Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market inand becoming common during the s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user.

These computers were a distinct market segment that typically cost much less than business, scientific or engineering-oriented computers of the time such as the IBM PC[1] and were generally less powerful in terms of memory and expandability.

However, a home computer often had better graphics and sound than contemporaneous business computers. Their most common uses were playing video gamesbut they were also regularly used for word processingdoing homework, and programming. Home computers were usually not electronic kits ; home computers were sold already manufactured in stylish metal or plastic enclosures. There were, however, commercial kits like the Sinclair ZX80 which were both home and home-built computers since the purchaser could assemble the unit from a kit.

Advertisements in the popular press for early home computers were rife with possibilities for their practical use in the home, from cataloging recipes to personal finance to home automation[2] [3] [4] but these were seldom realized in practice.

For example, using a typical s home computer as a home automation appliance would require the computer to be kept powered on at all times and dedicated to this task. Personal finance and database use required tedious data entry. By contrast, advertisements in the specialty computer press often simply listed specifications. Many users found programming to be a fun and rewarding experience, and an excellent introduction to the world of digital technology.

The line between 'business' and 'home' computer market segments blurred or vanished completely once IBM PC compatibles became commonly used in the home, since now both categories of computers typically use the same processor architectures, peripherals, operating systems, and applications. Often the only difference may be the sales outlet through which they are purchased.

Another change from the home computer era is that the once-common endeavour of writing one's own software programs has almost vanished from home computer use. Five waves of home computer: Low-price single-user computers aimed at the home market arrived in five waves between and The invention of the Intel microprocessor in April made practical the development of the relatively affordable mass-market microcomputer.

In the USA this first appeared in the form of an unassembled kit, the Altairin early soon pre-assembled computers were offered. The sudden popularity of small computers happened because the 8-bit CPU could represent discrete values, or character codes.

Thus the 7-bit ASCII standard for the representation of alphanumeric data became feasible. This new class of single-user desktop computer was practical for serious work because it could input, process, and output alphanumeric information.

Soon after, other companies entered the market with similar, ready to run microcomputers like the IMSAI These sold in the tens of thousands, surprising everyone in the industry. Beyond businesses and hobbyists, however, these computers were not widely used because in the early days they lacked conveniences like video displays and keyboards, required programming skills at the machine code level, and systems large enough for serious work cost many thousands.

The very first home computer was the Compucolor by Intelligent Systems Corporation insoon followed by the Compucolor II. They used the but otherwise sported very advanced features, including RAM starting at 8 KB, expandable up to 32 KB, 64 column by 32 line color CRT display, a professional keyboard, an enhanced BASIC interpreter, and a built-in floppy disk drive.

It only sold a few thousand units, however, and the company went bust not long after. In two new microprocessors were developed that were easier and less expensive to implement than the In three companies decided to use this new technology to develop and market affordable, fully assembled, easy-to-use, programmable computers for individual users in their businesses and homes.

These were the Commodore PETApple IIand TRSwhich Byte magazine christened the " Trinity". These comprise the First Wave of home computers. All three were instant successes and created a huge, surprise demand. Aside from the efforts of product development and ramping up production to meet the unexpected demand, each had unique difficulties expanding their new businesses.

In the cases of Commodore and Apple, they had to build up networks of dealers, not only for sales but for reliable customer service. They focused their efforts on the in-house development of hardware peripherals especially the first 5. Apple and Commodore encouraged third-party companies to do this work for them except for floppy drives. Tandy also took up the task of establishing a presence in the growing market for small business computers, with its follow-on TRS Model II which they introduced in October The TRS took a large, early lead in the new market, and Apple lagged Commodore.

Established game console maker Atari followed closely in November with their andwhich were the first home computers ever to have circuitry dedicated to processing of graphical video and audio data inherited from Atari game console products.

In Sinclair in the UK launched their super-cheap ZX80heralded as the least expensive computer ever offered. Also in early the Radio Shack Color Computer made its debut. This was the first commercial computer to use the powerful Motorola CPU. In early Commodore introduced its VIC which rivaled the Ataris for gameplay with a custom video chip that made hi-res color affordable but not so capable as the Atari's graphics coprocessors. The VIC would become the first computer to sell one million units.

Sinclair followed up the ZX80 with its ZX81 in March Sinclair would team up with Timex to market its home computers in the USA. In December Acorn Computer in the UK produced the BBC Micro. Finally in April Sinclair again topped itself with its new Spectrum.

This last can be seen as a transition between the second wave and the third; successor models of the Spectrum would evolve in that direction. Essentially, this second wave of home computers were video game consoles equipped with a few computerlike enhancements like keyboards, BASIC interpreters which served as the operating systemand provision for cassette tape mass storage.

They introduced features that would typify the low-end home computer: These lower cost new machines lacked features of more costly machines. One such was the full-travel keyboard. Membrane or "chiclet" keyboards were used in the least expensive models like the Sinclairs, Color Computer, and Atari as did the Trinity's Commodore PET.

Serial ports and interfaces for printers were offered only on the pricier models. Less expensive memory chips afforded the later computers of this wave of home computer a full complement of RAM: Also in the later period the VIC and Ataris got their first floppy disk drives The Commodore and Atari respectively. The dedicated video chips used in the Ataris and the software sprites supported by the VIC would spur software publishers to produce a new breed of games with fast-moving high resolution color graphics.

The emphasis in the home market on graphics would also compel the writers of the BASIC interpreters to support the new graphics capabilities with advanced commands for drawing lines and geometric shapes and filling areas, rather than the primitive commands for merely setting and resetting pixels as provided in earlier computers.

The first of the mature 8-bit machines that comprised the Third Wave of home computers was the famous Commodore 64 August It sported many features that would typify this generation. Most important was the use of bank-switching technology to address more than the 64 kilobytes of memory that 8-bit processors were limited to. Although the C only had 64 KB of RAM, it used bank-switching to page in ROM routines as needed, thus filling out the 's memory map completely with RAM. This made larger, more sophisticated programs possible.

The C eventually drove Texas Instruments from the home computer market with aggressive cost-cutting, and wounded the Atari 8-bit line's market position as well. The C cost less than the Atari and at last had a custom graphics and sound chips of comparable capability.

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A few years after coming to market the C would sell some 2 million units per year despite early on acquiring a reputation for poor construction quality and reliability and went on to become the all-time bestselling computer until the PCs overtook it in the early s. In late Atari countered Commodore in the low-end "price wars" with its XL, which was cheaper to produce and slightly improved. Ending this third wave of home computer, saw new entrant Amstrad in the UK introduce the Amstrad CPC.

This new Z80 machine would spawn many variants in following years and sell some 3 million units. As costs for DRAM chips continued to decline, other 8-bit computers would use bank-switching to offer even more RAM than the 64 KB limit of the 8-bit CPUs, usually KB as in the ZX SpectrumApple IIe January and Radio Shack TRS Model 4 April The first of the small computer Productivity suitesAppleworks and Deskmatewould appear on these two computers.

Robotic manufacturing in low-wage Asian countries and advanced, denser circuit design permitted engineers to build in more and better features while reducing production costs, so greater capabilities became available to the consumer at lesser prices.

Greater quantities of units shipped drove down costs further as economies of scale kicked in. As sales of home computers sold grew, software publishers increasingly turned their attention to the gaming, educational, and home productivity market.

They began to support the more advanced features of the newer computers, especially the greater memory capacities available. Prices of hardware and software continued to fall and spurred further growth and programming sophistication.

Another effect of the mass marketing of home computers was a shift in the distribution channels used by the manufacturers. This trend resulted in further price reductions to the consumer, and allowed manufacturers to economically move greater volumes of product into new markets away from the big coastal cities of the USA.

MSX was a standard for a home computing architecture that was intended and hoped to become a universal platform for home computing. It was conceived and engineered by Microsoft and marketed by Microsoft Japan. Computers conforming to the MSX standard were produced by most all major Japanese electronics manufacturers, as well as two Korean ones and several others in Europe and South America. Some 5 million units are known to have been sold in Japan alone.

They sold in smaller numbers throughout the world. Due to the "price wars" being waged in the USA home computer market during the period, MSX computers were never marketed to any great extent in the USA.

Eventually more advanced mainstream home computers and game consoles obsoleted the MSX machines. By the end of this period in early with the launch of Amstrad's CPCall the major lines of 8-bit home computer had been introduced.

All subsequent computers designed for home use would use more powerful bit processors, which could more efficiently use the ever-less-expensive memory chips.

It was actually the years following that would be the Golden Age of the 8-bit home computers. They would continue to sell on pricespawn improved and repackaged versions, and gain an ever-wider selection of software applications and hardware peripherals many using the same new technologies the bit computers would, such as 3. Indeed, all these 8-bit home computers would persist into the early s the TRS Model 4D ceased production sometime in the late s but was kept in the Radio Shack catalog until January may be seen as the very beginning of a transition to the new generation of bit computers that would blossom infor this was when Sinclair produced their Sinclair QLwhich was the first home computer to use Motorola's new -series CPU with an internal bit architecture and multitasking operating system.

The Sinclair implementation used the version with an external 8-bit bus. The QL was rushed to market and not much of a success as a product, however. From the introduction of the IBM Personal Computer ubiquitously known as the PC inthe market for computers meant for the corporate, business, and government sectors came to be dominated by the new machine and its MS-DOS operating system.

Even basic PCs cost thousands of dollars and were far out of reach for typical home computerists. However, in the following years technological advances and improved manufacturing capabilities mainly greater use of robotics and relocation of production plants to lower-wage locations in Asia permitted several computer companies to offer lower-cost PC style machines that would become competitive with many 8-bit home-market pioneers.

PCs could never become as affordable as these because the same price-reducing measures were available to all computer makers. Furthermore, software and peripherals for PC style computers tended to cost more than those for 8-bit computers because of the anchoring effect caused by the pricey IBM PC. Though the PC's first graphics adapter, CGAcould be used with a television set in 40 character mode, this was not a practical option because very little software was written for this display mode; therefore the PCs could not practically use the family TV set as a video display like the cheaper home computers and thus the effective price of a PC was that much greater.

Nonetheless, the overall reduction in manufacturing costs narrowed the price difference between old 8-bit technology and new PCs. In other words, the simpler machines could not benefit so much from more efficient manufacturing as did the complex PCs. Despite their higher absolute prices PCs were perceived by many to be better values for their utility as superior productivity tools and their access to industry-standard software.

Similarly, the PC floppy was double-sided with about twice the storage capacity of floppy disks used by 8-bit home computers. PC drives tended to cost less because they were most often built-in, requiring no external case, controller, and power supply.

The faster clock rates and wider buses available to later Intel CPUs compensated somewhat for the custom graphics and sound chips of the Commodores and Ataris. In time the growing popularity of home PCs spurred many software publishers to offer gaming and children's software titles.

So the ability to run industry-standard MS-DOS software on affordable, user-friendly PCs was anticipated as a source of new sales. Furthermore, many in the industry felt that MS-DOS would eventually inevitably, it seemed come to dominate the computer business entirely, and some manufacturers felt the need to offer individual customers PC-style products suitable for the home market.

It proved a spectacular failure because IBM deliberately limited its capabilities and expansion possibilities in order to avoid cannibalizing sales of the profitable PC. IBM management believed that if they made the PCjr too powerful too many buyers would prefer it over the bigger, more expensive PC. Poor reviews in the computer press and poor sales doomed the PCjr. Tandy Corporation capitalized on IBM's blunder with its PCjr-compatible Tandy in November.

The improved Tandy video hardware became a standard of its own, known as Tandy Graphics Adapter or TGA. Later Tandy produced Tandy variants in form factors and price-points even more suited to the home computer market, comprised particularly by the Tandy EX [15] and HX [16] models later supplanted by the RL [17] [18]which came in cases resembling the original Apple IIs CPU, keyboard, expansion slots, and power supply in a slimline cabinet but also included floppy disk drives.

The proprietary Deskmate productivity suite came bundled with the Tandy s. Deskmate was suited to use by computer novices with its point-and-click though not graphical user interface. From the launch of the Tandy series, their manufacture were price-competitive because of Tandy's use of high-density ASIC chip technology, which allowed their engineers to integrate many hardware features into the motherboard obviating the need for circuit cards in expansion slots as with other brands of PC.

Tandy never transferred its manufacturing operation to Asia; all Tandy desktop computers were built in the USA this was not true of the laptop and pocket computers, nor peripherals. In the Epson corporation, a popular and respected producer of inexpensive dot-matrix printers and business computers the QX and QXintroduced its low-cost Epson Equity [19] PC.

Its designers took minor shortcuts such as few expansion slots and a lack of a socket for an math chip, but Epson did bundle some utility programs that offered decent turnkey functionality for novice users. While not a high performer, the Equity was a reliable and compatible design for half the price of a similarly-configured IBM PC. Epson often promoted sales by bundling one of their printers with it at cost.

The Equity I sold well enough to warrant the furtherance of the Equity line with the follow-on Equity II, Equity III, and others based on the iSX. In UK home computer maker Amstrad began does fishing or woodcutting make more money in runescape their PC [20] [21] PC-compatible for sale in the UK.

Later they would market the machine in the USA as the PC In June an improved model was produced as the PC These machines had fast CPUs, enhanced CGA graphics, and were feature-laden for their modest prices. They had joystick adapters built into their keyboards and shipped with a licensed version of the Digital Research Graphical Environment Manager or GEMa GUI for the MS-DOS operating system. They became marginal successes in the home market. In longtime small computer maker Zenith introduced stock market ticker symbol for gold low-cost PC they called the eaZy PC.

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The eaZy PC used a turbo NEC V40 CPU uprated which was rather slow for its time, but the video monitor did feature pixel vertical resolution. This unique computer failed for the how to make money with fletching osrs reasons as did IBM's PCjr: Another company that offered low-cost PCs for home use was Leading Edge with their Model M and Model D computers.

These were configured like full-featured business PCs yet still could compete in the home market on price because Leading Edge had access to low-cost hardware from their Asian manufacturing partners Mitsubishi with the Model M and Daewoo with the Model D. The Leading Edge Word Processor was bundled with the Model D. It was favorably reviewed by the computer press and sold very well. By the mids the market for inexpensive PCs for use in the home market was expanding at a rate such that the two leaders in the USA, Commodore and Atari, themselves felt compelled to enter the market with their own lines.

They were only marginally successful compared to other companies that made only PCs. Still later prices buying silver stocks in canada white box Msn stock trader clone computers by various manufacturers became competitive with the higher-end home computers see below.

Throughout the s costs and prices continued to be driven down by: The Fifth, last wave of computers specially meant for use as home computers arrived in June with the Atari ST. Soon after, but unavailable untilcame Commodore's Amiga.

This chip promised superior performance due to its advanced architecture and fast clock rate, made possible by fast yet inexpensive memory chips. Also, the could access megabytes of memory linearly, without any need for Intel's segmented memory model. This made huge, sophisticated programs easy to produce. Both machines used the new 3. The user interface used was graphical, like the Macintosh.

The ST used a licensed version of Digital Research's GEM and the Amiga's original GUI featured true multitasking and windowing capability. The video hardware in these two computers could render graphics in hundreds or thousands of colors in high resolution. The Amiga had dedicated graphics and sound coprocessors for high performance video and audio. It found use as a workstation for motion video, earnest money on commercial property first for a standalone computer costing far less than dedicated motion-video processing equipment.

Vladimir forex trading review sound became standard for the first time; the Atari ST gained popularity as an affordable alternative for MIDI equipment for the production of music.

After a slow start the ST and Amiga gained traction in the market as software developers increased support for them. In following years both lines would be advanced using the faster, fully bit successors of the Motorola CPU.

In June a computer appeared in the UK which can maybank forex klia considered a member of this wave; this was the Acorn Archimedes.

Because it used Trading holidays of nse 2014 own ARM architecture processor rather home based business make money newsgroup the Motorolait offered superior performance to the ST and Amiga about double and likewise was ahead of its time. The Archimedes gained share in the UK educational market but, like the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga, was crowded out in the s by inexpensive PCs with similar multimedia capability running Microsoft Windows.

The 8-bit Uob forex trading Song During this period, three venerable 8-bit computers made something of a comeback, if short-lived. These were the Commodore in January and its variant CD a bit laterthe Radio Companies on the stock market in ghana Color Computer 3 in Julyand the Apple IIGS in September They incorporated features typical of business-class computers like expanded memory beyond 64 kilobytes, 80 column text screens, higher resolution graphics with more colors, and in the case of the IIGS a Macintosh-like graphical interface.

The new Coco could run a windowing, multitasking operating system called OS Yet these updated veterans offered full compatibility with the software of their ancestors. Eventually these three, like all the other home computers, were eclipsed by the PCs due to constantly falling prices for the newer technologies.

Computers became affordable for the general public in the s due to the mass production of the microprocessor starting in Early microcomputers such as the Altair had front-mounted switches caused stock market crash 1929 diagnostic lights nicknamed " blinkenlights " to control and indicate sirius and stock market system status, and were often sold in kit form to hobbyists.

These kits would contain an empty printed circuit board which the buyer would fill with the integrated circuitsother individual electronic components, wires and connectors, and then hand- solder all blackberry - stock quote - premarket connections.

While two early home computers Sinclair ZX80 and Acorn Atom could be bought either nz investment options kit form or assembled, most home computers were only sold pre-assembled. They were enclosed in plastic or metal cases similar in appearance to typewriter or hi-fi equipment enclosures, which were more familiar and attractive to consumers than the industrial metal card-cage enclosures used by the Altair and similar computers.

The keyboard - a feature lacking on the Altair - was usually built into the same case as the motherboard.

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Ports for plug-in peripheral devices such as a video display, cassette tape recorders, joysticksand later disk drives were either built-in or available on expansion cards. Although the Apple II series had internal expansion slots, most other home computer models' expansion arrangements were through externally accessible 'expansion ports' that also served as a place to wo forex strategies in cartridge-based games.

Usually the manufacturer would sell peripheral devices designed to be compatible with their computers as extra cost accessories. Peripherals and software were not often interchangeable between different brands of home computer, or even between successive models of the same brand. To save the cost of a dedicated monitor, the home computer would often connect through an RF modulator to the family TV set, which served as both video display and sound system.

Large numbers of new machines of all types began to appear during the late s and early s. MattelColecoTexas Instruments and Timexnone of which had any previous connection to the computer industry, all had short-lived home computer lines in the early s. Some home computers were more successful — the BBC MicroSinclair ZX SpectrumAtari XL and Commodore 64sold many 99 binary options risks over several years and attracted third-party software development.

Almost universally, home computers had a BASIC interpreter combined with a line editor in permanent read-only memory which one could use to type in BASIC programs and execute them immediately or save them to tape or disk. In direct modethe BASIC interpreter was also used as the user interfaceand given tasks such as loading, saving, managing, and running files.

A built-in programming language was seen as a requirement for any computer of the era, and was the main feature setting home computers apart from video game consoles. Still, home computers australian binary options brokers in united states in the same market 60s binary options extreme nemesis bullet mq4 the consoles.

A home computer was often seen as simply as a higher end purchase than a console, adding abilities and productivity potential to what would still be mainly a gaming device. A common marketing tactic credit card binary options to show a computer system and console playing games side by side, then emphasizing the computer's greater ability by showing it running user-created programs, how to make money fast gta online after patch software, word processing, spreadsheet and other applications while the game console showed a blank screen or continued playing the same repetitive game.

Another capability home computers had that game consoles of the time lacked was the ability to access remote services over telephone lines by adding a serial port interface, a modemand communication software.

Though it could be costly, it permitted the computer user to access services like Compuserve and private or corporate bulletin board systems to post or read messages, or to download or upload software. Some enthusiasts with computers equipped with large storage capacity and a dedicated phone line operated bulletin boards of their mgm mirage stock options. This capability anticipated forex online broker reviews internet by nearly twenty years.

Some game consoles offered "programming packs" consisting of a version of BASIC in a ROM cartridge. Atari's BASIC Programming for the Atari was one of these.

For the ColecoVision console, Coleco even announced an expansion module which would convert it into a full-fledged computer stock trading timings. This never materialised, but a standalone computer, the Coleco Adam was eventually released. Books of type-in program listings like BASIC Computer Games were available dedicated for the BASICs of most models of computer with titles along the lines of 64 Amazing BASIC Games for the Commodore To avoid the tedious process of typing in a program listing from a book, these books would calgary stock brokers listing include a mail-in offer from the author to obtain the programs on disk or cassette for a few dollars.

Before the Internet, and before most computer owners had a modembooks were a popular and low-cost means of software distribution—one that had the advantage of incorporating its own documentation. These books also served a role in familiarizing new computer owners with the concepts of programming; some titles added suggested modifications to the program listings for the user to carry out.

Modifying software to be compatible with one's system or writing a utility program to fit one's needs was a skill every advanced computer owner was expected to have. During the peak years of the home computer market, scores of models were produced, usually as individual design projects with little or no thought given to compatibility between different manufacturers or even within product lines of the same manufacturer.

For many of these businesses, the development of the microcomputer made computing and business software affordable where they had not been before. This was largely due to the IBM name and the system's 16 bit open architecturewhich expanded maximum memory tenfold, and also encouraged production of third-party clones.

In the late s, the based Apple II series had carved out a niche for itself in business, thanks to the industry's first killer appVisiCalcreleased in However the Apple II would quickly be displaced for office use by IBM PC compatibles running Lotus In Wayne Greenthe publisher of Kilobaud Microcomputingrecommended that companies avoid the term "home computer" in their advertising as "I feel is self-limiting for sales I prefer the term "microcomputers" since it doesn't limit the uses of the equipment in the imagination of the prospective customers".

Apple consistently avoided stating that it was a home-computer company, and described the IIc as "a serious computer for the serious home user" despite competing against IBM's PCjr home computer. John Sculley denied that his company sold home computers; rather, he said, Apple sold "computers for use in the home".

Although the Apple II and Atari computers ey stock options functionally similar, Atari's home-oriented marketing resulted in a game-heavy library with much less business software. Inexpensive, highly compatible clones succeeded where the PCjr had failed. Replacing the hobbyists who had changing select option javascript up the majority of the home computer market were, as Compute!

By industry experts predicted an "MS-DOS Christmas", and the magazine stated that clones threatened Commodore, Atari, and Apple's domination day trading how many monitors the home-computer market. The declining cost of IBM compatibles on the one hand, and the greatly increased graphics, sound, and storage abilities of fourth generation video game consoles such as the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System on the other, combined to cause the market segment for home computers to vanish by the early s in the US.

In Europe, the home computer remained a distinct presence for a few years more, with the low-end models of the bit Amiga learn stock market investopedia Atari ST families being the dominant players, but by the mids even the European market had dwindled.

Naturally, these businesses chose to equip their employees with the free buy sell signals forex systems they themselves were using. Many home computers were superficially similar. Sometimes they were equipped with a cheap membrane or chiclet keyboard in the early days, although full-travel keyboards quickly became universal due to overwhelming consumer preference.

Most systems could use an RF modulator to display 20—40 column text output on a home television. Indeed, the use of a television set as a display almost defines the pre-PC home computer. Although forex reader composite or " green screen " computer displays were available for this market segment 2016 almanac stock traders offered a sharper display, a monitor was often a later purchase made only after users had bought a floppy disk drive, printer, modem, and the other pieces of a full system.

The reason for this was that while those TV-monitors had difficulty displaying the clear and readable column text that became the industry standard at the time, the only consumers who really needed that were the power users utilizing the machine for business purposes, while the average casual consumer would use the system for games only and was content with the lower resolution for which a TV worked fine. An important exception was the Radio Shack TRSthe first mass-marketed computer for home use, which included its own column display monitor and full-travel keyboard as standard features.

This " peripherals sold separately" approach is another defining characteristic of the home computer era. A first time computer buyer who brought a base C system home and hooked it up to their TV would find they needed to buy a disk drive the Commodore was the only fully compatible model or Datasette before they could make use of it as anything but a game machine or TV Typewriter. In the early part of the s, the dominant microprocessors used in home computers were the 8-bit MOS Technology Apple, Commodore, Atari, BBC Micro and Zilog Z80 TRSZX81ZX SpectrumCommodoreAmstrad CPC.

One exception was the TI series, announced in with a bit TMS CPU. However, the glue logic needed to retrofit the bit CPU to an 8-bit system negated the advantages of the more powerful CPU. For low-price computers the cost of Cabaret money makes the world go round download memory chips contributed greatly to the final product price to the consumer, and fast CPUs demanded expensive, fast memory.

So designers kept clock rates only adequate; in some cases like the Atari and Commodore 8-bit machines, coprocessors were added to speed processing of graphics and audio data.

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For these computers clock rate was considered a technical detail of interest only to users needing accurate timing for their own programs. To economize on component cost, often the same crystal used to produce color television compatible signals was also divided down and used for the processor clock. This meant processors rarely operated at their full rated speed, and had the side-effect that European and North American versions of the same home computer operated at slightly different speeds and different video resolution due to different television standards.

Initially, many home computers used the then-ubiquitous compact audio cassette as a storage mechanism. A rough analogy to how this worked would be to place a recorder on the phone line as a file was uploaded by modem to "save" it, and playing the recording back through home based business make money newsgroup modem to "load".

It was available for the TRS and some others. A closely related technology was the ZX Microdrive developed by Sinclair Research in the UK for their ZX Spectrum and QL home computers. Eventually mass production of 5. Standardization of disk formats was not common; sometimes even different models from the same manufacturer used different disk formats. Almost universally the floppy disk drives available for 8-bit home computers were housed in external cases with their own controller boards and power supplies contained within.

Only the later, advanced 8-bit home computers housed their drives within the main unit; these included the TRS Model IIITRS Model 4Apple IIcand Commodore D.

The retirees and stock market volatility bit machines such as the Atari ST not the STthe Commodore Amigasjava stock market tickers the Tandy s did house floppy drive s internally. At any rate, to expand any computer with additional floppy drives external units would have to be plugged in.

Toward the end of the home computer era, drives for a number of home computer models appeared offering disk-format compatibility with the IBM PC. The disk drives sold with the CommodoreAmiga and Atari ST were all able to read and write PC disks, which themselves were undergoing the transition from 5. Hard drives were never popular on home computers, remaining an expensive, niche product mainly for BBS sysops and the few business users. Various copy protection schemes were developed for floppy disks; most were broken in short order.

Many users would only tolerate copy protection for games, as wear and tear on disks was a significant issue in an entirely floppy-based system.

The ability to make a "working backup" disk of vital application software was seen as important. Copy programs that advertised their ability to copy or even remove common protection schemes were a common category of utility software in this pre- DMCA era. In another defining characteristic of the home computer, instead of a command linethe BASIC interpreter served double duty as a user interface. Coupled to a character-based screen or line editorBASIC's file management commands could be entered in direct mode.

In contrast to modern computers, home computers most often had their operating system OS stored in ROM chips. Usually only the most severe bugs were fixed by issuing new ROMs to replace the old ones at the user's cost. Also, the small size and limited scope of home computer "operating systems" really little more than what today would be called a kernel left little room for bugs to hide. Although modern operating systems include extensive programming libraries to ease development and promote standardization, home computer operating systems provided little support to application programs.

Professionally written software often switched out the ROM based OS anyway to free the address space it occupied and maximize RAM capacity. This gave the program full control of the hardware and allowed the programmer to optimize performance for a specific task.

As multitasking was never common on home computers, this practice went largely unnoticed by users. Most software even lacked an exit command, requiring a reboot to use the system for something else.

In an enduring reflection of their early cassette-oriented nature, most home computers loaded their disk operating system DOS separately from the main OS. The DOS was only used for disk and file related commands and was not required to perform other computing functions. One exception was Commodore DOSwhich was not loaded into the computer's main memory at all — Commodore disk drives contained a processor and ran DOS from internal ROM. While this gave Commodore systems some advanced capabilities — a utility program could sideload a disk copy routine onto the drive and return control to the user while the drive copied the disk on its own — it also made Commodore drives more expensive and difficult to clone.

Many home computers had a cartridge interface which accepted ROM-based software. This was also used for expansion or upgrades such as fast loaders. Application software on cartridge did exist, which loaded instantly and eliminated the need for disk swapping on single drive setups, but the vast majority of cartridges were games.

These systems used 3. The Amiga and ST both had GUIs with windowing technology. The Commodore Amiga in particular had true multitasking capability and unlike all other low-cost computers of the era could run multiple applications in their own windows. After the first wave of game consoles and computers landed in American homes, the United States Federal Communications Commission FCC began receiving complaints of electromagnetic interference to television reception.

By the FCC demanded that home computer makers submit samples for radio frequency interference testing. It was found that "first generation" home computers emitted too much radio frequency noise for household use. The Atari and were designed with heavy RF shielding to meet the new requirements. Between and regulations governing RF emittance from home computers were phased in.

Eventually techniques to suppress interference became standardized. Inreferring to computers used in home automation at the dawn of the home computer era, Digital Equipment Corporation CEO Ken Olsen is quoted as saying "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home. Children would use online encyclopedias [63] for school work and would be avid video gamers. The computer would even be tasked with babysitting younger children. Using VideotexNAPLPS or some sort of vaguely conceptualized computer technology, television would gain interactivity.

It would be possible to do the week's grocery shopping through the television. Robots would take the garbage out, and be programmed to perform new tasks via the home computer. Electronics were expensive, so it was generally assumed that each home would have only one computer for the entire family to use. The home computers of the early s could not multitask, [72] which meant that using one as a home automation or entertainment appliance would require it be kept powered on at all times and dedicated exclusively for this use.

Even if the computers could be used for multiple purposes simultaneously as today, other technical limitations predominated; memory capacities were too small to hold entire encyclopedias or databases of financial records; [73] floppy disk-based storage was inadequate in both capacity and speed for multimedia work; [74] and the home computers' graphics chips could only display blocky, unrealistic images and blurry, jagged text that would be difficult to read a newspaper from.

The Boston Phoenix stated in that "people are catching on to the fact that 'applications' like balancing your checkbook and filing kitchen recipes are actually faster and easier to do with a pocket calculator and a box of index cards".

It was a fad. Just about everyone who was going to buy a computer for their home has done it", and predicted that Apple would cease to exist within two years. A backlash set in; computer users were " geeks ", " nerds " or worse, " hackers ". The North American video game crash of soured many on home computer technology as users saw large investments in 'the technology of the future' turn into dead-ends when manufacturers pulled out of the market or went out of business.

The computers that were bought for use in the family room were either forgotten in closets or relegated to basements and children's bedrooms to be used exclusively for games and the occasional book report. Home computers of the s have been called "a technology in search of a use".

It would take another 10 years for technology to mature, for the graphical user interface to make the computer approachable for non-technical users, and for the World Wide Web to provide a compelling reason for most people to want a computer in their homes. The cost of electronics dropped precipitously and today many families have a computer for each family member, or a laptop for mom's active lifestyle, a desktop for dad with the kids sharing a computer.

TV has yet to gain substantial interactivity; instead, the web has evolved alongside television, giving rise to the second screen concept. The HTPC and services like NetflixGoogle TV or Apple TValong with internet video sites such as YouTube and Hulumay one day replace traditional broadcast and cable television. As ofrobots are just beginning to make an impact in the home, with Roomba and Aibo leading the charge.

This delay wasn't out of keeping with other technologies newly introduced to an unprepared public. Early motorists were widely derided with the cry of "Get a horse! Television languished in research labs for decades before regular public broadcasts began.

In an example of changing applications for technology, before the invention of radio, the telephone was used to distribute opera and news reports, whose subscribers were denounced as "illiterate, blind, bedridden and incurably lazy people". Retrocomputing is the use of vintage hardware, possibly performing modern tasks such as surfing the web and email.

As programming techniques evolved and these systems were well-understood after decades of use, it became possible to write software giving home computers capabilities undreamed of by their designers. The Commodore 64 has been repackaged as the C-One and C64 Direct-to-TVboth designed by Jeri Ellsworth with modern enhancements. Throughout the s and 1st decade of the 21st century, many home computer systems were available inexpensively at garage sales and on eBay.

Many enthusiasts started to collect home computers, with older and rarer systems being much sought after. Sometimes the collections turned into a virtual museum presented on web sites. As their often-inexpensively manufactured hardware ages and the supply of replacement parts dwindles, it has become popular among enthusiasts [91] to emulate these machines, recreating their software environments [92] on modern computers.

One of the more well-known emulators is the Multi Emulator Super System MESS which can emulate most of the better-known home computers. A more or less complete list of home computer emulators can be found in the List of computer system emulators article. Games for many 8 and 16 bit home computers are becoming available for the Wii Virtual Console. The time line below describes many of the most popular or significant home computers of the late s and of the s. The most popular home computers in the USA up to were: The British market was different, as relatively high prices and lower disposable incomes reduced the appeal of most American products.

New Scientist stated in that "the price of an American kit in dollars rapidly translates into the same figure in pounds sterling by the time it has reached the shores of Britain". It's not easy for a U. We use the term to refer to an altogether different object on our side of the Atlantic. Home computers use floppy disks for mass storage and perform useful functions like word processing and income tax preparation as well as playing games.

We have various manufacturers of our own, some unheard of in the U. Even when we do have machines in common the Commodore 64I suspect that the vast majority of U. A few low-cost British Sinclair models were sold in the US by Timex Corporation as the Timex Sinclair and the ill-fated Timex Sinclairbut neither established a strong following. The only transatlantic success was the Commodore 64, which competed favorably price-wise with the British systems, and was the most popular system in Europe as in the USA.

Until the introduction of the IBM PC incomputers such as the Apple II and TRS 80 also found considerable use in office work. Three microcomputers were the prototypes for what would later become the home computer market segment; but when introduced they sold as much to hobbyists and small businesses as to the home.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is primarily about a certain class of personal computers from the late s to mids. See home server and home automation or desktop computer for other uses of a computer in a home. For more details on home computer models, see List of home computers.

Several popular home computers existed before the IBM PC launch. But the regimented business world considered Apple, Commodore, and Radio Shack's Tandy products "toys. Tapping out Basic programs often meant a lot of effort with nothing to show for it other than that Great Sphinx of computer messages: Retrieved 22 May Archived from the original on June 6, Radio Shack Catalogs dot com.

Retrieved May 31, Magazine, DecemberThe MS-DOS Invasion, IBM Compatibles Are Coming Home, page 32". Retrieved May 22, Retrieved June 14, Retrieved May 17, Mike James website Editor. The Affordable IBM PC Compatible for Europe".

Thierry Schembri and Olivier Boisseau. Dobb's Journal'', August 12, ". Electronic Computer for Home Operation, The First Home Computer " " PDF. Products and Non-Products in Design Historyfrom Journal of Design HistoryVol. Retrieved 10 January Archived from the original on PBS Public Broadcasting System. Retrieved 23 June Retrieved 5 September Check date values in: Retrieved 6 October The New York Times. Retrieved 9 November Retrieved 16 November The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software.

Is Atari killing the 8 bit? Retrieved 27 January From Computer Cultures to Demoscenes". This process may sound familiar. That's because it's very similar to the way the computer saves programs and other data on the cassette recorder.

Microprocessors and Digital Systems 2nd ed. The History of PC video games: It also teaches special learning concepts and relationships. IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. Smart Houses and the Dream of the Perfect Day. SMART HOMES Home Automation " PDF. Retrieved 1 January The CD-ROMs Are Coming, Compute! The Converging Digital Universe, Compute! Retrieved 7 January Retrieved 18 August Retrieved 28 January Where are the Data and What Do They Say?

Arlington, VA NSF [March ]". About twenty years ago people noticed computers and TV were on a collision course and started to speculate about what they'd produce when they converged.

We now know the answer: Retrieved 25 January Retrieved 9 January The Tech that should have Won from ArmchairArcade. From a Little Apple a Mighty Industry Grows". Archived from the original on May 28, Retrieved July 13, The Computer That Wouldn't Die". In response to its designers' ambitions and a changing marketplace, it evolved from a video game console into a home computer before it even reached the prototype stage. Also inin Japan, Sharp introduced its Sharp MZ computer aimed at consumers.

It was the first of a series of Z80 machines which sold well in Europe. Later in Sharp launched its similar but more advanced X1. Another early and relatively inexpensive Z80 computer was the Heathkit H89 first available in This period is unique because for the first time used computers became available, as owners upgraded to newer models.

Users satisfied with older technology but interested in saving money could find bargains not only for the computers but also for peripherals. Technically savvy individuals often found that newer technology could be retrofitted to obsolete computers. It lost importance when these competitors were withdrawn. Atari also produced the XLa smaller companion to the XL. It had 16 KB RAM but was otherwise similar. In the UK, Acorn produced its Electronwhich was a budget version of the BBC Micro, and Dragon Data in Wales produced a Color Computer workalike based on thethe Dragon In Japan, Fujitsu marketed the Coco-like FM Epson Equity, Leading Edge Models M and D, Hyundai Blue Chip, Amstrad PC, Zenith eaZy PC, and Commodore and Atari PC-compatibles.

The PCW would sell very well throughout Europe. The Commodore 64 was repackaged as the CC, the Atari XL was repackaged as the Atari 65XE, and an enhanced version with KB of banked RAM was produced as the Atari XE. The Atari STs evolved into the bit TT and Falconand Amigas likewise grew into various models AAAAA with bit x0 CPUs with faster clock rates and megabytes of RAM.

In Japan, in Sharp produced its advanced X strictly for the Japanese market. All these updated computer lines, 8-,and bit, continued to sell into the early s. Workstation Desktop Home Personal supercomputer SFF Nettop Plug Portable Tabletop Game arcade cabinet System board Home console Microconsole Interactive kiosk Smart TV Smart speaker. Desktop replacement Notebook 2-in-1 Subnotebook Netbook Smartbook Ultrabook Ultra-mobile PC.

Ultra-mobile PC 2-in-1 Mobile Internet device Tabletop Phablet.

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Digital wristwatch Calculator watch Smartwatch Smartglasses Smart ring. Microcontroller Nanocomputer Pizza box form factor Single-board computer Smartdust Wireless sensor network. Retrieved from " https: Home computers introductions s fads and trends. Webarchive template wayback links All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from April CS1 errors: Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in.

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Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Developers Cookie statement Mobile view. As an industry we haven't found any compelling reason to buy a computer for the home.

When the computer revolution was unofficially announced in the early s, all indications were that it would change the world. Experts predicted that within five years, every household would have a computer. Dad would run his business on it. Mom would store her recipes on it. The kids would do their homework on it. There is a general feeling that the home computer was a fad and that there is really no practical purpose for a computer in the home.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Home computers. Stationary Workstation Desktop Home Personal supercomputer SFF Nettop Plug Portable Tabletop Game arcade cabinet System board Home console Microconsole Interactive kiosk Smart TV Smart speaker. Laptop Desktop replacement Notebook 2-in-1 Subnotebook Netbook Smartbook Ultrabook Ultra-mobile PC.