WebHostingBuzz – The Evolution of the Personal Computer

The Evolution of the Personal Computer

Since the dawn of human civilisation, we have created inventive ways of solving complicated mathematical problems, the pinnacle of which has been the creation of the computer. The ancient Greeks created the Antikythera Mechanism to calculate the stars while Babbage created his revolutionary Difference Engine inspired by the work of John Napier, William Schickhard and other incredible engineers.

After Alan Turing created Colossus and its state-of-the-art valve system in 1944, humanity has continued to shrink down immense processing power into smaller, more personal computers. Join us on a journey into the evolution of the personal computer.
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1971

Kenbak-1

Invented in 1970 and sold to the public in 1971, the Kenbak-1 is widely considered as the world's first commercially available 'Personal Computer'. Only 40 machines were ever built, selling for the considerable sum (at the time) of $750. Due to so few being made, they are relentlessly pursued by collectors and can fetch for up to $25,000 on popular auction sites.
1971

Datapoint 2200

Launched to the market in 1971, the Datapoint 2200 was Computer Terminal Corporation's flagship product, so much so that they rebranded to Datapoint Corporation due to its widespread success. Boasting a 7" x 3.5" CRT screen and full stroke keyboard and keypad, it was marketed as a cost-efficient and versatile programmable terminal.
1972

HP 9830

Simultaneously announced with the HP 9810 and 9820, the HP 9830 was the most capable of the range and was released to the public in 1972. It ran on the BASIC Plus language, with five user-accessible ROM cartridge slots and the ability to print documents using the HP 9866 printer, which seamlessly sat on top of the machine.
1973

Xerox Alto

The Xerox Alto was first computer to implement a mouse-driven graphical user interface, greatly influencing the direction in which personal computers were progressing. Although not a developed as a commercial product, Xerox donated a number to universities and organisations. Like the Kenbak-1 they are extremely rare and collectable, fetching up to $30,000 in auction.
1975

Altair 8800

The designers of the Altair 8800 grossly underestimated the success of the build-it-yourself Altair 8800, expecting to sell a few hundred via mail order advertisements placed in enthusiast magazines. In reality, the number sold in the first month reached the thousands due to its appeal to both individuals and businesses. Due to the high cost of keyboards and monitors, users had to flip switches on the front panel, watching LEDs in response to their commands.
1976

Apple I

The Apple I was the brainchild of Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs and Ron Wayne. Developed in the bedroom of Steve Wozniak's home, Steve Jobs spent his efforts marketing the product while Wozniak built the printed circuit-board and Ron Wayne wrote the operation manual. The Apple I was sold as a fully assembled curcuit board, however to make it run users had to add a case, power supply, power switch, ASCII keyboard and composite video display.
1977

Apple II

The next instalment of Apple computers, the Apple II (or Apple ][), hit the market a year after its predecessor in 1977. Both technical prowess and aesthetics came on leaps and bounds from the first model, contributing to its overall huge success. New features included a colour display, internal expansion slots, a case and keyboard, although it still used the same processor found in the Apple I.
1977

Commodore PET

The Commodore PET (Personal Electronic Transactor), also produced in 1977, was Commodore's first full-featured computer, boasting a monitor, keyboard and cassette drive in one convenient package. The Apple II was the PET's only real competitor at the time, with the PET being more favourable amongst educational markets and first time computer buyers. One of its only drawbacks was its tiny 'Chiclet keyboard', which attracted frequent complaints.
1979

Atari 400/800

Simultaneously announced in December 1978, the Atari 400 and 800 targeted two different types of consumer. The 400 (pictured here) was designed with children in mind, featuring an advanced child-proof design with wipe-clean keyboard and single covered cartridge port. Various games could be played via cartridge, including Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Asteroids. The 800 however was designed to resemble a type writer, boasting extra cartridge and expansion slots and a higher technical specification.
1980

Sinclair ZX80

The ZX80 was the first 'affordable' personal computer, available in the United Kingdom for just under £100. Sold in kit form, owners had to assemble and solder together the machine, or pay more for a fully assembled version. Due to its popularity there was a waiting list of several months for both the kit and assembled version, appealing to apprehensive first time computer buyers due to its price.
1980

Apple III

While reaping the rewards of the hugely successful Apple II, the technology giant set the wheels in motion for its successor, the Apple III or ///. This time they set their sights on the business environment, but despite running twice as fast as the Apple II it was largely considered a failure. Serious stability issues resulted in a required design overhaul, with existing machines being recalled and a revised model reintroduced the following autumn. Despite these continued efforts, the model was discontinued and the Apple III plus was dropped.
1981

Acorn BBC Micro

The BBC Microcomputer System was designed and built by Acorn Computers as part of the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Geared towards education, it was found in most schools in the United Kingdom due to its quality operating system, expandability and sturdiness. Despite its relatively high price, it was also used as a home computer.
1981

IBM PC

Introduced in August 1981, the IBM Personal Computer was a basic system intended for home use, built around the Intel 8086 processor and featuring cassette drives to load and store programs. The system wasn’t very powerful compared to other computers at the time and IBM questioned the profitability of microcomputers; despite this the IBM PC turned out to be highly successful.
1982

Commodore 64

The widely recognised Commodore 64 is to this day the bestselling PC of all time, with an estimated 17 million units being sold worldwide. To keep up with such a high demand Commodore had to build 400,000 systems a month, which carried on for a several years. 10,000 commercial software titles were readily available, including development tools, video games and office productivity applications.
1982

Sinclair ZX Spectrum

Dubbed the 'Speccy', the ZX Spectrum's name originates from its ability to display 'high resolution' coloured graphics, a vast improvement over the black and white capabilities of its predecessor, the ZX 81. Like the aforementioned ZX 80, Sinclair designed the Spectrum for home computing with a relatively low cost, which was a core contributing factor to its huge success.
1983

Apple Lisa

The Apple Lisa was the first personal computer that featured a Graphical User Interface, offering a visually driven experience where the user clicked on tiny pictures (icons) with a mouse. This heavily influenced the direction of future computers, substantially increasing user friendliness and increasing overall accessibility. Despite this, the Lisa experienced lack lustre sales figures due to its high price and limited software applications.
1984

Apple Macintosh

Apple continued to evolve and build upon GUI driven systems, releasing the first of a long and continuing line of Macintosh computers in 1984. Apple spent a substantial sum on advertising, including the now-famous '1984' commercial by Ridley Scott which aired during the Super Bowl. Steve Jobs also demonstrated the original 'Mac' in the first of his famous keynote speeches, helping Apple garner a loyal and enthusiastic following.
1985

Amstrad PC 1512

Amstrad cracked the European market with the release of the low cost PC1512, capturing over 25% of the European computer market, a phenomenal feat at the time and impressive by today's standard. Input devices included an Amstrad Mouse and keyboard which featured an Atari compatible joystick port for digital joysticks, making it a popular system for video games.
1986

Compaq DeskPro 386

The release of the DeskPro 386 caused a rift in the computing market, as leadership shifted from frontrunners IBM to Compaq. This was due to the sheer power and capabilities of the DeskPro 386, which boasted an Intel 80386 microprocessor and ran an adapted version of Windows 2.1. This was a huge blow to IBM, who set to work developing a new range of powerful PCs.
1987

Acorn Archimedes

The Archimedes was built upon Acorn's ARM processors, as well as featuring three custom chips dedicated to memory, video and Input/Output controls. At the time it was the most powerful home computer available, helping Acorn secure a significant foothold in the education markets of the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
1987

IBM Personal System/2

The PS/2 was IBM's response to the game changing Compaq DeskPro 386, in an attempt to regain leadership of the PC market. Backed up by a large advertising campaign, it sold large numbers of units; proving popular amongst large businesses and helping IBM rise back to the top.
1989

Mac Portable

The Mac Portable was Apple's first portable computer, powered by battery and complete with 9.8" active matrix screen. Utilising this sharper, higher quality screen significantly increased the cost of the unit, weighing in at a hefty $6,500.
1991

Dell 325NC

In 1991 Dell introduced its first notebook with a colour screen, the 325NC. Powered by a 25MHz processor, the VGA display supported 16 colours at 640x480 or 256 colours at 320x200, and had a battery life of 3 hours.
1992

Amiga 4000

The Amiga 4000 marks the end of the Amiga line, and easily surpassed all previous models due to its 25MHz processor and powerful AGA graphics chip. Due to its special HAM-8 display mode, the system could output 262,000 colours, although this compromised overall quality.
1992

IBM Thinkpad 700

At the time, the IBM ThinkPad 700 series was considered the cutting edge of notebook technology, boasting the best screen, largest hard drive and fastest processor available. The renowned 'pointing stick' found in the centre of the keyboard allowed users to manipulate the cursor with more accuracy, eliminating the need for a touch pad or mouse.
1993

Apple Newton MessagePad

The MessagePad was manufactured by Sharp, and is considered as the first ever Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). This term was coined by Apple's CEO (at the time) John Sculley, and featured a touch screen and pen stylus for use with basic applications such as a currency converter, calculator, time zone maps and note pad.
1996

Toshiba Libretto 20

Toshiba turned heads with the release of their impressive Libretto 20. Dubbed as a 'subnotebook', the paperback sized device offered a 6.1 inch screen, 486 processor by AMD, and 270MB of hard-disk space.
1998

iMac

Apple announced the first model of the iMac line of computers back in 1998, merging both the monitor and hardware into a single enclosed unit. It was drastically different from other mainstream computers due to its translucent coloured plastic casing and curved edges. Aesthetics began to play a big part in the success of a system, not just what's inside.
2006

Apple Macbook

The MacBook is Apple's on-going brand of notebook computers, the first of which was released in 2006. It wasn't Apple's first foray into the notebook market, previously releasing the PowerBook and iBook, but it is by far their most recognised attempt. The brand has now evolved into the successful 'Air' and 'Pro' variations.
2007

ASUS Eee PC

The Eee PC's name derives from the slogan 'Easy to learn, easy to work, easy to play', and is a series of netbooks released by ASUSTeK. It's light weight, Linux based operating, SSD storage and affordable price are contributing factors to its success.
2010

Apple iPad

The iPad was Apple's first venture into tablet computers, and it quickly became a household brand. Drastically changing the direction of the tablet market, the iPad redefined the way users interact with technology, greatly bolstering and expanding their loyal following due to their innovative and creative ideas.
2012

Microsoft Surface

Microsoft Surface is the latest contender to the tablet computer market, backed up by an extensive marketing campaign and utilising Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 8. Sporting a 10.6-inch screen, built-in kickstand and keyboard which doubles as the tablet's case, the tablet was generally well received, but criticised for its lack lustre performance and lack of apps.
2012

Raspberry Pi

Small enough to fit in your pocket, the Raspberry Pi's initial focus was to teach basic computer science in education. However due to its affordability and sheer capabilities, the demand for the credit card sized system has been staggering, with an abundance of 'hacks' available including turning it into a media center, quadcopter and arcade machine.
The Future

With the creation of the Raspberry Pi and its use in education, it has been shown that the potential of personal computers is near infinite. With more innovations being created every year and mobile phones developing into miniature processing units, who knows what personal computers we could be using in the future?
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The Evolution of the Personal Computer

1971

Kenbak-1

1971

Datapoint 2200

1972

HP 9830

1973

Xerox Alto

1975

Altair 8800

1976

Apple I

1977

Apple II

1977

Commodore PET

1979

Atari 400/800

1980

Sinclair ZX80

1980

Apple III

1981

Acorn BBC Micro

1981

IBM PC

1982

Commodore 64

1982

Sinclair ZX Spectrum

1983

Apple Lisa

1984

Apple Macintosh

1985

Amstrad PC 1512

1986

Compaq DeskPro 386

1987

Acorn Archimedes

1987

IBM Personal System/2

1989

Mac Portable

1991

Dell 325NC

1992

Amiga 4000

1992

IBM Thinkpad 700

1993

Apple Newton MessagePad

1996

Toshiba Libretto 20

1998

iMac

2006

Apple Macbook

2007

ASUS Eee PC

2010

Apple iPad

2012

Microsoft Surface

2012

Raspberry Pi

The Future

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