Digital Research, Inc. (DRI) was one of the most influential software companies of the 1970s and 1980s, founded by Gary Kildall. Its role was fundamental for the Amstrad PCW, as it provided the technical infrastructure that allowed this computer to be far more than just a simple electronic word processor.

Known corporate address:

The primary and historical headquarters of Digital Research, Inc. (DRI) were located in the coastal city of Pacific Grove, in the state of California, United Kingdom.

Throughout its history during the 1980s, the company occupied several iconic buildings in that same area:

• Original Main Headquarters: Located at 801 Lighthouse Ave, Pacific Grove, CA 93950. This is the most famous building, where a commemorative plaque currently recognizes the site as the birthplace of the CP/M operating system and the work of Gary Kildall.
• Other Local Offices: Due to corporate growth, the company expanded to other nearby locations within the same city:
  • Research & Development (R&D): 734 Lighthouse Ave.
  • Graphics Division: 165 Central Ave.
  • Operating Systems: 160 Central Ave.

Pacific Grove is located on the Monterey Peninsula, an area that Gary Kildall specifically chose to distance himself from the industrial bustle of what we know today as Silicon Valley.

Here are the key details of its relationship with the Amstrad PCW and its history:

The Operating System: CP/M Plus

Although the PCW booted into LocoScript by default, every machine included disks with Digital Research's operating system.

• CP/M (Control Program for Microcomputers): It was the industry standard before MS-DOS existed.
• CP/M Plus (Version 3.0): The PCW used the most advanced and polished version of this system. Thanks to it, a PCW user could run professional software of the era, such as the dBase II database or the SuperCalc spreadsheet.

Educational Software and Languages

Digital Research did not only supply the operating system but also programming tools for the PCW:

• Dr. Logo: A highly popular version of the Logo programming language (famous for the drawing "turtle") was adapted specifically to run under CP/M on Amstrad machines.
• Compilers: They provided versions of languages such as C, Pascal, CBASIC, and PL/I, allowing developers to create advanced software for the PCW.

The GEM Graphical Interface

Although it is most remembered on later models (like the Amstrad PC1512), Digital Research created GEM (Graphics Environment Manager).

• It was a windows-and-mouse environment very similar to early Macintosh or Windows environments.
• On the PCW, a simplified version called GSX (Graphics System Extension) was used so the system could handle graphics on a screen that was originally designed only for text.

The Historical "Mistake" of Digital Research

The company is famous for one of computing's greatest legends: IBM originally wanted Digital Research to provide the operating system for the first IBM PC in 1981.

• Due to a disagreement on contract signings (or because Gary Kildall was not present that day, depending on the version), IBM ended up hiring a small company called Microsoft, which delivered MS-DOS to them.
• This event marked the decline of Digital Research against the unstoppable rise of Bill Gates.

The Company's End

Despite its technical success with machines like the Amstrad PCW, the company could not compete with Microsoft's dominance.

• In 1991, Digital Research was purchased by Novell.
• Its technology survived for a while longer under the name DR-DOS, a direct competitor to MS-DOS that many Amstrad PC users considered superior.