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Rainbow 100
 | |
 DEC Rainbow 100 | |
| Manufacturer | Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) |
|---|---|
| Type | Personal computer |
| Release date | 1982 |
| Operating system | CP/M, MS-DOS, UCSD p-System, Concurrent CP/M, Venix, QNX |
| CPU | Zilog Z80 @ 4.012 MHz Intel 8088 @ 4.815 MHz |
| Memory | 64 - 896 KB |
| Successor | VAXmate |
The Rainbow 100 is a microcomputer introduced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1982. This desktop unit had a monitor similar to the VT220 and a dual-CPU box with both 4 MHz Zilog Z80 and 4.81 MHz Intel 8088 CPUs. The Rainbow 100 was a triple-use machine: VT100 mode (industry standard terminal for interacting with DEC's own VAX), 8-bit CP/M mode (using the Z80), and CP/M-86 or MS-DOS mode using the 8088.[1][2] It ultimately failed to succeed in the marketplace which became dominated by the simpler IBM PC and its clones which established the industry standard as compatibility with CP/M became less important than IBM PC compatibility. Writer David Ahl called it a disastrous foray into the personal computer market. [3] The Rainbow was launched along with the similarly packaged DEC Professional and DECmate II which were also not successful. The failure of DEC to gain a significant foothold in the high-volume PC market would be the beginning of the end of the computer hardware industry in New England, as nearly all computer companies located there were focused on minicomputers for large organizations, from DEC to Data General, Wang, Prime, Computervision, Honeywell, and Symbolics Inc.
- ^ Klein, Erik S. "DEC Rainbow 100". The Vintage Computer. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ Ryan, Chris. "Digital Rainbow 100". Old-Computers.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "Digital Advert - June 1983". Retrieved 21 March 2023.
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