Editing Time-sharing (section)

====Rise and fall====
In 1975, acting president of [[Prime Computer]] Ben F. Robelen told stockholders that "The biggest end-user market currently is time-sharing".<ref name="upton19750611">{{Cite magazine |last=Upton |first=Molly |date=1975-06-11 |title=Prime President Predicts '75 Orders On Target, Despite Recent Slowdown |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=79Vx176yQBEC&pg=PA35 |access-date=2024-10-23 |magazine=Computerworld |page=35}}</ref> For DEC, for a while the second largest computer company (after IBM), this was also true: Their [[PDP-10]] and IBM's [[IBM System/360 Model 67|360/67]]<ref>One Two-page IBM print ad was headlined "100 or more people can use IBM's new time-sharing computer at the same time." Originals were/are? on eBay</ref> were widely used<ref>p.1425, Encyclopedia of Computer Science, Litton Educational Publishing, Inc.</ref> by commercial timesharing services such as CompuServe, [[Embarq#History|On-Line Systems, Inc.]] (OLS), Rapidata and [[TELCOMP|Time Sharing Ltd.]]

The advent of the [[personal computer]] marked the beginning of the decline of time-sharing.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022|reason=There may other reasons.}} The economics were such that computer time went from being an expensive resource that had to be shared to being so cheap that computers could be left to sit idle for long periods in order to be available as needed.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022|reason=Some computers are still expensive resources.}}

=====Rapidata as an example=====
Although many time-sharing services simply closed, Rapidata<ref>https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.folklore.computers/aE4TwORruB8 - "I worked for RapiData Timesharing for about a year circa 1969..."</ref><ref>someone else: "I worked there for almost 2 years 1977 to 1979." alt.folklore.computers/aE4TwORruB8/EdpKfFAlBncJ</ref> held on, and became part of [[McKesson Corporation|National Data Corporation]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-26 |title=Stocks |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/stocks |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}</ref> It was still of sufficient interest in 1982 to be the focus of "A User's Guide to Statistics Programs: The Rapidata Timesharing System".<ref>Bruce Bosworth, {{ISBN|978-089529-1-677}}</ref> Even as revenue fell by 66%<ref>''[[Computerworld]]'', Oct. 6, 1986, p.179, "Rapidata revenue was $11 million ... in 1986, down from ... ($31 million in 1982)."</ref> and National Data subsequently developed its own problems, attempts were made to keep this timesharing business going.<ref>Computerworld, Aug.25,1986, p.5,
"National Data Corp. said it is close to reaching an agreement with a buyer of its Rapidata timesharing division. In May, National Data said it would close down ..."</ref><ref>National Data Corp became NDC-Health Corp in 2001 (bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2001/10/29/daily25.html)</ref><ref>As for a place in history, Rapidata is listed in 'The AUERBACH Guide to Time Sharing (1973)' http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/auerbach/GuideToTimesharing_Jan73.pdf</ref>

=====UK=====
* [[Time Sharing Limited]] (TSL, 1969–1974) - launched using DEC systems. [[PERT]] was one of its popular offerings. TSL was acquired by [[Automatic Data Processing|ADP]] in 1974.
* OLS Computer Services (UK) Limited (1975–1980) - using HP & DEC systems.