its transition from a consultancy firm into a manufacturing firm, the name of the company was changed to IMSAI Manufacturing Corporation. ComputerLand The release of the Z80 by Zilog in 1976 quickly put an end to the dominance of 8080 machines as the new chip had an improved instruction set, could be clocked at faster speeds, and had on-chip DRAM refresh. IMSAI sales quickly plummeted and so in 1977 Millard decided to take the company through another transition, this time from a computer manufacturing company to a computer retailer. He established a chain of franchised retail outlets, initially called Computer Shack (the name was changed to ComputerLand following legal threats from Radio Shack). ComputerLand retailed not only IMSAI 8080s, but also computers from companies including Apple, North Star, and Cromemco. The 8080 sold poorly in comparison, and IMSAI developed the IMSAI VDP-80, an all-in-one computer which worked poorly. Many franchise dealers refused to retail most IMSAI products except those that retained popularity including the IMSAI 8080. With most of the IMSAI resources stripped to fund ComputerLand's expansion, and with Millard's attention diverted, IMS Associates, Inc. went into a "tailspin", and filed for bankruptcy in October 1979. The trademark was eventually acquired by Thomas "Todd" Fischer and Nancy Freitas (former early employees who undertook continued support after the parent company folded), now doing business as Fischer-Freitas Company (since October 1978), who continued manufacturing and service support under their newly acquired and trademarked IMSAI badge (such as the IMSAI Series Two), and continue support to this day. ComputerLand stores continued to prosper retailing IBM computers until IBM abandoned the 8-bit ISA bus in 1984; the franchises became independent following a series of bitter and costly legal battles with Millard. Pop culture WarGames (1983 film), in which the IMSAI 8080 appeared in a key role References External links Official IMSAI website Oral history interview with Seymour Rubenstein, Charles Babbage Institute. University of Minnesota. American companies established in 1973 American companies disestablished in 1979 Companies based in California Computer companies established in 1973 Computer companies disestablished in 1979 Defunct computer companies of the United States Defunct computer hardware companies