13 Apr
2003
13 Apr
'03
4:44 a.m.
On Thu, 10 Apr 2003, Tony Duell wrote:
If the IBM 5100 is classed as an 'early personal
computer', why isn't
the HP9830 also included? The 9830 came out in 1973 (I think, maybe
1974). It had a cut-down BASIC in ROM (no string variables, for one
thing, but it _is_ BASIC) which could be extended by plug-in ROM modules
(Matix Operations, String Variables, Extended I/O, Plotter, Terminal
Emulator, etc all exist). It could take up to 16K bytes of RAM, had a
full-size QWERTY keybard and a 1-line 32 character display. Oh, and 4
I/O slots.
Is the only reason this is not classed as an 'early personal computer'
the fact that it says '9830 Calculator' on the nameplate?
Was it aimed or marketed at the general computing market? Could it be
easily used as a general-purpose computer?
Peace... Sridhar