1 Jul
1999
1 Jul
'99
5:31 p.m.
Since most folks are right-handed, having the drives on the right is pretty
reasonable. The physical design was allegedly patterened after the
pple-][ whose market IBM coveted. The concept of easily installable
expansion cards on an open bus with I/O connectors in the rear did evolve
there, though not in Apple's products. Several companies saw the light and
put connectors on the back of their Apple computers using a separate
bracket. IBM saw the problem that caused once your computer got rather
full, since each card so equipped would require, essentially, two slots.
The Apple-][ had its supply on the left and had no internal drives. I don't
remember whether the Apple III had internal drives.
Dick
-----Original Message-----
From: Max Eskin <max82(a)surfree.com
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu Date: Thursday, July
01, 1999 8:10 PM
Subject: PC form factor
Hi,
I'm wondering: was the IBM PC the first machine with PSU in the rear
right, drives in the front right, motherboard in rear left, or did they
borrow this design from someone else?
--Max Eskin (max82(a)surfree.com)
http://scivault.hypermart.net: Ignorance is Impotence - Knowledge is
Power
1 Jul
1 Jul
5:41 p.m.
Since most folks are right-handed, having the drives
on the right is pretty
reasonable. The physical design was allegedly patterened after the
pple-][ whose market IBM coveted.
I really doubt that they looked at Apple for the design. IBM has pretty
much been on top of the pile as far as ergonomics and ease of maintenance
since the 1950s. Sure, the PC is not exactly their shining moment, but it
does show some thought for a design with a low production cost in mind.
William Donzelli
aw288(a)osfn.org
6:04 p.m.
On Thu, 1 Jul 1999, William Donzelli wrote:
Acually, there are rumors abound that IBM modeled the PC after the
successful Apple ][. But, rhey are just rumors and anecdotes passed
around like those in Dick's message.
Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
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[Last web site update: 05/25/99]
Since most
folks are right-handed, having the drives on the right is pretty
reasonable. The physical design was allegedly patterened after the
pple-][ whose market IBM coveted.
I really doubt that they looked at Apple for the design. IBM has pretty
much been on top of the pile as far as ergonomics and ease of maintenance
since the 1950s. Sure, the PC is not exactly their shining moment, but it
does show some thought for a design with a low production cost in mind. 
2 Jul
2 Jul
12:53 p.m.
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1 Jul
1 Jul
9:17 p.m.
> Since most folks are right-handed, having the
drives on the right is pretty
> reasonable. The physical design was allegedly patterened after the
> pple-][ whose market IBM coveted.
I really doubt that they looked at Apple for the
design. IBM has pretty
much been on top of the pile as far as ergonomics and ease of maintenance
since the 1950s. Sure, the PC is not exactly their shining moment, but it
does show some thought for a design with a low production cost in mind.
The aim was forshure on the A2 market, and whengoing to beat the
top kid on the block it's a must to have a look. Most features
point right on the A2. But as Allison already pointed out, with
a certain goal, this design comes almost automaticly - just have
a look at the BASIS 108 as an early, better Apple clone - Looks
like an IBM-PC (but sold way before).
Gruss
H.
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HRK
2 Jul
2 Jul
3:54 a.m.
On Thu, 1 Jul 1999 20:31:24 -0600 Richard Erlacher
<edick(a)idcomm.com> wrote:
The Apple-][ had its supply on the left and had no
internal drives.
So did the BBC Micro! No expansion slots on the BBC,
though.
I don't remember whether the Apple III had
internal
drives.
It did, a single 5.25inch floppy disk. The Apple III
had a *huge* diecasting for the chassis, covered in fins
on the back for heat dissipation -- and no fan. The
slots (only about three of them) were in the middle of
the rear of the machine. The big metal chassis helped
with RF screening, too, and the cards had PS/2 MCA style
rear panels to make a good earth.
Two neat features of the Apple III:
1. Two-speed auto-repeat on the cursor keys: press harder
for faster cursor movement.
2. All the expansion cards had a large hole near the top
to facilitate levering them out with a screwdriver.
--
John Honniball
Email: John.Honniball(a)uwe.ac.uk
University of the West of England
9154
days inactive
9155
days old
5 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
-
ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
aw288＠osfn.org -
dastar＠ncal.verio.com -
edick＠idcomm.com -
Hans.Franke＠mch20.sbs.de -
John.Honniball＠uwe.ac.uk