Canon Cat

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Canon Cat" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Canon Cat

Developer	Information Appliance, Inc.
Manufacturer	Canon
Type	Task-dedicated single-unit desktop computer
Release date	1987; 37 years ago (1987)
Introductory price	US$1,495 (equivalent to $4,000 in 2023)
Discontinued	1987; 37 years ago (1987)
Units sold	20,000 units
Operating system	Forth
CPU	Motorola 68000 @ 5 MHz
Memory	256 KB of RAM
Storage	3½-inch 256 KB floppy disk drive
Display	9-inch (229 mm) black-and-white monitor
Graphics	80 × 24 characters, 672 × 344 pixels
Connectivity	Internal 300/1200 bit/s modem
Mass	17 pounds (7.7 kg)

The Canon Cat is a task-dedicated microcomputer released by Canon Inc. in 1987 for $1,495 (equivalent to $4,000 in 2023).^[1] Its appearance resembles dedicated word processors of the late 1970s to early 1980s, but it is far more powerful, and has many unique ideas for data manipulation.

The system is primarily the creation of Jef Raskin who originated the Macintosh project at Apple.^[1] After leaving the company in 1982 and founding Information Appliance, Inc., he began designing a new computer closer to his original vision of an inexpensive, utilitarian "people's computer". Information Appliance first developed the SwyftCard for the Apple II, then licensed it to Canon as the Cat. BYTE in 1987 described the Cat as "a spiritual heir to the Macintosh".^[2]

The Canon Cat uses a text-based user interface, without any pointer, mouse, icons, or graphics.^[1][3] All data are seen as a long "stream" of text broken into several pages. Instead of using a traditional command-line interface or menu system, the Cat uses its special keyboard, with commands activated by holding down a "Use Front" key and pressing another key.^[4] Special "Leap keys" are held down to allow the user incremental search for strings of characters.^[5]

The hardware consists of a 9-inch (229 mm) black-and-white monitor (80 x 24 character display, 672 x 344 resolution),^[6] a single 3½-inch 256 KB floppy disk drive, and an IBM Selectric–compatible keyboard. It uses a Motorola 68000 CPU (like the Macintosh) running at 5 MHz, has 256 KB of RAM, and an internal 300/1200 bit/s modem. Setup and user preference data are stored in 8 KB of non-volatile RAM with battery backup. The array of I/O interfaces encompasses one Centronics parallel port, one RS-232C serial port (DB-25), and two RJ11 telephone jacks for the modem loop. The total weight is 17 pounds (7.7 kg).

A range of application software is built into 256 KB of ROM: a standard office suite, telecommunications, a 90,000-word spelling dictionary, and user programming toolchains for Forth and assembly language.

Graphics routines are in ROM, and connectors for a mouse or other pointing device are never used.^[7]

BYTE in 1989 said "The Cat is perfect for someone who needs industrial-strength editing and record keeping but doesn't require a full-blown computer system ... It's as close to perfect integration, on a small scale, as I've encountered to date".^[8]

Archy, originally called The Humane Environment, was a project initiated by Raskin in 2005 with similar principles to the Canon Cat.

• Jupiter Ace, British home computer of the early 1980s that uses Forth

• Canon's Cat Computer: The Real Macintosh at the Wayback Machine (archived October 25, 2014)
• Raskin, Jef (1987), Canon Cat Emulation, retrieved 2019-12-30
• CanonCat.org
• Canon Cat Computer User Manual
• Canon Cat Computer Reference Manual
• Canon Cat Computer Repair Manual
• Promotional Video for Leap and Canon Cat (If broken link: video is titled "Leap Technology")

• SwyftCard guide, glossary, and reference manual
• BYTE SwyftCard review