Nabu 1100

• Operating System:
  • NABU Network Operating Environment, Proprietary broadcast control & content delivery software, managed the continuous “data carousel” transmission to subscribers handled scheduling, packetization, and channel injection
  • Development & content preparation systems often used CP/M on Z80-based development machines used to author, compile, and manage software before broadcast
  • Low-level firmware: ROM-based control and diagnostics, Hardware control for RF modulation and network timing
• Supported Languages:
  • BASIC – Primary language for educational and consumer software
  • Z80 assembly language – Used for high-performance applications and system-level code
  • C (CP/M development environments) – Used for tools and utilities
  • Pascal (less common) – Used in educational software development

• NABU = “Natural Access to Bi-directional Utilities” and named after the ancient Babylonian god of writing, wisdom, and understanding​
• Developed by NABU Manufacturing Corporation in Ottawa, part of Canada’s early push into networked computing.
• Helped power a system where software was delivered from a central server rather than stored locally.
• Supported the NABU cable network, enabling centralized software distribution decades before broadband internet.
• Worked alongside the NABU Personal Computer to deliver interactive content to homes.
• Positioned between consumer micros and business multi-user systems.
• Could support multiple terminals from a single machine.
• Used to create, test, and distribute applications over cable infrastructure.
• Fit within the dominant business microcomputer software environment of the early 1980’s.
• Programs transmitted over cable TV networks.
• Enabled two-way interaction via cable long before dial-up internet was common.
• Represents one of the earliest mass-networked computing ecosystems.
• Demonstrates that online services were envisioned before the internet era.
• Highlights Canada’s role in early online consumer technology.
• Serves as a bridge between time-sharing systems and modern cloud services.
• Considered a missing link in the evolution from centralized computing to the internet age.

Grant Bechthold Sr.

“My dad was a rocket scientist with NRC. When they shut it down in the late 60’s they stood up a micro computer group at NRC. He was very active in the hobbyist Ottawa computer group. Our basement was full of computers and electronics.” – Grant Bechthold Jr.

Grant Bechthold Sr. was an Engineering graduate from Carleton University.