<s>
The	O
company	O
went	O
through	O
transitions	O
between	O
different	O
product	O
lines	O
,	O
beginning	O
with	O
typesetters	O
,	O
calculators	O
,	O
and	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
,	O
then	O
adding	O
computers	O
,	O
copiers	O
,	O
and	O
laser	O
printers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
Getronics	O
of	O
the	O
Netherlands	O
in	O
1999	O
,	O
becoming	O
Getronics	O
North	B-Device
America	O
,	O
then	O
was	O
sold	O
to	O
KPN	O
in	O
2007	O
and	O
CompuCom	O
in	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
factor	B-Algorithm
combining	I-Algorithm
,	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
desktop	O
calculator	O
capable	O
of	O
computing	O
logarithms	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
quite	O
an	O
achievement	O
for	O
a	O
machine	O
without	O
any	O
integrated	O
circuits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
electronics	O
included	O
1,275	O
discrete	O
transistors	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
used	O
Nixie	B-Application
tube	I-Application
readouts	O
,	O
performed	O
transcendental	O
functions	O
,	O
had	O
varying	O
degrees	O
of	O
programmability	B-Application
,	O
and	O
used	O
magnetic	O
core	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Competition	O
included	O
HP	O
,	O
which	O
introduced	O
the	O
HP	B-Device
9100A	I-Device
in	O
1968	O
,	O
and	O
old-line	O
calculator	O
companies	O
such	O
as	O
Monroe	O
and	O
Marchant	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wang	O
's	O
first	O
attempt	O
at	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
was	O
the	O
Wang	O
1200	O
,	O
announced	O
in	O
late	O
1971	O
but	O
not	O
available	O
until	O
1972	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Harold	O
Koplow	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
written	O
the	O
microcode	B-Device
for	O
the	O
Wang	O
700	O
and	O
its	O
derivative	O
the	O
Wang	O
500	O
rewrote	O
the	O
microcode	B-Device
to	O
perform	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
functions	O
instead	O
of	O
numerical	O
calculations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
rudimentary	O
Wang	O
1200	O
machine	O
was	O
the	O
precursor	O
of	O
the	O
Wang	B-Application
Office	I-Application
Information	O
System	O
(	O
OIS	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
revolutionized	O
the	O
way	O
typing	O
projects	O
were	O
performed	O
in	O
the	O
American	O
workplace	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
Wang	O
1200	O
,	O
Harold	O
Koplow	O
and	O
David	O
Moros	O
made	O
another	O
attempt	O
at	O
designing	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
he	O
and	O
Moros	O
perceived	O
the	O
assignment	O
to	O
design	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
machine	O
as	O
busywork	O
,	O
they	O
went	O
ahead	O
anyway	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
machinethe	O
Wang	O
1200	O
WPSwas	O
introduced	O
in	O
June	O
1976	O
and	O
was	O
an	O
instant	O
success	O
,	O
as	O
was	O
its	O
successor	O
,	O
the	O
1977	O
Wang	O
OIS	O
(	O
Office	O
Information	O
System	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
workstation	O
looked	O
like	O
a	O
typical	O
terminal	B-General_Concept
but	O
contained	O
its	O
own	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8080	I-General_Concept
microprocessor	B-Architecture
(	O
later	O
versions	O
used	O
a	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
)	O
and	O
64KB	O
of	O
RAM	O
(	O
less	O
than	O
the	O
original	O
1981	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Disk	B-Device
storage	I-Device
was	O
centralized	O
in	O
a	O
master	O
unit	O
and	O
shared	O
by	O
the	O
workstations	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
connection	O
was	O
via	O
high-speed	O
dual	O
coaxial	O
cable	O
"	O
928	O
Link	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ahead	O
of	O
IBM	O
and	O
Xerox	O
,	O
Wang	O
captured	O
the	O
lead	O
for	O
"	O
the	O
'	O
intelligent	O
 '	O
printer	O
:	O
a	O
high-speed	O
office	O
copier	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
linked	O
electronically	O
"	O
to	O
PCs	B-Device
"	O
and	O
other	O
automated	O
equipment	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
year	O
later	O
,	O
The	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
described	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
6670	I-Device
Information	O
Distributor	O
as	O
"	O
closer	O
to	O
the	O
standard	O
envisioned	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wang	O
's	O
first	O
computer	O
,	O
the	O
Wang	O
3300	O
,	O
was	O
an	O
8-bit	O
integrated	O
circuit	O
general-purpose	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
designed	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
central	O
processor	O
for	O
a	O
multi-terminal	O
time-sharing	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wang	O
developed	O
and	O
marketed	O
several	O
lines	O
of	O
small	O
computer	O
systems	O
for	O
both	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
and	O
data	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
identifiable	O
Wang	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
performing	O
recognizable	O
data	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
was	O
the	O
Wang	B-Language
2200	I-Language
,	O
which	O
appeared	O
in	O
May	O
1973	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
some	O
other	O
desktop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
such	O
as	O
the	O
HP	B-Device
9830	I-Device
,	O
it	O
had	O
a	O
CRT	B-Device
in	O
a	O
cabinet	O
that	O
also	O
included	O
an	O
integrated	O
computer-controlled	O
compact	O
cassette	O
storage	O
unit	O
and	O
keyboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
microcoded	B-Device
to	O
run	O
interpreted	B-Application
BASIC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
2200	O
VP	O
evolved	O
into	O
a	O
desktop	B-Device
computer	I-Device
and	O
larger	O
MVP	O
system	O
to	O
support	O
up	O
to	O
16	O
workstations	O
and	O
utilized	O
commercial	O
disk	B-Device
technologies	O
that	O
appeared	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1970s	O
and	O
early	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
disk	B-Device
subsystems	O
could	O
be	O
attached	O
to	O
up	O
to	O
15	O
computers	O
giving	O
a	O
theoretical	O
upper	O
limit	O
of	O
240	O
workstations	O
in	O
a	O
single	O
cluster	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
provided	O
paging	B-Application
(	O
beeper	O
)	O
services	O
for	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
Hong	O
Kong	O
market	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
2200	O
CS	O
had	O
an	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
386	I-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
,	O
updated	O
disk	B-Device
units	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
peripherals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
2200	O
BASIC-2	O
language	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
be	O
compiled	O
and	O
run	O
on	O
non-Wang	O
hardware	B-Architecture
and	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
by	O
at	O
least	O
two	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
products	O
support	O
DOS	B-Device
,	O
Windows	O
,	O
and	O
various	O
Unix	B-Application
systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compared	O
to	O
the	O
2200	O
Wang	O
hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
the	O
compiled	O
solutions	O
improved	O
speed	O
,	O
disk	B-Device
space	O
,	O
memory	O
,	O
and	O
user	O
limits	O
by	O
tens	O
to	O
hundreds	O
of	O
times	O
;	O
although	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
Wang	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
2200	O
,	O
many	O
software	O
applications	O
continue	O
to	O
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
different	O
from	O
the	O
Wang	B-Language
2200	I-Language
in	O
its	O
internals	O
,	O
being	O
more	O
inspired	O
by	O
it	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
direct	O
clone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
a	O
somewhat	O
scaled-down	O
Unix	B-Application
implementation	O
was	O
created	O
for	O
Iskra-226	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
Soviet	O
Union	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wang	O
had	O
a	O
line	O
called	O
Alliance	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
high-end	O
OIS	O
(	O
140/145	O
)	O
hardware	B-Architecture
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
more	O
powerful	O
software	O
than	O
the	O
OIS	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
and	O
list	O
processing	O
packages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
platform	O
on	O
which	O
Alliance	O
ran	O
forced	O
it	O
to	O
remain	O
as	O
an	O
8-bit	O
application	O
in	O
a	O
64KB	O
workstation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
Wang	O
VS	O
computer	O
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
1977	O
,	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
as	O
Digital	O
Equipment	O
Corporation	O
's	O
VAX	B-Device
;	O
both	O
continued	O
for	O
decades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VS	O
instruction	B-General_Concept
set	I-General_Concept
was	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Application
System/360	I-Application
series	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
did	O
not	O
run	O
any	O
System/360	B-Application
system	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VS	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
and	O
all	O
system	O
software	O
were	O
built	O
from	O
the	O
ground	O
up	O
to	O
support	O
interactive	O
users	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
batch	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VS	O
was	O
aimed	O
at	O
the	O
business	O
data	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
market	O
in	O
general	O
and	O
IBM	O
in	O
particular	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
many	O
programming	O
languages	O
were	O
available	O
,	O
the	O
VS	O
was	O
programmed	O
in	O
COBOL	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
languages	O
supported	O
in	O
the	O
VS	O
integrated	B-Application
development	I-Application
environment	I-Application
included	O
Assembler	B-Language
,	O
COBOL	B-Application
74	O
,	O
COBOL	B-Application
85	O
,	O
BASIC	O
,	O
Ada	B-Language
,	O
RPG	B-Language
II	I-Language
,	O
C	O
,	O
PL/I	B-Language
,	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
,	O
Glossary	O
,	O
MABASIC	O
,	O
SPEED	O
II	O
,	O
and	O
Procedure	O
(	O
a	O
scripting	O
language	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pascal	B-Application
was	O
also	O
supported	O
for	O
I/O	O
co-processor	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Wang	O
PACE	O
(	O
Professional	O
Application	O
Creation	O
Environment	O
)	O
4GL	B-Language
and	O
database	O
was	O
used	O
from	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
onward	O
by	O
customers	O
and	O
third-party	O
developers	O
to	O
build	O
complex	O
applications	O
,	O
sometimes	O
involving	O
many	O
thousands	O
of	O
screens	O
,	O
hundreds	O
of	O
distinct	O
application	O
modules	O
,	O
and	O
serving	O
many	O
hundreds	O
of	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Substantial	O
vertical	B-Application
applications	I-Application
were	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
Wang	O
VS	O
by	O
third-party	O
software	O
houses	O
throughout	O
the	O
1980s	O
in	O
COBOL	B-Application
,	O
PACE	O
,	O
BASIC	O
,	O
PL/I	B-Language
,	O
and	O
RPG	B-Language
II	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Wang	B-Application
OFFICE	I-Application
family	O
of	O
applications	O
and	O
Wang	O
WP	O
were	O
both	O
popular	O
applications	O
on	O
the	O
VS.	O
Word	B-General_Concept
Processing	I-General_Concept
ran	O
on	O
the	O
VS	O
through	O
services	O
that	O
emulated	O
the	O
OIS	O
environment	O
and	O
downloaded	O
the	O
WP	O
software	O
as	O
"	O
microcode	B-Device
"	O
(	O
in	O
Wang	O
terminology	O
)	O
to	O
VS	O
workstations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
press	O
and	O
the	O
industry	O
referred	O
to	O
the	O
class	O
of	O
machines	O
made	O
by	O
Wang	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
VS	O
,	O
as	O
"	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
,	O
"	O
and	O
Kenney	O
's	O
1992	O
book	O
refers	O
to	O
the	O
VS	O
line	O
as	O
"	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
"	O
throughout	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
some	O
argue	O
that	O
the	O
high-end	O
VS	O
machines	O
and	O
their	O
successors	O
should	O
qualify	O
as	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
,	O
Wang	O
avoided	O
this	O
term	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
his	O
autobiography	O
,	O
An	O
Wang	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
calling	O
the	O
VS	O
300	O
a	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
,	O
said	O
that	O
it	O
"	O
verges	O
on	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
performance.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
draw	O
the	O
distinction	O
between	O
the	O
"	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
"	O
at	O
the	O
high	O
end	O
of	O
IBM	O
's	O
line	O
(	O
"	O
just	O
as	O
Detroit	O
would	O
rather	O
sell	O
large	O
cars	O
...	O
so	O
IBM	O
would	O
rather	O
sell	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
"	O
)	O
—	O
in	O
which	O
IBM	O
had	O
a	O
virtual	O
monopoly	O
—	O
with	O
the	O
"	O
mid-sized	O
systems	O
"	O
in	O
which	O
IBM	O
had	O
not	O
achieved	O
dominance	O
:	O
"	O
The	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
market	O
is	O
still	O
healthy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
good	O
for	O
the	O
customer	O
and	O
good	O
for	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
makers.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
models	O
,	O
the	O
small	O
VS5000	O
series	O
,	O
launched	O
in	O
1988	O
,	O
were	O
user-installable	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
smallest	O
being	O
similarly	O
sized	O
to	O
contemporary	O
PCs	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VS10000	O
used	O
"	O
emitter	B-General_Concept
coupled	I-General_Concept
logic	I-General_Concept
"	O
(	O
ECL	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VS1000	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
run	O
multiple	O
concurrent	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
was	O
piloted	O
with	O
the	O
VS	O
ver7	O
and	O
a	O
Unix	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wang	O
wanted	O
to	O
compete	O
against	O
IBM	O
as	O
a	O
computer	O
company	O
,	O
selling	O
to	O
management	B-Application
information	I-Application
system	I-Application
departments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
calculators	O
,	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
systems	O
,	O
and	O
OIS	O
were	O
sold	O
into	O
individual	O
departments	O
,	O
bypassing	O
the	O
corporate	O
data-processing	O
decision-makers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
his	O
book	O
,	O
An	O
Wang	O
notes	O
that	O
,	O
to	O
sell	O
the	O
VS	O
,	O
"	O
we	O
aggressively	O
recruited	O
salesmen	O
with	O
strong	O
backgrounds	O
in	O
data	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
...	O
who	O
had	O
experience	O
dealing	O
with	O
MIS	O
executives	O
,	O
and	O
who	O
knew	O
their	O
way	O
around	O
Fortune	O
1000	O
companies.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
VS	O
took	O
hold	O
,	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
and	O
OIS	O
lines	O
were	O
phased	O
out	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
software	O
continued	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
a	O
loadable-microcode	O
environment	O
that	O
allowed	O
VS	O
workstations	O
to	O
take	O
on	O
the	O
behavior	O
of	O
traditional	O
Wang	O
WP	O
terminals	O
to	O
operate	O
with	O
the	O
VS	O
and	O
use	O
it	O
as	O
a	O
document	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wang	O
made	O
inroads	O
into	O
IBM	O
and	O
DEC	O
markets	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
but	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
serious	O
impact	O
on	O
IBM	O
's	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
market	O
due	O
to	O
self-limiting	O
factors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
many	O
instances	O
,	O
the	O
VS	O
ran	O
smaller	O
enterprises	O
up	O
to	O
about	O
and	O
,	O
in	O
larger	O
organizations	O
,	O
found	O
use	O
as	O
a	O
gateway	O
to	O
larger	O
corporate	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
,	O
handling	O
workstation	O
pass-through	O
and	O
massive	O
print	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
Exxon	O
Corporation	O
,	O
for	O
instance	O
,	O
thirteen	O
1985	O
top-of-the-line	O
VS300s	O
at	O
the	O
Houston	O
headquarters	O
were	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
and	O
into	O
the	O
1990s	O
to	O
receive	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
reports	O
and	O
make	O
them	O
viewable	O
online	O
by	O
executives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
Mellon	O
Mortgage	O
,	O
18	O
VS	O
systems	O
from	O
the	O
smallest	O
to	O
the	O
largest	O
were	O
used	O
as	O
the	O
enterprise	O
mortgage	O
origination	O
,	O
servicing	O
,	O
finance	O
,	O
documentation	O
,	O
hedge	O
system	O
and	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
gateway	O
services	O
(	O
for	O
login	O
and	O
printing	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Between	O
Mellon	O
Mortgage	O
and	O
parent	O
Mellon	O
Bank	O
,	O
their	O
network	O
contained	O
45	O
VS	O
systems	O
and	O
the	O
Bank	O
portion	O
of	O
the	O
network	O
supported	O
about	O
16,000	O
Wang	B-Application
Office	I-Application
users	O
for	O
email	O
,	O
report	O
distribution	O
,	O
and	O
scheduling	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kent	O
,	O
which	O
grew	O
to	O
,	O
ran	O
the	O
Arcus	O
distribution	O
software	O
in	O
COBOL	B-Application
and	O
KTec	O
,	O
which	O
grew	O
to	O
,	O
ran	O
the	O
CAELUS	O
MRP	O
system	O
for	O
manufacturing	O
in	O
BASIC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
market	O
for	O
standalone	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
systems	O
collapsed	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
MultiMate	B-Protocol
,	O
on	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
and	O
MS-DOS	O
PC	O
clones	O
,	O
replicated	O
the	O
keyboard	O
and	O
screen	O
interface	O
and	O
functions	O
of	O
the	O
Wang	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
was	O
actively	O
marketed	O
to	O
Wang	O
corporate	O
users	O
,	O
while	O
several	O
other	O
WYSIWYG	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
programs	O
also	O
became	O
popular	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wang	O
did	O
make	O
one	O
last	O
play	O
in	O
this	O
arena	O
,	O
producing	O
a	O
dedicated	O
Intel-based	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
called	O
the	O
Wang	B-Application
Office	I-Application
Assistant	O
in	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
very	O
reliable	O
and	O
fast	O
when	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
Wang	O
bi-directional	O
printer	O
,	O
providing	O
cheap	O
but	O
very	O
fast	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
to	O
small	O
companies	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
solicitors	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC	O
,	O
with	O
its	O
flexibility	O
of	O
combining	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
with	O
other	O
programs	O
such	O
as	O
spreadsheets	O
,	O
had	O
rendered	O
such	O
a	O
specific-task	O
machine	O
unsellable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Wang	B-Application
Office	I-Application
Assistant	O
had	O
a	O
short	O
life	O
span	O
of	O
four	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
selected	O
for	O
the	O
DTI	O
Office	B-Application
Automation	I-Application
pilot	O
schemes	O
at	O
the	O
National	O
Coal	O
Board	O
in	O
about	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
promoted	O
the	O
purchase	O
of	O
a	O
VAX-11/780	O
for	O
'	O
real-time	O
'	O
signal	O
processing	O
research	O
and	O
created	O
the	O
Peripheral	O
Signal	O
Processor	O
board	O
(	O
PSP	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
2200	O
PCS	B-Device
(	O
Personal	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
System	O
)	O
and	O
2200	O
PCS-II	O
models	O
in	O
1976	O
,	O
the	O
history	O
of	O
computing	O
regards	O
the	O
earliest	O
PC	O
as	O
one	O
which	O
contained	O
a	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
,	O
which	O
the	O
2200	O
PCS	B-Device
did	O
not	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
self-contained	O
PCS-II	O
incorporated	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
innovations	O
that	O
would	O
later	O
be	O
seen	O
in	O
PCs	B-Device
,	O
including	O
the	O
first	O
5.25-inch	O
floppy	O
drives	O
that	O
were	O
designed	O
for	O
the	O
PCS-II	O
by	O
Shugart	O
Associates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
Wang	O
PC	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
April	O
1982	O
to	O
counter	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
which	O
had	O
been	O
released	O
the	O
previous	O
August	O
and	O
which	O
had	O
gained	O
wide	O
acceptance	O
in	O
the	O
market	O
for	O
which	O
Wang	O
traditionally	O
positioned	O
the	O
OIS	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8086	I-General_Concept
microprocessor	B-Architecture
,	O
a	O
faster	O
CPU	O
than	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
's	O
8088	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
hardware/software	O
package	O
that	O
permitted	O
the	O
Wang	O
PC	O
to	O
act	O
as	O
a	O
terminal	B-General_Concept
to	O
the	O
OIS	O
and	O
VS	O
products	O
was	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
hardware	B-Architecture
component	O
was	O
made	O
of	O
two	O
large	O
add-in	O
boards	O
called	O
the	O
WLOC	O
(	O
Wang	O
Local	O
Office	O
Connection	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
contained	O
a	O
Z-80	B-General_Concept
processor	O
and	O
64	O
KB	O
of	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
PC-VS	O
hardware	B-Architecture
used	O
the	O
928	O
terminal	B-General_Concept
emulator	O
board	O
;	O
the	O
WLOC	O
boards	O
were	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
subsequent	O
80286	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
PCs	B-Device
later	O
formed	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
the	O
system	O
console	O
on	O
VS7000	O
and	O
later	O
series	O
of	O
the	O
Wang	O
mid-frame	O
series	O
,	O
being	O
used	O
for	O
the	O
initialisation	O
of	O
the	O
boot	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
to	O
the	O
Wang	O
VS	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
the	O
command	O
line	O
was	O
not	O
evident	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Everything	O
could	O
be	O
run	O
from	O
menus	O
,	O
including	O
formatting	O
a	O
disk	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
each	O
item	O
on	O
a	O
menu	O
could	O
be	O
explained	O
by	O
hitting	O
a	O
help	B-Protocol
key	I-Protocol
on	O
the	O
keyboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
software	O
was	O
later	O
sold	O
in	O
MS-DOS-compatible	O
form	O
for	O
non-Wang	O
hardware	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Wang	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
software	O
was	O
also	O
very	O
graphical	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
keyboard	O
had	O
16	O
function-keys	O
and	O
,	O
unlike	O
WordStar	B-Application
(	O
the	O
popular	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
of	O
the	O
day	O
)	O
,	O
control	O
key	O
combinations	O
were	O
not	O
required	O
to	O
navigate	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
F-keys	O
had	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
functions	O
labeled	O
on	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
being	O
a	O
compliant	O
MS-DOS	O
system	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
at	O
the	O
hardware	B-Architecture
level	O
,	O
because	O
MS-DOS	O
was	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
simple	O
program	O
loader	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
could	O
obtain	O
acceptable	O
performance	O
by	O
direct	O
manipulation	O
of	O
the	O
hardware	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wang	O
used	O
a	O
16-bit	O
data	O
bus	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
8-bit	O
data	O
bus	O
used	O
by	O
IBM	O
,	O
arguing	O
that	O
applications	O
would	O
run	O
much	O
faster	O
since	O
most	O
operations	O
required	O
I/O	O
(	O
disk	B-Device
,	O
screen	O
,	O
keyboard	O
,	O
printer	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
this	O
16-bit	O
design	O
,	O
Wang	O
used	O
peripheral	O
hardware	B-Architecture
devices	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Wang	O
PC	O
display	O
adapter	O
,	O
that	O
were	O
not	O
compatible	O
with	O
their	O
counterparts	O
in	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
meant	O
that	O
the	O
vast	O
library	O
of	O
software	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
could	O
not	O
be	O
directly	O
run	O
on	O
the	O
Wang	O
PC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
those	O
programs	O
that	O
were	O
either	O
written	O
for	O
the	O
Wang	O
PC	O
or	O
ported	O
from	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
were	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lotus	B-Application
1-2-3	I-Application
and	O
dBase	B-Application
II	I-Application
were	O
also	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
lack	O
of	O
application	O
software	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
Wang	O
PC	O
's	O
end	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
replaced	O
by	O
an	O
Intel	O
80286-based	O
product	O
that	O
was	O
plug	B-Device
compatible	I-Device
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
Wang	O
PCs	B-Device
were	O
released	O
with	O
a	O
monochrome	B-Device
graphics	I-Device
adapter	I-Device
that	O
supported	O
a	O
single	O
video	O
mode	O
with	O
text	O
and	O
graphics	O
planes	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
scrolled	O
independently	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
board	O
accomplished	O
this	O
by	O
monitoring	O
all	O
I/O	O
and	O
memory	O
transactions	O
(	O
visible	O
in	O
those	O
days	O
before	O
North/South	O
bridge	O
chips	O
to	O
any	O
board	O
plugged	O
into	O
a	O
slot	O
on	O
the	O
expansion	O
bus	O
)	O
and	O
generating	O
a	O
non-maskable	B-General_Concept
interrupt	I-General_Concept
(	O
NMI	O
)	O
whenever	O
an	O
operation	O
was	O
deemed	O
to	O
involve	O
an	O
incompatible	O
device	O
,	O
requiring	O
emulation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
floppy	O
controller	O
circuitry	O
on	O
the	O
Wang	O
PC	O
was	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
but	O
involved	O
enough	O
design	O
differences	O
that	O
PC-compatible	O
software	O
attempting	O
to	O
manipulate	O
it	O
directly	O
would	O
fail	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wang	O
's	O
PC	O
emulation	O
hardware	B-Architecture
would	O
detect	O
I/O	O
and	O
memory	O
operations	O
involving	O
the	O
addresses	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
floppy	O
controller	O
in	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
and	O
generate	O
an	O
NMI	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NMI	O
handler	O
would	O
be	O
activated	O
(	O
the	O
exception	O
vector	O
having	O
been	O
appropriated	O
during	O
system	O
init	O
to	O
point	O
to	O
ROM	O
routines	O
on	O
the	O
emulation	O
board	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
NMI	O
routine	O
in	O
the	O
PC	O
BIOS	O
)	O
and	O
would	O
then	O
update	O
an	O
internal	O
representation	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
floppy	O
controller	O
and	O
manipulate	O
the	O
real	O
controller	O
to	O
reflect	O
its	O
state	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
PC-emulation	O
on	O
the	O
8086-based	O
Wang	O
PC	O
was	O
working	O
well	O
when	O
IBM	O
released	O
their	O
80286-based	O
PC-AT	O
,	O
so	O
Wang	O
made	O
the	O
80286-based	O
Wang	O
APC	O
(	O
Advanced	O
Professional	O
Computer	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
booted	O
into	O
MS-DOS	O
or	O
another	O
compatible	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
supported	O
ISA-standard	O
expansion	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VS	O
connectivity	O
was	O
via	O
an	O
ISA-based	O
VS-terminal	O
card	O
,	O
or	O
via	O
LightSpeed	O
,	O
the	O
networked	O
VS	O
Terminal	B-General_Concept
Emulator	O
,	O
over	O
an	O
IPX-based	O
Ethernet	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC-240	O
came	O
with	O
a	O
Wang-specific	O
Hercules	B-Device
Graphics	I-Device
Card	I-Device
and	O
compatible	O
screen	O
,	O
which	O
also	O
acted	O
as	O
a	O
keyboard	O
extension	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
the	O
base	O
unit	O
could	O
be	O
kept	O
some	O
distance	O
from	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
later	O
replaced	O
with	O
an	O
EGA	B-Device
card	O
and	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
were	O
supplied	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
with	O
MS-DOS	O
and	O
Windows	O
3.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
came	O
with	O
2megabytes	O
of	O
installed	O
RAM	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
expandable	O
to	O
16	O
megabytes	O
using	O
SIMM	B-General_Concept
memory	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
a	O
1.44	O
megabyte	O
floppy	O
disk	B-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
an	O
internal	O
80	O
megabyte	O
hard	O
disk	B-Device
,	O
and	O
a	O
CD-ROM	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
came	O
with	O
MS-DOS	O
and	O
Windows	O
3.1	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1994	O
,	O
Wang	O
released	O
the	O
slimline	O
Alliance	O
750CD	O
80486	B-General_Concept
based	O
PC	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
System	O
BIOS	B-Device
settings	I-Device
and	O
the	O
real-time	O
clock	O
were	O
maintained	O
by	O
four	O
standard	O
AA	B-Algorithm
batteries	I-Algorithm
instead	O
of	O
a	O
specialty	O
battery	O
pack	O
or	O
lithium	O
battery	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
offered	O
with	O
a	O
33MHz	O
80486DX	B-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
750CD	O
could	O
be	O
upgraded	O
to	O
later	O
Socket	B-General_Concept
3	I-General_Concept
processors	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
80486DX2	B-Device
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
third	O
party	O
CPU	O
upgrade	O
adapters	O
or	O
interposers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allowed	O
upgrading	O
to	O
speeds	O
beyond	O
50MHz	O
without	O
overclocking	B-Application
,	O
or	O
more	O
than	O
100MHz	O
with	O
overclocking	B-Application
,	O
dependent	O
on	O
the	O
processor	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Email	O
,	O
via	O
Wang	B-Application
OFFICE	I-Application
,	O
of	O
the	O
resulting	O
document	O
set	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initial	O
storage	O
for	O
document	O
images	O
is	O
eight	O
gigabytes	O
of	O
magnetic	O
disk	B-Device
storage	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
view	O
within	O
the	O
PC	O
community	O
is	O
that	O
Wang	O
Labs	O
failed	O
because	O
it	O
specialized	O
in	O
computers	O
designed	O
specifically	O
for	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
and	O
did	O
not	O
foresee	O
and	O
could	O
not	O
compete	O
with	O
general-purpose	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
with	O
word-processing	B-General_Concept
software	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
was	O
not	O
actually	O
the	O
mainstay	O
of	O
Wang	O
's	O
business	O
by	O
the	O
time	O
desktop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
began	O
to	O
gain	O
in	O
popularity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Wang	O
manufactured	O
desktops	O
,	O
its	O
main	O
business	O
by	O
the	O
1980s	O
was	O
its	O
VS	O
line	O
of	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
and	O
"	O
midframe	O
"	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
market	O
for	O
these	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
was	O
conquered	O
by	O
enhanced	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
like	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Macintosh	I-Device
and	O
the	O
Wintel	B-Device
PC	O
and	O
Sun	O
,	O
IBM	O
,	O
and	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
October	O
4	O
,	O
1983	O
,	O
Wang	O
Laboratories	O
announced	O
fourteen	O
major	O
hardware	B-Architecture
and	O
software	O
products	O
and	O
promised	O
dates	O
of	O
delivery	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
And	O
if	O
you	O
could	O
attach	O
the	O
kitchen	O
sink	O
to	O
a	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
,	O
they	O
would	O
announce	O
that	O
too.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
retrospect	O
,	O
this	O
was	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
vaporware	B-Application
announcement	O
,	O
"	O
and	O
it	O
hurt	O
the	O
credibility	O
of	O
Fred	O
Wang	O
and	O
Wang	O
Laboratories	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
1990	O
,	O
Wang	O
announced	O
their	O
first	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
running	O
Unix	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
used	O
Xerox	O
printers	O
and	O
UNIX	B-Application
workstations	O
from	O
Sun	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
product	O
vanished	O
before	O
coming	O
to	O
market	O
,	O
because	O
few	O
Wang	O
employees	O
could	O
use	O
or	O
support	O
UNIX	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
UNIX	B-Application
ran	O
on	O
the	O
VSInteractive	O
Systems	O
first	O
ported	O
IN/ix	O
(	O
their	O
IBM	B-Application
360	I-Application
version	O
of	O
SYS5	O
UNIX	B-Application
)	O
to	O
run	O
in	O
a	O
VSOS	O
Virtual	O
machine	O
circa	O
1985	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
Wang	O
engineers	O
completed	O
the	O
port	O
so	O
that	O
it	O
ran	O
"	O
native	O
"	O
on	O
the	O
VS	O
hardware	B-Architecture
soon	O
thereafterbut	O
performance	O
was	O
always	O
sub-par	O
as	O
UNIX	B-Application
was	O
never	O
a	O
good	O
fit	O
for	O
the	O
batch-mode	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
VS	O
hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
the	O
line-at-a-time	O
processing	O
approach	O
taken	O
by	O
the	O
VS	O
workstations	O
;	O
indeed	O
,	O
the	O
workstation	O
code	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
rewritten	O
to	O
bundle	O
up	O
each	O
keystroke	O
into	O
a	O
frame	O
to	O
be	O
sent	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
host	O
when	O
running	O
UNIX	B-Application
so	O
that	O
"	O
tty	O
"	O
style	O
processing	O
could	O
be	O
implemented	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PACE	O
,	O
which	O
offered	O
its	O
data	B-Application
dictionary	I-Application
,	O
excellent	O
referential	B-General_Concept
integrity	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
speedy	O
application	O
development	O
,	O
was	O
in	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
being	O
ported	O
to	O
UNIX	B-Application
under	O
the	O
name	O
OPEN	O
Pace	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
client-server	O
RDBMS	O
model	O
built	O
on	O
the	O
original	O
product	O
's	O
ideology	O
,	O
OPEN	O
Pace	O
was	O
demonstrated	O
at	O
the	O
North	B-Device
American	O
PACE	O
User	O
Group	O
Conferences	O
in	O
both	O
Boston	O
and	O
Chicago	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
OPEN	O
Pace	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
a	O
new	O
Windows-based	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
called	O
UpWord	O
(	O
which	O
was	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
considered	O
a	O
strong	O
contender	O
to	O
retake	O
Wang	O
's	O
original	O
market	O
leadership	O
from	O
Microsoft	O
)	O
,	O
were	O
touted	O
as	O
their	O
new	O
direction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wang	O
hardware	B-Architecture
strategy	O
to	O
re-sell	O
IBM	B-Device
RS/6000s	I-Device
also	O
included	O
further	O
pursuit	O
of	O
UNIX	B-Application
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
1991	O
,	O
Wang	O
won	O
a	O
suit	O
against	O
NEC	O
and	O
Toshiba	O
claiming	O
violation	O
of	O
Wang	O
's	O
patents	O
on	O
single	B-General_Concept
in-line	I-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
modules	I-General_Concept
(	O
SIMMs	B-General_Concept
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
advanced	O
VS	O
system	O
,	O
capable	O
of	O
supporting	O
over	O
1,000	O
usersthe	O
VS18000	O
Model	O
950was	O
released	O
in	O
1999	O
,	O
and	O
smaller	O
models	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
CPU	B-Architecture
chip	I-Architecture
were	O
released	O
in	O
2000the	O
VS6760	O
and	O
the	O
VS6780	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
were	O
the	O
last	O
VS-based	O
hardware	B-Architecture
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wang	O
Labs	O
then	O
became	O
Getronics	O
North	B-Device
America	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2005	O
,	O
Getronics	O
announced	O
New	O
VS	O
(	O
VSGX	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
product	O
designed	O
to	O
run	O
the	O
VS	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
and	O
all	O
VS	O
software	O
on	O
Intel	B-Operating_System
80x86	I-Operating_System
and	O
IBM	B-Device
POWER	I-Device
machines	O
under	O
Linux	O
or	O
Unix	B-Application
,	O
using	O
a	O
hardware	B-Operating_System
abstraction	I-Operating_System
layer	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
New	O
VS	O
combines	O
configured	O
mainstream	O
PC	O
or	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
server	O
hardware	B-Architecture
running	O
virtualization	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
interoperable	O
with	O
SCSI-based	O
Wang	O
VS	O
tape	O
and	O
disk	B-Device
drives	I-Device
,	O
which	O
provide	O
a	O
means	O
of	O
restoring	O
VS	O
files	O
from	O
standard	O
backup	O
tapes	O
or	O
copying	O
VS	O
disk	B-Device
drives	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dutch	O
telecommunications	O
operator	O
KPN	O
acquired	O
Getronics	O
in	O
North	B-Device
America	O
and	O
some	O
parts	O
of	O
Europe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2008	O
,	O
Getronics	O
North	B-Device
America	O
(	O
now	O
an	O
arm	O
of	O
KPN	O
)	O
announced	O
the	O
ending	O
of	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
legacy	O
VS	O
line	O
as	O
existing	O
contracts	O
expired	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
TransVirtual	O
Systems	O
would	O
be	O
exclusive	O
reseller	O
of	O
the	O
New	O
VS	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2008	O
,	O
KPN	O
sold	O
Getronics	O
North	B-Device
America	O
to	O
CompuCom	O
of	O
Dallas	O
,	O
Texas	O
.	O
</s>
