<s>
A	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
or	O
colloquially	O
mini	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
class	O
of	O
smaller	O
general	O
purpose	O
computers	O
that	O
developed	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1960s	O
and	O
sold	O
at	O
a	O
much	O
lower	O
price	O
than	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
and	O
mid-size	O
computers	O
from	O
IBM	O
and	O
its	O
direct	O
competitors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
1970	O
survey	O
,	O
The	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
suggested	O
a	O
consensus	O
definition	O
of	O
a	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
as	O
a	O
machine	O
costing	O
less	O
than	O
(	O
)	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
input-output	O
device	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
teleprinter	O
and	O
at	O
least	O
four	O
thousand	O
words	O
of	O
memory	O
,	O
that	O
is	O
capable	O
of	O
running	O
programs	O
in	O
a	O
higher	O
level	O
language	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Fortran	B-Application
or	O
BASIC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
class	O
formed	O
a	O
distinct	O
group	O
with	O
its	O
own	O
software	O
architectures	O
and	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
two-decade	O
lifetime	O
of	O
the	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
class	O
(	O
1965	O
–	O
1985	O
)	O
,	O
almost	O
100	O
companies	O
formed	O
and	O
only	O
a	O
half	O
dozen	O
remained	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
single-chip	O
CPU	B-Device
microprocessors	B-Architecture
appeared	O
,	O
beginning	O
with	O
the	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
4004	I-General_Concept
in	O
1971	O
,	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
"	O
came	O
to	O
mean	O
a	O
machine	O
that	O
lies	O
in	O
the	O
middle	O
range	O
of	O
the	O
computing	O
spectrum	O
,	O
in	O
between	O
the	O
smallest	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
and	O
the	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
"	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
"	O
is	O
seldom	O
used	O
today	O
;	O
the	O
contemporary	O
term	O
for	O
this	O
class	O
of	O
system	O
is	O
"	O
midrange	B-Device
computer	I-Device
"	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
higher-end	O
SPARC	B-Architecture
from	O
Oracle	B-Application
,	O
Power	B-Architecture
ISA	I-Architecture
from	O
IBM	O
,	O
and	O
Itanium-based	O
systems	O
from	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
"	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
"	O
developed	O
in	O
the	O
1960s	O
to	O
describe	O
the	O
smaller	O
computers	O
that	O
became	O
possible	O
with	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
transistors	B-Application
and	O
core	O
memory	O
technologies	O
,	O
minimal	O
instructions	O
sets	O
and	O
less	O
expensive	O
peripherals	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
ubiquitous	O
Teletype	O
Model	O
33	O
ASR	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
usually	O
took	O
up	O
one	O
or	O
a	O
few	O
19-inch	B-Application
rack	I-Application
cabinets	O
,	O
compared	O
with	O
the	O
large	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
that	O
could	O
fill	O
a	O
room	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
terms	O
of	O
relative	O
computing	O
power	O
compared	O
to	O
contemporary	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
,	O
small	O
systems	O
that	O
were	O
similar	O
to	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
had	O
been	O
available	O
from	O
the	O
1950s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
particular	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
an	O
entire	O
class	O
of	O
drum	B-General_Concept
machines	I-General_Concept
,	O
like	O
the	O
UNIVAC	B-Device
1101	I-Device
and	O
LGP-30	B-Device
,	O
that	O
share	O
some	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
class	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
machines	O
however	O
,	O
were	O
essentially	O
designed	O
as	O
small	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
,	O
using	O
a	O
custom	O
chassis	O
and	O
often	O
supporting	O
only	O
peripherals	O
from	O
the	O
same	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
,	O
the	O
machines	O
that	O
became	O
known	O
as	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
were	O
often	O
designed	O
to	O
fit	O
into	O
a	O
standard	O
chassis	O
and	O
deliberately	O
designed	O
to	O
use	O
common	O
devices	O
like	O
the	O
ASR33	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
these	O
machines	O
,	O
programming	O
was	O
generally	O
carried	O
out	O
in	O
their	O
custom	O
machine	B-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
or	O
even	O
hard-coded	O
into	O
a	O
plugboard	O
,	O
although	O
some	O
used	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
BASIC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DEC	O
wrote	O
,	O
regarding	O
their	O
PDP-5	B-Device
,	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
"	O
the	O
world	O
’s	O
first	O
commercially	O
produced	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
similar	O
examples	O
of	O
small	O
special-purpose	O
machines	O
exist	O
from	O
the	O
early	O
1960s	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
UK	O
Ferranti	B-Device
Argus	I-Device
and	O
Soviet	O
UM-1NKh	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
CDC	B-Device
160	I-Device
,	O
circa	O
1960	O
,	O
is	O
sometimes	O
pointed	O
to	O
as	O
an	O
early	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
as	O
it	O
was	O
small	O
,	O
transistorized	O
and	O
(	O
relatively	O
)	O
inexpensive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
its	O
basic	O
price	O
of	O
$	O
100,000	O
(	O
)	O
and	O
custom	O
desk-like	O
chassis	O
places	O
it	O
within	O
the	O
"	O
small	O
system	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
midrange	B-Device
computer	I-Device
"	O
category	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
the	O
more	O
modern	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
term	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nevertheless	O
,	O
it	O
retains	O
a	O
strong	O
contender	O
for	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
first	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
computing	O
histories	O
point	O
to	O
the	O
1964	O
introduction	O
of	O
Digital	O
Equipment	O
Corporation	O
's	O
(	O
DEC	O
)	O
12-bit	B-Device
PDP-8	B-Device
as	O
the	O
first	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Smaller	O
systems	O
,	O
including	O
those	O
from	O
DEC	O
like	O
the	O
PDP-5	B-Device
and	O
LINC	B-Device
,	O
had	O
existed	O
prior	O
to	O
this	O
point	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
PDP-8	B-Device
combination	O
of	O
small	O
size	O
,	O
general	O
purpose	O
orientation	O
and	O
low	O
price	O
that	O
puts	O
it	O
firmly	O
within	O
the	O
modern	O
definition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
introductory	O
price	O
of	O
$	O
18,500	O
(	O
)	O
places	O
it	O
in	O
an	O
entirely	O
different	O
market	O
segment	O
than	O
earlier	O
examples	O
like	O
the	O
CDC	B-Device
160	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contemporary	O
terms	O
,	O
the	O
PDP-8	B-Device
was	O
a	O
runaway	O
success	O
,	O
ultimately	O
selling	O
50,000	O
examples	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
success	O
led	O
to	O
widespread	O
imitation	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
an	O
entire	O
industry	O
of	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
companies	O
along	O
Massachusetts	O
Route	O
128	O
,	O
including	O
Data	O
General	O
,	O
Wang	O
Laboratories	O
and	O
Prime	O
Computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
popular	O
minis	O
from	O
the	O
era	O
were	O
the	O
HP	B-Device
2100	I-Device
,	O
Honeywell	B-Device
316	I-Device
and	O
TI-990	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
introduction	O
and	O
standardization	O
of	O
the	O
7-bit	B-Protocol
ASCII	I-Protocol
character	O
set	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
move	O
to	O
16-bit	O
systems	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
late-1969	O
Data	B-Device
General	I-Device
Nova	I-Device
being	O
a	O
notable	O
entry	O
in	O
this	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
early	O
1970s	O
,	O
most	O
minis	O
were	O
16-bit	O
,	O
including	O
DEC	O
's	O
PDP-11	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
a	O
time	O
,	O
"	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
"	O
was	O
almost	O
synonymous	O
with	O
"	O
16-bit	O
"	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
larger	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
machines	O
almost	O
always	O
used	O
32-bit	O
or	O
larger	O
word	O
sizes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
integrated	O
circuit	O
design	O
improved	O
,	O
especially	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
7400-series	O
integrated	O
circuits	O
,	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
became	O
smaller	O
,	O
easier	O
to	O
manufacture	O
,	O
and	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
less	O
expensive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1970s	O
,	O
they	O
were	O
the	O
hardware	O
that	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
launch	O
the	O
computer-aided	B-Application
design	I-Application
(	O
CAD	B-Application
)	O
industry	O
and	O
other	O
similar	O
industries	O
where	O
a	O
small	O
dedicated	O
system	O
was	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
boom	O
in	O
worldwide	O
seismic	O
exploration	O
for	O
oil	O
and	O
gas	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1970s	O
saw	O
the	O
widespread	O
use	O
of	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
in	O
dedicated	O
processing	O
centres	O
close	O
to	O
the	O
data	O
collection	O
crews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
MITS	B-Architecture
Altair	I-Architecture
8800	I-Architecture
in	O
1975	O
,	O
Radio	B-Application
Electronics	I-Application
magazine	O
referred	O
to	O
the	O
system	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
"	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
term	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
soon	O
became	O
usual	O
for	O
personal	O
computers	O
based	O
on	O
single-chip	O
microprocessors	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
were	O
8-bit	O
single-user	O
,	O
relatively	O
simple	O
machines	O
running	O
simple	O
program-launcher	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
like	O
CP/M	B-Application
or	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
,	O
while	O
minis	O
were	O
much	O
more	O
powerful	O
systems	O
that	O
ran	O
full	O
multi-user	O
,	O
multitasking	B-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
,	O
such	O
as	O
VMS	B-Operating_System
and	O
Unix	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Tandem	O
Computers	O
NonStop	B-Architecture
product	O
line	O
shipped	O
its	O
first	O
fully	O
fault-tolerant	O
cluster	O
computer	O
in	O
1976	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
several	O
24	O
and	O
32-bit	O
minis	O
had	O
entered	O
the	O
market	O
earlier	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
DEC	O
's	O
1977	O
VAX	B-Device
,	O
which	O
they	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
a	O
superminicomputer	B-Device
,	O
or	O
supermini	O
,	O
that	O
caused	O
the	O
mini	O
market	O
to	O
move	O
en-masse	O
to	O
32-bit	O
architectures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
provided	O
ample	O
headroom	O
even	O
as	O
single-chip	O
16-bit	O
microprocessors	B-Architecture
like	O
the	O
TMS	B-General_Concept
9900	I-General_Concept
and	O
Zilog	B-Device
Z8000	I-Device
appeared	O
in	O
the	O
later	O
1970s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
include	O
the	O
Intersil	B-General_Concept
6100	I-General_Concept
single-chip	O
PDP-8	B-Device
,	O
DEC	B-Device
T-11	I-Device
PDP-11	B-Device
,	O
microNOVA	O
and	O
Fairchild	B-General_Concept
9440	I-General_Concept
Nova	O
,	O
and	O
TMS9900	B-General_Concept
TI-990	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
,	O
the	O
16-bit	O
market	O
had	O
all	O
but	O
disappeared	O
as	O
newer	O
32-bit	O
microprocessors	B-Architecture
began	O
to	O
improve	O
in	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
long	O
before	O
this	O
market	O
also	O
began	O
to	O
come	O
under	O
threat	O
;	O
the	O
Motorola	B-Device
68000	I-Device
offered	O
a	O
significant	O
percentage	O
of	O
the	O
performance	O
of	O
a	O
typical	O
mini	O
in	O
a	O
desktop	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
True	O
32-bit	O
processors	O
like	O
the	O
National	O
Semiconductor	O
NS32016	O
,	O
Motorola	B-Device
68020	I-Device
and	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
80386	I-General_Concept
soon	O
followed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
,	O
high-end	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
offered	O
compute	O
performance	O
equal	O
to	O
low-end	O
and	O
mid-range	O
minis	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
new	O
RISC	B-Architecture
approach	O
promised	O
performance	O
levels	O
well	O
beyond	O
the	O
fastest	O
minis	O
,	O
and	O
even	O
high-end	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
of	O
these	O
began	O
to	O
be	O
addressed	O
through	O
the	O
later	O
1980s	O
;	O
1	O
MB	O
of	O
RAM	O
became	O
typical	O
by	O
around	O
1987	O
,	O
desktop	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
rapidly	O
pushed	O
past	O
the	O
100	O
MB	O
range	O
by	O
1990	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
inexpensive	O
and	O
easily	O
deployable	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
(	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
)	O
systems	O
provide	O
solutions	O
for	O
those	O
looking	O
for	O
multi-user	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
workstation	B-Device
machines	O
opened	O
new	O
markets	O
for	O
graphics-based	O
systems	O
that	O
the	O
terminal-oriented	O
minis	O
could	O
not	O
even	O
address	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Minis	O
retained	O
a	O
force	O
for	O
those	O
using	O
existing	O
software	O
products	O
or	O
those	O
who	O
required	O
high-performance	O
multitasking	B-Operating_System
,	O
but	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
newer	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
based	O
on	O
Unix	B-Application
began	O
to	O
become	O
highly	O
practical	O
replacements	O
for	O
these	O
roles	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	O
General	O
responded	O
to	O
the	O
changing	O
market	O
by	O
focussing	O
entirely	O
on	O
the	O
high-performance	O
file	B-Application
server	I-Application
market	O
,	O
embracing	O
a	O
role	O
within	O
large	O
LANs	B-General_Concept
that	O
appeared	O
resilient	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
did	O
not	O
last	O
;	O
Novell	B-Operating_System
NetWare	I-Operating_System
rapidly	O
pushed	O
such	O
solutions	O
into	O
niche	O
roles	O
,	O
and	O
later	O
versions	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
did	O
the	O
same	O
to	O
Novell	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DEC	O
decided	O
to	O
move	O
into	O
the	O
large-computer	O
space	O
instead	O
,	O
introducing	O
the	O
VAX	B-Device
9000	I-Device
mainframe	B-Architecture
in	O
1989	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
a	O
flop	O
in	O
the	O
market	O
and	O
disappeared	O
after	O
almost	O
no	O
sales	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
then	O
attempted	O
to	O
enter	O
the	O
workstation	B-Device
and	O
server	O
markets	O
with	O
the	O
DEC	B-Device
Alpha	I-Device
,	O
but	O
was	O
too	O
late	O
to	O
save	O
the	O
company	O
and	O
they	O
eventually	O
sold	O
their	O
remains	O
to	O
Compaq	O
in	O
1998	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
only	O
a	O
few	O
proprietary	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
architectures	O
survive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
System/38	I-Device
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
which	O
introduced	O
many	O
advanced	O
concepts	O
,	O
lives	O
on	O
with	O
IBM	O
's	O
AS/400	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Great	O
efforts	O
were	O
made	O
by	O
IBM	O
to	O
enable	O
programs	O
originally	O
written	O
for	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
System/34	I-Device
and	O
System/36	O
to	O
be	O
moved	O
to	O
the	O
AS/400	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
being	O
rebranded	O
multiple	O
times	O
,	O
the	O
AS/400	B-Device
platform	O
was	O
replaced	O
by	O
IBM	B-Device
Power	I-Device
Systems	I-Device
running	O
IBM	B-Application
i	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
,	O
competing	O
proprietary	O
computing	O
architectures	O
from	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
DEC	O
's	O
VAX	B-Device
,	O
Wang	O
VS	O
,	O
and	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
'	O
s	O
HP	B-Device
3000	I-Device
have	O
long	O
been	O
discontinued	O
without	O
a	O
compatible	O
upgrade	O
path	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
OpenVMS	B-Operating_System
runs	O
on	O
HP	O
Alpha	B-Device
and	O
Intel	O
IA-64	B-General_Concept
(	O
Itanium	B-General_Concept
)	O
CPU	B-Device
architectures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NonStop	B-Architecture
Kernel-based	O
NonStop	B-Architecture
product	O
line	O
was	O
re-ported	O
from	O
MIPS	O
processors	O
to	O
Itanium-based	O
processors	O
branded	O
as	O
'	O
HP	B-Architecture
Integrity	I-Architecture
NonStop	I-Architecture
Servers	O
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
in	O
the	O
earlier	O
migration	O
from	O
stack	O
machines	O
to	O
MIPS	O
microprocessors	B-Architecture
,	O
all	O
customer	O
software	O
was	O
carried	O
forward	O
without	O
source	O
changes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Integrity	B-Architecture
NonStop	I-Architecture
continues	O
to	O
be	O
HP	O
's	O
answer	O
for	O
the	O
extreme	O
scaling	O
needs	O
of	O
its	O
very	O
largest	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NSK	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
now	O
termed	O
NonStop	B-Architecture
OS	I-Architecture
,	O
continues	O
as	O
the	O
base	O
software	O
environment	O
for	O
the	O
NonStop	B-Architecture
Servers	O
,	O
and	O
has	O
been	O
extended	O
to	O
include	O
support	O
for	O
Java	B-Device
and	O
integration	O
with	O
popular	O
development	O
tools	O
like	O
Visual	B-Application
Studio	I-Application
and	O
Eclipse	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NonStop	B-Architecture
products	O
and	O
the	O
DEC	O
products	O
would	O
then	O
be	O
sold	O
by	O
HPE	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
variety	O
of	O
companies	O
emerged	O
that	O
built	O
turnkey	O
systems	O
around	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
with	O
specialized	O
software	O
and	O
,	O
in	O
many	O
cases	O
,	O
custom	O
peripherals	O
that	O
addressed	O
specialized	O
problems	O
such	O
as	O
computer-aided	B-Application
design	I-Application
,	O
computer-aided	O
manufacturing	O
,	O
process	O
control	O
,	O
manufacturing	O
resource	O
planning	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
if	O
not	O
most	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
were	O
sold	O
through	O
these	O
original	O
equipment	O
manufacturers	O
and	O
value-added	O
resellers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
pioneering	O
computer	O
companies	O
first	O
built	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
,	O
such	O
as	O
DEC	O
,	O
Data	O
General	O
,	O
and	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
(	O
HP	O
)	O
(	O
who	O
now	O
refers	O
to	O
its	O
HP3000	B-Device
minicomputers	B-Architecture
as	O
"	O
servers	O
"	O
rather	O
than	O
"	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
And	O
although	O
today	O
's	O
PCs	O
and	O
servers	O
are	O
clearly	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
physically	O
,	O
architecturally	O
their	O
CPUs	B-Device
and	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
have	O
developed	O
largely	O
by	O
integrating	O
features	O
from	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
software	O
context	O
,	O
the	O
relatively	O
simple	O
OSs	O
for	O
early	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
were	O
usually	O
inspired	O
by	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
OSs	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
CP/M	B-Application
'	O
s	O
similarity	O
to	O
Digital	O
's	O
single	O
user	O
OS/8	B-Operating_System
and	O
RT-11	B-Operating_System
and	O
multi-user	O
RSTS	B-Operating_System
time-sharing	O
system	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
the	O
multiuser	O
OSs	O
of	O
today	O
are	O
often	O
either	O
inspired	O
by	O
,	O
or	O
directly	O
descended	O
from	O
,	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
OSs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UNIX	B-Application
was	O
originally	O
a	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
OS	O
,	O
while	O
Windows	O
NT	O
kernel	O
—	O
the	O
foundation	O
for	O
all	O
current	O
versions	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
Windows-borrowed	O
design	O
ideas	O
liberally	O
from	O
VMS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
generation	O
of	O
PC	O
programmers	O
were	O
educated	O
on	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
systems	O
.	O
</s>
