In the early 80’s, there were a lot of home computers. A Japanese company called ASCII corporation (directed by Kay Nishi) decided to create an industry standard for home computers: MSX was born. MSX means Machines with Software eXchangeability. This is the true and only meaning, stop spreading the word about another explanation please. The […]
1981 BBC Microcomputer System
The Acorn BBC model A was the successor of the Acorn Atom and its first name was Acorn Proton. It was a very popular computer in the UK and was widely used in schools, but it didn’t have great success elsewhere (even though it did have great features, it was too expensive). The Model A […]
1980 Commodore VIC-20
The VIC-20 – a “family” version of the PET series (using the same microprocessor and Basic language) – was the first computer to sell more than one million units. Once dubbed the MicroPET during the 1980 Computer Electronics Show, it later became known as the VIC-20. VIC referenced the VIC-I (Video Interface Chip) chip used […]
1984 Apple Macintosh
With their II and III series getting rather long in the tooth, and the Lisa being rather pricey, Apple had to do something to get back into the small-business market. They did. The Macintosh can be considered the very first commercially successful computer to use a GUI (Graphical User Interface). It was, however, not the […]
1983 Jupiter ACE
The Jupiter ACE looks very similar to the Sinclair ZX 81. Actually, the designers of this computer, Richard Altwasser and Steven Vickers, played a major role in creating the Sinclair Spectrum. The ACE is very similar to the ZX 81, but has some extra features: it has a user port, and it can generate sound (the ZX 81 can’t). […]
1980 Radio Shack Color Computer
The Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer was known to be called “coco” (Color Computer) by its users. It uses its own version of BASIC, “Tandy Color BASIC” instead of the world famous Microsoft BASIC. It was followed by the TRS-80 Color Computer II in 1982. The Welsh Dragon 32 was one of its many clones… NAME […]
1982 Commodore 64
The commodore 64 is, along with the Apple II and the Atari XL computers, the most famous home computer. According to the 2001 edition of Guinness book of records, the C64 was the most “prolific computing device ever manufactured”. During its production run from 1982 to… 1993, about 30 million (!) units were sold. To […]
1983 PC XT
The IBM PC XT is the successor of the IBM PC. The XT stands for EXtended Technology and was introduced in early 1983. It has enhanced features: CGA graphic card, hard disk, more memory, and no more tape port (!). But it wasn’t very innovative. There are in fact two versions of the XT motherboard. […]
1986 PC XT 286
The IBM PC XT 286 is an intermediate computer between the IBM PC XT and the IBM PC AT. It had a very short career because most of its features can be found in the PC AT. Contrary to the PC XT, it has a saved clock and a calendar. NAME PC XT 286 MANUFACTURER […]
1980 TRS-80 model III
The model 3 is generally regarded as the successor to the Model 1. Its two 5.25″ floppy disk drives could convert model 1 disks. Initially Radio Shack wanted to sell both the model 1 and 3 at the same time, but the FCC forced them to stop selling model 1. Is so they were discontinued […]