The "FIRST PC" and personal timelines (Was: And what were the80s id AA20656; Fri, 23 Apr 1999 18:48:08 -0400

From: Allison J Parent <allisonp_at_world.std.com>
Date: Sun Apr 25 10:25:14 1999

<I think what they don't realise is that computers at this point had
<names, not numbers. 20 is probably quite close. I know there's a site
<that catalogues them. I think at this point, the firts generation IBM 600'
<hadn't been been built yet, although they have been in planning.

I'd have to hunt on that too.

I believe that the 1952(ish) was the year of the first production computer
(univac, vacuum tubes). It was '58ish maybe later for the first production
transistor machines. I'd extend that with some error the 60s would be
the advent of the first volume production machines. (IE: hundreds of a
kind).

The watershed event was the forcasting of an election with a computer on
TV. That would bring the idea of a computer from the labratory to something
people could relate to.

Radios went through the same curve though the peried of time was longer.

Allison
Received on Sun Apr 25 1999 - 10:25:14 BST