB9031 - even later computers of unknown construction
- DIAB2320, DIAB2340, Motorola 68030
- OEMOriginal Equipment ManufacturerAn original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...
products based on DIAB UNIX computers:- Dynatech Computer Systems (CromemcoCromemcoCromemco was a Mountain View, California microcomputer company known for its high-end Z80-based S-100 bus computers in the early days of the home computer revolution. The Cromemco Dazzler was the first color graphics card available for personal computers....
) DCS-1/200: based on DS90-30. The Cromix UNIX dialect used in these systems is likewise simply a rebranded DNIXDNIXDNIX was a Unix-like real-time operating system from the Swedish company Dataindustrier AB . A version called ABCenix was also developed for the ABC1600 computer from Luxor. DNIX was a Unix-like real-time operating system from the Swedish company Dataindustrier AB (DIAB). A version called ABCenix...
. - Dynatech Computer Systems (Cromemco) DCS-1/300: based on DS90-31
- Dynatech Computer Systems (Cromemco) DCS-1/400
- Dynatech Computer Systems (Cromemco) DCS-4/300: based on DIAB2450
- Dynatech Computer Systems (Cromemco) DCS-4/400: based on DS90-41
- Ohio ScientificOhio ScientificOhio Scientific Inc. was a United States computer company that built and marketed computers from the late 1970s to the early 1980s...
- this company is known to have made at least one OEM computer based on DS90-00 hardware, model number(s) unknown. - Norsk DataNorsk DataNorsk Data was a computer manufacturer located in Oslo, Norway. Existing from 1967 to 1992, it had its most active period in the years from the early 1970s to the late 1980s...
- also made a DS90-00 OEM computers, likewise details unknown. - ISC Systems Corporation DNP-10: based on DS90-10
- Dynatech Computer Systems (Cromemco
External links
- Historien om DIAB (in SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
)