Starlink from 1984

15 hours ago

StarLink was a hardware/software product announced by Digital Research Inc (DRI) in May 1984 that turned an IBM PC into a multiuser system supporting up to five users via terminals.
The system included a board with an Intel 8088 CPU, 64KB RAM, and four RS-232 ports, running DRI's Concurrent DOS to enable multitasking and replace multiple PCs with one machine and inexpensive terminals.
StarLink faced challenges such as high costs (priced at $1695, requiring a PC with 512KB RAM and a hard disk, totaling near $5000), compatibility issues (e.g., inability to run Lotus 1-2-3), and was not a commercial success, being abandoned by 1985.

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