{"id":73,"date":"2026-04-01T19:40:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icm.museum\/blog\/?p=73"},"modified":"2026-04-01T22:15:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T22:15:34","slug":"miss-piggy-a-pdp-11-70","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icm.museum\/blog\/?p=73","title":{"rendered":"Miss Piggy – a PDP-11\/70"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Miss Piggy: A Legendary PDP-11\/70 at Microsoft<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Miss Piggy<\/strong> was one of Microsoft\u2019s central computing workhorses in the early 1980s, particularly supporting the End User Applications group<\/strong> responsible for developing key software such as Multiplan<\/strong>, Microsoft Word<\/strong>, and later Excel<\/strong>. It also hosted development tools including the p-code compiler<\/strong> and cross assemblers<\/strong> targeting platforms like the TRS-80. The system ran Xenix<\/strong>, Microsoft\u2019s UNIX variant, which was maintained and extended over time from Version 7 UNIX to System III and V.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miss Piggy originally came online after a single PDP-11\/70 system proved inadequate for Microsoft\u2019s growing needs. To manage the increasing workload\u2014particularly as email use expanded rapidly throughout the company\u2014a second PDP-11\/70 was brought in and named Miss Piggy, while the first became Kermit. The DECsystem-20 used for cross-development (eventually named Gonzo) was also part of this muppet-themed naming scheme, selected through a company-wide vote around March 1982.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miss Piggy was not just a dev server; it became the primary email host<\/strong> for many Microsoft staff, including Bill Gates. In fact, during one crisis when the system failed, Gates had to use the console LA-120 DECwriter to print out an important email before a speaking engagement\u2014leading to an all-night repair session to identify a memory failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its heyday, Miss Piggy played a role in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n