On its journey from calculators and word processing
to serious data processing Wang developed and marketed
several lines of small computer system, some of which
were WP-based and some of which were DP-based.
The most identifiable Wang minicomputer performing
recognizable data processing was the Wang 2200 which
appeared in May 1973. Unlike some other desktop computers
such as the HP 9830, it had a CRT in a cabinet that
also included an integrated computer controlled cassette
tape storage unit and keyboard. Microcoded to run interpretive
BASIC, about 65,000 systems were shipped in its lifetime
and it found wide use in small and medium-size businesses
worldwide.
Unlike some other desktop computers, such as the
HP 9830, it had a cathode ray tube (CRT) in a cabinet
that also included an integrated computer controlled
cassette tape storage unit and keyboard. Microcoded
to run interpretive BASIC, about 65,000 systems were
shipped in its lifetime and it found wide use in small
and medium-size businesses worldwide. The 2200 evolved
into a desktop computer and larger system to support
up to 16 workstations and utilized commercial disk technologies
that appeared in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The
disk subsystems could be attached to up to 15 computers
giving a theoretical upper limit of 240 workstations
in a single cluster.