AT&T Unix PC

The AT&T UNIX PC is a Unix desktop computer originally developed by Convergent Technologies[2] (later acquired by Unisys),[1] and marketed by AT&T in the mid- to late-1980s. The system was also known as PC-7300, and often dubbed the 3B1. Despite the latter name, the system had little in common with AT&T's line of 3B series computers. The system was tailored for use as a productivity tool in office environments and as an electronic communication center.[4]

3B1 / PC7300 / Unix PC[1]
AT&T Unix PC
ManufacturerConvergent Technologies[1][2]
TypeProfessional Computer
Release dateMarch 26, 1985 (1985-03-26)[3]
Introductory price$5,095-$7,000[3]
Media5¼-inch floppy disks,[2] optional quarter-inch cartridge tapes
Operating systemAT&T Unix v3.51[1]
CPUMotorola MC68010 with custom Memory management unit clocked at 10Mhz[2]
Memory512KB to 4MB RAM[2]
StorageOptional 10MB, 20MB, 40MB,[2] and 67MB hard drives[1]
Display720x348 pixel resolution[2]
InputKeyboard, 3-button Mouse[2]

Hardware configuration
Exterior of the AT&T 3B1
  • 10 MHz Motorola MC68010 (16 bit external bus, 32 bit internal) with custom, discrete MMU[2]
  • Internal MFM hard drive, originally 10 MB[3], later models with up to 67 MB[1]
  • At least 512K RAM on main board, expandable via expansion cards[2]
  • 3 expansion slots[2]
  • Monochrome green phosphor 12-inch (300 mm) monitor[2]
  • Internal 300/1200 bit/s modem[2]

PC7300

The initial PC7300 model offered a modest 512 KiB[2] of memory and a small, low performance 10 MB hard drive.[3] This model, although progressive in offering a Unix system for desktop office operation, was underpowered and produced considerable fan and drive bearing noise even when idling. The modern-looking "wedge" design was innovative, and in fact the machine gained notoriety appearing in many movies as the token "computer."

AT&T 3B1

A later enhanced model was renamed "3B1".[1] The cover was redesigned to accommodate a full-height 67 MB hard drive.[1] This cover change added a 'hump' to the case, expanded onboard memory to 1 or 2 MB, as well as added a better power supply.[1]

Operating system
AT&T PC7300 compiling and running a C program

The operating system is based on Unix System V Release 2,[2] with extensions from 4.1 and 4.2 BSD, System V Release 3 and Convergent Technologies.[1] The last release was 3.51.[1]

Programming languages

Application software

Word processors

Games

Utility
  • HoneyDanBer UUCP package.
  • Various Shells: Bourne, C, and Korn
  • EMACS
  • Kermit
  • TeX
  • SPICE/NUTMEG (circuit simulation tool)[8]

Expansion cards
  • DOS-73 8086 co-processor card with 512K RAM, an RS-232C COM2 port and could be fitted with an 8087 math co-processor chip. It included MS-DOS 3.1. This board was designed and built for AT&T by Alloy Computer Products of Framingham MA.
  • RAM card could be added using 512 KB RAM or 2 MB RAM cards, up to a maximum of 4 MB (2 MB on the motherboard and 2 MB on expansion cards).
  • EIA/RAM combo cards contained extra RAM and two RS-232 serial ports.
  • Dual EIA port card
  • StarLAN – 1 Mbit/s (1BASE5) network over twisted-pair wire local area network typically used in star format
  • Ethernet 10 Mbit/s LAN card and the Wollogong TCP/IP stack/drivers
  • VoicePower card allowed for the capture and digital recording of voice conversations.
  • Tape drive card provided interface for 23 MB MFM Tape Cartridge Drive.
  • Expansion chassis card was hard-wired to Expansion Chassis (with five added slots)

Public domain software

The Store is a public domain software repository which was available for all 3B1 users.[9]

gollark: You said that code quality didn't matter in CC lua.
gollark: Without digging through masses of incomprehensible junk?
gollark: Do you not want to, say, *edit your code* after writing it?
gollark: Code quality matters!
gollark: To use as a shop.

See also

References
  1. "3b1 FAQ". unixpc.org. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  2. Mayer, Alastair J. W. "System Review: The AT&T UNIX PC" (PDF). Byte. No. May 1986. pp. 254–262. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
  3. Howitt, Doran (1984-04-08). "At Last, AT&T's 7300/Unix PC". Infoworld. p. 17. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
  4. AT&T, Select Code 999-601-311IS, AT&T UNIX PC Owner's Manual (1986)
  5. Satchell, Stephen (1985-09-23). "A Look at Software for AT&T's Unix PC". Infoworld. pp. 32–33. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  6. http://unixpc.taronga.com/games/
  7. http://unixpc.taronga.com/comp.sources.3b1/volume01/
  8. http://unixpc.taronga.com/misc/
  9. http://unixpc.taronga.com/STORE/
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