{"id":20290,"date":"2024-12-11T14:34:42","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T19:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/?page_id=20290"},"modified":"2026-01-09T11:43:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T16:43:53","slug":"vin30","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin30\/","title":{"rendered":"BMC if800"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>BMC if800<\/h2>\n<p>[vin30]<\/p>\n<p>The BMC if800 was a notable early 1980s business computer distinguished by its robust all-in-one design, which integrated a CPU, keyboard, dual 5-inch floppy drives, a 12-inch color monitor, and a fast dot matrix printer into a single, heavy unit. Its claim to fame included advanced features for its time, such as a built-in \u201cSuper View\u201d windows manager (an early graphical interface), and support for Chinese character (kanji) processing, making it especially significant for Asian markets and pioneering business computing applications. While manufactured by OKI Electric in Japan and marketed under the BMC brand abroad, the if800 was not a mass-market success due to its high price and business focus, but it holds historical importance as an early example of integrated business PCs.<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260109_153817250-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-23144\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260109_153817250-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"BMC if800\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260109_153817250-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260109_153817250-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260109_153817250-160x120.jpg 160w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260109_153817250-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260109_153817250-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260109_153817250-2048x1538.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260109_153817250-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20260109_153817250-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Manufacturer<\/strong>: OKI Electric Industry Company Ltd. in Japan and marketed internationally under the BMC brand<\/li>\n<li><strong>Type<\/strong>: All-in-one business personal computer<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release Date<\/strong>: 1982<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cost at release<\/strong>: USD $7,950 (CAD ~$29,000 adjusted for inflation)<\/li>\n<li><strong>MIPS<\/strong>: 0.58 (580 KIPS)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"TextRun SCXW36078203 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW36078203 BCX0\">Hardware Specifications<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>CPU<\/strong>: Zilog Z80, 4 MHz<\/li>\n<li><strong>Memory<\/strong>: Typically 64 KB (expandable in some models)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Storage<\/strong>: Dual 5.25-inch floppy disk drives<\/li>\n<li><strong>Display<\/strong>: 12-inch color monitor (integrated)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Printer<\/strong>: High-speed dot matrix printer (integrated)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keyboard<\/strong>: Built-in, full-size<\/li>\n<li><strong>Expansion<\/strong>: Limited internal expansion due to all-in-one design<\/li>\n<li><strong>Graphics<\/strong>: Early support for graphical interface (\u201cSuper View\u201d windows manager)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Weight<\/strong>: ~50 kg<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"TextRun SCXW136206418 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW136206418 BCX0\">Operating System &amp; Programming Languages<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW136206418 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"my-0\"><strong>Operating System<\/strong>: CP\/M 2.2<\/li>\n<li><strong>Supported Languages<\/strong>: MBASIC and CBASIC, Pascal\/Z, FORTRAN, COBOL, Assembly language (Z80 macro assembler) and Other CP\/M-compatible languages and tools<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Notables<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The BMC if800 was one of the earliest all-in-one business computers, integrating a CPU, dual floppy drives, a 12-inch color monitor, keyboard, and a high-speed dot matrix printer into a single, robust unit.<\/li>\n<li>It featured an early graphical interface called \u201cSuper View\u201d windows manager, and supported Chinese character (kanji) processing, making it notable for multilingual business use and pioneering in Asian markets.<\/li>\n<li>The Model 20 was especially recognized for helping to pioneer the business personal computer market in Japan, while later models added advanced features like multi-window operation and enhanced graphics.<\/li>\n<li>Its large size and heavy build earned it a reputation as a \u201cbusiness tank\u201d among enthusiasts, though no widely used nickname is documented<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Donated by<\/strong>: Dr. Arlen Michael<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BMC if800 [vin30] The BMC if800 was a notable early 1980s business computer distinguished by its robust all-in-one design, which integrated a CPU, keyboard, dual 5-inch floppy drives, a 12-inch color monitor, and a fast dot matrix printer into a single, heavy unit. Its claim to fame included advanced features for its time, such as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":19704,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BMC if800 - School of Computer Science<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"BMC if800 The BMC if800 was a notable early 1980s business computer distinguished by its robust all-in-one design, which integrated a CPU, keyboard, dual\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin30\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin30\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin30\/\",\"name\":\"BMC if800 - 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