AT&T’s Unix PC — We Hardly Knew You
The AT&T Unix PC, released in the 1980s, was a technically advanced machine for its time but ultimately failed in the market. It featured a Motorola 68010 processor, Unix operating system, and built-in modem, targeting business users. High cost, slow performance, and unreliable hardware contributed to its commercial failure.
- ▪The AT&T Unix PC was introduced in 1985 with a 10 MHz Motorola 68010 processor and 512K of RAM, expandable to 4MB.
- ▪It ran Unix and included a 720×384 monochrome display, floppy drive, modem, and a 10 or 20 MB hard drive.
- ▪The system had a list price of $15,000, about twice the cost of a comparable IBM AT at the time.
- ▪Its performance was hampered by a slow and failure-prone hard drive, making it less competitive against DOS-based PCs.
- ▪The machine supported an 8086 expansion board, allowing it to boot MSDOS, which was important for compatibility in 1985.
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AT&T’s Unix PC — We Hardly Knew You 2 Comments by: Al Williams April 30, 2026 Title: Copy Short Link: Copy Before Linux, there was Unix. It was great, but it was and has been plagued by problems with licensing and proprietary competition. [Vintage Appartus] recalls, for example, the AT&T Unix PC from the 1980s. It was awesome, but you’ve probably never heard of it. For 1985, it was a nice setup. You got a 10 MHz Motorola 68010, 512K of RAM (but upgradable to 4M), a floppy, a modem, a 720×384 monochrome screen, and a 10 or 20 MB hard drive. You can check out the video explaining the machine and its problems below. Physically, the computer looked like a high-end Apple ][ with a removable keyboard and a built-in monitor. Expansion was via three slots.
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