[cctalk] Re: on the origin of home computers

9 Mar 2023

...

  John,
 I have the manuals for both systems.  I don't get the impression that the
 G-15 was sold as a "personal computer" in the same way as the Royal McBee
 LGP-23/30 were.  The Bendix has an analog computing aspect as well so
  it's
  a different beast.  I am sure people used them
for some degree of
  personal
  computing, but I never read about them that way

 There was an add-on analog element, (I've never seen one),
 but the G-15 was definitely a digital machine with drum
 memory and serial arithmetic.  It was used a LOT by highway
 departments to plan "cut and fill" highway building
 projects.  The difference may have been due to marketing
 people, but my understanding was that the G-15 was often
 used by one operator, and not shared like a corporate mainframe.

 Jon

 No doubt it was capable of being operated by a single user, but that to me
does not make it a personal computer.  The LGP-30 was used in schools and
offices not targeted for industrial use.  There is really no reason why any
computer could not be a personal computer, if you know everything about it
and use independently and operate for personal use.  It's really impossible
to claim any computer was the "first personal computer", but I like the
LGP-30 as one of the first.  I bet someone used the BENDIX for fun once in
a while, too.
BIll

2024

2023

2022

[cctalk] Re: on the origin of home computers