Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A mid-sized computer, usually fitting within a single cabinet about the size of a refrigerator, that has less memory than a mainframe.
Wiktionary
- n. computer hardware A computer smaller than a mainframe, but larger than a microcomputer.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Computers) a mid-sized digital computer; at any given point in the development of computer technology, a
minicomputer will be faster and have greater capacity than amicrocomputer , but will be slower and have less capacity than amainframe computer .
WordNet 3.0
- n. a digital computer of medium size
Examples
“Around 1971, the work was moved to a Univac 1108 machine and then, in 1978, we were fortunate enough to acquire the first VAX/780 minicomputer from the Digital Equipment”
“Back then a minicomputer was the size of a desk, whereas a microcomputer could fit on top of a desk.”
“He formed the Digital Equipment Corporation to manufacture and sell computer components, and then he built something radically different from what had existed before: a smaller computer called a minicomputer that interacted directly with the user.”
“Of course, they were "mini" in name only: Back in the early 1970s, a "minicomputer" was a series of cabinets that dominated a room, made more noise than an asthmatic air conditioner, and had five- and six-figure price tags.”
“Dr. Brilliant's company supplied what was then considered fairly advanced technology: a "minicomputer" that took up most of a modified closet, as well as conferencing software.”
The Wall Street Journal: Long Before Facebook, There Was the Well
“Rather, the machine was sold as a "minicomputer" and was aimed exclusively at electronics hobbyists.”
“That they were able to do this was due to two factors: their coding ability; and the fact that Allen had created a software simulator of the Altair machine that ran on a Harvard minicomputer.”
The Guardian: Idea Man: A Memoir by the Co-founder of Microsoft by Paul Allen – review
“It is still a mystery how the entire Boston-area-based minicomputer industry could fail so suddenly in the early 1990s.”
The Wall Street Journal: Kodak Didn't Kill Rochester. It Was the Other Way Around
“Each one functions like a minicomputer with special functions assigned to it.”
USA Today: Experts say Gabrielle Giffords needs year to show progress
“DEC had been built on the minicomputer, a once innovative category now rendered a dinosaur by the personal computer revolution.”
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