Prometheus Products
American computer peripheral manufacturer
Prometheus Products, Inc. was an American computer peripheral manufacturer active from 1981 to 1996. The company primarily manufactured modems and sound cards for personal computers for the bulk of its existence.
History
Prometheus Products was incorporated in Fremont, California, in January 1981. The company was founded to capitalize on Apple II home computers by providing peripherals and other add-on products. In 1984, the company began focusing on the production of modems, following a breakthrough in modem design developed within Prometheus that allowed the relatively inexpensive Intel 8031 to be used as a digital signal processor. This replaced the need for numerous analog devices for signal processing circuits customary in modem design at the time. In 1984, the company's board of directors hired Tom McShane as chairman of the company; he shortly after expanded the company to occupy two buildings, including a production factory and a research and development company, within Fremont.
Prometheus was en route to generating $7 million in sales in 1987 and was one of the top 10 modem manufacturers ranked by global sales. Between 1987 and 1989, the company relocated out of state to Tigard, Oregon.
The public source identifies “Prometheus Products” as american computer peripheral manufacturer. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Prometheus, Products and American.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Prometheus Products”, the useful work is to connect “american computer peripheral manufacturer” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 8, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q120776152. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1981, 1996, 1984 and 1987.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Prometheus Products”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Prometheus Products primary sources, Prometheus Products archive and Prometheus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Prometheus Products”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Prometheus Products” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.