Re:An original Apple-1 computer sells for $400k
by jhallenworld on Wednesday November 10, 2021 @05:37PM
(#29181908)
I would argue that the TRS-80 model 1 was more significant as the first home computer: $400 instead of $1300. Like the Apple-][ it also was usable out of the box, it just lacked color.
http://www.trs-80.org/was-the-trs-80-once-the-top-selling-co...
Re:An original Apple-1 computer sells for $400k
by Someone on Wednesday November 10, 2021 @06:46PM
(#29182530)
That’s possibly changing the subject from personal computer to home computer (IMO, there’s a subtle difference, but I doubt one can give a good definition of that difference)
If you think these are synonyms, the TRS-80 may have been more significant, but it wasn’t the first. The race was close, though. Apple II in June, TRS-80 in August, PET in December 1977.
And of course, the ideal first would be the Honeywell Kitchen Computer from 1969, but unfortunately none of them seem to have been sold, if the product even existed for real (https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=927). Now, _that_ would be a collectors item.
Re:An original Apple-1 computer sells for $400k
by dariosalvi78 on Wednesday November 10, 2021 @03:32PM
(#29180299)
then probably this 1970 computer would be a better candidate than the Apple II as personal computer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datapoint_2200
Re:An original Apple-1 computer sells for $400k
by one_off_comment on Wednesday November 10, 2021 @02:00PM
(#29178875)
What is a computer if not a very fancy programmable calculator?
But then I barely would call the Apple-1 that, either. You bought a PCB, optionally pre-assembled that booted into a system monitor. Even though you could directly connect a keyboard and a television (huge improvements; competing products still had toggle switches and indicator lights) that’s not something you could sell to ‘normal’ people.
The Apple II added a power supply, a keyboard (meaning buyers didn’t need to go to some dump to find a keyboard that worked or could be made to work with the system), a case and Basic in ROM. That, for me, made it a personal computer. If you bought it, you could go home, plug it in, and start tinkering.