Applied Logic Corporation (AL/COM) was a time-sharing company in the 1960s and 70s.
Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, AL/COM started in 1962 working on "mathematical techniques and their applications to problem-solving."[1]
Seeing the need for in-house time sharing the company bought a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-6 and developed its time sharing service, which came on-line in 1966.[1][2] In 1968 the company began development of "Mathematics Park" in Montgomery Township, New Jersey, "designed to provide tenants with a computer-serviced and mathematically-oriented environment," adjacent to the Princeton Airport.[3] Also in 1968 the company registered AL/COM as a trademark for its service.[4]
The system involved both custom software and custom hardware, and the service was marketed nationally by a network of associates.[5]
Under the AL-COM Distributor Plan, local computer service firms such as service bureaus, programming, and software firms will be designated as the local AL-COM distributor. The AL-COM distributor will purchase AL-COM computing power at a discount from the Applied Logic Corp., and then in turn sell it at a mark-up.[6]
In the late 1960s, the company developed a system called SAM (Semi-Automated Mathematics) for proving mathematical theories without human intervention.[7] A theorem proved by the system, "SAM's lemma", was "widely hailed as the first contribution of automated reasoning systems to mathematics."[8] The SAM series was one of the first interactive theorem provers and had an influence on subsequent theorem provers.[9]
In 1965 Applied logic acquired a DEC PDP-6 computer system,[10] which became operation in January 1966.[1] By 1969 the company had four DEC PDP-10 dual KL-10 systems with plans for a fifth, and had expanded nationwide with offices in San Jose, San Diego, and San Francisco.[11] The company also planned to market its time sharing systems in addition to providing services.[12] The company reported sales of $1,200,995, with an operational loss of $63,456.[13]
By 1972 AL/COM had local dial-up facilities in ten cities: Boston, Massachusetts, Buffalo, New York, Chicago, Illinois, Indianapolis, Indiana, Montclair, New Jersey, New York, New York, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Princeton, New Jersey, Washington, DC, and Wilmington, Delaware.[1] The computer center was located in Mathematics Park in Princeton.[12]
By late 1969 AL/COM had definite plans for CIT Leasingtoleaseback $2.73 million USD of their equipment at Mathematics Park and was considering an additional $7.5 million more.[14] By 1970 the company was in financial difficulty and negotiated an agreement to defer $1,300,000 of debt.[15][16] Applied Logic filed for Chapter XI bankruptcy in 1975.
