computer science

Sord Computer Corporation

Sord Computer Corporation is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sord Computer Corporation rather than just read about it. In short: Sord Computer Corporation is a Japanese electronics company, founded in 1970 by the entrepreneur Takayoshi Shiina. From 1985 until 2018, it was a subsidiary of Toshiba and became known variously as Toshiba Personal Computer System Corporation and Toshiba Platform Solution Corporation.

Key takeaways

Sord Computer Corporation belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sord Computer Corporation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sord Computer Corporation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sord Computer Corporation is a Japanese electronics company, founded in 1970 by the entrepreneur Takayoshi Shiina. From 1985 until 2018, it was a subsidiary of Toshiba and became known variously as Toshiba Personal Computer System Corporation and Toshiba Platform Solution Corporation. In 2018, Toshiba sold off the business and its name reverted to Sord Computer Corporation. It now focuses on embedded systems among other interests.

History

Early years

SORD was founded by Takayoshi Shiina in 1970 when he was 26 years old. Initially, the company wrote software for DEC PDP minicomputers, before it branched out into hardware production. The name SORD is a contraction of SOftware/haRDware, reflecting the dual focus of the company. Sord presented the SMP80/08 in 1973, one of the first microcomputers, using the Intel 8008 microprocessor. However, it did not have a commercial release. After the first general-purpose microprocessor, the Intel 8080, was announced in April 1974, Sord announced the SMP80/x series in May 1974. In 1977, SORD released the M200 Smart Home Computer, one of the first home computers. It was a desktop computer that combined a Zilog Z80 CPU, keyboard, CRT display, floppy disk drive and MF-DOS operating system into an integrated unit. This was followed by the M100 and various other versions of the M100/M200 series, plus the multi-user M223 and M243 computers. The SORD M23 followed in 1981 and become one of the most popular SORD computers. It was one of the first to see significant use outside Japan. In 1982, Sord released the M5, a home computer that primarily competed in the Japanese market. The M68, a dual 8/16 bit computer using both 68000 and Z80 CPUs, was released in Japan in 1983. The PIPS - Personal (or Pan) Information Processing System was released in 1980. This package was a combined spreadsheet and database business package. This was followed by PIPS-II in 1981, PIPS-III in 1982 and a complete rewrite (by a team led by Peter Hyde) as 4G-PIPS in 1986.

Under Toshiba ownership Shiina was approached by a larger Japanese corporation in 1983 and advised to sell. He didn't - and in 1984, on the back of turnover of 35 billion yen and profit of 2 billion yen SORD found itself struggling with suppliers and the banks. SORD was sold to Toshiba in 1985. Under Toshiba, SORD went on to produce additional hardware such as the M68MX (with no Z80A) and M343SX-II multi-user computer and new versions of PIPS, a series of high performance IBM compatible machines and systems based on Alpha. Latterly, SORD (known at that point as Toshiba-TOPS) changed focus to primarily dealing with embedded systems.

Sell-off and restoration of 'Sord' name In 2018, Toshiba sold Toshiba Platform Solution Corporation to Aspirant Group. Following this, the company name was changed back to Sord Computer Corporation. The company continues the focus on embedded systems begun under Toshiba.

Selected models

Sord SMP80/08, 1972 Sord SMP80/x series, 1974 Sord M200 Smart Home Computer, 1977 Sord M223 series, 1980 Sord M68, 1982 Sord M5, 1982 Sord M23P (1983), luggable Sord M685 Micro-mainframe, 1984 Sord DF44H Floppy Disk Unit, 1984 Sord M343SX-2 Multi-user computer, 1984 Sord IS-11 (1984), notebook Full list of products of Sord Computer Corporation

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sord Computer Corporation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sord Computer Corporation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sord Computer Corporation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sord Computer Corporation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sord Computer Corporation

In research: Sord Computer Corporation appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sord Computer Corporation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sord Computer Corporation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1970 establishments in Japan, Computer companies established in 1970, Computer companies of Japan, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sord Computer Corporation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sord Computer Corporation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sord Computer Corporation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sord Computer Corporation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sord Computer Corporation in simple terms?

Why does Sord Computer Corporation matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sord Computer Corporation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sord Computer Corporation.