First Personal Computers

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Amy Wohl" <amy () wohl com>
Date: September 10, 2009 1:49:55 PM EDT
To: <dave () farber net>
Subject: First Personal Computers

There are those who argue (lots of documentation here) that the Xerox  
STAR was the first PC, in terms of design.  I would disagree in that  
although it was designed for a single user it was not commercially  
available until 1980-81 (I was at the original announcement and was an  
early user). There were beta versions much earlier, but I’m not sure  
that counts.  Clearly, the only major PC design that came after that  
was IBM’s PC in 1981.

And then, of course, the deluge, as every electronics manufacturer  
entered the market, originally with “better” and incompatible  
designs.  It took several years before it became clear you could only  
be “better” if you first were compatible to the IBM PC HW and OS  
design – until IBM decided to go its own way and the market failed to  
follow.

I would agree that the Datapoint 2200 is the first COMMERCIAL  PC I  
ever saw.  Everything before that was either experimental (and not  
available commercially) or designed for the hobbyist market and not a  
complete package.

Amy Wohl

Amy D. Wohl
Editor, Amy Wohl's Opinions
40 Old Lancaster Road, #608
Merion, Station, PA 19066
610-667-4842
amy () wohl com
www.wohl.com






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