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Star Arrives in Japan

From the Japanese computer journal ASCII, December 1981:
Text supplied by Joe Becker, Xerox.

The greatest news of Data Show 81 was the announcement by Fuji Xerox of the Xerox Information Network System XINS. From the way in which not only the Data Show attendees but also the other makers exhitors were riveted to the Fuji Xerox display booth, it is fair to say that both attendees and exhibitors received a great shock.

In developing this personal computer, Xerox tore out the former methods of computer usage by the roots, and devised an epoch-making system. ... Having thus developed the personal compuer and local network systems, Xerox announced an office distributed processing system one step away from the dream personal computer, the workstation on the Ethernet, at the May 81 NCC in Chicago. This is the XEROX 8010 STAR information system. Naturally, it goes without saying that the attention of the computer people of the world was focused on this system. In the basic configuration of 192K bytes of main memory, one 1.2 M-byte 8-inch floppy, and one 10 M-Byte rigid disk, it has the astonishing price of 4 million yen. Comparing Star with Japanese computer makers office computers in the 4 million yen class, their capabilities are as different as clouds from mud. Men from the Japanese makers stood nodding, ashen-faced, before the Xerox booth at the Data Show.

This presentation aimed at the most dramatic effect; it seemed to stun [literally: to disembowel] the other exhibitors.

Last updated December 4, 1999.

See Also:

Back to Dave Curbow's Xerox Star 8010 Historical Documents


The Digibarn's extensive collection of Xerox computers and other artifacts

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