Accession No
6778
Brief Description
'Message Authentication Computer' (MAC) (with related ephemera), by Squarezone, English, 1991
Origin
England
Maker
Squarezone Ltd.
Class
calculating; electronics
Earliest Date
1991
Latest Date
1991
Inscription Date
Material
plastic; glass; metal
Dimensions
width 140mm, depth 79mm, height 14mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Donated by private person in September 2022.
Inscription
[front]
'SIS
Squarezone
International
System'
[back]
'Made in England by:
SQUAREZONE
Limited
Battery BR 2325
FAX 0252 516000'
Description Notes
Squarezone 'Message Authentication Computer' (MAC) pocket electronic calculator (with related ephemera), English, 1991.
Black plastic case with 43 keys on the front, including 26 A-Z letters, 0-9 numerals, No, Yes/Enter, Clear, Escape, spc/., up, and down control. A rectangle liquid crystal screen on the upper right corner that displays content. The maker's initials 'SIS' (Squarezone International Systems) are embossed on the upper left corner. On the back, on the upper right corner is an EMPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory) made in Japan. The switch to turn the device on is on its right edge, and it could be connected with a printer via a centronics parallel port.
The device could still be switched on and display content (2023), "Volvo Truck/ Finance 96/97".
Accompanied with one copy of a flyer, double-sided, colour-printed, A4 size, with illustration, prices, and inscription date ''June 1991".
References
Events
Description
The Message Authentication Computer, or MAC, developed by Squarezone, was a device to "provide a portable and reliable means of authenticating remote money transfers" (according to the flyer that came with it). It allows different banks, branches, or other business ends to authenticate transactions with codes generated and agreed internally. The memory could store multiple transactions and owners could connect the device to a printer to produce a hard copy.
The device is widely used among retailing, sales, and financial businesses. The fact that when this device is switched on, the content on the display screen shows "Volvo Truck" might indicate that the device was used in car sales, which was one of the major sectors that purchased from Squarezone.
22/03/2023
Created by: Guey-Mei Hsu on 22/03/2023
FM:47594
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