<s>
The	O
MCM/70	B-Device
was	O
a	O
pioneering	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
first	O
built	O
in	O
1973	O
in	O
Toronto	O
,	O
Ontario	B-Architecture
,	O
Canada	O
and	O
released	O
the	O
next	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
makes	O
it	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
in	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
the	O
second	O
to	O
be	O
shipped	O
in	O
completed	O
form	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
portable	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MCM/70	B-Device
was	O
the	O
product	O
of	O
Micro	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
Machines	I-Device
,	O
one	O
of	O
three	O
related	O
companies	O
set	O
up	O
in	O
Toronto	O
in	O
1971	O
by	O
Mers	O
Kutt	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
considered	O
by	O
some	O
historians	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
first	O
usable	O
personal	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kutt	O
,	O
a	O
professor	O
of	O
mathematics	O
at	O
Queen	O
's	O
University	O
in	O
Kingston	O
,	O
Ontario	B-Architecture
during	O
the	O
late	O
1960s	O
,	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
efficiency	O
of	O
computer	O
users	O
there	O
was	O
hampered	O
by	O
the	O
long	O
wait	O
times	O
involved	O
in	O
submitting	O
programs	O
in	O
punched	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
form	O
for	O
batch	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
by	O
a	O
shared	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computer	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
a	O
low-cost	O
terminal	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
one-line	O
display	B-Device
device	I-Device
,	O
which	O
bypassed	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
keypunching	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1971	O
,	O
Kutt	O
,	O
no	O
longer	O
part	O
of	O
CCI	O
,	O
began	O
planning	O
a	O
machine	O
to	O
support	O
software	O
development	O
in	O
the	O
recently	O
developed	O
programming	O
language	O
APL	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
APL	B-Language
was	O
best	O
programmed	O
using	O
a	O
custom	O
keyboard	O
and	O
these	O
were	O
very	O
rare	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
initially	O
named	O
his	O
design	O
the	O
Key-Cassette	O
;	O
similar	O
in	O
design	O
and	O
concept	O
to	O
Key-Edit	O
,	O
it	O
would	O
offer	O
editing	O
ability	O
and	O
support	O
for	O
either	O
two	O
cassette	O
decks	O
or	O
one	O
cassette	O
and	O
an	O
acoustic	B-Device
coupler	I-Device
to	O
upload	O
programs	O
to	O
other	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kutt	O
also	O
created	O
a	O
company	O
,	O
Micro	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
Machines	I-Device
,	O
which	O
would	O
later	O
manufacture	O
the	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
his	O
acquaintance	O
with	O
Intel	O
founder	O
Robert	O
Noyce	O
,	O
Kutt	O
had	O
been	O
following	O
Intel	O
's	O
work	O
on	O
the	O
1201	B-General_Concept
,	O
an	O
8-bit	O
microprocessor	O
later	O
renamed	O
the	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8008	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
signed	O
an	O
agreement	O
with	O
Intel	O
to	O
supply	O
an	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
4004	I-General_Concept
,	O
a	O
SIM4	O
-	O
01	O
development	O
system	O
,	O
supporting	O
chips	O
from	O
the	O
MCS-4	B-General_Concept
chipset	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
MP7-01	O
EPROM	B-General_Concept
programmer	I-General_Concept
to	O
his	O
new	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
equipment	O
was	O
used	O
for	O
early	O
development	O
work	O
until	O
the	O
8008	B-General_Concept
was	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
team	O
,	O
now	O
including	O
hardware	O
engineer	O
José	O
Laraya	O
,	O
software	O
engineer	O
André	O
Arpin	O
,	O
and	O
two	O
APL	B-Language
programmers	O
,	O
Don	O
Genner	O
and	O
Morgan	O
Smyth	O
,	O
started	O
to	O
build	O
what	O
was	O
then	O
termed	O
the	O
M/C	O
,	O
for	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
then	O
,	O
the	O
design	O
had	O
expanded	O
to	O
include	O
a	O
complete	O
keyboard	O
,	O
a	O
chiclet	B-Device
design	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
ones	O
used	O
on	O
early	O
models	O
of	O
the	O
Commodore	B-Device
PET	I-Device
,	O
and	O
a	O
Burroughs	O
Self-Scan	O
32-character	O
display	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
earlier	O
Key-Edit	O
system	O
,	O
the	O
M/C	O
would	O
allow	O
entering	O
and	O
executing	O
APL	B-Language
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dissatisfied	O
with	O
the	O
SIM8	O
equipment	O
,	O
the	O
Kutt	O
Systems	O
staff	O
built	O
a	O
motherboard	O
from	O
scratch	O
,	O
including	O
an	O
Omniport	O
,	O
an	O
8008-expansion	O
bus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
,	O
work	O
on	O
porting	O
an	O
APL	B-Language
interpreter	O
to	O
the	O
system	O
continued	O
,	O
using	O
an	O
8008	B-General_Concept
emulator	O
written	O
in	O
Fortran	B-Application
named	O
INTERP/8	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
,	O
mocked	O
up	O
in	O
breadboard	O
form	O
,	O
was	O
first	O
displayed	O
publicly	O
on	O
11	O
November	O
1972	O
at	O
the	O
Kutt	O
offices	O
in	O
Kingston	O
,	O
Ontario	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
1973	O
,	O
the	O
same	O
system	O
was	O
shown	O
at	O
the	O
APL	B-Language
Users’	O
Conference	O
in	O
Toronto	O
,	O
now	O
encased	O
in	O
fibreglass	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MCM/70	B-Device
,	O
manufactured	O
by	O
Micro	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
Machines	I-Device
in	O
Kingston	O
,	O
was	O
encased	O
in	O
a	O
wedge-shaped	O
metal	O
box	O
about	O
half	O
a	O
metre	O
on	O
a	O
side	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
keyboard	O
at	O
the	O
front	O
,	O
a	O
compact	B-Device
audio	I-Device
cassette	I-Device
tape	O
recorder(s )	O
in	O
the	O
middle	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
one-line	O
plasma	O
display	O
at	O
the	O
top	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MCM/70	B-Device
had	O
a	O
one-line	O
display	O
and	O
alphanumeric	O
keyboard	O
,	O
and	O
optional	O
had	O
a	O
second	O
tape	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
resembled	O
desktop	O
calculators	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
HP	B-Device
9830A	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
APL	B-Language
interpreter	O
was	O
built	O
into	O
the	O
read-only	B-Device
memory	I-Device
(	O
ROM	B-Device
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
machine	O
included	O
a	O
battery	O
which	O
allowed	O
it	O
time	O
to	O
save	O
the	O
workspace	O
automatically	O
when	O
it	O
was	O
turned	O
off	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MCM/70	B-Device
weighed	O
20	O
pounds	O
(	O
9kg	O
)	O
and	O
shipped	O
with	O
up	O
to	O
8	O
kilobytes	O
of	O
RAM	O
and	O
zero	O
,	O
one	O
,	O
or	O
two	O
cassette	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
basic	O
unit	O
,	O
model	O
720	O
with	O
an	O
800kHz	O
8008	B-General_Concept
,	O
2KB	O
RAM	O
and	O
no	O
cassette	O
drive	O
sold	O
for	O
$	O
4,950	O
Canadian	O
(	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
the	O
dollar	O
was	O
about	O
equal	O
to	O
the	O
US	O
dollar	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
manuals	O
contain	O
a	O
personal	O
note	O
from	O
Kutt	O
to	O
future	O
customers	O
,	O
"	O
But	O
the	O
simplicity	O
of	O
the	O
MCM/70	B-Device
and	O
its	O
associated	O
computer	O
language	O
…	O
make	O
personal	O
computer	O
use	O
and	O
ownership	O
a	O
reality	O
…	O
Enjoy	O
the	O
privilege	O
of	O
having	O
your	O
own	O
personal	O
computer.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MCM/70	B-Device
was	O
sold	O
mainly	O
to	O
companies	O
and	O
government	O
institutions	O
with	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
make	O
complex	O
calculations	O
and	O
mathematical	O
analysis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
released	O
that	O
year	O
were	O
a	O
punched	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
reader	O
,	O
plotter	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
several	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Architecture
memory	I-Architecture
was	O
supported	O
on	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
machines	O
,	O
although	O
using	O
cassettes	O
for	O
storage	O
made	O
it	O
slow	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
bigger	O
change	O
for	O
the	O
/900	O
and	O
/1000	O
was	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
HDS-10	O
disk	O
server	O
,	O
which	O
included	O
an	O
8.4	O
MB	O
8-inch	O
Shugart	O
hard	O
drive	O
,	O
an	O
8-inch	O
floppy	O
disk	O
drive	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
64	O
k	O
Zilog	B-General_Concept
Z80	I-General_Concept
to	O
control	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
they	O
were	O
designing	O
another	O
more	O
advanced	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
termed	O
A*2	O
,	O
the	O
funding	O
needed	O
for	O
rapid	O
development	O
was	O
unavailable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
machine	O
was	O
sold	O
for	O
management	O
applications	O
while	O
it	O
was	O
programmed	O
with	O
a	O
complex	O
scientific	O
language	O
(	O
APL	B-Language
)	O
much	O
better	O
adapted	O
to	O
scientific	O
and	O
technical	O
fields	O
;	O
Sysmo	O
company	O
filed	O
for	O
bankruptcy	O
in	O
1978	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
,	O
York	O
University	O
professor	O
Zbigniew	O
Stachniak	O
published	O
a	O
book	O
about	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
MCM/70	B-Device
,	O
titled	O
Inventing	O
the	O
PC	O
:	O
The	O
MCM/70	B-Device
Story	O
.	O
</s>
