19 Jun
2009
19 Jun
'09
1:12 p.m.
On Jun 19, 2009, at 1:53 PM, Tony Duell wrote:
This is classiccmp ;-). Most of the machines here don't have mide or
'start buttons' :-). If you're going to consider things like KIM1s
to be
'computers' it's very hard to exclude the HP41..
*None* of my computers have "start" buttons. ;)
It is a computer, both in terms of the intenral
architecture and the
facilities it provides to the user, IMHO. Or at least I can't think
of a
sane defintion of 'computer' that would exclude it.
You said "sane definition"...that's the key. Most of the unwashed
masses today will say "It's a calculator!" "Where's the
mouse?"
"Where's the 'start' button?" How many 'calculators' do you know of that can
be linked to a
couple of
3.5" disk drives, a pen plotter, an inkjet printer, an RS232
interface,
an HPIB interface, an 80 column video display and an ADC unit all
at the
same time. I've done that with an HP41.
They are glorious machines.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL