Mexican Computers: A Brief Technical and Historical Overview

TL;DR

This paper provides a detailed overview of the development and diversity of Mexican microprocessor-based computers from the late 1970s to mid-1980s, highlighting their academic origins and range of applications.

Contribution

It offers the first comprehensive historical and technical account of Mexican computers during this era, emphasizing their unique development outside commercial markets.

Findings

Mexican computers included research, teaching, and high-performance systems.

Development was primarily within academic institutions.

Diverse range of purpose-specific microprocessor-based computers.

Abstract

The emergence of the microprocessor in the early 1970s allowed the design of computers that did not require the substantial economic resources of large computer companies of that era. Shortly after this event, a variety of computers based on microprocessors appeared in the United States and other developed countries. Unlike in those countries, where small and large companies developed most personal computers, in Mexico, the first microprocessor-based computers were designed within academic institutions. It is little known that Mexican computers of that era included a variety of systems ranging from purpose-specific research and teaching-oriented computers to high-performance personal computers. The goal of this article is to describe in detail some of these Mexican computers designed between the late 1970s and mid-1980s.