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This section lists links and resources related to computer history

 

Computer History - Microcomputer Era (1978-1994)

Visions of the Personal Computer - Alan Kay's Dynabook (1969)

Alan Kay's Dynabook concepts from the 1970s and early 1980s (on left), versus the 2010 Apple iPad (on right). Note that Kay predicted the form factor of a portable notebook computer, as well as tablet computers, over 30 years ago. The Dynabook on the far left is functional, and uses a 1970s flatscreen display. However, since the electronics were too large for the model, it was connected to a much larger computer. Today, the iPad also replacates this behavior by connecting to a bunch of "big computers" - in other words, the Internet.

BYTE Magazine 1976-1982

Images showing a vision of small computers used as word processors, computer data analogized to documents, computers used in the stock market, a wrist-computer, and computers applied to music and the arts.

 

Computers as tools of liberation and the Baby Boomer "counterculture"

Microcomputers were not promoted as "the next great technology", but were rather seen in the social and political lens of the 1960s and 1970s. The oppression-liberation thesis familiar from the civil rights, black power, and women's movement was applied to computers. The personal computer was developed and marketed as a way for the people to "fight the system" and gain individual freedom. This attitude of "think different" and "question authority" is still part of Apple's marketing strategy today.

Links to the "Computer Lib" and "Dream Machines"

http://www.digibarn.com/collections/books/computer-lib/index.html

Page from an early issue of BYTE magazine

More pages at Digibarn
http://www.digibarn.com/collections/mags/byte-sept-oct-1975/one/index.html

 

Altair 8800 (1976)

This is the computer that Microsoft wrote and sold its first programs for. It had no mouse, keyboard, or printer, or even a monitor. Programs were entered byf lipping switches on the front panel, and blinking lights showed the program's execution.

 

Pirates of Silicon Valley

The early pioneers of personal computing considered themselves rebels in the 1960s counterculture sense. Here we see Bill Gates in jail, and Steve Jobs shortly after he left the hippie commune (where he fathered and left an illegitmate daughter).

 

Apple I (1976)

The Apple I was originally designed by Steve Wozniak, but his friend Steve Jobs had the idea of selling the computer. 50 units of the original Apple I were sold at a price of $666.66 (because Wozniak liked repeating digits and because they originally sold it to a local shop for $500 and added a one-third markup). To make a working computer, users still had to add a case, power supply, keyboard, and display. An optional board providing a cassette interface for data storage was later released for $75.

 

OSBORNE protable computer (1981)

An early entry into the world of business computing, the Osborne was the first computer that could be carried onboard and used on a plane.

 

The IBM PC (1982)

The IBM PC helped to convert the microcomputer from a hobbyist geekland to a serious business tool.

The Apple Macintosh (1984)

Created by Apple computer under Steven Jobs, with brillian programming by Steve Wozniak, the Macintosh borrowed heavily from the Xerox Star but was affordable (~$2,000 in 1984 dollars) by the masses. The user interface of the Mac is remarkably similar to the design of current Macintosh computers, despite the 500x slower operating speed.

Steve Jobs as a young visionary in 1984, and and old one in 2009.

 

The user interface of personal computing was complete by 1984

Pictures of the original 1984 Mac, showing external floppy and keyboard.

The Macintosh operating system, showin the windows, menus, control panels, calculator, and other features found on all GUI (Graphical User Interface) computers today.

Macdraw (an ancestor of Adobe Illustrator) and Alice, a simple 3D animated game on the origina 1984 Mac.

Screen shot of Macpaint, the ancestor of Adobe Photoshop and bitmap-drawing programs.

An early version of Microsoft Excel - note the similarity to the current Excel user interface.

 

New is not always better...Macintosh from 1986 BEATS a 3.0GHz Duo-Core AMD computer from 2006!

For the functions that people use most often in Microsoft Office, the 1986 vintage Mac Plus beats the 2007 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+: 9 tests to 8! Out of the 17 tests, the antique Mac won 53% of the time! Including a jaw-dropping 52 second whipping of the AMD from the time the Power button is pushed to the time the Desktop is up and useable.

We also didn't want to overly embarrass the AMD by comparing the time it takes to install the OS vs. the old Mac. The Mac's average of about a minute is dwarfed by the approximately one hour install time of Windows XP Pro.

http://hubpages.com/hub/_86_Mac_Plus_Vs_07_AMD_DualCore_You_Wont_Believe_Who_Wins

 

 

Useful Links

• Digibarn Computer History archive - http://www.digibarn.com
• The Computer History Museum - http://www.computerhistory.org/
  
  
• Computer History
  • Pre-1945
  • Mainframe Era
  • Workstation Era
  • Microcomputer Era
  • Internet Era
  • Computer and Console Games
    
    
• How Computers Work
• Computer Hardware
• Operating Systems and Applications
• Networks and the Internet

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© 2009 Pete Markiewicz