PDP-20

PDP-20

The most famous computer that never was. PDP-10 computersrunning the TOPS-10 operating system were labelled"DECsystem-10" as a way of differentiating them from thePDP-11. Later on, those systems running TOPS-20 werelabelled "DECSYSTEM-20" (the block capitals being the resultof a lawsuit brought against DEC by Singer, which once made acomputer called "system-10"), but contrary to popular lorethere was never a "PDP-20"; the only difference between a 10and a 20 was the operating system and the colour of thepaint. Most (but not all) machines sold to run TOPS-10 werepainted "Basil Blue", whereas most TOPS-20 machines werepainted "Chinese Red" (often mistakenly called orange).