30 Jul
2006
30 Jul
'06
2:39 p.m.
You guys ever see Doug Salot's web page on this topic?
http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml
Hmm... It's odd... He discounts the HP9100 for not having an alphanumeric
display, but then a little later on considers a machine consisting of
half-a-dozen relays (which presumably had no display at all).
FWIW, my vote goes to the HP9830. I believe this was the first all-in-one
machine that you plugged into the mains and typed in BASIC programs. No
BASIC interprter to load (it's in ROM), no terminal or mass storage
devices that uou had to connect up (you _could_ add external devices, but
a keyboard, display, and digital cassette drive are all built in)
-tony