Digital Research, Inc. (DRI) was one of the most influential software companies of the 70s and 80s, founded by Gary Kildall. Its role was fundamental for the Amstrad PCW, as it provided the technical infrastructure that allowed this computer to be something more than a simple electronic typewriter.

Known address of the company:

The main and historical headquarters of Digital Research, Inc. (DRI) was located in the coastal city of Pacific Grove, in the state of California, United States.

Throughout its history in the 80s, the company occupied several iconic buildings in that same locality:

• Original main headquarters: It was located at 801 Lighthouse Ave, Pacific Grove, CA 93950. This is the most famous building, where a commemorative plaque currently exists, recognizing the place as the birthplace of the CP/M operating system and the work of Gary Kildall.
• Other local offices: Due to its growth, the company expanded to other nearby points in the same city:
  • Research and 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 by default with LocoScript, each machine included disks with the Digital Research 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 execute professional software of the era, such as the dBase II database or the SuperCalc spreadsheet.

Educational Software and Languages

Digital Research not only contributed the operating system, but also programming tools for the PCW:

• Dr. Logo: A very popular version of the Logo programming language (famous for the "turtle" that drew graphics) 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 better remembered in later models (such as the Amstrad PC1512), Digital Research created GEM (Graphics Environment Manager).

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

The Historical "Error" of Digital Research

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

• Due to a disagreement over contract signing (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.

End of the Company

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 a bit longer under the name DR-DOS, a direct competitor to MS-DOS that many Amstrad PC users considered superior.