Cromemco

Cromemco, Inc.
IndustryComputer Manufacturing
FoundedLos Altos, California (1974; 50 years ago (1974))
FounderHarry Garland, President
Roger Melen, VP R&D
FateSold to Dynatech Corporation in 1987
SuccessorDynatech Computer Systems
Headquarters
Key people
Chuck Bush, VP Manufacturing
Andy Procassini, VP Marketing
Mike Ramelot, VP Finance
Brent Gammon, General Counsel
ProductsMicrocomputers

Cromemco, Inc. was a Mountain View, California microcomputer company known for its high-end Z80-based S-100 bus computers and peripherals in the early days of the personal computer revolution.

The company began as a partnership in 1974 between Harry Garland and Roger Melen, two Stanford Ph.D. students. The company was named for their residence at Stanford University (Crothers Memorial, a Stanford dormitory reserved for engineering graduate students). Cromemco was incorporated in 1976 and their first products were the Cromemco Cyclops digital camera, and the Cromemco Dazzler color graphics interface - both groundbreaking at the time - before they moved on to making computer systems.

In December 1981, Inc. magazine named Cromemco in the top ten fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S.[1] In 1987, it was acquired by Dynatech Corporation of Boston.

  1. ^ Ketchum, Jr., Bradford W. (December 1981). "The INC. Private 100". Inc. 3 (12): 35–44.