Data General

Data General Corporation was an early minicomputer firm formed in 1968, three of whose four founders were former employees of Digital Equipment Corporation. Its first product, the 1969 Data General Nova, was a 16-bit minicomputer intended both to outperform and to cost less than the equivalent from DEC, the 12-bit PDP-8. A basic Nova system cost two thirds or less than a similar PDP-8 while running faster, being smaller and proving more reliable in the field. Combined with Data General RDOS and languages such as Data General Business Basic, Novas provided a multi-user platform far ahead of many contemporary systems.