Hercules Computer Technology

Hercules Computer Technology, Inc. was a manufacturer of computer peripherals for PCs and Macs founded in 1982.

This article is about the computer peripheral manufacturer. For the chemical and munitions company, see Hercules Inc.
Hercules Computer Technology
IndustryComputer peripherals
Founded1982 (1982)
Founder
  • Van Suwannukul
  • Kevin Jenkins
Defunct1998 (1998)
FateAcquired by Guillemot Corporation

History
The Hercules Graphics Card (1984)
Hercules Stingray
Hercules Thriller 3D TH2318SGA
Rendition Vérité v2200, AGP, 8MB SGRAM, Video In & Video Out (1998)

Hercules was formed in 1982 in Hercules, California,[1] by Van Suwannukul and Kevin Jenkins and was one of the major graphics card companies of the 1980s. Its biggest products were the MDA-compatible Hercules Graphics Card (HGC) and Hercules Graphics Card Plus (HGC+) and the associated standard, which was widely copied and survived into the 1990s.[2][3][4][5][6]

The Hercules Graphics Card included a "Centronics compatible" parallel printer port, the same as the IBM Monochrome Display and Printer Adapter board that the card was based on.[7] The company also produced CGA compatible cards, and with the unsuccessful Hercules InColor Card, it tried to go head-to-head with the Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA).[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

After low sales with InColor, Hercules stopped making its own graphics core and bought graphics chipsets from other manufacturers. The company name gradually declined through the 1990s while graphics chipsets firms such as Tseng Labs, S3 Graphics, 3Dfx, nVidia and ATI Technologies became popular, but Hercules sales of graphic cards were still at US$20 million in 1998. An acquisition of Hercules by German graphics card maker ELSA fell through in 1998 after the companies could not agree on terms.

Brand acquisition by Guillemot

The Hercules brand was acquired by the French-Canadian based Guillemot Corporation for $1.8 million.[16] In 2000 Hercules became the brand name for Guillemot 3D Prophet graphic cards, based on nVIDIA chipsets, switching to ATI Technologies chipsets in 2002.

Also in 2000, Guillemot introduced a new sound card, Game Theater XP, with the Hercules brand name, and Hercules gradually became the computer peripherals brand in Guillemot Corporation.

In 2004, Guillemot announced it would cease to produce graphics cards. Within the Guillemot group, computer peripherals (audio interfaces, speakers, webcams, networking) are designed by the Hercules division and given the Hercules brand, while game peripherals are designed by the Thrustmaster division and receive the Thrustmaster brand.

In 2010, the Hercules brand was used on computer speakers, computer DJ controllers, webcams and wireless networking peripherals.

Hercules turnover was €40.9 million (US$56.5 million) in 2010.

Organization
  • Headquarters: in France (President: Claude Guillemot),
  • Research and development: offices in Canada, France, Hong-Kong and Romania,
  • Sales: via Guillemot sales branches in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, UK, USA,
  • Distribution to retailers: through distributors,
  • Technical support: customer phone and email support by Guillemot technical support team.

Products
Hercules DJ mixer
  • Computer DJing: DJ Console – controllers with audio interface (DJ Console Mk2, Mk4, Rmx, 4-Mx) / DJ Control = DJ controllers without audio (DJ Control MP3, MP3 e2, Steel)
  • Netbooks: eCafe ec-800, 900, 1000W, 1010W
  • Speakers: XPS: Stereo, 2.1, for iPod and 5.1
  • Webcams: DualPix: Classic, Infinite, Exchange, Emotion
  • Networking: Wireless (WiFi) and ePlug (PowerLine)

Former products: Graphic cards

Former products: Sound cards
  • DIGIFIRE 7.1
  • Guillemot Maxi Sound Muse
  • Hercules Gamesurround Muse Pocket USB
  • Hercules Game Theater XP 6.1, 7.1
  • Hercules Gamesurround Muse XL
  • Hercules Gamesurround Muse LT
  • Hercules Gamesurround Muse 5.1 DVD
  • Hercules Gamesurround Fortissimo II Digital Edition
  • Hercules Gamesurround Fortissimo III 7.1

References
  1. "Contact Us". Hercules Computer Technology, Inc. 1997. Archived from the original on 1997-04-09.
  2. Pointing, Bob (June 26, 1989). "High-Resolution Standard Is Latest Step in DOS Graphics Evolution". InfoWorld. p. 48.
  3. Bright, David (June 23, 1986). "Hercules graphics card to debut". Computerworld. p. 52.
  4. Welch, Mark (September 1, 1986). "Hercules improves its monochrome card". InfoWorld. p. 41.
  5. Elliott, John C. (2012-08-09). "Hercules Graphics Card Plus: Notes". John Elliott's homepage. Archived from the original on 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  6. "Inside the IBM PC: Before you consider the Hercules Graphics Card Plus consider the technology behind it". Byte Magazine (Advertisement). 11. October 1986. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
  7. "Hardware News". InfoWorld. 27 September 1982. p. 77.
  8. "Say You Saw It on Modern Electronics - The Hercules InColor Card" (PDF). Modern Electronics. May 1985. p. 67.
  9. Brase, Thomas. "Hardware / Hercules Computer Technology, HTC". retrocmp - retro computing. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  10. CBR Staff Writer (March 1987). "PERSONAL GRAPHICS: HERCULES TO BURST INTO 16 COLOURS". Tech Monitor.
  11. "HERCULES INCOLOR Trademark - Registration Number 1499309 - Serial Number 73679040 :: Justia Trademarks". trademarks.justia.com. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  12. Elliott, John C. (2012-08-05). "Hercules InColor Card: Notes". Archived from the original on 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2016-11-23. (Pictures and programming information)
  13. Wilton, Richard (1987). Programmer's guide to the PC & PS/2 video systems (1st ed.). Microsoft Press. ISBN 1-55615-103-9. (NB. The second edition does no longer discuss the InColor and MCGA cards at detail level.)
  14. Brown, Ralf D. (2012-01-21) [2000-07-16]. "Public Files on FTP.CS.CMU.EDU - The x86 Interrupt List aka "Ralf Brown's Interrupt List" (RBIL)". Archived from the original on 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
  15. Brase, Thomas. "Hardware / Hercules Computer Technology, HTC". retrocmp - retro computing. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  16. "Guillemot and Hercules Press Release". www.megatrade.ru. October 28, 1999. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  17. Stephens; Moran (March 21, 1988). "Hercules to ship card after 3-month delay". InfoWorld. p. 21.
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