<s>
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
Limited	O
was	O
a	O
British	O
computer	O
manufacturing	O
company	O
under	O
the	O
GEC	O
holding	O
company	O
from	O
1968	O
until	O
the	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alpha	O
became	O
the	O
GEC	B-Device
2050	I-Device
8-bit	O
minicomputer	O
,	O
and	O
beta	O
became	O
the	O
GEC	B-Device
4080	I-Device
16-bit	O
minicomputer	O
with	O
its	O
unique	O
Nucleus	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gamma	O
was	O
never	O
developed	O
,	O
so	O
a	O
few	O
of	O
its	O
enhanced	O
features	O
were	O
consequently	O
pulled	O
back	O
into	O
the	O
GEC	B-Device
4080	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
's	O
main	O
product	O
was	O
the	O
GEC	B-Device
4000	I-Device
series	I-Device
minicomputers	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
used	O
by	O
many	O
other	O
GEC	O
and	O
Marconi	O
companies	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
real-time	O
control	O
systems	O
in	O
industrial	O
and	O
military	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
products	O
manufactured	O
in	O
the	O
earlier	O
years	O
were	O
the	O
GEC	B-Device
2050	I-Device
,	O
computer	O
power	O
supplies	O
,	O
and	O
high	O
resolution	O
military	B-Device
computer	I-Device
displays	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
Elliott	O
900	O
series	O
for	O
existing	O
Elliot	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
also	O
found	O
that	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
applications	O
it	O
developed	O
for	O
its	O
own	O
use	O
were	O
saleable	O
to	O
other	O
companies	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
its	O
salary	O
payment	O
services	O
,	O
its	O
multi-layer	O
printed	O
circuit	O
board	O
design	O
software	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
project	O
management	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
mid-1970s	O
,	O
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
was	O
working	O
on	O
OS4000	B-Operating_System
,	O
a	O
more	O
advanced	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
for	O
the	O
GEC	B-Device
4000	I-Device
series	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
collaborative	O
projects	O
were	O
undertaken	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
which	O
resulted	O
in	O
applications	O
which	O
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
developed	O
further	O
and	O
sold	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
sales	O
of	O
the	O
computers	O
themselves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
largest	O
of	O
these	O
were	O
X.25	B-Protocol
packet	B-Protocol
switch	I-Protocol
systems	O
,	O
which	O
resulted	O
from	O
a	O
research	O
collaboration	O
with	O
NERC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
late	O
1970s	O
,	O
Post	O
Office	O
Telecommunications	O
developed	O
Prestel	B-General_Concept
on	O
the	O
GEC	B-Device
4000	I-Device
series	I-Device
,	O
and	O
this	O
resulted	O
in	O
sales	O
for	O
similar	O
applications	O
all	O
over	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1980	O
,	O
OS4000	B-Operating_System
was	O
becoming	O
popular	O
in	O
UK	O
academic	O
and	O
research	O
organisations	O
as	O
a	O
multi-user	O
system	O
,	O
with	O
installations	O
at	O
Rutherford-Appleton	O
Laboratory	O
,	O
Daresbury	O
Laboratory	O
,	O
Harwell	O
Laboratory	O
,	O
NERC	O
,	O
Met	O
Office	O
,	O
CERN	O
,	O
in	O
many	O
university	O
physics	O
and/or	O
engineering	O
departments	O
,	O
and	O
as	O
the	O
main	O
central	O
computer	O
service	O
at	O
University	O
College	O
London	O
(	O
Euclid	O
)	O
and	O
Keele	O
University	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
B	O
.	O
Dick	O
to	O
develop	O
the	O
GEC	B-Device
Series	I-Device
63	I-Device
,	O
which	O
could	O
run	O
OS6000	O
(	O
based	O
on	O
OS4000	B-Operating_System
)	O
or	O
UNIX	B-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
III	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
later	O
UNIX	B-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
V	I-Operating_System
;	O
however	O
,	O
sales	O
were	O
disappointing	O
and	O
the	O
63	O
series	O
was	O
discontinued	O
in	O
1987	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
numbers	O
of	O
GEC	O
computer	O
systems	O
around	O
the	O
UK	O
by	O
now	O
meant	O
that	O
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
had	O
built	O
up	O
a	O
widespread	O
field	O
service	O
organisation	O
,	O
and	O
could	O
guarantee	O
on-site	O
response	O
within	O
hours	O
across	O
pretty	O
much	O
the	O
whole	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
new	O
technology	O
companies	O
trying	O
to	O
enter	O
the	O
market	O
struggled	O
when	O
required	O
to	O
provide	O
this	O
type	O
of	O
service	O
,	O
and	O
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
started	O
taking	O
on	O
third-party	O
field	O
service	O
support	O
for	O
many	O
other	O
companies	O
,	O
including	O
some	O
which	O
competed	O
with	O
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
 '	O
own	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Throughout	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
expanded	O
from	O
its	O
Borehamwood	O
offices	O
into	O
three	O
large	O
purpose-built	O
factory	O
units	O
in	O
the	O
Woodside	O
Estate	O
,	O
Dunstable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
 '	O
extensive	O
presence	O
in	O
UK	O
academic	O
and	O
research	O
organisations	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
field	O
service	O
organisation	O
,	O
led	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
to	O
choose	O
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
to	O
be	O
its	O
presence	O
in	O
the	O
UK	O
for	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
its	O
Sun-2	B-Device
product	O
range	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
,	O
which	O
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
sold	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
GEC	O
Series	O
42	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
developed	O
some	O
reduced	O
cost	O
workstations	O
called	O
the	O
GEC	O
Series	O
21	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
Atari	B-Device
520ST	I-Device
and	I-Device
1040ST	I-Device
systems	O
with	O
replaced	O
PROM	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
was	O
not	O
particularly	O
successful	O
at	O
selling	O
the	O
Sun	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
Sun	O
opened	O
UK	O
offices	O
to	O
sell	O
direct	O
,	O
although	O
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
 '	O
field	O
service	O
continued	O
to	O
support	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
across	O
the	O
UK	O
for	O
many	O
years	O
,	O
until	O
Sun	O
built	O
up	O
its	O
own	O
field	O
service	O
organisation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
the	O
real-time	O
process	O
control	O
market	O
was	O
moving	O
to	O
cheaper	O
microprocessor-based	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
GEC	B-Device
4000	I-Device
series	I-Device
sales	O
into	O
that	O
market	O
dried	O
up	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
X.25	B-Protocol
networks	O
were	O
being	O
replaced	O
by	O
Internet	O
networks	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
X.25	B-Protocol
packet	B-Protocol
switch	I-Protocol
sales	O
dwindled	O
too	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
left	O
just	O
the	O
Videotex	B-Operating_System
sales	O
to	O
other	O
countries	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
the	O
company	O
concentrated	O
on	O
this	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
only	O
a	O
window	O
of	O
a	O
few	O
years	O
before	O
the	O
World	O
Wide	O
Web	O
displaced	O
Videotex	B-Operating_System
systems	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
last	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
main	O
markets	O
ended	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
had	O
many	O
names	O
throughout	O
its	O
lifetime	O
,	O
although	O
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
is	O
probably	O
the	O
best	O
known	O
in	O
connection	O
with	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
main	O
products	O
of	O
the	O
1970s	O
and	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GEC	B-Device
Computers	I-Device
was	O
granted	O
permission	O
by	O
GEC	O
to	O
not	O
use	O
the	O
usual	O
GEC	O
logo	O
on	O
its	O
products	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
logo	O
was	O
seen	O
as	O
rather	O
old-fashioned	O
(	O
even	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1970s	O
)	O
for	O
the	O
new	O
branding	O
for	O
the	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inherited	O
the	O
Marconi	B-Architecture
Transistorised	I-Architecture
Automatic	I-Architecture
Computer	I-Architecture
(	O
T.A.C.	O
</s>
