Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/02/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Thanks for mentioning the typo. 1981 is correct and, in fact, is the date in the notes on my iPod for one of the tours I give at the Museum. Herbert Kanner kanner at acm.org 650-326-8204 Question authority and the authorities will question you. On Feb 14, 2013, at 10:01 PM, Nathan Wajsman wrote: > Thanks for an interesting lesson. I do remember the 1984 commercial; it > was also the year of another vintage commercial, Where is the beef?! > > You have a typo in your text, the IBM PC was introduced in 1981, not 1985 > (as you also imply in the previous paragraph). I remember buying my first > PC, a clone of the PC, in 1984 or 1985, a huge investment for a graduate > student. The following year, I upgraded the computer by replacing one of > the floppy drives with a 10 MB hard disk, another big investment. > > Cheers, > Nathan > > Nathan Wajsman > Alicante, Spain > http://www.frozenlight.eu > http://www.greatpix.eu > PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws > Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/ > > YNWA > > > > > > > > > > On Feb 14, 2013, at 11:30 PM, Herbert Kanner wrote: > >> People often ask: "What was the first personal computer?" That is a >> futile query; it depends too much on the definition of personal computer, >> a definition that can be quite flexible. So what I'm going to cover here >> are the personal computers that had a significant effect on the future. >> >> First is the Altair, circa 1975. It was advertised as a $400 kit in >> Popular Electronics magazine and the company in Albuquerque, MITS, was >> swamped with orders. >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1002888.jpg.html >> >> Two young squirts, Bill Gates and Paul Allen phoned MITS and said they >> had a Basic (programming language) interpreter for the Intel 8080 chick >> what was its "brain". They actually had not even started programming the >> interpreter, but fortunately for their enterprise, MITS told them that it >> would be about a month before they actually had an assembled and working >> kit. >> When Paul Allen flew to Albuquerque and demonstrated the interpreter, >> typing "Print 2+2" and getting back "4" the MITS people were astounded; >> it was the first time they had actually seen their computer do anything. >> >> Here is a picture of the Altair. Until the the programs enabling it >> enabling it to read paper tape and use a keyboard are loaded, it had to >> be programming one bit at a time using the toggle switches on the front, >> and until it had the program for driving a printer, results had to be >> read one bit at a time from those lights on the front. It was clearly >> originally intended as a toy for a hobbyist. >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1002887.jpg.html >> >> The effect on the future was: Bill Gates and Paul Allen licensed MITS to >> use their interpreter and created a company named Micro-Soft, later to be >> renamed Microsoft. >> >> Next is the Apple 1, circa 1976. Steve Wozniak built one for his personal >> use, showed it off at the Homebrew Computer Club, and his buddy, Steve >> Jobs, decided they could make some money from it. He beat the bushes and >> found a store called The Byte Shop in Mountain View, CA that was willing >> to take fifty of them at $500 each and mark them up 1/3, to an unrounded >> price of $666.66. The Steves were under the illusion that all they had to >> supply was a printed circuit board and a bag of parts. The Byte Shop >> disillusioned them and a frantic assembly and testing operation ensued. >> The printed card in front of the artifact is therefore erroneous, and I'm >> waiting for the Museum to update it. The company, Apple Computer, was >> created at that time. The user still had to furnish a keyboard and a >> television set as the monitor. >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1002890.jpg.html >> >> The Apple 2 appeared one year later. You can already see the fine hand of >> Steve Jobs sculpting the external appearance of the device. In the first >> version, cassette tape was the medium for loading programs, but later >> versions provided an operating system for floppy disks. Two years later, >> 1979, Dan Bricklin and Bob Franskton market the first spread sheet, >> Visicalc. It was so appealing that Apple salesmen could walk into a >> business establishment with an Apple 2 under their arm, demonstrate >> Visicalc, and the proprietor would be sufficiently impressed to buy the >> computer. My personal opinion is that this success may have been what >> persuaded IBM to produce the IBM PC in 1981; they realized that such >> devices were than a toy and that there could be serious market for them. >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1002895.jpg.html >> >> >> In 1985, IBM introduced the first model of the PC. To a certain extent, >> their heart was not entirely in it. All IBM equipment, prior and since, >> was completely manufactured by IBM: hardware, software, the lot. But the >> PC was an exception. The computer chips came from Intel. The operating >> system came from Microsoft, which bought it from Seattle Software. Except >> for the physical box, the only IBM contribution was the software for >> communication with a floppy disk, known as "BIOS" for Basic Input Output >> System. >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1002897.jpg.html >> >> Who can forget the amazing Super Bowl commercial that introduced the >> Macintosh in 1984. Here is a picture of the original Macintosh model. >> It's screen was monochrome and didn't even have gray scale; it could just >> draw fine lines with remarkable resolution. >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1002900_001.jpg.html >> >> >> Herbert Kanner >> kanner at acm.org >> 650-326-8204 >> >> Question authority and the authorities will question you. >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information