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.CB STANFORD UNIVERSITY LOW OVERHEAD TIMESHARING

	Stanford University will operate a DEC System 20
as a low overhead time-sharing system, named LOTS.  The first
responsibility of this system will be to take over the computing
in support of classes from the IBM 370/168.  The objective
is to give students in classes the benefit of interactive
terminal-based computing - replacing card based batch.
Besides the class work, students and faculty will be able
to used the computer individually for research and self-teaching.
There will be no dollar-accounting, but resources will be
allocated so as to guarantee that the class work meets its
objectives.

	A wide variety of programming languages including Fortran.
the SAIL dialect of Algol, LISP, and Basic will be available.
Users may add other languages.

	It is intended to operate the center with a staff of three
and without full time operators.  Users will be checked out in
such operations as changing paper in printers.

	The initial configuration includes 256K 36 bit words of
core, one disk drive with 200 megabytes, a 240 line per minute
printer, and 48 ports including six dial-up, the rest being local
display terminals.

	The second contemplated application is the writing and
updating and printing of reports and papers by students and
faculty.  The second stage will involve more disk file and remotely
located terminals and printers.

	The machine is scheduled for delivery in November 1976.
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John McCarthy
Computer Science Department
Stanford University
Stanford, California 94305
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{date}