29 Jul
2006
29 Jul
'06
6:06 p.m.
Classic computers sighting: on the TechRepublic web site:
http://nl.com.com/view_online_newsletter.jsp?list_id=e101
Dinosaur sightings: Vintage computers from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s
Whether it was a Honeywell 400, Altair 8800, Timex Sinclair, Radio Shack
TRS-80, or Commodore 64, IT pros usually remember their first computer. But
nothing lasts forever. State-of-the-art hardware eventually becomes
obsolete and fades into computer history. The following galleries contain
photos of the outdated computers that fill museums, supply closets, storage
lockers, and techie basements everywhere. See the machines that defined the
information age and the hardware that made them run.
Featured galleries
Inside the first personal computer: Kenbak-1
The Kenbak-1 is considered by many to be the world's first "Personal
Computer." Erik Klein, vintage computer collector and Webmaster of
Vintage-Computer.com, takes you inside his Kenbak-1.
Inside the Altair 8800 vintage computer
If not the first home computer, Ed Roberts' Altair 8800 was definitely the
first successful one. Watch as Erik Klein, vintage computer collector and
Webmaster of Vintage-Computer.com, restores one of these classic machines.
Dinosaur Sightings: Computers from 1980-1983
The 1980s was a decade when cool cops patrolled the streets of Miami and
Reaganomics drove US fiscal policy. It was also the decade when PCs went
mainstream. This gallery showcases several 1980-1983 machines from Steven
Stengel's vintage computer collection.
Dinosaur Sightings: Computers from 1984-1989
As the year of George Orwell's totalitarian future passed us by, PC
technology took tremendous steps forward-including the first GUI. This
gallery showcases several 1984-1989 machines from Steven Stengel's collection.
Dinosaur Sightings: Computers from the 1970s
During the disco days of the 1970s, personal computers moved out of the
electronic hobbyist's garage or basement and into the office, classroom,
and family den. This gallery showcases several 1970-era machines from
Steven Stengel's vintage computer collection.
Inside the Commodore Pet 2001 vintage computer
The Commodore PET 2001 was the first fully integrated computer from
Commodore. Erik Klein, vintage computer collector and Webmaster of
Vintage-Computer.com, shows you the hardware that makes the Commodore PET
2001 run.
Dinosaur sightings: Old-school computer hardware
As giant lizards once roamed our planet, so did mammoth machines once
balance our checkbooks. From ENIAC to RadioShack's TRS-80, this gallery
contains photos of the outdated computer hardware.
Dinosaur Sightings 2
From a Honeywell 400 to an Atari 800, TechRepublic members share their
favorite photos of old-school computer equipment is this second edition of
our Dinosaur Sightings photo gallery.
Dinosaur Sightings 3
From an IBM 5251 Display Station to a Commodore SX-64, TechRepublic
members share 16 new photos of old-school computer equipment in this third
edition of our Dinosaur Sightings photo gallery.
Dinosaur Sightings: SPARCstation Collection
Take a walk down Sun's memory lane, with John Dunn's collection of 17
different SPARCstation machines.
More galleries
More creative uses for dead computer equipment
IT departments and end users often donate, recycle, or trash obsolete
computer equipment. But more often than ever before, individuals are using
dead computer hardware in creative and interesting ways.
Worst tech in Q2 2006
Like with a bad movie that achieves cult status because it's just that bad,
we love to hate something about these unlucky 13 products and downloadable
duds from the past three months.
A trip down HP's memory lane
In 1960, when Hewlett-Packard built offices, the facility was state of the
art and evoked the new frontier. Now, it's a nostalgic reminder of a time
when people smoked in their offices and nearly every available surface was
covered with simulated wood paneling.
[Commentary] Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes
from bad judgement.
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WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531
29 Jul
29 Jul
9:50 p.m.
On Saturday 29 July 2006 09:06 pm, Tom Peters wrote:
Classic computers sighting: on the TechRepublic web
site:
http://nl.com.com/view_online_newsletter.jsp?list_id=e101
Oh, boy, does THAT stuff ever bring back some memories...! :-)
--
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James
M Dakin
30 Jul
30 Jul
12:38 a.m.
Okay, these folks are claiming that the Kenbak is the earliest personal
computer, but wouldn't that honor go to the Viatron from about 1968? Or
maybe the Honeywell "Kitchen Computer", the H-316 of about the same time?
Both were marketed to the home user.
What are the rules in this competition?
Cheers,
Chuck
2:26 a.m.
Chuck Guzis wrote:
Okay, these folks are claiming that the Kenbak is the
earliest personal
computer, but wouldn't that honor go to the Viatron from about 1968? Or
maybe the Honeywell "Kitchen Computer", the H-316 of about the same time?
Both were marketed to the home user.
What are the rules in this competition?
I wondered that, too. Surely price doesn't come into it as who's to say what
was affordable and what wasn't by an individual? (e.g. something like a Zonda
is still a car even though it's only accessible to a handful of people)
And surely the 'personal' aspect should reflect the nature of the interaction
between the user and the machine and nothing more?
The only real qualifiers that I could be certain of are size (i.e. desk-sized
or less), a 1:1 nature between the user and the computer, and the ability to
load custom programs from storage and run them (thus ruling out a terminal
hooked to a printer being called a word processor :-)
By those categories though, worldwide there must have been several contenders
around the late 1960's.
--
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(='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your
(")_(") signature to help him gain world domination.
9:48 a.m.
You guys ever see Doug Salot's web page on this topic?
http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml
-----Original Message-----
From: Jules Richardson [mailto:julesrichardsonuk at yahoo.co.uk]
Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2006 5:26 AM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: Classic computers sighting (article)
Chuck Guzis wrote:
Okay, these folks are claiming that the Kenbak is the
earliest
personal computer, but wouldn't that honor go to the Viatron from
about 1968? Or maybe the Honeywell "Kitchen Computer", the H-316 of about
the same time?
Both were marketed to the home user.
What are the rules in this competition?
I wondered that, too. Surely price doesn't come into it as who's to say what
was affordable and what wasn't by an individual? (e.g. something like a
Zonda is still a car even though it's only accessible to a handful of
people)
And surely the 'personal' aspect should reflect the nature of the
interaction between the user and the machine and nothing more?
The only real qualifiers that I could be certain of are size (i.e.
desk-sized or less), a 1:1 nature between the user and the computer, and the
ability to load custom programs from storage and run them (thus ruling out a
terminal hooked to a printer being called a word processor :-)
By those categories though, worldwide there must have been several
contenders around the late 1960's.
--
(\__/)
(='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your
(")_(") signature to help him gain world domination.
10 a.m.
On Sunday 30 July 2006 12:48 pm, Evan Koblentz wrote:
You guys ever see Doug Salot's web page on this
topic?
http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml
Nifty! It's been a really long time since I've seen a "Minivac 601", I
forget where but I remember seeing those ads quite often back when and
thinking that one of those would be a nice thing to have, though it was well
out of my reach at the time...
--
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James
M Dakin
11:26 a.m.
On 7/30/2006 at 12:48 PM Evan Koblentz wrote:
You guys ever see Doug Salot's web page on this
topic?
http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml
Just visited it. I don't see a lot of uniformity in the application of the
rules. Discounting the HP 9100A as a "personal computer" because it didn't
have alphanumeric input, but then allowing Simon seems to be a bit
inconsistent.
By the way, I had the pleasure of actually programming an Arkay (or
something very like it) at a local high school. It was a computer only in
the rudest sense of the word. But the date doesn't work--the one I saw was
about 1965-66. But I recognize the drum and switches. Maybe someone could
fill me in on what this was--the box looks right--very long, with a drum in
the middle. Things were color-coded, by the way.
I don't see much difference between Simon and the mechanical calculators
(Monroe, Marchant, Victor, etc.) of the day. I'll bet that one could find
a programmable consumer-level device of the time with more complexity than
this, say a Seeburg jukebox?
And the qualification "It must be simple enough to use that it requires no
special training beyond an instruction manual." decidedly lets out most of
the crop, even the MITS Altair. If you knew nothing about computers, the
Altair represented a very steep learning curve, not really satisfied by a
single "instruction manual".
Cheers,
Chuck
11:35 a.m.
Evan Koblentz wrote:
You guys ever see Doug Salot's web page on this
topic?
http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml
Interesting. Trouble is with this kind of thing, it's hard to come up with a
firm set of rules I suppose. There are all sorts of ways of interpreting
things, so giving the criteria is vital.
I must say I hadn't realised that the Simon was quite so early.
cheers
Jules
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
6720
days inactive
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