Hey friends! Today I want to tell you an interesting tale from early computing history that seems to have slipped through the cracks over time.
It‘s the story of Digital Group – a pioneering computer company from the 1970s that made waves with advanced systems for hobbyists and engineers before fading into oblivion. Their path blazed trails still influencing technology today, so let‘s remember!
Here‘s a roadmap of what I‘ll cover:
Introduction: Who founded Digital Group and why
Innovations: The special sauce behind their computers
Growth: Riding early viral success
Demise: Losing their way as the market changed
Legacy: Collectors rediscovering forgotten gems
Lessons: Enduring ideas beyond their time
So buckle up! By the end, you‘ll appreciate how this little-known Colorado startup pushed boundaries whose ripples still shape computing four decades later…
Origin Story: Two Friends with a Bold Vision
Our story begins in 1974 when two friends – Dr. Robert Suding and Dick Bemis – decided to launch a new computer company called the Digital Group.
Bob had a PhD in math and hardcore electronics skills from his time as an IBM engineer. Dick too had served invaluable years honing his mastery of digital logic systems before going independent. Together they made the perfect pairing to create something groundbreaking.
The spark was a new kit computer called the Mark-8 which Bob recently assembled. While primitive, getting this hands-on experience customizing and enhancing the Mark-8 made them realize products like this were just accessible enough for electronics buffs to enjoy tinkering with computers themselves.
And thus Digital Group was born with the vision of bringing never-before-possible computing power to thereach of hobbyists and educators beyond wealthy organizations.
They set up shop in Denver Colorado – partly at the urging of Bob‘s wife searching for great living quality balanced with emerging tech hub opportunity. This seed would later sprout into Silicon Mountain but at the time high-tech industry was still nascent beyond military activity.
Nevertheless by July 1974 they incorporated The Digital Group and soon rolled out their first offering – a $29 upgrade package to enhance the capabilities of existing Mark-8 systems in areas like memory and program loading.
So what drove two experts like Bob and Dick toward the fledgling hobby computer scene? Personal PASSION!
Both relished building equipment from the component level up fully customizing for particular applications. And they weren‘t alone in this urge – emerging kits tapped into a vibrant self-guided community progressing computing largely ignored by commercial players.
While most competitors focused on chasing corporate budgets, Bob and Dick realized empowering creative enthusiasts was the deeper more enduring opportunity. The only constraint they faced was limitations of the existing hardware itself – exactly the problem they set their sights on tackling next…
Pushing Limits with Technical Innovations
Bolstered by strong uptake of their Mark-8 upgrades, Digital Group embarked on designing computer systems of their own leveraging the latest microprocessor advancements appearing almost daily.
When their first machine – the DG-32 – launched in 1975 based on the 8-bit Motorola 6800 it outclassed comparably priced kits across the board:
| Benchmark | DG-32 | Altair 8800 | Mark-8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Motorola 6800 @ 1 MHz | Intel 8080 @ 780 kHz | Intel 8008 @ 500 kHz |
| BOOT Time | < 20 seconds | > 60 seconds* | > 60 seconds* |
| Storage | Digital tape @ 110 cps | Paper tape @ 30 cps | Digital tape @ 30 cps |
| Graphics | 32 x 16 characters | None | 16 x 8 characters |
| Interface | Serial + video included | Extras required | Serial requires addon |
| OS | Built-in tape loader | Toggle entry | Toggle entry |
*Notes: Requires tedious bit-flipping via front panel switches to load programs!*
And prices started at just $239 for a complete system – including that blazing-fast standard tape interface!
Digital Group had analyzed strengths of existing systems to engineer something greater than the sum of its parts. Hobbyists took note of the no-compromise quality and cutting-edge performance from this machine designed specifically to feed their passion for tinkering.
The company soon attracted owners from students to engineers at major corporations like HP, Texas Instruments, Xerox, and DEC. All were united in Digital Group‘s mission to place unbridled computing power in the hands of innovation pioneers!
Their secret sauce was interchangeable CPU cards interfacing the same support hardware. Buy once and upgrade endlessly through theuseful lifecycle of memory, storage and peripherals! This pioneering framework also allowed branching across platforms to hedge volatility of any single technology.
Over successive models Digital Group continued pushing boundaries across crucial metrics:
- 2X speed cassette interfaces reaching 220 characters/sec
- Early S-100 bus adoption promoting modular flexibility
- Dual & quad density floppies for massive storage pools
- Ergonomic / desktop cases far easier than sheet metal kits
- Leveraging bleeding-edge CPUs as they were released
The philosophy was giving users headroom to grow rather than artificial market segmentation. Performance exceeded minicomputers costing 10X while usability matched appliances requiring no assembly. It let hobbyists flex their passions creating rather than just consuming computers!
Riding a Wave of Viral Growth
From the start Digital Group positioned specifically to the hobbyist/education community who appreciated technical merit over slick marketing fluff. Early customers realized these full-featured systems delivered on that promise rather than failing to materialize like paper launches from competitors.
Word quickly spread through enthusiast channels about the Colorado company advancing the state-of-the-art with robust no-compromise machines tested in real-world environments.
By early 1976 – less than 18 months since founding – Digital Group saw soaring traction indicative of viral growth:
- Monthly sales reaching $20,000
- Strong penetration in target market Verticals
- Rapid dealer enrollment fueling distribution
Despite insane lead times up to 8 months orders kept pouring in faster than manufacturing could scale. clone brands
To meet demand Fred Concklin was recruited as President based on credentials as a Forture 100 senior exec with a background engineering nuclear missiles (!)
By relying on grassroots enthusiast channels rather than expensive broad advertising, Digital Group efficiently matched messaging to ideal prospective buyers. This allowed maximizing resources actually improving the product – a reliable path for startups even today.
The result was a textbook trajectory successfully riding a hype wave to sustainable growth built on concrete substance rather than inflated perceptions alone. With a backlog ever-growing and horrors stories from customers unable to source reliable systems despite months of patience, Concklin made capacity his top priority…
Spectacular Derailment of a Promising Startup
Despite viral traction indicating a potential breakout success, Digital Group found themselves in deeper trouble each passing year beginning around 1979.
The bleeding edge tech capturing adherents also proved difficult to stabilize and manufacture. As delays exacerbated, even loyal enthusiasts gave up ordering the perpetually 6-months-away systems. And the microcomputer industry was entering a phase favoring reliability and turnkey operation over customization flexibility.
Let‘s break down the key challenges sabotaging Digital Group‘s once unstoppable rise:
Technological Volatility – staying on the cutting edge cuts both ways! Digital Group‘s machines relied on brand new microprocessors often suffering severe shortages, errata or obsolesence. Where competitors used older/stable designs profits flowed instantly.
Funding Starvation – prioritizing performance over volume left Digital Group cash poor despite rich order backlogs. Lacking financial slack to absorb volatility made delays catastrophic.
Leadership Challenges – 1979 also saw a "palace coup" ousting founders Suding and Bemis from daily operations. While they endorsed their successors the shift signaled turbulence.
Changing Market Winds – the Apple II and later IBM PC epitomized a shift towards reliability and appliance operation vs hobbyist customization. Interchangeability became secondary to just working.
Commoditization Pressures – cheaper/faster clones leveraged newer CPUs & offshore manufacturing without the need for compatibility across generations.
The collision of these factors in an era before widespread startup know-how proved lethal. Within two years of the coup, Digital Group filed bankruptcy and ceased operations – tragically just as the overall PC market began exploding in the early 1980s!
Despite innovating successful ideas far too early, poor execution timing and business naïveté kept Digital Group from reaching escape velocity before deteriorating conditions proved terminal.
Post Mortem: Collectible Classics Still Impacting Technology
Though the Digital Group flamed out before the groundswell of consumer computing, history looks kindly on their pioneering contributions that foresaw many future mainstream directions:
- Interchangeable CPUs anticipating acceleration cards
- Component modularity that enabled upgrading PCs
- Desktop ergonomic packaging over sheet metal
- Leveraging video and tape interfaces that became standards
- Crystal oscillators delivering precise digital control
- Developer-friendly software bundles as key experience component
The limited production run also means intact Digital Group systems and documentation hold collectible value for computing history buffs. Rare birds like never-produced models or unique configurations bring prices exceeding $2K!
Equally or more importantly – Digital Group alumni and descendants went on to found cornerstone companies like Advance Logic Research fanning the Silicon Mountain hardware startup scene through coming decades.
So while our protagonists didn‘t reach their goal of bringing no-compromise computing to the masses as a sustainable biz – clear DNA has persisted through both collectors and technologists continuing the mission.
Key Takeaways: Lasting Impact Despite Early Departure
As is often the case in technology, innovations developed before their time struggle breaking through while driving evolution behind the scenes. The rare Steve Jobs manages launching explosively by artfully matching solution to ready market.
But just as importantly many visionary pioneers plant seeds preparing fertile soil for later flowers. Without always realizing, sudden explosive successes depend deeply on this foundation established gradually over prior years or decades.
And so while mercurial success eluded Digital Group as quickly as it emerged, we owe much to risk takers like Bob, Dick and their crew who sacrificed in obscurity to inch all of computing forward. The relay continues today but should pause occasionally to acknowledge these early runners facing nearly impossible conditions.
As for lessons as a startup or pioneer?
- Solve real frustrations rather than chasing fads
- Start niche – especially for unfamiliar technology
- Prioritize sustainable growth overmaximum hype
- Embrace your uniqueness rather than diluting identity
- Succeed through substance not just perception
- Build resilience to withstand unpredictable markets
- Master both technology AND business to thrive
Here‘s hoping we carry forward the lasting passion and ingenuity of Digital Group even where fortunes led them astray. The tech industry thrives best through pursuit of esteem over wealth.
So dream big – push limits – change worlds…but heed the lessons of those who showed it can be done if not overnight then over time.
Now go create the future!
