minicomputer
<computer>
A computer built between about 1963 and 1987, smaller and less powerful than a mainframe, typically about the size and shape of a wardrobe, mounted in a single tall rack.
Minicomputers were characterised by short word lengths of 8 to 32 bits, limited hardware and software facilities and small physical size. Their low cost made them suitable for a wide variety of applications such as industrial control, where a small, dedicated computer which is permanently assigned to one application, is needed. In recent years, improvements in device technology have resulted in minicomputers which are comparable in performance to large second generation computers and greatly exceed the performance of first generation computers. The processor was typically built using low integration logic integrated circuits - TTL or maybe ECL, thus distinguishing it from a microcomputer which is built around a microprocessor - a processor on a single (or maybe a few) ICs. DEC's PDP-1 was the first minicomputer and their PDP-11 was the most successful, closely followed (in both time and success) by the VAX (which DEC called a "super minicomputer"). Another early minicomputer was the LINC developed at MIT in 1963. Other minicomputers were the AS/400, the PRIME series, the AP-3, Olivetti's Audit 7 and the Interdata 8/32. [Others?]Last updated: 2004-05-12
Mini Disc
A music medium designed by Sony as a portable replacement for music Compact Discs. In 1994 Sony announced a data version which can hold 140 MB or about 100 MB using error correction. These will be competitive with 128 MB magneto-optical disks. Mini Discs may be either a re-writable or mass-produced read-only type. Sony have also announced a standard data format.
The transfer rate is similar to CD-ROM which is slow compared to the current magneto-optical drives (which are similar to an old hard disk, with writing noticeably slower than reading). Pre-recorded read-only Mini Discs can be mass manufactured on a modified CD press - this and the standard format mean it could take off as a software distribution medium. An article in the December 1994 PCW quotes access times of about 300 ms and data transfer rate of about 150 kb/s (i.e. about single spin CD rate).Last updated: 1994-12-13
minifloppy
<storage>
5.25-inch vanilla floppy disks, as opposed to 3.5-inch or microfloppies and the now-obsolescent 8-inch variety.
At one time, this term was a trademark of Shugart Associates for their SA-400 minifloppy drive. Nobody paid any attention. See stiffy.Last updated: 1996-05-03
minimal automaton
<theory>
An automaton possessing with redundant states.
Last updated: 1996-05-03
minimax
<games>
An algorithm for choosing the next move in a two player game. A player moves so as to maximise the minimum value of his opponent's possible following moves. If it is my turn to move, I give a value to each legal move I might make. If the result of a move is an immediate win for me I give it positive infinity and, if it is an immediate win for you, negative infinity. The value to me of any other move is the minimum of the values resulting from each of your possible replies.
The above algorithm will give every move a value of positive or negative infinity since the value of every move will be the value of some final winning or losing move. This can be extended if we can supply a heuristic evaluation function which gives values to non-final game states without considering all possible following complete sequences. We can then limit the minimax algorithm to look only a certain number of moves ahead. This number is called the "look-ahead" or "ply". See also alpha/beta pruning. [Is "maximin" used? Is it significantly different?]Last updated: 2000-12-07
Mini-ML
["A Simple Applicative Language: Mini-ML", D. Clement et al, Proc 1986 ACM Conf on LISP and Functional Prog, (Aug 1986)].minimum seek time
<storage>
(Or track-to-track seek time) The time it takes to move the head of a disk drive from one track to the next. The minimum seek time gives a good measure of the speed of the drive in a single-user/single-process environment where successive read/write request are largely correlated and thus if correlated data is stored in nearby cylinders most seeks are from one cylinder to the next.
Last updated: 1997-07-15
Mini PL/I
A commercial PL/I subset for the Olivetti Audit 7 minicomputer.Ministra
<company>
(Previosly "Stalker") The set-top box software company that created the stalker_portal.
Last updated: 2023-04-01
MINITAB II
A system for interactive solution of small statistical problems. ["MINITAB Student Handbook", T.A. Ryan et al, Duxbury Press 1976].Last updated: 1994-10-31
MINIX
/MIN-ix/ A small operating system that is very similar to UNIX. MINIX was written for educational purposes by Prof. Andrew S. Tanenbaum of Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.
MINIX has been written from scratch and contains no AT&T code -- neither in the kernel, the compiler, the utilities, nor the libraries. Although copyrighted by Prentice-Hall, all sources, binaries and documentation can be obtained via Internet for educational or research purposes. Current versions as of 1996-11-15: MINIX 2.0 - Intel CPUs from Intel 8088 to Pentium MINIX 1.5 - Intel, Macintosh (MacMinix), Amiga, Atari ST, Sun SPARC. http://cs.vu.nl/~ast/minix.html.Last updated: 1997-06-16
Nearby terms:
Minesweeper, Chess, Solitaire Expert ♦ minicomputer ♦ Mini Disc
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