n 1980 Smithsonian staff had typewriters and telephones on their desk, with
one or two FAX machines per office.  The Smithsonian operated a single
general purpose computer, the Honeywell mainframe, for all Smithsonian data
processing applications and which did not include an email application.
Desktop computers were nowhere to be found.

When the Museum Support Center (MSC) was under construction in 1982, the
Smithsonian was also researching an interactive computer system for the new
facility to document and manage the movement of tens of millions of
specimens and objects to the new Suitland, Maryland, storage facility.  One
of the secondary requirements was a "mail message system."  Six of the
seven responding vendors offered an electronic mail system.  A VAX-11/750
from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was selected, and was operational
in April 1983.

http://s.si.edu/1gLZMt3
http://s.si.edu/1gLZMt3+




-- 
Peterk
Dallas, Tx
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