25 Apr
2002
25 Apr
'02
7:52 a.m.
On Thu, 25 Apr 2002, Erik S. Klein wrote:
I still have many of my old computer receipts.
My first IBM PC (December 1981) cost nearly $2,800 for a 64K machine, 1 SSDD
floppy (120K with DOS 1.0) and a color card with an RF Modulator.
That was 160K for the DOS 1.00. 512 bytes per sector, 8 sectors per
track, 40 tracks, 1 side. (multiply) arguably (rarely done), you could
subtract 4.5K if you don't consider the DIRectory to be part of the disk
capacity.
You could have saved ~$400 by buying the same Tandon TM100-1 drive
after-market.
You could have saved ~$400 by buying 48K of the RAM aftermarket.
You could have saved ~$100 by buying the RF modulator aftermarket.
($1360 for bare computer + $300 for video card + $300 for disk controller
+ everything else aftermarket)
You could have paid more for CP/M-86 or UCSD P-system. (neither available
immediately, but in 6 months.)
IBM sold Easy-Writer (by John Draper) and VisiCalc.