The GEC Series 63 was a 32-bit minicomputer produced by GEC Computers Ltd. of the UK during the 1980s. A version of UNIX System V Release 2 was its native operating system. 32-bit is a term applied to processors, and computer architectures which manipulate the address and data in 32-bit chunks. ... Minicomputer (colloquially, mini) is a largely obsolete term for a class of multi-user computers which make up the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the largest multi-user systems (traditionally, mainframe computers) and the smallest single-user systems (microcomputers or personal computers). ... The General Electric Company plc (GEC) is a British company that was renamed Marconi plc on November 30, 1999 after its defence unit Marconi Electronic Systems was divested and sold to British Aerospace. ... It has been suggested that Traditional Unix be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that Maintenance OS be merged into this article or section. ...

The Series 63 was used by several UK universities. One of the first student-run university computing facilities in the UK, Tardis, was established in 1987 in the Department of Computer Science of the University of Edinburgh using a Series 63. The name came from the resemblance of the Series 63's large blue cabinet to Doctor Who's time machine. The current TARDIS prop as seen at the BBC Wales reception in 2005. ... The School of Informatics is an academic unit of the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland, responsible for research, teaching, outreach and commercialisation in Informatics. ... The University of Edinburgh (Scottish Gaelic: ), founded in 1582,[4] is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Doctor Who is a long-running award-winning British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The series depicts the adventures of a mysterious time-traveller known as the Doctor who explores time and space in his TARDIS time ship with his companions, solving problems and righting wrongs. ...

The Series 63 was discontinued in August 1987 after disappointing sales.^[1]