Canon Cat

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The Canon Cat was Canon’s simple, task-focused computer released in 1987 for about $1,495. It was designed by Jef Raskin, the thinker behind the original Macintosh idea, to be an affordable, practical “people’s computer” focused on editing and data handling rather than graphics or games.

What made it different
- It looked like a late-70s/early-80s word processor but was more capable and kept a focused, text-only workflow.
- No mouse or graphical interface. You used a special keyboard with a “Use Front” key and other keys for commands, plus “Leap” keys for quick searches.
- It ran a Forth-based operating system on a Motorola 68000 CPU at 5 MHz, with 256 KB of RAM and a 9-inch black-and-white display (80 × 24 text, 672 × 344 resolution).
- Built-in software included an office suite, telecommunications tools, a 90,000-word spelling dictionary, and programming tools for Forth and assembly. All data was text-driven, stored as a stream rather than in menus or icons.
- Hardware included a single 3.5-inch floppy drive (256 KB), an IBM Selectric–style keyboard, an internal 300/1200 baud modem, a parallel port, a serial port, and two RJ11 jacks. It weighed about 17 pounds.
- Setup and preferences were saved in battery-backed non-volatile RAM (8 KB).

Reception and impact
- The Cat was praised by BYTE magazine as a strong, integrated tool for editing and record-keeping without needing a full computer system.
- It sold around 20,000 units before being discontinued in 1987.
- The Cat is considered a spiritual successor to the Macintosh in spirit, and Jef Raskin later pursued related ideas with the Humane Environment project Archy.