<s>
Micral	B-Device
is	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
produced	O
by	O
the	O
French	O
company	O
Réalisation	O
d'Études	O
Électroniques	O
(	O
R2E	O
)	O
,	O
beginning	O
with	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
N	I-Device
in	O
early	O
1973	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Micral	B-Device
N	I-Device
was	O
the	O
first	O
commercially	O
available	O
microprocessor-based	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1986	O
,	O
three	O
judges	O
at	O
The	O
Computer	O
Museum	O
,	O
Boston	O
–	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
designer	O
and	O
Apple	O
Inc	O
.	O
co-founder	O
Steve	O
Wozniak	O
,	O
early	O
MITS	O
employee	O
and	O
PC	O
World	O
publisher	O
David	O
Bunnell	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
museum	O
's	O
associate	O
director	O
and	O
curator	O
Oliver	O
Strimpel	O
–	O
awarded	O
the	O
title	O
of	O
"	O
first	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
using	O
a	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
"	O
to	O
the	O
1973	O
Micral	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Micral	B-Device
N	I-Device
was	O
the	O
earliest	O
commercial	O
,	O
non-kit	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
based	O
on	O
a	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
(	O
in	O
this	O
case	O
,	O
the	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8008	I-General_Concept
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Computer	O
History	O
Museum	O
currently	O
says	O
that	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
earliest	O
commercial	O
,	O
non-kit	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
1971	O
Kenbak-1	B-Device
,	O
invented	O
before	O
the	O
first	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
,	O
is	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
first	O
"	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
machine	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
one-chip	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
but	O
instead	O
was	O
based	O
purely	O
on	O
small-scale	O
integration	O
TTL	B-General_Concept
chips	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
R2E	O
founder	O
André	O
Truong	O
Trong	O
Thi	O
(	O
EFREI	O
degree	O
,	O
Paris	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
French	O
immigrant	O
from	O
Vietnam	O
,	O
asked	O
Frenchman	O
François	O
Gernelle	O
to	O
develop	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
N	I-Device
computer	O
for	O
the	O
Institut	O
National	O
de	O
la	O
Recherche	O
Agronomique	O
(	O
INRA	O
)	O
,	O
starting	O
in	O
June	O
1972	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beckmann	O
designed	O
the	O
I/O	B-General_Concept
boards	O
and	O
controllers	O
for	O
peripheral	O
magnetic	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lacombe	O
was	O
responsible	O
for	O
the	O
memory	B-General_Concept
system	O
,	O
I/O	B-General_Concept
high	O
speed	O
channel	O
,	O
power	O
supply	O
and	O
front	B-Device
panel	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gernelle	O
invented	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
N	I-Device
,	O
which	O
was	O
much	O
smaller	O
than	O
existing	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
January	O
1974	O
Users	O
Manual	O
called	O
it	O
"	O
the	O
first	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
generation	O
of	O
mini-computer	B-Architecture
whose	O
principal	O
feature	O
is	O
its	O
very	O
low	O
cost	O
,	O
"	O
and	O
said	O
,	O
"	O
MICRAL	B-Device
's	O
principal	O
use	O
is	O
in	O
process	O
control	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
does	O
not	O
aim	O
to	O
be	O
an	O
universal	O
mini-computer.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
,	O
the	O
ROM-based	O
MIC	O
01	O
monitor	B-Application
and	O
the	O
ASMIC	O
01	O
assembler	B-Language
,	O
was	O
written	O
on	O
an	O
Intertechnique	O
Multi-8	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
using	O
a	O
cross	B-Language
assembler	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
an	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8008	I-General_Concept
microprocessor	B-Architecture
clocked	O
at	O
500kHz	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
a	O
backplane	B-Architecture
bus	B-General_Concept
,	O
called	O
the	O
Pluribus	O
with	O
74-pin	O
connector	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
two	O
Pluribus	O
,	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
N	I-Device
could	O
support	O
up	O
to	O
24	O
boards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
used	O
MOS	B-Architecture
memory	B-General_Concept
instead	O
of	O
core	B-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Micral	B-Device
N	I-Device
could	O
support	O
parallel	O
and	O
serial	O
input/output	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
8	O
levels	O
of	O
interrupt	B-Application
and	O
a	O
stack	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
was	O
programmed	O
with	O
punched	O
tape	O
,	O
and	O
used	O
a	O
teleprinter	O
or	O
modem	B-Application
for	O
I/O	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
front	B-Device
panel	I-Device
console	B-Device
was	O
optional	O
,	O
offering	O
customers	O
the	O
option	O
of	O
designing	O
their	O
own	O
console	B-Device
to	O
match	O
a	O
particular	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
delivered	O
to	O
the	O
INRA	O
in	O
January	O
1973	O
,	O
and	O
commercialized	O
in	O
February	O
1973	O
for	O
FF	O
8,500	O
(	O
about	O
$	O
1,750	O
)	O
making	O
it	O
a	O
cost-effective	O
replacement	O
for	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
which	O
augured	O
the	O
era	O
of	O
the	O
PC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
France	O
had	O
produced	O
the	O
first	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
year	O
would	O
pass	O
before	O
the	O
first	O
North	O
American	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
SCELBI	B-Device
,	O
was	O
advertised	O
in	O
the	O
March	O
1974	O
issue	O
of	O
QST	O
,	O
an	O
amateur	O
radio	O
magazine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Indeed	O
,	O
INRA	O
was	O
originally	O
planning	O
to	O
use	O
PDP-8	B-Device
computers	O
for	O
process	O
control	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
N	I-Device
could	O
do	O
the	O
same	O
for	O
a	O
fifth	O
of	O
the	O
cost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
8-inch	B-Device
floppy	I-Device
disk	O
reader	O
was	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
in	O
December	O
1973	O
,	O
following	O
a	O
command	O
of	O
the	O
Commissariat	O
à	O
l'Energie	O
Atomique	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1974	O
,	O
a	O
keyboard	O
and	O
screen	O
were	O
fitted	O
to	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1979	O
,	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
8031	O
D	O
was	O
equipped	O
with	O
a	O
5	O
"	O
1/4inches	O
hard	O
disk	O
of	O
5	O
Megabytes	O
made	O
by	O
Shugart	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
April	O
1974	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8080	I-General_Concept
,	O
R2E	O
introduced	O
the	O
second	O
and	O
third	O
Micral	B-Device
models	O
,	O
8008-based	O
at	O
1MHz	O
Micral	B-Device
G	O
and	O
8080-based	O
at	O
1MHz	O
Micral	B-Device
S	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
1975	O
,	O
R2E	O
signed	O
Warner	O
&	O
Swasey	O
Company	O
as	O
the	O
exclusive	O
manufacturer	O
and	O
marketer	O
of	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
line	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
and	O
Canada	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Warner	O
&	O
Swasey	O
marketed	O
its	O
Micral-based	O
system	O
for	O
industrial	O
data	O
processing	O
applications	O
such	O
as	O
engineering	O
data	O
analysis	O
,	O
accounting	O
and	O
inventory	O
control	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
R2E	O
and	O
Warner	O
&	O
Swasey	O
displayed	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
M	O
multiple	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
system	O
at	O
the	O
June	O
1976	O
National	O
Computer	O
Conference	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Micral	B-Device
M	O
consists	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
eight	O
Micral	B-Device
S	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
,	O
each	O
with	O
its	O
own	O
local	O
memory	B-General_Concept
and	O
sharing	O
the	O
common	O
memory	B-General_Concept
so	O
the	O
local	O
and	O
common	O
memory	B-General_Concept
look	O
like	O
one	O
monolithic	O
memory	B-General_Concept
for	O
each	O
processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
has	O
a	O
distributed	O
multiprocessor	O
operating	O
system	O
R2E	O
said	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
sharing	O
common	O
resources	O
and	O
real-time	B-Operating_System
task	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
time	O
after	O
the	O
July	O
1976	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
Zilog	B-General_Concept
Z80	I-General_Concept
,	O
came	O
the	O
Z80-based	O
Micral	B-Device
CZ	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
8080-based	O
Micral	B-Device
C	O
,	O
an	O
intelligent	O
CRT	B-Device
terminal	O
designed	O
for	O
word	O
processing	O
and	O
automatic	O
typesetting	O
,	O
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
July	O
1977	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
two	O
Shugart	O
SA400	O
minifloppy	O
drives	O
and	O
a	O
panel	O
of	O
system	O
control	O
and	O
sense	B-Device
switches	I-Device
below	O
the	O
minifloppy	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	B-Language
application	I-Language
language	I-Language
(	O
BAL	O
)	O
and	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
are	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Micral	B-Device
V	O
Portable	O
(	O
1978	O
)	O
could	O
run	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
and	O
assembler	B-Language
under	O
the	O
Sysmic	O
operating	O
system	O
,	O
or	O
BAL	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prologue	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
perform	O
real-time	B-Operating_System
multitasking	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
was	O
a	O
multi-user	B-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
R2E	O
offered	O
CP/M	B-Application
for	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
C	O
in	O
1979	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
R2E	O
Micral	B-Device
CCMC	O
Portal	O
portable	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
made	O
its	O
official	O
appearance	O
in	O
September	O
1980	O
at	O
the	O
SICOB	O
show	O
in	O
Paris	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
designed	O
and	O
marketed	O
by	O
the	O
studies	O
and	O
developments	O
department	O
of	O
François	O
Gernelle	O
of	O
the	O
french	O
firm	O
R2E	O
Micral	B-Device
at	O
the	O
request	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
CCMC	O
specializing	O
in	O
payroll	O
and	O
accounting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Portal	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
an	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8085	I-General_Concept
processor	O
,	O
8-bit	O
,	O
clocked	O
at	O
2MHz	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
Micrals	B-Device
used	O
the	O
Intel	B-Device
8088	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
last	O
Micral	B-Device
designed	O
by	O
François	O
Gernelle	O
was	O
the	O
9020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
with	O
the	O
Bull	O
Micral	B-Device
30	O
,	O
which	O
could	O
use	O
both	O
Prologue	O
and	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
,	O
Groupe	O
Bull	O
transformed	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
computers	O
into	O
a	O
line	O
of	O
PC	O
compatibles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Truong	O
's	O
R2E	O
sold	O
about	O
90,000	O
units	O
of	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
that	O
were	O
mostly	O
used	O
in	O
vertical	B-Application
applications	I-Application
such	O
as	O
highway	O
toll	O
booths	O
and	O
process	O
control	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Litigation	O
followed	O
after	O
Truong	O
started	O
claiming	O
that	O
he	O
alone	O
invented	O
the	O
first	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
courts	O
did	O
not	O
judge	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
Truong	O
,	O
who	O
was	O
declared	O
"	O
the	O
businessman	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
the	O
inventor	O
"	O
,	O
giving	O
in	O
1998	O
the	O
sole	O
claim	O
as	O
inventor	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
to	O
Gernelle	O
and	O
the	O
R2E	O
engineering	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
mid-1970s	O
,	O
Philippe	O
Kahn	O
was	O
a	O
programmer	O
for	O
the	O
Micral	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kahn	O
later	O
headed	O
Borland	O
which	O
released	O
Turbo	B-Application
Pascal	I-Application
and	O
Sidekick	B-Application
in	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Paul	O
G	O
.	O
Allen	O
,	O
the	O
co-founder	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
with	O
Bill	O
Gates	O
,	O
bought	O
a	O
Micral	B-Device
N	I-Device
by	O
the	O
auctioneer	O
Rouillac	O
at	O
the	O
Artigny	O
Castle	O
in	O
France	O
,	O
on	O
June	O
11	O
,	O
2017	O
for	O
his	O
Seattle	O
museum	O
Living	O
Computers	O
:	O
Museum	O
+	O
Labs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Association	O
MO5.com	O
 "	O
,	O
a	O
French	O
preservation	O
group	O
,	O
announced	O
in	O
2023	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
acquired	O
a	O
Micral	B-Device
N	I-Device
two	O
years	O
before	O
in	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
1973	O
:	O
Micral	B-Device
N	I-Device
,	O
first	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
built	O
by	O
François	O
Gernelle	O
.	O
</s>
