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Guide to the Digital Equipment Corporation records
Creator: Digital Equipment Corporation Dates: 1947-2002, bulk
1957-1998 Extent: 1,238.79 linear feet, 611 record cartons, 357
manuscript boxes, 56 newspaper boxes, 169 periodical boxes, and 150
other box types Collection numbers: X2675.2004, X3149.2005,
X7042.2014 Catalog number: 102733963 Collection processed by: Bo
Doub and Kim Hayden, and CHM volunteers Sherman Baggett, Pat Buder,
Mike Gutman, Dick Johnson, Trudy Levy, Barry Sardis, Anna van
Raaphorst, Ellen Wang, and Don Williamson, 2016-2017 Finding aid
prepared by: Bo Doub, Kim Hayden, and Sara Chabino Lott, 2017
Sponsor: Processing of this collection was made possible through
generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered
through the Council on Library and Information Resources'
Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant. Abstract
The Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) records comprise DEC’s
corporate archives, with material dating from 1947 to 2002. The
bulk of the collection was collected and created during the
company’s years of operation from 1957 to 1998. DEC, founded by
engineers Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson, was one of the largest and
most successful computer companies in the industry’s history.
Widely recognized for its PDP and VAX minicomputer product lines,
by 1988 DEC was second only to IBM as the world’s largest computer
company. This collection holds the papers of DEC’s executives,
engineers, and personnel -- including the personal collections of
founders Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson. Also included are DEC’s
administrative records and material relating to product development
and engineering, with committee meeting minutes, correspondence,
Internal newsletters, product proposals, and engineering drawings.
Most of DEC’s publications, such as manuals, promotional and sales
material, and technical reports, are represented in this collection
as well. Lastly, DEC’s large corporate photo library and archive
remains intact as a part of this collection, holding tens of
thousands of original product photographs, portraits of DEC
personnel, images showing client applications of DEC products,
brochures, and historical files with visual documentation of the
company’s beginnings and milestones. In 1998, DEC was acquired by
Compaq, ending its run as a company, though many of its
groundbreaking technologies went on to sell under different
branding and influence subsequent directions of computing and its
industries.
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Administrative Information Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights The Computer History Museum (CHM) can only
claim physical ownership of the collection. Copyright restrictions
may apply and users are responsible for satisfying any claims of
the copyright holder. Requests for copying and permission to
publish, quote, or reproduce any portion of the Computer History
Museum’s collection must be obtained jointly from both the
copyright holder (if applicable) and the Computer History Museum as
owner of the material.
Languages
The collection is primarily in English, with small amounts of
material in Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese,
Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, and Ukrainian.
Preferred Citation [Identification of Item], [Date], Digital
Equipment Corporation records, Lot [#], Box [#], Folder [#],
Catalog [#], Computer History Museum. Note: For this collection the
lot number citation will either be X2675.2004, X3149.2005, or
X7042.2014.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The majority of this collection was a gift of the
Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) in 2004 (X2675.2004). Smaller parts of
the collection came from DEC employees Timothe Litt in 2005
(X3149.2005) and Richard Best in 2011 (X7042.2014).
Repository Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View, CA 94043 USA 650-810-1010
[email protected] www.computerhistory.org
Biographical/Historical Note Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
was one of the largest and most profitable computer companies in
the world, initially known for its modules, then for its PDP and
VAX families of computers, and finally for the Alpha
microprocessor. DEC was founded in Maynard, Massachusetts, by
engineers Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson, who had previously worked
together at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory. It operated from 1957 to
1998. Olsen and Anderson started the company with financial backing
from Georges Doriot, one of the United States’ first venture
capitalists, and DEC was the first successful venture-backed
mailto:[email protected]://www.computerhistory.org/
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computer company. Olsen served as DEC’s president until 1992 and
ran the company with a complicated decentralized management style
that pitted product groups against each other for corporate
resources. Anderson served as DEC’s executive vice president until
he was forced out in 1966 after a falling out with Olsen over the
direction of the company. At the time of DEC’s founding, computers
were large, complicated to use, and expensive. Olsen and Anderson
wanted to produce alternatives to those large mainframes: computers
that were powerful and had real-time interactivity, but were
smaller, easier to use, and much more affordable. Mindful that
investors were not backing computer companies at the time, their
business plan was divided into two phases that de-emphasized
computer production. Phase one focused on the manufacture and sale
of electronic modules to be used in test and prototyping
environments; phase two focused on using those modules in the
design of a fully interactive computer system. Ultimately, DEC’s
focus would be on minicomputers for laboratory, business, and
research use customized for clients and including long-term service
and technical support contracts with DEC. For its first two years,
DEC developed its successful module business. In 1959, DEC’s first
minicomputer, the Programmed Data Processor, or PDP-1, was designed
and produced, with the first unit sold in 1960. It was a
groundbreaking computer because of its low cost and its fostering
of direct user interaction. DEC released dozens of other PDP-family
minicomputers over the next decade, becoming the market leader in
minicomputers by a large margin. In 1977, DEC introduced a new line
of computers -- developed as an extension to the PDP-11 -- called
VAX, or Virtual Address Extension. The incredibly successful and
influential VAX family of computers implemented a 32-bit complex
instruction set computing (CISC) architecture and could run DEC’s
proprietary operating system VAX/VMS (later OpenVMS) and UNIX. The
VAX family included high performance models, mainframes,
workstations, and MicroVAX minicomputers. In the early 1980s, DEC
began development of a 64-bit reduced instruction set computing
(RISC) architecture to replace VAX. What started as several small
RISC projects at DEC formed into one, PRISM, which was canceled
just before completion. Alpha development started soon after and
was based on PRISM concepts. The Alpha architecture, introduced in
1992, was implemented as a line of microprocessors. DEC produced
other technologies besides computers. It sold a wide variety of
peripherals including magnetic tape and disk memory subsystems, dot
matrix printers, and graphics displays. DEC was also focused on
networking and produced several systems, including Ethernet,
DECnet, and VAXclusters. DEC also created the early search engine
AltaVista in 1995. Additionally, DEC produced software that was
mostly proprietary to DEC machines. As microcomputers emerged in
the 1980s, Olsen was resistant to DEC developing them, believing
that most people would not want computers in their homes and that
personal computers (PCs) were mostly used for non-serious purposes,
like games. However, in response to IBM’s PC (1981), DEC released
several personal computer systems: the Professional series, DECmate
II, Rainbow 100, and VAXmate. DEC’s personal computer efforts did
not take off like the IBM PC, however, because of DEC’s high
prices, poor marketing, and insistence on making its machines and
software proprietary and thus incompatible with other companies’
products and peripherals. DEC’s PDP-11 and VAX systems continued to
sell well, however, but competitors were actively working to create
cheaper computers.
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In 1988, DEC was second only to IBM as the world’s largest
computer company. By 1990, however, the United States was in a
recession and DEC’s business began to falter. This loss in revenue
was attributable to several factors: There was disagreement within
DEC as to the direction the company should take as workstations,
personal computers, and open computing became more popular. DEC
chose to focus on developing a large mainframe, the VAX 9000, and
continued to produce proprietary software and hardware, missing the
opportunity to take advantage of the personal computer and
workstation revolution. Many at DEC felt the VAX 9000 could not
recoup its design and manufacturing costs; this turned out to be
true. As DEC concentrated on the VAX 9000, competitors produced
workstations that were far less expensive and more powerful. As
DEC’s business waned, there were several attempts within different
areas of the company to boost DEC’s viability with new products and
technologies. Following DEC’s traditional management model, these
different factions were competing against each other and
unfortunately no successful products came from those efforts. In
the early 1990s, after steadily falling sales, DEC implemented the
first layoffs in the company’s history. In 1992, the DEC board
forced Olsen to resign, appointing Bob Palmer as CEO and president.
Palmer attempted to streamline DEC by reorganizing its structure
into a business unit system, but the company’s profits continued to
slide, particularly with its biggest moneymaker, sales and service
of VAX systems. Palmer continued laying off employees and began
selling off parts of DEC’s business units. Finally, in 1998, what
was left of DEC was sold to Compaq in the largest merger in the
computer industry at that time. Compaq struggled with the merger,
and eventually sold the Alpha microprocessor business to Intel, and
then was itself acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2002. Although it
ultimately failed as a company, DEC’s legacy as a pioneer in
computer technology lives on. HP continues to sell products derived
from DEC technology, such as OpenVMS, under its own branding. Scope
and Content of the Collection The Digital Equipment Corporation
records are made up of material created and collected at the
company during its active years from 1957 to 1998. The collection
also contains material created prior to DEC’s founding, dating as
early as 1947, and material from the organizations involved in
DEC’s final mergers and acquisitions spanning as late as 2002. The
first seven series of the collection consist of smaller, personal
collections of DEC’s founders, executives, engineers, and other
staff. These collections of individuals’ papers were donated intact
to the Computer History Museum within the larger original donation.
Most of these individuals’ collections were grouped into series
based on different types of careers at DEC. “Series 1, Executives’
papers” contain the papers of DEC’s founders, presidents, executive
vice presidents, and/or executives in charge of an entire branch of
DEC’s operations. Series 1 holds the papers of DEC’s two founders,
Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson, which include some of the earliest
records of the collection from influencing organizations such as
MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory. “Series 2, Engineers’ papers” group
together engineers and technical specialists. Two of the largest
subseries under Series 2 are the papers of Mike Uhler and Timothe
Litt, who were both senior consulting engineers at DEC. Litt’s
collection of papers is especially large, partly due to his role in
facilitating the transfer of portions of the Digital Equipment
Corporation records (Lot
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X2675.2004) and a smaller donation of material (Lot X3149.2005)
focusing on the KL10 model of DEC’s PDP-10 mainframe computer
family. The last category of personal collections is grouped under
“Series 3, Product managers’ papers.” Series 3 contains the papers
of DEC’s “group managers” and “product line managers” who steered
product development and employee management for specific product
lines. Some of the individuals with personal collections were not
grouped into the initial three series, due to the natures of their
careers at DEC not fitting into these series’ categories. These
individuals have their own series. Following the papers of
individual staff are DEC’s administrative records, containing
Internal newsletters, the minutes and correspondence of internal
committees, manufacturing plant records, and records pertaining to
personnel and corporate policies. Since the personal collections of
the preceding series were kept intact, much of the contents of
those series relate to the material in “Series 9, Administrative
records.” For example, there are records from DEC’s Operations
Committee and Executive Committee held in both the administrative
records series and the Ken Olsen papers in Series 1. Another large
body of internal documentation is contained in “Series 10, Product
lifecycle records,” which includes product proposals, project
updates, pricing and manufacturing plans, performance summaries,
specifications, field maintenance documentation, and engineering
drawings for various product lines at DEC. Other parts of the
collection were donated and processed as units of a specific
department or group. These include “Series 11, Public Relations
department records,” “Series 12, Corporate Contributions department
records,” and “Series 13, DECUS records.” This collection also
contains large amounts of DEC publications, which are organized
into series based on their publication types. These series include
promotional and sales material, technical newsletters and journals,
manuals, and technical reports. DEC had previously organized some
of these publications into lending libraries for employees and
other users -- notably with its large collections of manuals and
technical reports. One other major part of this collection
comprises the still images and documentation of the Digital
Equipment Corporation Photo Library and Archive. The photo library
holds tens of thousands of original slides, transparencies, prints,
negatives, and proof sheets spanning the company’s active years
from 1957 to 1998. These images depict client applications of DEC
products, brochures and promotional material, portraits of DEC
pioneers, and historical files of images documenting the company’s
early history and achievement milestones, along with histories of
Maynard, Massachusetts and the “Maynard Mill” (DEC’s headquarters).
Lastly, this collection contains the audiovisual
holdings--primarily videotapes--of DEC’s regional libraries from
various facilities, including video recordings of talks and
meetings from the DEC Systems Research Center (SRC) in Palo Alto,
California. Arrangement The collection is arranged into 22
series:
Series 1, Executives’ papers, 1947-1995, bulk 1960-1994 Series
2, Engineers’ papers, 1951-2002, bulk 1970-1998 Series 3, Product
managers’ papers, 1966-1997 Series 4, Sam Fuller corporate research
records, 1976-1997 Series 5, Judy Hall TOPS-20 and Jupiter records,
1974-1989 Series 6, Edward McDonough Far East Manufacturing Group
records, 1976-1985 Series 7, Ralph Dormitzer America's Cup records,
1982-1992
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Series 8, Oral history collection, 1978-1993, bulk 1987-1991
Series 9, Administrative records, 1958-1998, bulk 1970-1992 Series
10, Product lifecycle records, 1952-1990 Series 11, Public
Relations department records, 1957-1995, bulk 1973-1993 Series 12,
Corporate Contributions department records, 1981-1994 Series 13,
DECUS records, 1962-1993 Series 14, Promotional and sales material,
1960-2000 Series 15, Technical newsletters and journals, 1963-1998,
bulk 1980-1998 Series 16, Manuals, 1960-1999, bulk 1962-1991 Series
17, Technical reports, 1971-1996, bulk 1980-1993 Series 18, Exhibit
records, circa 1950-1988, bulk 1988 Series 19, Non-DEC
publications, 1963-1998 Series 20, Photo library documentation,
1957-2002 Series 21, Still images, 1956-1998 Series 22, Moving
images, 1979-2002
Indexing Terms Anderson, Harlan E. DEC microcomputers Digital
Equipment Corporation Maynard (Mass.) Olsen, Kenneth H. PDP
computers RISC microprocessors VAX computers Separated Material
Physical objects were separated from the main collection. To view
catalog records for separated material search the CHM catalog at
http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/search/. Related
Collections at CHM Bob Supnik papers, LotX3339.2006. Charles A.
Jortberg collection, Lot X2381.2002. Collection of Digital
Equipment Corporation PDP-1 Computer Materials, Lot X3602.2006.
Company Collection of Computing Manuals and Marketing Materials,
Lot X3067.2005. Harlan Anderson PDP Documents, Lot X3575.2006.
Related Collections at Other Repositories Digital Equipment
Computer Users Society Proceedings and Publications (CBI 150),
Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Ken Olsen Personal Archives, Ken Olsen Science Center, Gordon
College. Collection Contents
http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/search/
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Series 1, Executives’ papers, 1947-1995, bulk 1960-1994 This
series consists of the papers of DEC’s founders and executives.
Since DEC classified many of its employees working at various
levels of its hierarchy as “vice presidents,” the decisions to
group certain individuals under this series were based largely on
multiple organizational charts from different years found within
the collection. Rather than basing these decisions on job titles
alone, DEC staff members were grouped under this series if they
were a founder, president, executive vice president, and/or in
charge of a whole branch of DEC’s operations (e.g., engineering or
sales). Many of the records in this series consist of
correspondence and memoranda among DEC’s high-level steering and
managing committees, including the Works Committee, Operations
Committee, Executive Committee, Business Unit Committee, and Small
Computer Guidance Committee. Also of interest in this series are
records relating to the development of the early computers of the
PDP product family, which are documented in the Olsen, Anderson,
and Bell papers. Other administrative aspects of DEC’s operations
are also covered, such as correspondence relating to early sources
of funding for DEC in the Hindle and Olsen papers. Material in the
Gullotti and Olsen papers also documents company-wide
reorganizations and their outcomes and consequences. This series is
arranged into five subseries: Subseries 1.1, Ken Olsen papers,
1947-1992, bulk 1957-1978 Subseries 1.2, Harlan Anderson papers,
1959-1966 Subseries 1.3, Win Hindle papers, 1958-1994 Subseries
1.4, Gordon Bell papers, 1966-1983, bulk 1974-1983 Subseries 1.5,
Russ Gullotti papers, 1979-1995, bulk 1991-1994
Subseries 1.1, Ken Olsen papers, 1947-1992, bulk 1957-1978 This
subseries contains material collected and created by Kenneth (Ken)
H. Olsen, co-founder and President of DEC until 1992.Olsen was born
in Bridgeport, Connecticut on February 20, 1926. After serving in
the U.S. Navy at the end of World War II, Olsen attended the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he received
bachelor’s (1950) and master’s (1952) degrees in electrical
engineering. Olsen founded DEC with his MIT colleague Harlan
Anderson in 1957. Under Olsen’s direction, DEC grew from three
employees in a corner of a former wool mill to a leading
manufacturer of computer systems and associated peripheral
equipment and a leader in systems integration with its networks,
communications, and software products. This subseries contains the
documentation of this success, including Olsen’s correspondence,
memoranda, personal research, and product line administration at
DEC. One key area of Olsen’s leadership at DEC is documented in the
meetings of the Works Committee, which later became the Operations
Committee. Meeting minutes from these committees and memoranda sent
between committee members are included in this subseries. Outside
of DEC, Olsen served on the President’s Science and Advisory
Committee, a group of some of the leading scientists and business
leaders of the nation assembled to help President Nixon make
decisions on technological problems. Olsen also participated on the
National Academy of Science’s Computer Science and Engineering
Board, a similar group made up of industry leaders who advised
government entities on the roles of the computer in the U.S.
economy and culture. Documents from both of these committees are
included in this subseries. In 1986, Olsen became the first
recipient of the IEEE Engineering Leadership Recognition Award and
was named "America's most successful entrepreneur" by Fortune
magazine. Olsen was forced to retire from DEC in 1992 and later
became chairman of Advanced Modular Solutions. He died on February
6, 2011, aged 84. This subseries contains records from Olsen’s time
as a student at MIT in 1947 through his retirement from DEC in
1992. This subseries is arranged into eight sub-subseries:
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Sub-subseries 1.1.1, Correspondence, 1958-1992, bulk 1958-1970
Sub-subseries 1.1.2, Memoranda, 1959-1984, bulk 1960-1970
Sub-subseries 1.1.3, MIT Lincoln Laboratory memoranda and reports,
1947-1967 Sub-subseries 1.1.4, Internal committees, 1964-1986
Sub-subseries 1.1.5, President’s Science and Advisory Committee,
1967-1974 Sub-subseries 1.1.6, Computer Science and Engineering
Board, 1964-1972 Sub-subseries 1.1.7, Subject files, 1952-1990
Sub-subseries 1.1.8, Product design and production, 1967-1979
Sub-subseries 1.1.1, Correspondence, 1958-1992, bulk 1958-1970
This sub-subseries contains correspondence that Olsen received
from others and letters that Olsen authored. Most of the
correspondence ranges from 1958 to 1970, with one outlier dated
1992. Also included in this sub-subseries are promotional material
and pamphlets attached to correspondence to Olsen. Some of the
early letters in this sub-subseries comprise ongoing correspondence
with Sidney Weinstein of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
detailing features of the PDP-1 and ARC-1. Other correspondents in
this sub-subseries include Georges F. Doriot, who was an early
investor in DEC; Robert S. McNamara while McNamara was serving as
U.S. Secretary of Defense; and David Packard. Letters in this
sub-subseries relate to the recruitment and interviewing of
prospective employees—including Win Hindle, questions from
potential customers about current and planned product offerings and
prices, inquiries for financial statistics, availability of stock
in DEC, patent issues and infringement claims, customer problems,
and solicitations of support from charitable organizations. Letters
to Olsen and letters from Olsen were mostly kept in separate
folders, which were labeled with this distinction. Indices listing
correspondents and subjects of letters were also sometimes included
in the front or back of folders – though many of these indices are
incomplete drafts. This sub-subseries also contains unprocessed
microfiche of Olsen’s correspondence. This sub-subseries is
arranged chronologically.
Sub-subseries 1.1.2, Memoranda, 1959-1984, bulk 1960-1970 This
sub-subseries consists of internal DEC memoranda to and from Ken
Olsen primarily from the 1960s. These memoranda relate to: changing
corporate policies and procedures; customer relationships; sales
call reports from Ted Johnson; reports by various Engineers on
recently-released, non-DEC products; possible names for new
products; alternate names for the PDP-1; appropriate quantities of
equipment to be kept on hand; proposals for manufacturing equipment
to be purchased or built; and discussions of design and
manufacturing aspects of work on particular machines. Matters
pertaining to corporate structure and manufacturing plant
organization are also addressed. Memoranda to and from Olsen were
kept in separate folders, which were labeled accordingly. This
sub-subseries also contains a small amount of memoranda to and from
Stephen (Steve) A. Sobel, which were found in Olsen’s collection of
memoranda. Sobel’s memoranda relate to Schedule Review Committee
meetings and other product development and review activities for
various DEC products. This sub-subseries is arranged
chronologically.
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Sub-subseries 1.1.3, MIT Lincoln Laboratory memoranda and
reports, 1947-1967 This sub-subseries contains the records that
Olsen created and collected during the time he was a student at MIT
through the founding of DEC up until 1967. The Lincoln Laboratory
was a predecessor group for DEC, since Olsen worked there
immediately prior to founding DEC, and because many of DEC’s early
employees were also alumni of MIT, the Lincoln Laboratory, and
MIT’s School for Industrial Management. Most of the material in
this sub-subseries consists of memoranda, technical papers, and
reports published by MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory. MIT’s
Servomechanisms Laboratory and Digital Computer Laboratory, which
were eventually absorbed by the Lincoln Laboratory, also published
material in this sub-subseries. Aside from memoranda and technical
papers, this sub-subseries also contains engineering drawings,
schematic diagrams, engineering notes, drafts of books on circuit
theory and thermodynamics, articles, Lincoln Laboratory
administrative records, and one promotional booklet published by
Lincoln Laboratory introducing some of its projects and functions.
There is also a significant amount of material documenting Project
Whirlwind and the development of the Whirlwind I computer at MIT’s
Servomechanisms Laboratory. Other systems represented in this
sub-subseries include the TX-0 and TX-2 computers, which were
designed and developed under Olsen’s supervision. Lastly, this
sub-subseries contains writings authored by Olsen, including
multiple printings of Olsen's thesis, "A Magnetic Matrix Switch and
its Incorporation into a Coincident-Current Memory," submitted to
MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in
Electrical Engineering. This sub-subseries is arranged
alphabetically by folder title.
Sub-subseries 1.1.4, Internal committees, 1964-1986 This
sub-subseries consists of material created within specific date
ranges from three internal DEC committees: the Works Committee
(1964-1967), the Operations Committee (1968-1969), and the
Marketing Sales/Strategy Committee (1983-1986). Most of the records
in this sub-subseries appear in the form of meeting minutes and
memoranda sent between committee members. In 1967, the Works
Committee was renamed to the Executive Committee and then renamed
again to the Operations Committee. These committees had budgetary
control over all of the separate product lines at DEC. Product line
managers, group managers, and vice presidents had to go through the
Works and Operations committees to gain support for the products
they managed. Records from the earlier Works Committee include
charts titled “Forecasted Product Line Profitability Summary,”
which chart and predict the finances of different DEC product
lines. Related topics covered in the Operations Committee meetings
include salary administration, product proposals, corporate
reorganizations, and DEC activities at trade shows. This
sub-subseries also contains microfilm reels from Operations
Committee meetings ranging from 1970 through 1977. In 1983, the
Operations Committee was replaced by three new committees: the
Product Strategy Committee, the Marketing/Sales Strategy Committee,
and the Management Committee. For more material from the Works and
Operations committees, see “Subseries 9.2, Administrative records:
Works and Operations committees meeting minutes.” The last
committee covered in this sub-subseries, Marketing Sales/Strategy
Committee (MSSC), relates to marketing strategies for
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various DEC products, pricing proposals, revenue projections,
and marketing effectiveness studies. This sub-subseries is arranged
chronologically.
Sub-subseries 1.1.5, President’s Science and Advisory Committee,
1967-1974 This sub-subseries contains memoranda, correspondence,
press releases, and reports from Olsen’s participation in the
President’s Science and Advisory Committee (PSAC). PSAC was created
in 1951 under Harry S. Truman’s administration to provide advisory
opinions on science and technology to the executive branch of the
federal government and to influence government agencies. Olsen
participated in PSAC’s final years under the Nixon administration,
before Nixon eliminated the program in 1973. Some of the records in
this sub-subseries document the context behind the end of PSAC and
includes a letter from Olsen to the Office of the President
resigning from his position in PSAC. During Olsen’s participation,
PSAC was divided into panels, with four to six members with special
expertise in each panel’s subject focus advising the Science
Adviser to the President, which in Olsen’s time was Edward E. David
Jr. Olsen mainly worked on panels relating to “civilian technology”
and programs that promoted research and development in science and
technology. However, this sub-subseries also contains records
relating to other PSAC initiatives, including health care,
environmental health, energy, education, population control, urban
planning, and unemployment. This sub-subseries is arranged
alphabetically by folder title. Sub-subseries 1.1.6, Computer
Science and Engineering Board, 1964-1972 This sub-subseries
contains the records that Olsen collected during his time on the
National Academy of Science’s Computer Science and Engineering
Board (CS&E). The Computer Science & Engineering Board was
created in 1968 by the National Academy of Sciences to study the
role of the computer in the economy and culture of the nation. The
Board also advised parts of the federal government “to ensure U.S.
leadership in the various fields of computer science and
engineering.” Olsen was involved in CS&E activities relating to
a “computer export problem” involving aspects of competition in
international computing industries. The CS&E panel that Olsen
served was called the Export Panel. Included in this sub-subseries
are agendas and meeting minutes from various CS&E meetings and
conferences; administrative correspondence; National Academy of
Sciences overviews, directories, and promotional material;
Congressional records and legislative material; press releases; and
information related to developing programs for computer science
education. Much of the correspondence in this sub-subseries
involves Anthony G. Oettinger, founder and chairman of CS&E
from 1967 to 1973 and Warren C. House, Executive Secretary for the
Board. This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder
title.
Sub-subseries 1.1.7, Subject files, 1952-1990 This sub-subseries
comprises material that Olsen collected on various topics relating
to research or DEC administrative concerns. Research topics covered
in this sub-subseries include military technologies,
transportation, multinational corporations and international trade,
national productivity, and aeronautics. Some of this research
material relates to Olsen's participation in the President’s
Science and Advisory Committee (PSAC), though none of the files in
this sub-
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subseries were stored with Olsen’s PSAC material and they seem
to reflect some of Olsen’s independent research as well. This
sub-subseries also contains DEC-related records, including material
relating to the "International Digital Clean Room and Cleaning
Technology Conference," DEC building blocks (system plug-in units),
a small number of personnel records, and memoranda about a magnetic
core memory patent. This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically
by folder title.
Sub-subseries 1.1.8, Product design and production, 1967-1979
This sub-subseries contains records collected by Olsen relating to
the design and production of various DEC products. Included in this
sub-subseries are memoranda, business plans, financial records,
engineering status reports, presentation material, and a small
number of design drawings covering a variety of issues encountered
during product development and manufacture. Comparisons to
competitors’ products are also included. Of all the products
covered in this sub-subseries, the PDP-11 product line is the most
documented. This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder
title.
Subseries 1.2, Harlan Anderson papers, 1959-1966 This subseries
is made up of material collected and created by Harlan E. Anderson,
who co-founded DEC in 1957 along with Ken Olsen after the two had
worked together at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory. Anderson served as
DEC’s executive vice president until 1966, when he left after a
falling out with Olsen. He managed finance, sales, and the PDP-6
product line while at DEC. Material dates from 1959 to 1966. Most
of this subseries is made up of correspondence and memoranda to and
from Anderson related to various DEC technologies and
systems—particularly the PDP subseries—clients, and sales.
Attachments like reports, diagrams, and articles are frequently
included. Before the entire collection was processed, 16 letters
and memos from or to Anderson were individually cataloged and
digitized. Of particular interest within this digitized group is a
1961 proposal to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to use a PDP-1
during the Mariner project, a 1959 memo about what to name the PDP
series, and a 1959 list of prospective PDP-1 customers. This
subseries also contains DEC Biweekly Reports from 1959 to 1966,
which detail progress and plans for various DEC projects. There is
also a small amount of material related to the development and
lease of the PDP-6 line, including operation plans, market
analyses, product strategies, budgets, sales information, and the
details of a failed agreement with Charles W. Adams Associates to
lease a PDP-6 for Adams' Keydata Corporation division, which was
ultimately terminated due to DEC’s failure to fulfill its
obligations. The PDP-6 material is of particular interest because
it offers a glimpse of a system’s development from analysis to
sale. Anderson was involved with the Eastern Joint Computer
Conference as the head of the publications committee in 1959, and
later the general chairman in 1966, and this subseries contains a
small amount of material related to the 1959 conference, including
submitted papers, a program, financial statements, and
correspondence regarding proceedings. Lastly, there is a small
group of Small Computer Guidance Committee meeting minutes from
1964 to 1965. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder
title.
Subseries 1.3, Win Hindle papers, 1958-1994 This subseries
contains memoranda, notes, correspondence, and other material
primarily created by Winston R. Hindle Jr., Senior Vice President
of DEC’s Corporate Operations. Much of this subseries relates to
the administrative committees that Hindle participated in,
including the Executive Committee and Operations Committee.
Also
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included are records reflecting business strategy and capital
investment that DEC received from sources external to the company.
Of particular interest is the material in this subseries relating
to Georges F. Doriot, one of the first American venture
capitalists. Doriot founded one of the earliest venture capital
firms, American Research and Development Corporation (ARDC), which
provided the initial capital for Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson to
begin DEC’s operation. This subseries contains correspondence from
Hindle to Doriot, the transcript of a 1978 interview with Doriot,
some of Doriot's notes on DEC, and records from a Georges F. Doriot
memorial service that DEC participated in. Also included is a copy
of the 1957 proposal for Doriot's firm, ARDC, to invest in DEC.
Other external guidance documented in this subseries came from The
Research Board Inc., an international think tank organization that
guided DEC in operational strategies. Other records in this
subseries include a transcript of an interview conducted with
Hindle in 1994 and promotional material and development records for
early DEC products – including LINC (Laboratory INstrument
Computer) and PDP-6. This subseries had previously been arranged
and divided into small series by the DEC archives. Because of their
small size, these original series from the DEC archives were
transferred into individual catalog records under this single
subseries. The last series in the DEC archives arrangement was
titled “Miscellaneous.” Each topic that was previously grouped
under the miscellaneous series was given its own catalog record.
The arrangement of the material in this subseries reflects the
original order of the DEC archives series.
Subseries 1.4, Gordon Bell papers, 1966-1983, bulk 1974-1983
This subseries consists of material primarily collected by Chester
Gordon Bell while he was DEC’s vice president of engineering from
1972 to 1983. Material dates from 1966 to 1983, with the bulk from
1974 to 1983. Bell began his career at DEC in 1960 as an engineer
who was instrumental in the design of the PDP series of computers.
He designed the PDP-1’s input-output subsystem and the PDP-11
Unibus, and he was the architect of the PDP-4 and PDP-6,
co-architect of the PDP-5, and a consultant on the design of the
PDP-11. As vice president of engineering, Bell led the development
of the VAX computer family. This subseries is arranged into four
sub-subseries:
Sub-subseries 1.4.1, Product development and research records,
1966-1983, bulk 1974-1983 Sub-subseries 1.4.2, Product and
engineering strategy planning, 1977-1983
Sub-subseries 1.4.3, Correspondence and memoranda, 1970-1983
Sub-subseries 1.4.4, Computer Engineering book drafts,
1977-1978
Sub-subseries 1.4.1, Product development and research records,
1966-1983, bulk 1974-1983
This sub-subseries is made up of material related to the
research and development of various DEC systems and technologies
from 1966 to 1983, with the bulk from 1974 to 1983. The majority of
material is related to the development of VAX systems, including
the VAX-11/780 (code name Star), VAX 8600 (code name Venus), VAX
8700/8800 (code name Nautilus), and MicroVAX I (code name
Seahorse), and the V-11 microprocessor chip set (code name
Scorpio). The V-11 and VAX 8600 have the most material of all the
systems, and this includes project requirements, project proposals,
system development plans, business plans, technical descriptions,
specifications, design drawings, performance estimates, and project
status documents. Also included is material on the early research
and development of the technologies that became VAX. Besides VAX
systems, this sub-subseries also contains material related to
the
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research and development of the PDP series of computers and the
canceled Jupiter project, multiprocessors, memory and storage, and
personal computers. Of particular interest is one of Bell’s
notebooks filled with his handwritten notes from circa 1975. Also
included are memos and meeting minutes from the Office of
Development and articles and papers by various authors, including
DEC staff, on distributed information systems, editors, office
communications systems, artificial intelligence, time-sharing,
networking, and UNIX. This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically
by folder title. Sub-subseries 1.4.2, Product and engineering
strategy planning, 1977-1983 This sub-subseries is made up of
material related to the strategic planning of DEC’s products and
engineering department from 1977 to 1983.. Included are product
strategy reports, budget reviews, engineering strategy overviews,
and Red Books and Beige Books, which were the Central Engineering
department's reports on product, market, and support project
long-range plans. A 1983 DEC organizational chart is also included.
This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Sub-subseries 1.4.3, Correspondence and memoranda, 1970-1983 This
sub-subseries contains correspondence and memoranda that were sent
to and from Bell from 1970 to 1983. Topics include engineering
budgets, product and marketing strategies, the PDP-11, VAX systems
and low-end VAX, extended memory, a computer program for deaf
people, the Office of Development, personal computing, WPS, VT278,
Scorpio, and the BI module. Also included are related notes and
attachments, such as proposals, product descriptions and summaries,
reports, and papers. This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically
by folder title.
Sub-subseries 1.4.4, Computer Engineering book drafts, 1977-1978
This sub-subseries consists of drafts, notes, and prepublication
reviews of the book Computer Engineering: A DEC View of Hardware
Systems Design by Bell, J. Craig Mudge, and John E. McNamara and
published in 1978. Material dates from 1977 to 1978. The book is
organized into five parts, and included here are drafts of the
opening chapters and first three parts of the book, which comprise
chapters 1 through 17, plus drafts of the preface, forward, table
of contents, references, and bibliography. There are no drafts for
parts four of five or the appendices. Most drafts have handwritten
editing marks and comments by reviewers. Also included are
prepublication reviews of the entire book, which include both
positive and negative reviews. This sub-subseries is arranged
alphabetically by folder title.
Subseries 1.5, Russ Gullotti papers, 1979-1995, bulk 1991-1994
This subseries is made up of material collected and created by
Russell (Russ) A. Gullotti from 1979 to 1995, with the bulk from
1991 to 1994. Gullotti was with DEC from 1977 to 1994, and during
that time he held a variety of leadership roles, including
president of sales and service for the Americas area from 1992 to
1994. He also served as vice president of several DEC departments,
including U.S. sales and service, the global service organization,
enterprise integration systems, manufacturing, and Digital
Services. This subseries is arranged into three sub-subseries:
Sub-subseries 1.5.1, Group and committee records, 1979-1995,
bulk 1989-1994 Sub-subseries 1.5.2, Customer records, 1988-1995,
bulk 1992-1994
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Sub-subseries 1.5.3, Corporate polices, guides, and reports,
1986-1994
Sub-subseries 1.5.1, Group and committee records, 1979-1995,
bulk 1989-1994 This sub-subseries contains material related to
various DEC committees, business units, and groups, from 1979 to
1995, with the bulk from 1989 to 1994. The majority of material is
related to DEC’s 1992 reorganization into business units and the
planning that went into it, including business plans and Business
Unit Committee records; the administration of the Americas and U.S.
territory sales and service departments that Gullotti oversaw,
including planning reports, organizational charts, policies and
procedures, employee surveys, and Gullotti's memos; and the
planning of the New Hampshire School Improvement Program (SIP),
which Gullotti was involved with as a member of the New Hampshire
Business Roundtable on Education. Other groups, committees, and
units with material in this sub-subseries include the Audit
Committee, Computer Special Systems, Digital Consulting, Digital
Services, Educational Services, Enterprise Integration Services,
the Healthcare Business Unit, the Investment Committee, the
Operations Committee, and the Personal Computer Business Unit. This
sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Sub-subseries 1.5.2, Sales and service customer records, 1988-1995,
bulk 1992-1994 This sub-subseries consists almost entirely of
correspondence between customers and DEC regarding customers’
complaints and the concerns they have with the direction DEC is
headed after the reorganization in 1992. Material dates from 1988
to 1995, with the bulk from 1992 to 1994. Many of the letters from
customers detail the problems they are having working with DEC,
including repeated changes in their customer service
representatives and a lag in DEC’s responsiveness, and how it
negatively impacts their business. The correspondence and memoranda
in this sub-subseries show that Gullotti, as head of sales and
service in the Americas area, was heavily involved with allaying
his customers’ worries and trying to find solutions to their
complaints, frequently responding to them personally. Also included
are customer satisfaction surveys from 1993 and 1994, which rate
DEC poorly, and listings for national accounts and the Executive
Partner Program. This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by
folder title, and the folder titles are the names of each company.
Sub-subseries 1.5.3, Corporate polices, guides, and reports,
1986-1994 This sub-subseries is composed of DEC administrative
material from 1986 to 1994. Employee guides and corporate policy
and procedure manuals make up the bulk of material. Also included
are sales and earnings reports from 1986 to 1990, and a 1990
Engineering Beige Book, which summarizes engineering product and
support project plans, and its related Yellow Book, which reports
updates and changes to those plans. This sub-subseries is arranged
alphabetically by folder title.
Series 2, Engineers’ papers, 1951-2002, bulk 1970-1998 This
series is made up of the papers of DEC engineers, dating from 1951
to 2002, with the bulk of material from 1970 to 1998. The focus of
the material is on the research and development of various DEC
technologies and products, with the majority related to the
computer systems VAX and PDP, processors, computer architecture,
semiconductors, and modules. In particular, there
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is a large amount of material on the development of the PDP-10
family of computers and its operating systems in both the Mike
Uhler papers and the Tim Litt collection; the PRISM and Alpha
architectures in the Chip Nylander, Dileep Bhandarkar, and Uhler
subseries; DECnet network protocols in David Mitton’s records; and
modules from DEC’s early years in the Dick Best papers and for the
PDP-8 and LSI-11 in the Don White papers. This series is arranged
into nine subseries:
Subseries 2.1, Mike Uhler papers, 1970-1994 Subseries 2.2, Tim
Litt collection, 1965-2002, bulk 1979-1998 Subseries 2.3, Walter
Metz papers, 1962-1991, bulk 1980-1991 Subseries 2.4, Chip Nylander
PRISM and MIPS records, 1976-1990 Subseries 2.5, David Mitton
DECnet records, 1977-1990 Subseries 2.6, Dick Best papers,
1951-2001, bulk 1959-1984 Subseries 2.7, Don White papers,
1960-1987 Subseries 2.8, David Morgan microprocessor records,
1984-1999 Subseries 2.9, Dileep Bhandarkar papers, 1977-1989
Subseries 2.1, Mike Uhler papers, 1970-1994 This subseries contains
material collected and created by DEC senior consulting engineer G.
Michael (Mike) Uhler from 1970 to 1994. During his time at DEC,
Uhler worked on the development of VAX and Alpha system
architecture and VAX microprocessor chips. This subseries is
arranged into five sub-subseries: Sub-subseries 2.1.1, VAX
development records, 1979-1993 Sub-subseries 2.1.2, PDP-10
development records, 1970-1984 Sub-subseries 2.1.3, Alpha and PRISM
development records, 1984-1994 Sub-subseries 2.1.4, Other systems
and technologies research files, 1974-1992 Sub-subseries 2.1.5,
Engineering notebooks, 1983-1994
Sub-subseries 2.1.1, VAX development records, 1979-1993 This
sub-subseries is made up of material related to the development of
various VAX computer systems and processors, from 1979 to1993.
Uhler led the architecture development and microcoding of the NVAX
and Rigel VAX microprocessors, and this sub-subseries has a large
amount of material related to both, including bus and chip
specifications, planning and design development records, and
performance analyses. Also included is material related to the VAX
computer systems 11/750 (Comet), 6000 (Calypso and Neptune), 8600
(Venus), 8700-8800 (Nautilus), and 9000 (Aquarius), and the
canceled systems Argonaut, BVAX, and Raven. There is also material
on other VAX processors, microprocessors, and chips, memory, and
the VMS operating system. This sub-subseries is arranged
alphabetically by folder title. Sub-subseries 2.1.2, PDP-10
development records, 1970-1984 This sub-subseries consists of
material related to the development of the PDP-10 supercomputer
family. Material dates from 1970 to 1984. Included are project
proposals, microcode, large design drawings, and specifications for
the PDP-10 models KC10, KC14, KD10, KL10, and KS10. There is also
material on the canceled systems Dolphin and Jupiter, with Jupiter
having the most material of all the models in this sub-subseries.
Also included is material related to PDP-10 architecture,
performance analyses, and the operating systems TOPS-10, TOPS-20,
and RSX-20F. This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by
folder title. Sub-subseries 2.1.3, Alpha and PRISM development
records, 1984-1994
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The majority of material in this sub-subseries is related to the
development of DEC’s Alpha RISC architecture and line of
microprocessors. Only a small amount of material relates to the
PRISM RISC architecture project and its subprojects the Shrike
workstation and Emerald operating system. The PRISM project was
canceled in 1988 before its completion, and Alpha was based on
PRISM’s design. Material dates from 1984 to 1994. The majority of
Alpha material is related to the system’s microprocessors,
including specifications and design drawings for the Alpha 21064
(EV-4) and its variants 21066 and 21068 (also known as Low-Cost
Alpha), 21164 (EV-5), 21264 (EV-6), and other support chips. There
is also material related to Alpha’s architecture, memory, graphics,
and performance. This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by
folder title. Sub-subseries 2.1.4, Other systems and technologies
research files, 1974-1992 This sub-subseries contains material from
1974 to 1992 that is related to other computer technologies and DEC
projects not specific to the systems in the previous sub-subseries.
The material not produced by DEC includes research articles and
reports on various engineering topics, such as buses, processors,
chips, CMOS technology, memory, performance, reliability, and human
factors in computing. Material created by DEC includes development
and research files on several of the company’s engineering
projects, including the Kestrel processor and other processors,
CMOS 4 and 6, various buses, workstations, ULTRIX, and the PDP-14.
This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title
Sub-subseries 2.1.5, Engineering notebooks, 1983-1994 This
sub-subseries is made up of Uhler’s engineering notebooks from 1983
to 1994. The notebooks contain Uhler’s handwritten notes, with
related documents stapled inside. Some notebooks are labeled as
specific to a project, such as the PDP-10 model KD10, the Rigel
microprocessor, the EV-6 (Alpha 21264) microprocessor, and system
management, but most are simply labeled with the date and include
notes on varying topics and projects. This sub-subseries is
arranged chronologically.
Subseries 2.2, Tim Litt collection, 1965-2002, bulk 1979-1998
This subseries consists of material created and collected by
Timothe (Tim) Litt, whose career mirrored the trajectories of many
of DEC’s later products, moving beyond DEC to Compaq,
Hewlett-Packard, and Intel. Litt worked at DEC from 1979 to 1998 in
many roles relating to software engineering and DEC’s Large
Computer Group (LCG) – ending his career there as a senior
consultant engineer. After DEC was acquired by Compaq in 1998, Litt
moved there as well, working as a principal member of Compaq’s
technical staff. Then, the same year that Compaq merged with
Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2002, Litt began working at HP as
distinguished technologist. Finally, Litt finished his career at
Intel, where DEC’s semiconductor and Alpha microprocessor groups
eventually moved. Material that was distributed to employees during
DEC’s acquisitions and mergers with Compaq and HP can be found in
this subseries. One focus of Litt’s collection is the development
of the PDP-10 mainframe computer family. Specific PDP-10 models
that are more documented in this subseries include the KS10, KL10
(also marketed as DECsystem-10), and DECsystem-20. This subseries
also holds significant information on the operating systems
developed for PDP-10 computers, TOPS-10 and TOPS-20, along with the
smaller software programs used within those systems. This subseries
is arranged into nine sub-subseries:
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Sub-subseries 2.2.1, Background research and corporate
communications, 1973-2002
Sub-subseries 2.2.2, Product development, 1968-1998, bulk
1975-1993 Sub-subseries 2.2.3, DECUS records, 1971-1999
Sub-subseries 2.2.4, Promotional and sales material, 1971-2001
Sub-subseries 2.2.5, KL10 records, 1971-1989
Sub-subseries 2.2.6, TOPS-10 and TOPS-20 software performance
reports, 1983-1990
Sub-subseries 2.2.7, Manuals, 1965-1998 Sub-subseries 2.2.8,
Periodicals, 1973-2002, bulk 1980-1998 Sub-subseries 2.2.9, Course
material, 1974-1986
Sub-subseries 2.2.1, Background research and corporate
communications, 1973-2002 This sub-subseries contains background
files and corporate-wide communications for employees of DEC,
Compaq, and Hewlett-Packard, which Litt collected during his time
at all three companies. Included are articles and clippings from
various non-DEC publications, many of which relate to the 1998
merger between DEC and Compaq and the 2002 merger between Compaq
and Hewlett-Packard. Also relevant to these mergers, this
sub-subseries contains a "Compaq/DIGITAL Merger Communications and
Engagement Kit for DIGITAL Services Managers," "Compaq Services: A
New Beginning Communication Kit," and instructional material for
Compaq employees during the Compaq-Hewlett-Packard integrations.
Two separate collections of microform are also contained in this
sub-subseries. The first of these is the Reed Powell collection of
105mm duplicate microfiche, a collection of microfiche labeled and
arranged in a numerical system that documents manuals,
specifications, internal memoranda, DECUS proceedings, periodicals,
product development records, and promotional material. Reed Powell
was an employee of DEC who had various roles in technical marketing
and sales, software support, and DECUS. In a 1982 directory of
DEC’s Large Computer Group (LCG)—also included in this
sub-subseries—Powell is listed as LCG’s principal technical support
specialist. The second collection of microform in this
sub-subseries is a set of eleven microfilm rolls, also arranged in
a numerical system, that contain DECUS proceedings, manuals, and
course material. Lastly, material relating to competitors’
products, a small amount of manufacturing financial records, and
personnel reference guides are included here. One helpful personnel
reference guide in this sub-subseries is a pamphlet for new DEC
employees completely devoted to writing out all of DEC's internal
acronyms. This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder
title.
Sub-subseries 2.2.2, Product development, 1968-1998, bulk
1975-1993 This sub-subseries comprises Litt’s collected program
listings, engineering drawings and schematics, design guides,
specifications, and other technical documentation relating to DEC’s
product development. Products with significant amounts of material
in this sub-subseries include the VAX 9000 family of computers
(code-named Aquarius) and PDP-10-related systems, including KL10
and KI10 models and the TOPS-10 operating system. This
sub-subseries also contains a large quantity of design guides and
“technology files” from DEC’s Semiconductor Engineering Group and
CMOS Process Integration Group relating to various CMOS
(Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) systems. Laboratory
notebooks from multiple DEC engineers are also included in
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this sub-subseries, along with documentation of engineering
standards and instructions at DEC. Another major part of these
records consists of engineering drawings and program listings.
Hidden among program listings for DEC products are game listings
that Litt and other engineers created and/or edited, for games
including TREKII (Star Trek-related) and SNIPER. This sub-subseries
also includes a large number of backups of software, systems,
databases, and internal inventories on magnetic tape and optical
disk cartridges. These backups are mostly related to TOPS-10 and
TOPS-20, TOPS-10 on the XKL TOAD-1, KL10 and other PDP-10 systems,
VAX 9000 design, other VAX systems, and other software and
programming languages. Lastly, this sub-subseries contains
microfiche of TOPS-10 and TOPS-20 program listings and product
development records relating to Project Jupiter and KC10 systems.
This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Sub-subseries 2.2.3, DECUS records, 1971-1999 This sub-subseries
contains records published by DECUS, which Litt collected as a
member of DECUS and as a contributor to the DECUS Program Library.
Included in this sub-subseries is a near-complete run of the DECUS
periodical titled Copy-N-Mail, printed from 1973 to 1980. Most of
this periodical’s editions focus on DECsystem-10 and DECsystem-20
models of the PDP-10. The final issue of Copy-N-Mail identifies
John Simon as the editor. Other DECUS periodicals in this
sub-subseries—with much fewer editions—include DECUSCOPE, DECUS
magazine, Moby Munger (the official organ of DECUS’ TECO Special
Interest Group), DECUS Update, and DECUS Journal. Another large
portion of this sub-subseries comprises DECUS Program Library
catalogs and software abstracts, along with forms and
correspondence relating to Litt’s borrowing and submitting programs
to the library. DECUS Program Library records in this sub-subseries
include both text and microfiche. Lastly, a DECUS membership guide
is included with this sub-subseries. These DECUS records are
arranged alphabetically by folder title. Sub-subseries 2.2.4,
Promotional and sales material, 1971-2001 This sub-subseries
consists of Litt’s collected promotional material, press kits,
sales and marketing guides, and technical summaries. Most of the
material in this sub-subseries was published by DEC, though there
are publications from Compaq and Hewlett-Packard and promotional
material regarding Intel’s DEC-related products—all published after
DEC’s mergers and acquisitions with these companies. There is also
a small amount of material published by National Information
Systems (NIS) and Tektronix. The majority of the material published
by DEC in this sub-subseries promotes DECsystem-10, DECsystem-20,
VAX 9000 systems, and products developed by DEC’s Large Computer
Group (LCG). Some of this material appears in the form of technical
summaries. Also see “Sub-subseries 2.2.7, Manuals” for technical
summaries that were previously filed with related manuals and kept
in that arrangement. Of interest in this sub-subseries are
promotional booklets relating to DEC’s early history and
achievements, one of which, titled Digital's Mill: 1847-1977
(1985), covers overlaps between DEC's history and the history of
Maynard, Massachusetts. Lastly, this sub-subseries contains
material used by DEC sales staff to market and sell products. This
sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Sub-subseries 2.2.5, KL10 records
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This sub-subseries comprises a separate, but related donation
(X3149.2005) made by Tim Litt and Hewlett-Packard a year after the
larger DEC collection donated by Hewlett-Packard in 2004
(X2675.2004). Most of the material in this sub-subseries documents
KL10-based computing systems. The KL10—also marketed as
DECsystem-10—was one model of the PDP-10 mainframe computer family.
One other PDP-10 model that is well-documented in this
sub-subseries is the KS10. Types of material in this sub-subseries
include program listings, manuals, engineering drawings, and
microfiche. Also included in this sub-subseries are microfiche
library manuals that instruct DEC employees on using the standards
and policies of DEC microfiche libraries, particularly libraries
relating to large computer hardware documentation like the majority
of microfiche in this sub-subseries. This sub-subseries is arranged
alphabetically by folder title. Sub-subseries 2.2.6, TOPS-10 and
TOPS-20 software performance reports, 1983-1990 This sub-subseries
contains software performance reports for various programs within
the TOPS-10 and TOPS-20 operating systems. TOPS-10 and TOPS-20 were
both DEC operating systems used on PDP-10 computers. Most of these
reports address errors and possible diagnoses for specific software
programs written for TOPS-10 and/or TOPS-20. The reports reflect
feedback and service to clients of various organizations using
TOPS-10 or TOPS-20 systems, as well as other DEC employees using
these systems. Specific programs with significant amounts of
documentation in this sub-subseries include instances of COBOL-74
and FORTRAN, with reports for these programs under both TOPS-10 and
TOPS-20. A small number of the software performance reports address
problems with software-related textual documents. In these cases,
the reports are titled after the document title, such as a manual
title or an edition of the DEC periodical, Software Dispatch. For
the majority of this sub-subseries, folder titles are named for
each letter of the alphabet, and within the folders, the reports
are arranged alphabetically by each program name. The only
exception to this system is with the folders that were previously
arranged consecutively by versions of the TOPS-10 and TOPS-20
operating systems. This arrangement was preserved for those cases.
This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Sub-subseries 2.2.7, Manuals, 1965-1998 This sub-subseries
comprises Litt’s collection of manuals, published by DEC and other
institutions. The majority of these manuals are published by DEC,
but other publishers include American Telephone & Telegraph
Company (AT&T), Control Data Corporation (CDC),
Hewlett-Packard, Tektronix, Xerox Corporation, IBM, and Intel. Many
of the manuals in this sub-subseries relate to the PDP-10 product
line, including manuals for DECsystem-10, DECsystem-20, TOPS-10,
TOPS-20, KL10, and KS10. Also included is a significant amount of
material for PDP-11 and VAX-based systems. Programming languages
are also well-documented in this sub-subseries, including BLISS.
Aside from manuals, this sub-subseries contains smaller amounts of
educational material, training guides, maintenance manuals, sales
guides, and technical summaries. These other types of material were
previously filed with related manuals so this arrangement was
preserved. For more of Litt’s educational material, sales guides,
and technical summaries, see “Sub-subseries 2.2.9, Course material”
and “Sub-subseries 2.2.4, Promotional and sales material.” Many of
the manuals in this sub-subseries are preliminary and/or incomplete
drafts of manuals for internal
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distribution and development. Some of these partial manuals were
compiled into “notebooks” (e.g., “TOPS-10 Software Notebooks”),
which contained related user documentation from different manuals,
collected together into a single notebook for a specific use. This
sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Sub-subseries 2.2.8, Periodicals, 1973-2002, bulk 1980-1998 This
sub-subseries consists of Litt’s collected newsletters, magazines,
catalogs, and price lists published periodically. Most of this
material was published by DEC, but there is a small amount of
periodicals published by other organizations. Most of the catalogs,
price lists, and “product summaries” of this sub-subseries come
from DEC’s Large Computer Group (LCG). LCG also published its own
magazines and newsletters, including the Large Computer Group
Buy-Line and Large Systems News, also both in this sub-subseries.
Another magazine with a significant amount of editions in this
sub-subseries is Forefront, which was published by DEC and then by
Compaq after the latter acquired DEC in 1998. Lastly, this
sub-subseries contains microfiche collections of Software Dispatch,
a periodical published by DEC’s Software Maintenance Service and
microfiche of three DEC newsletters: Small Buffer, Large Buffer,
and The Buffer. This sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by
folder title. Sub-subseries 2.2.9, Course material, 1974-1986 This
sub-subseries contains Litt’s collection of course outlines,
student handouts, and seminar notes from his time at DEC. Most of
this course material was published by DEC’s Educational Services
department, though material from other DEC departments and other
institutions are also included. Most of the records in this
sub-subseries relate to the TOPS-10 and TOPS-20 operating systems,
which were developed for DECsystem-10 and DECsystem-20 computers,
all of which fell under the PDP-10 family of mainframe computers.
Other systems with educational documentation in this sub-subseries
include the ANF-10 network protocol, a version of a program called
Galaxy 4.1, UNIX, VMS 5.1, and the BLISS programming language. Also
see “Sub-subseries 2.2.7, Manuals” for more instructional guides
from DEC’s Educational Services department, but without
accompanying course outlines, notes, and/or student handouts. This
sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Subseries 2.3, Walter Metz papers, 1962-1991, bulk 1980-1991
This subseries contains Walter C. Metz’s papers from his
engineering work in DEC’s Advanced Semiconductor Development (ASD)
Group. Metz’s engineering titles at DEC included Principal engineer
for semiconductor operations and also epitaxial/chemical vapor
deposition (CVD) process engineer. The majority of the records in
this series relate to Metz’s work with epitaxial (epi) growth
research in complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)
development. Metz, collaborating with Gregory J. Grula, invented at
least two methods under this area of research and development
titled "Method for Forming Trench Isolated Regions with Sidewall
Doping" and "Method of Fabricating Trench Isolated Transistors with
Sidewall Doping." Included in this series are correspondence,
laboratory results and analyses, Metz’s notebooks, patents,
specifications, and articles related to this work in semiconductor
development. Metz was also involved in a variety of partnerships
between DEC and research entities, including North Carolina State
University’s (NCSU) Engineering Research Center (ERC); the SEMATECH
Center of Excellence (SCOE) on Advanced Single Wafer Processing; a
campus-based engineering center at the University of Karlsruhe,
Germany; and the
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Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC). This subseries is
arranged alphabetically by folder title. Subseries 2.4, Chip
Nylander PRISM and MIPS records, 1976-1990 This subseries is
primarily made up of material related to the development of DEC’s
PRISM and MIPS reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor
architectures, collected and created by Charles (Chip) G. Nylander
from 1976 to 1990. Nylander was a senior consulting engineer and
the technical director for DEC’s Software Development Technologies
group, heading many software and systems architecture development
projects. The bulk of material in this subseries is related to
PRISM. Officially started in 1985, the PRISM project grew from
other RISC projects at DEC, but was canceled by DEC management in
1988 as it neared completion. The next largest portion of this
subseries is related to MIPS, a RISC architecture developed by MIPS
Computer Systems and implemented by DEC with its DECstations
following the end of PRISM. Material for both architectures
includes documentation about project planning, development,
languages, and calling standards. A smaller amount of material in
this subseries is related to the early development of Alpha, which
was based on PRISM, ULTRIX, the GEM compiler, and PRISM’s MICA
operating system. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by
folder title. Subseries 2.5, David Mitton DECnet records, 1977-1990
This subseries contains material collected and created by DEC
consulting software engineer David Mitton related to the planning
and development of DECnet. Material dates from 1977 to 1990.
DECnet, DEC’s network protocol, was introduced in 1974 and made up
its Digital Network Architecture (DNA). The material in this
subseries includes records related to the planning and development
of DEC's Personal Computing Systems Architecture (PCSA), including
OS/2, Pathworks, MS-NET, and NETBIOS emulation; DECnet-DOS; the
PCxx personal computer's network architecture and software; and
DECnet for Rainbow computers. Included are memoranda,
presentations, reports, product descriptions and requirements,
sales data, and press. Also included are project management records
that show plans, timelines, procedures, individual work plans,
product resource reports, and meeting notes. This subseries is
arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Subseries 2.6, Dick Best papers, 1951-2001, bulk 1959-1984 This
subseries consists of material collected by DEC chief engineer
Richard (Dick) L. Best, who began working at DEC in 1959 when he
was hired to work on the PDP-1 design. Material dates from 1951 to
2001, with the bulk from 1959 to 1984. Best’s papers were acquired
by the museum in two separate donations (X2675.2004 and
X7042.2014), and this subseries is arranged into two sub-subseries,
one for each donation. The majority of material in each
sub-subseries is focused on specific aspects of Best’s job, but
there is overlap on subjects and types of material in each
sub-subseries.
Sub-subseries 2.6.1, Committee and product development records,
1951-1990, bulk 1959-1984
Sub-subseries 2.6.2, Module records, 1959-2001, bulk
1959-1973
Sub-subseries 2.6.1, Committee and product development records,
1951-1990, bulk 1959-1984 This sub-subseries comprises material
related to various engineering committees and the research and
development of products and technologies, plus some
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administrative material. Material dates from 1951 to 1990, with
the bulk from 1959 to 1984. As chief engineer, Best served on many
committees, including the Design Review Committee, Engineering
Committee, Library Committee, and Engineering Review Board.
Material related to these and other committees includes meeting
minutes, notes, product proposals and reviews, and evaluations of
engineers for job title reclassification. The Design Review
Committee and Engineering Committee have the most material. There
is a large amount of records on the research and development of
different products and technologies, such as memory systems,
computer systems, wiring, video terminals, circuits, and modules.
Records on the research and development of modules is one area
where the two sub-subseries overlap. While the focus of
sub-subseries 2.6.2 is on modules, this sub-subseries does contain
a small amount of material on the subject. Also included here is a
large amount of promotional material and product specifications
from other companies, plus correspondence between DEC and those
companies and its clients, and reports of trips DEC personnel took
to visit other companies with the purpose of learning more about
their products. There is also material on internal and industry
standards; field service records; manufacturing, sales, and pricing
information; and memos from Ken Olsen from 1959 to 1983 that
document the development of a variety of DEC technologies and the
growth of DEC as a company. This sub-subseries is arranged
alphabetically by folder title. Sub-subseries 2.6.2, Module
records, 1959-2001, bulk 1959-1973 This sub-subseries is almost
entirely made up of material related to the research and
development of modules at DEC. Records date from 1959 to 2001, with
the bulk from 1959 to 1973. Best was in charge of module design at
DEC. Just under half of this sub-subseries consists of schematics
for DEC modules, including Flip-Chips, VHF modules, and the G, H,
K, M, and W series. There is also a large number of module
bulletins, module descriptions, module lists, option designation
lists, and option/module lists. Additionally, there are
photographs, standards, specifications, catalogs, price lists, and
sales material related to modules. This sub-subseries does contain
some material not directly related to the research and development
of modules, including a large number of issues of Engineering
Newsletter from 1963 to 1992, a small number of issues of DEC
Engineering Note from 1969 to 1976, material on the development of
the EV7 Alpha microprocessor, and architectural drawings for DEC’s
facilities at the Maynard Mill in Maynard, Massachusetts. This
sub-subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Subseries 2.7, Don White papers, 1960-1987 This subseries is
made up of material created and collected by DEC engineer Don White
from 1960 to 1987. White worked at DEC from 1960 to 1989, where he
developed PDP-8 logic modules based off of DEC’s Flip-Chip module
series, led the team that developed the PDP-8’s OMNIBUS assembly,
and was responsible for the design of the PDP-8/L computer. About
half of this series is made up of PDP-8 schematics, including those
for the M-series of integrated circuits, R-series Flip-Chip
modules, and analog memory design. Also included is an R-series
terminal loading chart and memoranda and correspondence related to
various DEC engineering procedures and projects, including the
development of the PDP-8 and its modules. White also collected
material related to modules for the LSI-11 microcomputer. Of
particular interest are White’s engineering notebooks from 1960 to
1980 and material related to some of his patents. This series
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also includes a set of wiring diagrams for the Teletype Model
33, which was the teleprinter that came with the PDP-8. This
subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title. Subseries
2.8, David Morgan microprocessor records, 1984-1999 This subseries
is made up of material collected by David K. Morgan related to the
development of DEC microprocessors from 1984 to 1999, with the
majority of material concentrated on VAX, Alpha, and StrongARM
microprocessors. Morgan was a DEC engineer and engineering project
manager, with several engineering patents under his name. This
subseries includes plans, reports, drawings, and specifications for
the VAX microprocessors CVAX, Rigel, NVAX, and XMX; the Alpha
microprocessors 21064 (EV4), EV45, 21164 (EV5), and 21264 (EV6);
and the StrongARM microprocessors SA-110, SA-1100, and SA-1500.
Also included are patents and patent applications by Morgan and the
third volume of the DEC Semiconductor Engineering Group's Chip
Portfolio (1988-1989), which consists of descriptions and color
photographs of chips. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by
folder title. Subseries 2.9, Dileep Bhandarkar papers, 1977-1989
This subseries consists of Dileep P. Bhandarkar’s presentation
material, notebooks, and some correspondence related to his work
managing DEC systems and their architectures. The largest portion
of this subseries relates to PRISM architecture (Parallel Reduced
Instruction Set Machine). Other systems and design strategies that
are documented in these records include VAX-11, PDP-11, reduced
instruction set computing (RISC), and large scale integration
(LSI). The only job title listed in these records for Bhandarkar is
technical director of Mid Range Systems. In other DEC documentation
Bhandarkar is described as a principal engineer in the
VAX-11/PDP-11 Systems architecture department and as leading the
technical direction and product strategy of Alpha Personal Systems,
Alpha and VAX Servers, and High Performance Computing. Bhandarkar
also worked as Architecture Manager for MicroVAX, Chief Architect
for VAX Vector Processing, Technical Director for Base Platforms,
and co-architect on the PRISM RISC architecture on which Alpha is
based. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder
title.
Series 3, Product managers’ papers, 1966-1997 This series
contains the papers of DEC employees who were in charge of managing
a specific product line or “group” within DEC’s corporate
structure. In 1964, DEC reorganized into a business unit-oriented
structure. After this restructuring, each business unit had a
manager, which DEC initially titled “product line managers.”
Subsequently, product line managers became “group managers” under
DEC nomenclature. Many of the DEC managers grouped within this
series had “product line manager” or “group manager” in their
titles at some point in their careers. Some of the people grouped
under this series did not have these terms in their job titles, but
were generally in charge of managing product development for
specific product lines. Also, many of the collections under this
series cover multiple stages of each person’s career. The decisions
to group these subseries under “Project manager personal papers”
were based on the work that the majority of the records in each
subseries reflect. DEC’s Alpha-based systems have the most
documentation in this series, covering its early development in the
late 1980s to its release in 1992. Most of the people grouped in
this series managed the Alpha product line at different points in
their careers, especially Supnik, Conklin, and Avery. The
earlier-developed VAX architecture and VAX-based systems are also
well represented in this series. The Peter Conklin and Bill Demmer
papers in this series contain early documentation of VAX’s
beginnings, including systems migration instructions for DEC’s
existing PDP-11
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customers to migrate to the VAX-based systems when they were
first released. This series is arranged into eight subseries:
Subseries 3.1, Bob Supnik Alpha papers, 1980-1993 Subseries 3.2,
Bill Demmer papers, 1985-1995 Subseries 3.3, Peter Conklin papers,
1966-1995, bulk 1975-1994 Subseries 3.4, Al Avery papers, 1978-1994
Subseries 3.5, Roger Cady papers, 1974-1983 Subseries 3.6, Bev
Schultz OpenVMS papers, 1979-1994, bulk 1991-1994 Subseries 3.7,
Lou Philippon papers, 1967-1997, bulk 1981-1995 Subseries 3.8, Eli
Glazer memoranda, 1978-1983
Subseries 3.1, Bob Supnik Alpha papers, 1980-1993
This subseries is made up of material collected and created by
Robert (Bob) M. Supnik from 1980 to 1993 that is related to the
development of DEC’s Alpha RISC architecture and line of
microprocessors, the Rigel and V-11 microprocessor chip sets for
VAX, and the VAX 9000 family of supercomputers and mainframe
computers. Supnik held a number of positions during his time at
DEC, including senior corporate consulting engineer, engineering
program manager for Alpha, technical director for the Alpha and VAX
Systems Group, group manager for microprocessor development and
semiconductor engineering, laboratory manager, vice president of
technology and architecture in the Computer Systems Division, and
vice president of corporate research and advanced development in
the Corporate Strategy and Technology Group. The majority of
material in this subseries is related to the Alpha program that
Supnik led, including quarterly reports, memos, project plans,
design drawings, and presentations that document the development of
Alpha from concept to product from 1989 to 1993. A small portion of
the material in this subseries is related to VAX-9000 and the
development of the VAX microprocessors Rigel and V-11. This
subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title. Subseries
3.2, Bill Demmer papers, 1985-1995 This subseries consists of
material collected and created by William (Bill) R. Demmer from
1985 to 1995. Originally an engineer who helped build VAX, Demmer
served as the vice president of both the Mid-Range Systems Business
Group and the VAX/VMS Systems and Servers Group, and was in charge
of Alpha product development. The material in this subseries
touches on many facets of the units Demmer helmed and his
responsibilities as vice president. The majority of material is
made up of correspondence to and from Demmer from 1993 to 1995 that
is related to various business and personnel issues, with attached
presentations, reports, articles, and other documents. There is
also a large amount of material related to the planning,
development, and licensing of Alpha, plus records from the Alpha
Task Force Demmer created to look at sales and marketing
strategies. Also included are long-range plans for the Mid-Range
Systems Business Group and VAX/VMS Systems and Servers Product
Creation Unit, plus business and development plans for CALYPSO/CVAX
and CALYPSO/RIGEL. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by
folder title. Subseries 3.3, Peter Conklin papers, 1966-1995, bulk
1975-1994 This subseries contains records collected and partially
created by Peter F. Conklin during his roles at DEC as Director of
Alpha Product Development, Software Director of the Advanced
Systems Group, and, lastly, Director of Systems Development in the
Engineering Excellence Program Office. A large portion of this
subseries covers the
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early development and architecture of VAX and VAX-based
computers. Included in the VAX documentation are systems migration
instructions for existing PDP-11 DEC customers to migrate to
VAX-based systems, VAX glossaries, early VAX architecture
development, strategic review meeting documents for EVAX,
VAX-11/780 promotional material, and multiple editions of the
VAXnews newsletter. Other DEC products covered in this subseries
include Alpha, DECsystem-10, and OpenVMS. A major theme that
appears throughout this subseries is management strategies –
especially strategies that reflect Conklin’s methods in managing
Alpha product development at DEC. Also emphasized in these records
are partnerships and collaborations between DEC and other
companies, including Olivetti, Cerner Corporation, IBM, and
Mitsubishi. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder
title. Subseries 3.4, Al Avery papers, 1978-1994 This subseries
contains papers collected by Albert (Al) Avery from 1978 to 1994
related to a variety of roles he worked in at DEC, including in the
Alpha Systems Technical Office working with Alpha AXP Systems, in
software integration with the Advanced Systems Group, as a product
manager in High Performance Systems, and in Engineering Processes
and Systems. A large amount of material in this subseries is
focused on efforts to develop better internal processes within the
engineering departments and between engineering and DEC’s
market-focused business units. This material dates from 1989 to
1994, when DEC’s business was floundering and management was
looking for ways to improve the company’s standing with customers
and within the computer industry. Included are project
presentations by the consulting firm Booz Allen & Hamilton,
internal process documents, revenue analyses, and interviews with
customers and DEC employees to gauge satisfaction with the company.
This subseries also includes material related to specific systems
and technologies, such as Alpha AXP and VAXclusters, DEC’s Stratton
conference proceedings, and Avery’s engineering notebooks. This
subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title. Subseries
3.5, Roger Cady papers, 1974-1983 This subseries comprises Roger C.
Cady’s correspondence and administrative records from his work at
DEC from 1974 to 1983. During these years Cady worked as a manager
for three different product groups at DEC: first as product line
manager for the Telephone Industry Products Group; then in multiple
management roles under Commercial Systems Marketing groups; and
finally as group manager and vice president of the Manufacturing,
Distribution, and Control (MDC) Product Group. Of particular
interest in this subseries are notes and outlines of Cady’s
presentations given to clients, sales symposia, and conferences
relating to his work in the MDC group – including talks given for a
visit by Philip Morris representatives to DEC, a Montgomery
securities seminar, and a White House meeting of the U.S. Council
for World Communications Year (1983). This subseries is arranged
into two sub-subseries: Sub-subseries 3.5.1, Correspondence,
1974-1983
Sub-subseries 3.5.2, Manufacturing, Distribution, and Control
Product Group records, 1980-1983
Sub-subseries 3.5.1, Correspondence, 1974-1983
This sub-subseries contains Cady’s letters, memoranda, and
handwritten messages primarily internal to DEC. From 1974 to 1977,
most of Cady’s correspondence occurred within DEC's TELCO Product
Line when Cady worked as product line manager for DEC's Telephone
Industry Products Group. During the following years, from 1978 to
1980, the bulk of Cady’s correspondence was
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under DEC’s Commercial Marketing department – including related
units called Commercial Systems Marketing and Commercial Systems
Group. During these years Cady first worked as group manager for
Commercial Systems Marketing and then as director of marketing. The
remaining years of Cady’s correspondence relate to the management
of DEC’s MDC product group. For many of his files, Cady kept an
“index to correspondence,” included at the beginning of each
month’s file, which lists the subjects, dates, and participants for
each month’s correspondence. A large portion of these files only
contain correspondence that Cady authored to others; however, for
letters and memoranda authored during Cady’s work under MDC,
correspondence sent to Cady by others was also filed.
Correspondence from parts of 1977-1978 and 1980-1983 were not
included with this donation. Lastly, Cady kept a file titled
“external correspondence,” containing let