Xerox 860

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The Xerox 860 Information Processing System (IPS) was released on December 11, 1979 by Xerox. It was sold as a dedicated word processor but was actually a flexible, general‑purpose computer that could run other software. The 860 cost about $15,300 in 1979 (around $66,000 today).

Developed by Xerox’s Office Products Division in Dallas and nicknamed Rodeo, the 860 improved on the earlier Xerox 850. Unlike the 850, the 860 had a small ROM loader and loaded its operating system and programs from floppy disks, making it easier to update and to run third‑party apps or alternative systems like CP/M.

Hardware and memory: the system came with two 8‑inch floppy drives and supported 96 or 128 KB of memory. It also was the first commercial computer to include Ethernet connectivity. The display was portrait‑oriented and could show an entire page: 66 lines by 102 characters (full page) or 24 lines by 102 characters (partial page). The screen could switch between black‑on‑white and white‑on‑black, and it included a zoom feature.

Input options: there were two detachable keyboards, with one variant including a CAT cursor control pad for on‑screen pointing.

Printing and paper handling: the built‑in printer could output about 35 characters per second, printing in both directions for efficiency. It supported 10‑pitch, 12‑pitch, or proportional spacing, with various ribbon options. An optional Automatic Paper Feeder could take 200 sheets and could collate pages automatically.

Software and operation: the 860’s main use was word processing with advanced formatting. It allowed format blocks to control margins, tabs, and line spacing, and global settings for display and layout. It offered features like a visible format scale, global search and replace, background reformatting, and pagination.

Software distribution and protection: Xerox used “Master Discs” to boot the system into a special environment used to create “System Discs,” which then booted the machine into its normal working mode. The system also used copy protection tied to the machine’s serial number.

Impact: the 860 was innovative but expensive, so it didn’t reach broad adoption. It found a niche in large organizations and the U.S. Navy, which deployed about 2,000 units by 1986. The 860 is remembered as a step between dedicated word processors and personal computers and for introducing Ethernet to office machines.