[Elecraft] Computers in the Stone Age

[Kevin Cozens]

Someone wrote:
> Desktop computers did not come into being until the advent of the IBM
> PC in the 1980s.

(Among?) The first desktop computers were the S-100 bus based machines. 
First, the Altair 8800 announced on the cover of Popular Electronics 
magazine in January 1976, and its later popular variant the IMSAI 8080. They 
were in boxes along the size of 17" rack mount sized boxes with 
high-amperage power supplies.

Other early desktop computers that came along not long after were the Apple 
I and II lines, and the Commodore computers such as their PET.

Josh W6XU wrote:
> Maybe he's remembering running DR-DOS on the Apple II? Required a Z80 card.

PC-DOS/MS-DOS/DR-DOS were all for the IBM PC and compatible computers. The 
plug-in card for the Apple II and later computers that had the Z-80 CPU on 
it was so that you could run CP/M. I have one for my pair of Apple computers.

The plug-in card and floppy disk system used with the Apple II could be 
thought of as the K2 of its day. It may seem quaint today but the disk 
system was a marvel of engineering in its simplicity and elegance.

-- 
Cheers!

Kevin.

http://www.ve3syb.ca/           |"Nerds make the shiny things that distract
Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172      | the mouth-breathers, and that's why we're
                                 | powerful!"
#include <disclaimer/favourite> |             --Chris Hardwick