News Summary

• The company employed over 500 people, including more than 100 engineers, and had expanded into another building at 160 Central Avenue, which today houses the Monterey Bay Aquarium's offices.In 1980, IBM established a new business division in Boca Raton, Florida, to develop a desktop computer for the mass market.
• They sold CP/M disks via mail order and walked to the post office every workday to pick up checks resulting from ads placed in industry magazines such as Byte and Dr. Dobbs’ Journal of Computer Calisthenics and Orthodontia.A licensing deal with computer manufacturer IMSAI bestowed credibility across the industry.
• CP/M became accepted as a standard and was offered by most early personal computer vendors, including pioneers Altair, Amstrad, Kaypro, and Osborne.In 1978, revenue topped $100,00 per month, and DRI purchased a Victorian house at 801 Lighthouse Avenue for the company headquarters.
• A single program could run without modification on computers supplied by multiple manufacturers, laying an essential foundation for the personal computer revolution.Dorothy and Gary opened their first office at 716 Lighthouse Avenue, Pacific Grove, on the upper floor, with a view of Monterey Bay.
• Such “closed systems” made it difficult or impossible to mix and match the best pieces of equipment and software applications programs from different manufacturers.The BIOS code allowed all Intel and compatible microprocessor-based computers from other manufacturers to run CP/M on any new hardware.
• On Monday, when they returned to work, contractors began raising the building to make room in the basement for a new Digital Equipment Corporation VAX 11/750 computer system.