The Honeywell 316 was a popular 16-bit minicomputer built by Honeywell starting in 1969. A minicomputer (colloquially mini) is a class of multi-user Computers that lies in the middle range of the computing spectrum in between the largest Multi-user Honeywell ( is a major American multinational conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products engineering services and aerospace systems It is part of the Series 16 which includes the Models 116, 316, 416, 516 and 716. They were commonly used for data acquisition and control, remote message concentration, clinical laboratory systems and time-sharing. The Series 16 computers are all based on the DDP-116 designed by Gardner Hendrie at Computer Control Corporation (3C) in 1964.

The H-316 was used by Charles H. Moore to develop the first complete, stand-alone implementation of Forth at NRAO. Charles H Moore (also known as Chuck Moore) (born 1938 is the inventor of the Forth programming language. Forth is a structured, imperative, stack-based, computer Programming language and programming environment The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center of the United States National Science Foundation operated ^[1] They were used as ARPANET Interface Message Processors (IMP) but could also be configured as a Terminal IMP (TIP) which added support for up to 63 Teletypes through a multi-line controller. The ARPANET ( Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) developed by ARPA of the United States Department of Defense, was the world's first operational The Interface Message Processor (IMP was the Packet-switching node used to connect computers to the original ARPANET in the late 1960s and 1970s

The original Prime computers were designed to be compatible with the Series 16 minicomputers. Prime Computer was a Natick Massachusetts -based producer of Minicomputers from 1972 until 1992 ^[2]

Kitchen Computer

An ad for the Kitchen Computer. The tagline is "If she can only cook as well as Honeywell can compute"

The Honeywell Kitchen Computer or H316 pedestal model of 1969 was a short-lived product made by Honeywell and offered by Neiman Marcus. Honeywell ( is a major American multinational conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products engineering services and aerospace systems Neiman Marcus is an upscale specialty retail Department store, operated by the Neiman Marcus Group in the United States. It sold for $10,000, weighs over 100 pounds, and is used for storing recipes (but reading or entering these recipes would have been very difficult for the average cook as the only "user interface" was the binary front panel lights and switches). It had a built in cutting board and had a few recipes built in. There is no evidence that any Honeywell Kitchen Computers were ever sold. ^[3]

The full text of the Neiman-Marcus Advertisement seems to read:

"If she can only cook as well as Honeywell can compute.

"Her souffles are supreme, her meal planning a challenge? She's what the Honeywell people had in mind when they devised our Kitchen Computer. She'll learn to program it with a cross-reference to her favorite recipes by N-M's own Helen Corbitt. Then by simply pushing a few buttons obtain a complete menu organized around the entree. And if she pales at reckoning her lunch tabs, she can program it to balance the family checkbook. 84A 10,600. 00 complete with two week programming course. 84B Fed with Corbitt data: the original Helen Corbitt cookbook with over 1,000 recipes $100 (. 75) 84C Her Potluck, 375 of our famed Zodiac restaurant's best kept secret recipes 3. 95 (. 75) Corbitt Epicure 84D Her Labaird Apron, one-size, ours alone by Clairdon House, multi-pastel provencial cotton 26. 00 (. 90) Trophy Room"

Notes

1. ^ The Evolution of Forth
2. ^ Comp.Sys.Prime FAQ
3. ^ Three Chapters in the History of Home Automation

See also

• SIMH

External links

• Honeywell Series 16
• Honeywell Minicomputer Simulation
• Honeywell H316 Kitchen Computer on www.old-computers.com