Comments on: Patentmania! Personal Computers of the Early 1980s http://technologizer.com/2009/05/27/1980s-pcs/ Reviews, News, and Opinion About Personal Technology by Harry McCracken & Friends Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:58:33 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Ken Hansen http://technologizer.com/2009/05/27/1980s-pcs/comment-page-2/#comment-22990 Ken Hansen Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:03:05 +0000 http://technologizer.com/?p=11682#comment-22990 The TRS-80 Model II was an interesting machine, it was designed to address the market as it existed then. When it came out there were TRS-80s at homes and in very, very small businesses, all the real action was in the small business VAR market, which was heavily invested in CP/M, 8" floppies, and CBASIC/DBASE applications. This machine was designed to fit in that market, but that market was in decline. Three years earlier and Radio Shack would have "owned" the small business market, but it was too late to catch on. Soon after it was released, the IBM PC stormed on the scene (it also offered CP/M support, though few took advantage of that offering, opting for cheaper IBM PC-DOS). The TRS-80 Model II was an interesting machine, it was designed to address the market as it existed then. When it came out there were TRS-80s at homes and in very, very small businesses, all the real action was in the small business VAR market, which was heavily invested in CP/M, 8″ floppies, and CBASIC/DBASE applications. This machine was designed to fit in that market, but that market was in decline. Three years earlier and Radio Shack would have “owned” the small business market, but it was too late to catch on. Soon after it was released, the IBM PC stormed on the scene (it also offered CP/M support, though few took advantage of that offering, opting for cheaper IBM PC-DOS).

]]> By: Jourdan Cameron http://technologizer.com/2009/05/27/1980s-pcs/comment-page-2/#comment-22366 Jourdan Cameron Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:09:10 +0000 http://technologizer.com/?p=11682#comment-22366 Does no. 3 double as a microwave? Great job! Does no. 3 double as a microwave? Great job!

]]> By: IIcer http://technologizer.com/2009/05/27/1980s-pcs/comment-page-2/#comment-21884 IIcer Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:30:07 +0000 http://technologizer.com/?p=11682#comment-21884 I had a IIc when I was in college. I'd been banging away on the ]['s for a while and was more familiar with it than the mac, which had just come out (~1984) and it was a lot more portable (for the commute)... or so I thought. Didn't realize lugging the monitor around would be such a pain. The PC jr., although a joke, had one groundbreaking feature that never caught on until this milenium. A wireless IR keyboard. I had a IIc when I was in college. I’d been banging away on the ][’s for a while and was more familiar with it than the mac, which had just come out (~1984) and it was a lot more portable (for the commute)… or so I thought. Didn’t realize lugging the monitor around would be such a pain.

The PC jr., although a joke, had one groundbreaking feature that never caught on until this milenium. A wireless IR keyboard.

]]> By: Colin http://technologizer.com/2009/05/27/1980s-pcs/comment-page-2/#comment-21341 Colin Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:46:39 +0000 http://technologizer.com/?p=11682#comment-21341 The commentary on the Atari picture is wrong--there is only one floppy drive. Item 14, which looks like a thicker floppy drive is in fact a printer--the model 820 dot-matrix printer. You can see a picture of it here: http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8bits/400800/820/820.html The commentary on the Atari picture is wrong–there is only one floppy drive. Item 14, which looks like a thicker floppy drive is in fact a printer–the model 820 dot-matrix printer. You can see a picture of it here: http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8bits/400800/820/820.html

]]> By: Michael http://technologizer.com/2009/05/27/1980s-pcs/comment-page-2/#comment-21194 Michael Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:36:40 +0000 http://technologizer.com/?p=11682#comment-21194 Refer to page 13. The Amiga 1000 also had the designers signatures etched into the plastic top cover. Refer to page 13. The Amiga 1000 also had the designers signatures etched into the plastic top cover.

]]> By: Paul http://technologizer.com/2009/05/27/1980s-pcs/comment-page-2/#comment-20962 Paul Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:24:48 +0000 http://technologizer.com/?p=11682#comment-20962 The TI-95a ! Should be on this list! Plain and simple, somebody made a mistake - bigtime. Texas Instruments was a big player with innovative technologies in the early '80's computers. The TI-95a ! Should be on this list! Plain and simple, somebody
made a mistake – bigtime. Texas Instruments was a big player with
innovative technologies in the early ’80’s computers.

]]> By: auctoris http://technologizer.com/2009/05/27/1980s-pcs/comment-page-2/#comment-20912 auctoris Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:11:14 +0000 http://technologizer.com/?p=11682#comment-20912 No mention of the "best-selling single personal computer model of all time"--the Commodore 64. That's odd. No mention of the “best-selling single personal computer model of all time”–the Commodore 64. That’s odd.

]]> By: John http://technologizer.com/2009/05/27/1980s-pcs/comment-page-2/#comment-20841 John Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:59:11 +0000 http://technologizer.com/?p=11682#comment-20841 No Kaypro II? Everyone thought I was carrying around my wife's portable sewing machine!!! Classy machine with detachable keyboard, steel case, and--get this--twin floppy drives!!! No Kaypro II? Everyone thought I was carrying around my wife’s portable sewing machine!!! Classy machine with detachable keyboard, steel case, and–get this–twin floppy drives!!!

]]> By: You had me at “Hello World” « Hanneke du Toit http://technologizer.com/2009/05/27/1980s-pcs/comment-page-2/#comment-19772 You had me at “Hello World” « Hanneke du Toit Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:08:50 +0000 http://technologizer.com/?p=11682#comment-19772 [...] come a long way, baby: Here are a few illustrations of early 80’s PCs, submitted to the US patent office. Software: [...] [...] come a long way, baby: Here are a few illustrations of early 80’s PCs, submitted to the US patent office. Software: [...]

]]> By: Fred http://technologizer.com/2009/05/27/1980s-pcs/comment-page-2/#comment-18839 Fred Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:20:09 +0000 http://technologizer.com/?p=11682#comment-18839 You did not mention the Digital Group. I learned everything about computers with one of these. You got bare circuit boards and plastic bags full of chips, capacitors and sockets. Then the soldering began. They were marvelous machines. You could run either an 8080 cpu, a Z80, or a Motorola 6800 just by swapping the cpu card. I think there were 6 or 7 operation systems for them, including CP/M, and something called OPus. They supported both disk (8" and 5 1/4" floppies) and a "sophisticated" tape system using phi-deck drives. A 20 amp power supply was mandatory...they needed a lot of power. You did not mention the Digital Group. I learned everything about computers with one of these. You got bare circuit boards and plastic bags full of chips, capacitors and sockets. Then the soldering began. They were marvelous machines. You could run either an 8080 cpu, a Z80, or a Motorola 6800 just by swapping the cpu card. I think there were 6 or 7 operation systems for them, including CP/M, and something called OPus. They supported both disk (8″ and 5 1/4″ floppies) and a “sophisticated” tape system using phi-deck drives. A 20 amp power supply was mandatory…they needed a lot of power.

]]>