Company:Applied Logic Corporation
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| Industry | Time-sharing computers |
|---|---|
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Founded | 1962 in Princeton, New Jersey |
| Defunct | 1975 |
Key people | Richard M. Colgate (president) |
Applied Logic Corporation (AL/COM) was a time-sharing company in the 1960s and 70s.
Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, AL/COM started in 1962 working on "mathematical techniques and their applications to problem-solving."[1]
Seeing the need for in-house time sharing the company bought a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-6 and developed its time sharing service, which came on-line in 1966.[1][2] In 1968 the company began development of "Mathematics Park" in Montgomery Township, New Jersey, "designed to provide tenants with a computer-serviced and mathematically-oriented environment," adjacent to the Princeton Airport.[3] Also in 1968 the company registered AL/COM as a trademark for its service.[4]
The system involved both custom software and custom hardware, and the service was marketed nationally by a network of associates.[5]
Under the AL-COM Distributor Plan, local computer service firms such as service bureaus, programming, and software firms will be designated as the local AL-COM distributor. The AL-COM distributor will purchase AL-COM computing power at a discount from the Applied Logic Corp., and then in turn sell it at a mark-up.[6]
In the late 1960s, the company developed a system called SAM (Semi-Automated Mathematics) for proving mathematical theories without human intervention.[7] A theorem proved by the system, "SAM's lemma", was "widely hailed as the first contribution of automated reasoning systems to mathematics."[8] The SAM series was one of the first interactive theorem provers and had an influence on subsequent theorem provers.[9]
In 1965 Applied logic acquired a DEC PDP-6 computer system,[10] which became operation in January 1966.[1] By 1969 the company had four DEC PDP-10 dual KL-10 systems with plans for a fifth, and had expanded nationwide with offices in San Jose, San Diego, and San Francisco, California .[11] The company also planned to market its time sharing systems in addition to providing services.[12] The company reported sales of $1,200,995, with an operational loss of $63,456.[13]
By 1972 AL/COM had local dial-up facilities in ten cities: Boston, Massachusetts, Buffalo, New York, Chicago, Illinois, Indianapolis, Indiana, Montclair, New Jersey, New York, New York, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Princeton, New Jersey, Washington, DC, and Wilmington, Delaware.[1] The computer center was located in Mathematics Park in Princeton.[12]
By late 1969 AL/COM had definite plans for CIT Leasing to leaseback $2.73 million USD of their equipment at Mathematics Park and was considering an additional $7.5 million more.[14] By 1970 the company was in financial difficulty and negotiated an agreement to defer $1,300,000 of debt.[15][16] Applied Logic filed for Chapter XI bankruptcy in 1975.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Auerbach Publishers (1972). Auerbach Guide to Time Sharing. Philadelphia, PA. p. 86. http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/auerbach/GuideToTimesharing_Jan73.pdf.
- ↑ "Center Offers Shared Use of Computer". The Central New Jersey Home News. 12 Jan 1966. https://www.newspapers.com/image/315529546/.
- ↑ "Construction Underway for Mathematics Park". The Central New Jersey Home News. 27 Jan 1969. https://www.newspapers.com/image/316367410/.
- ↑ "Legal Force Trademarkia". http://www.trademarkia.com/alcom-72303736.html.
- ↑ "Time Sharing Users: What's an AL/COM (advertisement)". Hartford Courant. 16 Mar 1969. https://www.newspapers.com/image/371596872/.
- ↑ "New Computer Plan Unveiled". The Central New Jersey Home News. 2 May 1968. https://www.newspahttps://www.newspapers.com/image/315747342.
- ↑ Krantz, Steven G. (2011). The Proof is in the Pudding: The Changing Nature of Mathematical Proof. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-387-48908-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=mMZBtxVZiQoC&pg=PA122. Retrieved Jan 9, 2020.
- ↑ MacKenzie, Donald A. (2004). Mechanizing Proof: Computing, Risk, and Trust. MIT Press. p. 89. ISBN 0-262-13393-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=QiMS8t4V_0cC&pg=PA89. Retrieved Jan 9, 2020.
- ↑ Harrison, John (2007). "A Short Survey of Automated Reasoning" (in en). Algebraic Biology. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. LNCS 4545. Springer. pp. 334–349. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-73433-8_24. ISBN 978-3-540-73432-1. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-540-73433-8_24. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ↑ "Decuscope". Decuscope 4 (1). January 1965. http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/dec/decus/decuscope/Decuscope_Vol04_1965.pdf. Retrieved Jan 9, 2020.
- ↑ "First Dual AL-10 Activated in AL/Com's T/S Network". ComputerWorld. September 10, 1969. https://books.google.com/books?id=8nQnAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22applied+logic%22&pg=PA14.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "APPLIED LOGIC EXPANDS". Town Topics. November 20, 1969. https://archive.org/details/towntopicsprince2438unse/page/34/mode/2up?q=%22applied+logic%22.
- ↑ "EARNINGS REPORTED". Town Topics. June 12, 1969. https://archive.org/details/towntopicsprince2415unse/page/14/mode/2up?q=%22applied+logic%22&view=theater.
- ↑ "Lease Arrangement Set By C.I.T. and Applied Logic". Town Topics. November 13, 1969. https://archive.org/details/towntopicsprince2437unse/page/36/mode/2up?q=%22applied+logic%22.
- ↑ "Applied Logic Lays Off 40% of Workers, All in R&D". Computer World. May 13, 1970. https://books.google.com/books?id=O_4vAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22applied+logic%22&pg=PA26.
- ↑ "In re APPLIED LOGIC CORPORATION, Bankrupt. NEW JERSEY NATIONAL BANK, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Daniel GUTTERMAN, as Trustee of Applied Logic Corporation, Bankrupt, Defendant-Appellee.". April 27, 1978. https://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/576/576.F2d.952.77-5034.671.html.
External links
- A woman adjusting an Applied Logic Corporation (AL/COM) time sharing AL-10 computer system (photo at Getty Images)
- CRT-AIDED SEMI-AUTOMATED MATHEMATICS SAM Final Report
- Applied Logic Publications at Bitsavers
- Photos of computer room and staff
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