How was the first home computer (1980s) different from the computers that are in homes now

Building on the success of the computers of the 1970s, the following decade created some technology that was unprecedented for its day. The computers produced and marketed during the 1980s only helped to increase the popularity of these convenient pieces of equipment throughout the decade and beyond. By the time the 1980s came to an end, it was unusual for a household to be without a personal computer. People were using them to play games and many other things, such as talk with others in the office network and other business-related applications. The computers during the 1980s also became more attractive and user-friendly as more and more people were buying them.

In 1982, the Commodore 64 took the nation by storm because of its price and the new capabilities that it offered. In addition to its unheard of $400 price tag (which was inexpensive for a personal computer at the time), it also had 64 Kb of RAM. This amount of RAM far surpassed any of the previous models and it was one of the major selling points that made this personal computer system one of the best-selling models of all time. Even 10 years after it was first introduced, the 22 million units of the Commodore 64 that were sold has been unmatched by any other single computer model.

The Commodore 64 recognized the success of previous models and brands and simply tried to improve on their technology. Within its own company, Commodore had produced the VIC-20, which was basically an early model of the Commodore 64. While the VIC-20 was a popular model, it still had flaws that the Commodore 64 did not have. The Commodore 64 was marketed toward the mass population and this model was the first portable model with a color display. As with previous models and brands, however, it still used cassette tapes as mediums for data storage with an optional floppy disk drive.

Following on the heels of the Commodore 64, the Commodore Amiga came out in 1985. This was a more expensive model ($1200) that many say was ahead of its time. Many of its capabilities were misunderstood by the general public because they did not even know computers were capable of some of the things the Amiga did. Games played on the Commodore Amiga had and awesome display of graphics and sound that nobody had seen before this model was introduced. Some units even came with 264 kilobytes of RAM, which was quadruple what the Commodore 64 was capable of. When the other computers of the day could only display 16 colors on the screen, the Commodore Amiga was capable of displaying over 4000 colors in high-resolution. This was also a popular model because it could be used for desktop video production and creating special effects for videos at home. The Commodore Amiga was also the first personal computer that was compatible with other operating systems in addition to the one it was supplied with.

In 1984, the Apple MacIntosh made its appearance in the personal computer market. For $2500, computer users could own an Apple MacIntosh that had several added features than the computers from the previous decade. Introduced in a commercial during the 1984 Super Bowl, the Apple MacIntosh quickly became popular with its 128 Kb of Ram and its already installed 3.5” floppy disk drive. Users were delighted to use unique MacIntosh programs, including MacWrite (for word processing), Aldus PageMaker (for desktop publishing) and the MacPaint program (ideal for editing images). The MacPaint program also showed users the importance of using a mouse with a personal computer. In addition to these capabilities, the Apple Laser Printer quickly became the preferred printer of choice for computer owners of all brands.

The 1980s provided an ideal bridge between the beginning of the personal computer revolution in the 1970s and the flourishing of computers during the 1990s. Computer companies during the 80s took risks to help create more convenient models with increasing capabilities that everybody could take advantage of. As a result of their technology design and hard work, the following decade was able to become what many refer to as “The Age of Personal Computers.”

The 1980's saw some of the most dramatic changes in the Personal Computer and Games consoles due to the increased use of microprocessors and Integrated circuits to bring the price down and the performance up, due to so many releases and advances we have used different colours to help view the timeline. For the first time in 1985 a version of Windows based on a GUI appeared and we learnt to use a mouse to navigate our way round on the PC.
People liked PC's but did not like the way you started applications from a DOS prompt. A good example of this was my mum who was 60 at the time when I gave her one of my older PC's, she had seen me using word processing and a couple of other applications and thought she would like to use this new technology, that was until she realised that to use applications she needed to type stuff in, she just would not use it without some sort of help so I bought a menu system which provided her a way to access the applications with ease.

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Museums Victoria currently holds six early personal computers that trace important developments in the history of this remarkable area. There are three computers with separate components (an Altair 8800, a Microbee and an Atari 800) and three early portable computers (a Kaypro, an IBM 'Cubie' and an Osborne II).

Altair 8800
In 1975 the Altair 8800 sparked the phenomenon of the personal computer. The machine was built by a small company, MITS, and was designed to be assembled by hobbyists and professionals and used in homes or at work.

At $US 395 the Altair 8800 computer kit was relatively cheap to buy but required considerable work and skill to assemble. Once complete, the Altair 8800 looked very different to the present day desktop and laptop PCs. It came without a monitor, keyboard, disk drive or programs (software). Instead, users had to write their own programs in binary code by flipping switches on the front panel of the machine, one at a time for every binary digit. The output was read in binary on the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on the front panel.

The Altair 8800 was powered by an Intel 8080 processor and had only 256 bytes of random access memory (RAM) - about enough to store one paragraph of text. But users remained tolerant. Their enthusiasm spawned computer clubs, stores, newsletters, magazines and conventions.

Atari 800
In 1978 the computer video game company Atari entered the personal computer market with the Atari 400 and 800. Both machines looked very similar to a standard home typewriter. The computer systems were a series of components that, when connected to a television set, functioned as a single system. Other components included a tape deck that functioned as a program recorder, and pre-recorded programs on tape cartridges.

The Atari 800 provided graphics and sound quality never before seen in a personal computer system. It was capable of producing up to 256 colours with built-in player and missile graphics and was compatible with all of the Atari 2600 joysticks, paddles and keypads. The console contained the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and memory bank - 10?000 bytes of read-only memory (ROM) and 8000 bytes of RAM. Software included word processing, financial packages, games and educational titles. Despite its age, the Atari 800 is still one of the most powerful, useful and versatile home computers ever produced.

Microbee

The Microbee was released by the Australian company Applied Technology in 1982. It was one of the first computers introduced into Australian schools, and was a popular training tool for the country's young computer users. Several thousand Microbees were made in the 1980s and sold to users as far away as Sweden. The Microbee was sold in kit form, and when assembled had the general appearance of a modern-day desktop PC. Its CPU was built into a typewriter keyboard unit, which could be connected to a monochrome monitor for display. Museum Victoria's 256TC model is a more advanced Microbee with larger memory (256K bytes Ram) and includes better graphics, a full size keyboard and numeric keypad along with built in disk drives. The 256TC used the CP/M-80 disk operating system or Microbees' proprietry graphical 'Shell' and was shipped with a bundle of software which included a word processor, disk utilities, serial terminal and the Microworld Basic interpreter. There was a later model which was originally called the 640TC during development and then renamed 'The Matilda' after a naming competition was held. The Matilda was an IBM PC XT compatible design based on an NEC V40 processor and housed in the same case as the 256TC. It ran MS-DOS with EGA level graphics. The Matilda also included special hardware to enable it to run the software that was designed for the Z80 based microbees, such as the 256TC, offering backward compatibility.

Osborne 1
The Osborne 1 was the world's first truly portable computer. It was released in 1980 by computer book publisher Adam Osborne. The computer weighed a substantial eight kilograms and was contained in a large box with a handle.

The Osborne 1 used a Zilog Z-80 microprocessor chip, which was a faster and better clone of the Intel 8080 chip. The tiny 13-centimetre black-and-white screen could display only 52 characters across, but special arrow keys moved the display left and right across a wider 'virtual' screen. The Osborne 1 was plagued with operational problems, but tens of thousands were sold.

Kaypro
The Kaypro II portable computer was released soon after the Osborne and became an instant success. Its appeal lay in its large 23-centimetre monitor and the reliable operating system called CP/M (Control Program for Microprocessors). It had two 5<1/2>-inch disk drives and an impressive 64 000 bytes of RAM. The Kaypro was the first portable to be packaged in a durable metal case.

References:

Freed, L. 1995. The History of Computers. Ziff Davis Press.