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According to the IEEE Annals of Computer History, the MCM/70 is the earliest commercial, non-kit personal computer. [32] IBM 5100: 1975: An early portable computer with integrated monitor; the 5100 was possibly one of the first portable microcomputers using a CRT display. Sphere 1: 1975: A personal computer that was among the earliest complete ...
The cassette tape was a common low-cost and low-performance mass storage device for a generation of home computers. Home computers were a class of microcomputer that existed from 1977 to about 1995. During this time it made economic sense for manufacturers to make microcomputers aimed at the home user.
Mary Allen Wilkes working on the LINC at home in 1965; thought to be the first home computer user The 1974 MITS Altair 8800 home computer (atop extra 8-inch floppy disk drive): one of the earliest computers affordable and marketed to private / home use from 1975, but many buyers got a kit, to be hand-soldered and assembled.
The original TRS-80 Micro Computer System (later known as the Model I to distinguish it from successors) was launched in 1977 and- alongside the Apple II and Commodore PET- was one of the earliest mass-produced personal computers. [1] The line won popularity with hobbyists, home users, and small-businesses.
Video Genie (or simply Genie) is a discontinued series of computers produced by Hong Kong–based manufacturer EACA during the early 1980s. Computers from the Video Genie line are mostly compatible with the Tandy TRS-80 Model I computers and can be considered a clone, although there are hardware and software differences.
The category of early microcomputers encompasses the microprocessor-based development system/hobbyist microcomputers being made and sold as "DIY" kits or pre-built machines in relatively small numbers in the mid-1970s, before the advent of the later, simpler to operate, significantly hotter-selling home computers (listed in its own category).
Tandy/Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I. In the mid-1970s, Tandy Corporation's Radio Shack division was a successful American chain of more than 3,000 electronics stores. Among the Tandy employees who purchased a MITS Altair kit computer was buyer Don French, who began designing his own computer and showed it to the vice president of manufacturing John V. Roach, Tandy's former electronic data ...
Early home computers all used similar hardware and software, mostly using the 6502, the Z80, or in a few cases the 6809 microprocessor. They could have as little as 1 KB of RAM or as much as 128K, and software-wise, they could use a small 4K BASIC interpreter, or an extended 12K or more BASIC.