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Children playing Paperboy on an Amstrad CPC 464 in the 1980s.

Most home computers, such as this Tandy Color Computer 3, featured a version of the BASIC programming language.

A home computer was a class of personal computers entering the market in 1977 and becoming common during the 1980s. These computers typically cost much less than business, scientific or engineering-oriented desktop personal computers of the time, and were generally less powerful in terms of memory and expandability. However, a home computer often had better graphics and sound than contemporary business personal computers, and was usually sold for purposes of education, game play, and personal productivity use such as word processing. Advertisements for early home computers were rife with possibilities for their use in the home, from cataloging recipes to personal finance to home automation, but these were seldom realized in practice as they usually required the home computer user to learn how to program; a significant time commitment many weren't willing to make. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Domotics is the application of computer and robot technologies to domestic appliances. ... A home server is a type of computer used for various services that can be implemented in a common household. ... Amstrad CPC464 computer. ... Amstrad CPC464 computer. ... Paperboy is a 1984 arcade game by Atari Games. ... The Amstrad CPC was a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad during the 1980s and early 1990s. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 114 KB) Summary Typical CoCo 3 system, featuring the base unit, a Tandy CM-8 analog RGB monitor, the Multi-Pak interface with a disk controller installed in slot 4, and two half height 40 track double sided disk drives... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 114 KB) Summary Typical CoCo 3 system, featuring the base unit, a Tandy CM-8 analog RGB monitor, the Multi-Pak interface with a disk controller installed in slot 4, and two half height 40 track double sided disk drives... 4k TRS-80 Color Computer from 1981, 26-3001 The Radio Shack TRS-80 color computer (also called Tandy Color Computer, or CoCo) was a home computer based around the Motorola 6809E processor and part of the TRS-80 line. ... This article is about the programming language. ... Computer and video games redirects here. ... A word processor (also more formally known as a document preparation system) is a computer application used for the production (including composition, editing, formatting, and possibly printing) of any sort of viewable or printed material. ... Light control computerized system Home automation (also called domotics) is a field within building automation, specializing in the specific automation requirements of private homes and in the application of automation techniques for the comfort and security of its residents. ... Programming redirects here. ...

The home computer became affordable for the general public due to the mass production of the microprocessor. In contrast to their predecessors, which had front-mounted switches and blinkenlights to control and indicate internal system status and often came in kit form, home computers were designed to be used by the average consumer, not necessarily an electronics hobbyist. These machines were pre-assembled, with keyboards and plug-in peripheral devices such as screens, cassette tape recorders, joysticks, and (later) disk drives. Usually the manufacturer would provide all the peripheral devices practical to add to any system as extra cost accessories. Often peripherals were not interchangeable between brands of home computer (or sometimes even between successive models of the same brand). A microprocessor incorporates most or all of the functions of a central processing unit (CPU) on a single integrated circuit (IC). ... Blinkenlights is a hackers neologism for diagnostic lights on old mainframe computers and modern network hardware. ... For other uses, see Joystick (disambiguation). ...

Very typically a home computer would have had a version of the BASIC programming language in read-only permanent memory. To save the cost of a dedicated monitor, the home computer often would have connected either directly or through an RF modulator to the family TV set as video display and sound system. This article is about the programming language. ... Look up ROM in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An RF modulator (for radio frequency modulator) is a device that takes a baseband input signal and outputs a radio frequency-modulated signal. ... TV redirects here. ...

Background

After the success of systems like the RadioShack TRS-80, the Commodore PET and the Apple Inc. Apple II in 1977, large numbers of new machines of all types began to appear during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Some home computers sold many units over several years, such as the BBC Micro, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Atari 800XL and Commodore 64, and attracted third-party software development. The exterior of a typical free-standing RadioShack store. ... For the Chicago-based electronica group, see TRS-80 (group). ... The PET (Personal Electronic Transactor) was a home-/personal computer produced by Commodore starting in the late 1970s. ... Apple Inc. ... The Apple II was one of the most popular personal computers of the 1980s. ... The BBC Microcomputer System was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers Ltd for the BBC Computer Literacy Project operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ... Atari built a series of 8-bit home computers based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU, starting in 1979. ... C-64 redirects here. ...

To some extent, low-end home computers competed with video game consoles. The markets weren't entirely distinct, as both had the ability to be used for games. A common marketing tactic was to show a computer system and console playing games side by side, then emphasising the computer's greater ability by showing it running user-created programs, educational software, word processing, spreadsheet and other applications while the game console showed a blank screen or continued playing the same repetitive game. Books were available for most models of computer with titles along the lines of "64 Amazing BASIC Games for the Commodore 64" and were a popular means of both learning to program and software distribution. Some video game consoles offered "programming packs", consisting of a version of BASIC in a ROM cartridge. The ColecoVision console even had an expansion module which converted it into a full-fledged Coleco Adam computer system. During the peak years of the home computer market, scores of models were produced, usually with little or no thought given to compatibility between different manufacturers or even within product lines of one manufacturer. The concept of a computer platform did not exist, except for the Japanese MSX standard. The Nintendo GameCube is an example of a popular video game console. ... E.T. for the Atari 2600 is considered by many to be emblematic of the crash along with the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Memory console and keyboard for Coleco Adam computer expansion for the Colecovision The Coleco Adam was a home computer, an attempt in the early 1980s by American toy manufacturer Coleco to follow on the success of its ColecoVision game console. ... In computing, a platform describes some sort of framework, either in hardware or software, which allows software to run. ... Sony MSX 1, Model HitBit-10-P MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. ...

The introduction of the IBM Personal Computer in August 1981 would eventually lead to standardization in personal computing, largely due to the system's open architecture, which encouraged production of third-party clones of the unit. While the Apple II would be quickly displaced by the IBM PC for office use, Apple Computer's 1984 release of the Apple Macintosh created a new model for the home computer which IBM-compatible computers would eventually imitate. IBM PC redirects here. ... Open architecture is a type of computer architecture that allows users to upgrade their hardware in all of the computer hardware & components (for example the IBM PC has an open architecture). ... IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC, XT, or AT internal design, facilitated by various manufacturers... The Apple II was one of the most popular personal computers of the 1980s. ... IBM PC (IBM 5150) with keyboard and green screen monochrome monitor (IBM 5151), running MS-DOS 5. ... Apple Inc. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ... GUI redirects here. ... IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC, XT, or AT internal design, facilitated by various manufacturers...

The declining cost of IBM-compatible "personal computers" on the one hand, and the greatly increased graphics, sound, and storage capabilities of dedicated video game consoles on the other, caused the market segment for home computers to vanish in the early 1990s in the US. In Europe, the home computer remained a distinct presence for a few years more, with the Amiga and Atari ST lines being the dominant players, but today a computer purchased for home use anywhere will be very similar to those used in offices - made by the same manufacturers, with compatible peripherals, operating systems, and application software. United States may refer to: Places: United States of America SS United States, the fastest ocean liner ever built. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Technology

A Commodore 64c system, showing the basic layout of a typical home computer system of the era. Pictured are the CPU/keyboard unit, floppy disk drive, and dedicated color monitor. Many systems also had a printer for producing paper output.

Many home computers were superficially similar. Most had a keyboard integrated into the case; sometimes a cheap-to-manufacture 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. The use of a television set as a display almost defines the pre-PC home computer. Although monitors dedicated for use with a computer were available for this market segment, it was often a later purchase only made after users had bought a floppy disk drive, printer, modem, and the other pieces of a full system. This "peripherals sold separately" approach is another defining characteristic of home computers. Many first time computer buyers brought a base C-64 system home to find they needed to purchase a disk drive or Datassette before they could make use of it. Download high resolution version (1280x1024, 423 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1280x1024, 423 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... C-64 redirects here. ... A chiclet keyboard is slang for a computer keyboard built with an array of small, flat rectangular or lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys that look like erasers or pieces of chewing gum. ... An RF modulator (for radio frequency modulator) is a device that takes a baseband input signal and outputs a radio frequency-modulated signal. ... For an account of the words periphery and peripheral as they are used in biology, sociology, politics, computer hardware, and other fields, see the periphery disambiguation page. ... The Commodore 1530* (C2N) Datassette (a portmanteau of data + cassette), was Commodores dedicated computer tape recorder. ...

In the early part of the 1980s, home computers were mostly based on 8-bit microprocessor technology, typically the MOS Technology 6502 or the Zilog Z80. A notable exception was the TI-99 series, announced in 1979 with a 16 bit TMS9900 CPU. 8-bit refers to the number of bits used in the data bus of a computer. ... A microprocessor incorporates most or all of the functions of a central processing unit (CPU) on a single integrated circuit (IC). ... MOS Technology, Inc. ... The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle for MOS Technology in 1975. ... One of the first Z80 microprocessors manufactured; the date stamp is from June 1976. ... 1979 TI-99/4 with RF modulator, optional Speech Synthesizer, keyboard overlays, and a cartridge. ... TMS9900JDL in ceramic package Introduced in 1976 and based on the Texas Instruments 990 minicomputer CPU, the TMS9900 was one of the first true 16 bit microprocessors (the first were probably National Semiconductor IMP-16 or AMD-2901 bit slice processors in 16 bit configuration). ...

Processor clock rates were typically 1-2 MHz but this aspect of performance was not emphasized by users or manufacturers, as dealing with the systems' limited RAM capacity, graphics capabilities and storage options took priority. Clock speed was considered a technical detail of interest only to users needing accurate timing. 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. The clock rate is the fundamental rate in cycles per second (measured in hertz) at which a computer performs its most basic operations such as adding two numbers or transferring a value from one processor register to another. ... A crystal oscillator is an electronic circuit that uses the mechanical resonance of a vibrating crystal of piezoelectric material to create an electrical signal with a very precise frequency. ... For other uses, see PAL (disambiguation). ... NTSC is the analog television system in use in the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, and some other countries (see map). ...

Many home computers initially used the ubiquitous compact audio cassettes as a storage mechanism. Most implementations were notoriously slow and unreliable, but floppy disk drives found on more costly business-oriented microcomputers were expensive and used disks eight inches wide at the beginning of the home computer era. Costs declined toward the end of the 1980s as sales of microcomputers increased and large production of 5.25" drive mechanisms enabled economy of scale. The 5.25" floppy disk drives would become standard, with 3.5" drives being made available for most systems toward the latter part of the decade. Most software for home computers remained sold on 5.25" disks, however; 3.5" drives were used for data storage. Standardization of disk formats was not common; sometimes even different models from the same manufacturer used different disk formats. Various copy protection schemes were developed for floppy disks but most were broken in short order, and many users would only tolerate them for games as wear and tear on disks was a significant issue in an entirely floppy-based system, and having a 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. Typical 60-minute Compact Cassette. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... ... Copy prevention, also known as copy protection, is any technical measure designed to prevent duplication of information. ... Utility software (also known as service program, service routine, tool, or utility routine) is a type of computer software. ...

In contrast to modern computers, home computers most often had their OS stored in ROM chips. This made startup times very fast - no more than a few seconds but made upgrades difficult or impossible without buying a new unit. Usually only the most severe bugs were fixed by issuing new ROMs to replace the old ones at the user's cost. The user interface was usually only a BASIC interpreter coupled to a character-based screen or line editor, with applications performing all other OS duties themselves. As multitasking was not common on home computers until late in the '80s, this lack of API support wasn't much of a liability. Application programs usually accessed hardware directly to perform a specific task, often "switching out" the ROM based OS to free the address space it occupied. 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 to send commands to the floppy disk drive and needn't be loaded to perform other computing functions. One notable exception was Commodore, whose disk drives actually contained a 6502 processor and Commodore DOS in ROM. Many home computers also had a cartridge interface which accepted ROM-based software. This was occasionally used for expansion or upgrades such as fast loaders, and application software on cartridge did exist, but the vast majority of cartridges were games. Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of high-level programming languages. ... An interpreter is a computer program that executes other programs. ... Visual editors are editors which display the text being edited on the screen as it is being edited, as opposed to line-oriented editors (such as ed, ex and edlin). ... A line editor is a text editor computer program that is oriented around lines. ... API may refer to: In computing, application programming interface In petroleum industry, American Petroleum Institute In education, Academic Performance Index This page concerning a three-letter acronym or abbreviation is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... In computing, an address space defines a range of discrete addresses, each of which may correspond to a physical or virtual memory register, a network host, peripheral device, disk sector or other logical or physical entity. ... Disk Operating System (specifically) and disk operating system (generically), most often abbreviated as DOS (not to be confused with the DOS family of disk operating systems for the IBM PC compatible platform), refer to operating system software used in most computers that provides the abstraction and management of secondary storage... Commodore DOS, aka CBM DOS, was the disk operating system used with Commodores 8-bit computers. ... Cartridge for the VIC 20 homecomputer In various types of electronic equipment, a cartridge can refer one method of adding different functionality or content (e. ... A fast loader is a software program for a home computer - most commonly, the Commodore 64 - that accelerates the speed of file loading from the floppy disk drive. ...

From about 1985, the high end of the home computer market began to be dominated by "next generation" home computers using the 16-bit Motorola 68000 chip, which helped to enable the greatly increased abilities of the Amiga and Atari ST series. Clock rates on these systems were approximately 8 MHz with RAM capacities of 256 kB (for the base Amiga 1000 system) up to 1024 kB (1 megabyte, a milestone, first seen on the Atari 1040 ST). The Amiga and ST both had GUIs inspired by the Apple Macintosh, but at a list price of $2495 (over $5000 in 2007 dollars), the Macintosh itself was too expensive for most households. Motorola Inc. ... The Motorola 68000 is a CISC microprocessor, the first member of a successful family of microprocessors from Motorola, which were all mostly software compatible. ... This article is about the family of home computers. ... The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ...

Radio frequency interference

After the first wave of computers landed in American homes, the US Federal Communications Commission began receiving complaints of interference to television reception. By 1979 the FCC demanded that home computer manufacturers submit samples for radio frequency interference testing. It was found that "first generation" home computers, which often included their own screens, emitted too much radio frequency noise for household use. Some manufacturers appealed to the FCC to waive the requirements for home computers, while other manufacturers (with compliant designs) objected to the waiver. Many manufacturers had to supply an external RF modulator to allow their units to connect to a home television receiver.^{[citation needed]} Eventually techniques to suppress interference became standardized. The abbreviation FCC can refer to: Face-centered cubic (usually fcc), a crystallographic structure Federal Communications Commission, a US government organization Farm Credit Corporation/Farm Credit Canada, a Canadian government organization Families with Children from China, an adoption support organization Florida Christian College, a college in central Florida Fresno City... An RF modulator (for radio frequency modulator) is a device that takes a baseband input signal and outputs a radio frequency-modulated signal. ...

"The Home Computer Revolution"

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, from about 1977 to 1983, it was widely predicted^[1] that computers would soon revolutionize many aspects of home and family life as they had business practices in the previous decades. Mothers would keep their recipe catalog in computer databases and turn to a medical database for help with child care, fathers would use the family's computer to manage family finances and track automobile maintenance (note the gender roles). Children would use disk-based encyclopedias for school work and would be avid video gamers. Home automation would bring about the intelligent home of the '80s. Using some sort of computer technology, television would be interactive. Morning coffee would be brewed automatically under computer control. The same computer would control the house lighting and temperature. Robots would take the garbage out, and be programmable to perform new tasks by the home computer. Electronics were expensive, so it was generally thought that each home would have one computer for the entire family to use, with interfaces to the various devices it was expected to control. A bagpiper in military uniform. ... Video games were introduced as a commercial entertainment medium in 1971, becoming the basis for an important entertainment industry in the late 1970s/early 1980s in the United States, Japan, and Europe. ... Light control computerized system Home automation (also called domotics) is a field within building automation, specializing in the specific automation requirements of private homes and in the application of automation techniques for the comfort and security of its residents. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... For other uses, see Coffee (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see robot (disambiguation). ...

All this was predicted to be commonplace sometime before the end of the decade, but virtually every aspect of the predicted revolution would prove not to be or be delayed. Put simply, the computers available to consumers of the time period just weren't powerful enough to perform any single task required to realize this vision, much less do them all simultaneously. The home computers of the early 1980s could not multitask. Even if they could, memory capacities were too small to hold entire databases or financial records, floppy disk-based storage was woefully inadequate in both capacity and speed for true multimedia work, and the graphics of the systems could only display blocky, unrealistic images and blurry, jagged text. Before long, a backlash set in—computer users were "geeks", "nerds" or worse, "hackers". The North American video game crash of 1983 soured many on technology in general. The computers that were purchased 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. A geek is a person who is fascinated, perhaps obsessively, by technology and imagination. ... Nerds (on the left, apple-coated watermelon; lemonade-coated wild cherry on right) Nerds Nerds are candies sold by Nestlé under their Willy Wonka Candy Company brand. ... The term Hackers can refer to several things: Hacker - a type of person interested in exploration, usually of a computer or electrical engineering background. ... E.T. for the Atari 2600 is considered by many to be emblematic of the crash along with the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man. ... A book report is an exposition giving a short summary of a book and a reaction to it. ...

It took another 10 years for technology to mature, for the graphical user interface to make the computer approachable for non-technical users, and for the internet to provide a compelling reason for most people to want a computer in their homes. Predicted aspects of the revolution were left by the wayside or modified in the face of an emerging reality. 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. Encyclopedias, recipe catalogs and medical databases are kept online and accessed over the world wide web not stored locally on floppy disks or CD-ROM. Our coffee may be brewed automatically, but the computer is embedded in the coffee maker, not under external control. As of 2008, robots are just beginning to make an impact in the home, with Roomba and Aibo leading the charge. GUI redirects here. ... The World Wide Web and WWW redirect here. ... For other uses, see robot (disambiguation). ... Robotic Floorvac redirects here. ... The AIBO ERS-7 resembles a small dog AIBO (Artificial Intelligence roBOt, homonymous with companion in Japanese) is one of several types of robotic pets designed and manufactured by Sony; there have been several different models since their introduction in 1999. ...

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!"^[2] until the automobile was accepted. 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".^[3] Likewise, the acceptance of computers into daily life today is a product of continuing refinement of both technology and perception. Driving is the controlled operation of a vehicle, usually a motor vehicle such as a truck, bus, motorcycle, or car (for bicycles and mounted animals and—at least in the U.K. and U.S.—motorcycles, the corresponding activity is called riding). ... Car redirects here. ... For other uses, see Telephone (disambiguation). ...

Use today

As many older computers have become obsolete and in some cases nonfunctional, it has become popular amongst enthusiasts^[4] to virtually "recreate" these machines, their environments and popular software titles^[5] with emulation software. One of the more well known emulators is the Multiple Emulator Super System which can emulate most of the better known home computers. One system for which many emulators exist is the MSX. A more or less complete list of home computer emulators can be found here. Games for many 8 and 16 bit platforms are becoming available for the Wii Virtual Console. As of 2008, game consoles are beginning to incorporate most of the most common uses for PCs in the home - all of the current console generation feature web browsers and music playing capability. Through the web browser component, word processing, email and photo editing is available. Future home computer users may opt for the all-in-one simplicity of a console over a standard PC. This article is about emulators in computer science. ... For other uses, see Mess (disambiguation). ... An MSX emulator screenshot MSX computers are one of the most emulated platforms today. ... Sony MSX 1, Model HitBit-10-P MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. ... This article lists software and hardware that emulates computing platforms. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Retrocomputing is gaining in popularity, with many enthusiasts using real Commodore 64 hardware to perform modern tasks such as surfing the web and email. The 64 has also been repackaged as the C-One and C64 Direct To TV, both designed by Jeri Ellsworth with modern enhancements The Apple II is one of the most collected computers in the world, and is popular amongst hobbyists. ... The C-One The C-One single-board microcomputer designed by Jeri Ellsworth, a self-taught designer, was initially created in 2002 as an enhanced Commodore 64 home computer, but has been reengineered to allow cloning of other 8-bit computers. ... Jeri Ellsworth, 2002 Jeri Ellsworth (born 1974) is an American entrepreneur and self-taught computer chip designer. ...

Notable home computers

The 1977 Apple II with 2 Disk II disk drives and an Apple monitor.

The list below shows many of the most popular or significant home computers of the late 1970s and of the 1980s. The most popular home computers in the USA up to 1985 were: the TRS-80 (1977), various models of the Apple II family (first introduced in 1977), the Atari 400/800(1979), the Commodore VIC-20 (1980) and the Commodore 64 (1982) which is still the highest-selling single model of personal computer ever, with over 17 million produced before production stopped in 1994 - a 12 year run with only minor changes. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1920x2560, 586 KB) Apple II computer Photograph by Rama File links The following pages link to this file: BASICODE ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1920x2560, 586 KB) Apple II computer Photograph by Rama File links The following pages link to this file: BASICODE ... The Apple II was one of the most popular personal computers of the 1980s. ... Disk II drives. ... For the Chicago-based electronica group, see TRS-80 (group). ... The 1977 Apple II, complete with integrated keyboard, color graphics, sound, a plastic case and eight expansion slots. ... An Atari 800XL, one of the most popular machines in the series. ... The VIC-20 (Germany: VC-20; Japan: VIC-1001) is an 8-bit home computer. ... C-64 redirects here. ...

Until the introduction of the IBM PC in 1981, computers such as the Apple II and TRS 80 also found considerable use in office work.

(For a comprehensive overview of home computers, i.e. not just the most notable ones given below, see the List of home computers.) This is a list of home computers, sorted alphanumerically by manufacturers name and chronologically by computer model. ...

1970s

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.

• June 1977: Apple II (North America) (color graphics, eight expansion slots)
• August 1977: Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 (N. Am.) (first home computer for less than US$600) (used a dedicated monitor for FCC rules compliance).
• December 1977: Commodore PET (N. Am.) (first all-in-one computer: keyboard/screen/tape storage)

The following computers were also typical of the home computer segment: The 1977 Apple II, complete with integrated keyboard, color graphics, sound, a plastic case and eight expansion slots. ... For the Chicago-based electronica group, see TRS-80 (group). ... The abbreviation FCC can refer to: Face-centered cubic (usually fcc), a crystallographic structure Federal Communications Commission, a US government organization Farm Credit Corporation/Farm Credit Canada, a Canadian government organization Families with Children from China, an adoption support organization Florida Christian College, a college in central Florida Fresno City... The PET (Personal Electronic Transactor) was a home-/personal computer produced by Commodore starting in the late 1970s. ...

• 1979: Atari 400/800 (N. Am.) (first computer with custom chip set and programmable video chip and built-in audio output)
• 1979: TI-99/4 (first home computer with a 16 bit processor)

An Atari 800XL, one of the most popular machines in the series. ... ...

1980s

No computer has sold more units than the Commodore 64^[6].

• 1980: Commodore VIC-20 (N. Am.) (under US$300; first computer in the world to pass the one million sold mark)
• 1980: TRS-80 Color Computer (N. Am.) (Motorola 6809, optional OS-9 multi-user multi-tasking)
• June 1981: Texas Instruments TI-99/4A (based on the less-successful TI-99/4, first to add sprite graphics)
• 1981: Sinclair ZX81 (Europe) (£49.95 in kit form; £69.95 pre-built) (released as Timex Sinclair 1000 in US in 1982)
• 1981: BBC Micro (Europe) (premier educational computer in the UK for a decade; advanced BASIC with integrated 6502 machine code assembler; designed with a myriad of I/O ports)
• April 1982: Sinclair ZX Spectrum (Europe) (best-selling British home computer; "made" the UK software industry)
• August 1982: Dragon 32, became, for a short time, the best-selling home micro in the United Kingdom.
• August 1982: Commodore 64 (N. Am.) (best-selling computer model of all time: ~ 17 million sold)
• Jan. 1983: Apple IIe (Apple II enhanced. Reduced component count and manufacturing costs enabled high-volume production)
• JApr. 1984: Apple IIc (Apple II compact. Closed system architecture and built-in mouse port for pseudo-plug and play ease of use. The Apple II most geared to home use, to compliment the Apple IIe's dominant education market share.)
• 1983: Coleco Adam (one of the only early home computers to be sold as a complete system; cousin to the ColecoVision game console; one of the first systems to be "orphaned" by its manufacturer, a casualty of the North American video game crash of 1983.)
• 1983: MSX (Japan) (a computer 'reference design' by ASCII and Microsoft, manufactured by several companies: ~ 5 million sold)
• 1983: VTech Laser 200 (entry level computer aimed at being the cheapest on market).
• 1984: Amstrad/Schneider CPC & PCW ranges (Europe) (British std. prior to IBM PC; German sales next to C64)
• 1985: Atari ST (N. Am.) (first with built-in MIDI interface; also 1MB RAM for less than US$1000; Motorola 68000 processor.)
• 1985: Commodore 128 (N. Am.) Final, most advanced 8-bit Commodore, retained full 64 compatibility in a complex multi-mode architecture
• July 1985: Commodore Amiga (N. Am.) (custom chip set for graphics and sound; multitasking OS with both GUI and CLI interfaces; Motorola 68000 processor.)
• 1987: Acorn Archimedes (Europe) (based on the powerful Acorn-developed 32-bit ARM microprocessor; most powerful home computer in its class on its debut)

Download high resolution version (2048x1150, 588 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (2048x1150, 588 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... C-64 redirects here. ... The VIC-20 (Germany: VC-20; Japan: VIC-1001) is an 8-bit home computer. ... 4k TRS-80 Color Computer from 1981, 26-3001 The Radio Shack TRS-80 color computer (also called Tandy Color Computer, or CoCo) was a home computer based around the Motorola 6809E processor and part of the TRS-80 line. ... 1 MHz Motorola 6809E processor, manufactured in 1983. ... For Mac OS 9, see Mac OS 9. ... 1979 TI-99/4 with RF modulator, optional Speech Synthesizer, keyboard overlays, and a cartridge. ... ... In computer graphics, a sprite (also known by other names; see Synonyms below) is a two-dimensional/three-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene. ... ZX81 logo The Sinclair ZX81 home computer, released by Sinclair Research in 1981, was the follow up to the companys ZX80. ... The Timex Sinclair 1000 (TS1000) was the first computer produced by Timex Sinclair, a joint-venture between Timex Corporation and Sinclair Research. ... The BBC Microcomputer System was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers Ltd for the BBC Computer Literacy Project operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... BBC BASIC was developed in 1981 as a native programming language for the MOS Technology 6502 based Acorn BBC Micro home/personal computer, mainly by Roger Wilson. ... The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ... The Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 were home computers built in the 1980s. ... C-64 redirects here. ... The Apple IIe was the third model in the Apple II line of personal computers, produced by Apple Computer. ... The Apple IIc, the fourth model in the Apple II series of personal computers, was Apple Computers first endeavor to produce a portable computer. ... For the specific branded ISA add-on technology marketed by Intel and Microsoft, see Plug-And-Play. ... Memory console and keyboard for Coleco Adam computer expansion for the Colecovision The Coleco Adam was a home computer, an attempt in the early 1980s by American toy manufacturer Coleco to follow on the success of its ColecoVision game console. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... E.T. for the Atari 2600 is considered by many to be emblematic of the crash along with the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man. ... Sony MSX 1, Model HitBit-10-P MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. ... ASCII Corporation (株式会社アスキー) is a publishing company based in Tokyo and was one of the key players in the creation of the MSX standard, home computer in Japan. ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... The VTech Laser 200 was an early 8-bit home microcomputer from 1983, also sold as the Salora Fellow, the Texet TX8000 (in England) and the Dick Smith VZ 200 (in Australia). ... Amstrad is a manufacturer of electronics based in Brentwood in Essex, England and founded in 1968 by Sir Alan Michael Sugar in the UK. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. ... The Amstrad CPC was a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad during the 1980s and early 1990s. ... Amstrad PCW8512 Schneider Joyce The Amstrad PCW series (Personal Computer Word processor) was British company Amstrads versatile line of home/personal microcomputers pitched as a complete, integrated home/office solution. ... IBM PC (IBM 5150) with keyboard and green screen monochrome monitor (IBM 5151), running MS-DOS 5. ... C-64 redirects here. ... The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. ... MIDI redirects here. ... This article is about a unit of data. ... Different types of RAM. From top to bottom: DIP, SIPP, SIMM 30 pin, SIMM 72 pin, DIMM, RIMM RAM redirects here. ... The Commodore 128 (C128, CBM 128, C=128) home/personal computer was Commodore Business Machiness (CBM) last commercially released 8-bit machine. ... Amiga is the name of a range of home/personal computers using the Motorola 68000 processor family, whose development started in 1982. ... The Original Chip Set (OCS) was a chipset used in the earliest Commodore Amiga computers. ... AmigaOS is the default native operating system of the Amiga personal computer. ... GUI can refer to the following: GUI is short for graphical user interface, a term used to describe a type of interface in computing. ... CLI is an acronym (or, strictly speaking, an initialism) for Command line interface Call Level Interface Common language interface (Commonly believed, but not official for Common Language Infrastructure) Common Language Infrastructure CLear Interrupts Composite Leading Indicator Caller Line Identification (telephony) Celebrity Love Island Critical Language Institute This page concerning a... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The ARM architecture (previously, the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture developed by ARM Limited that is widely used in a number of embedded designs. ...

References

1. ^ The Computer Revolution from eNotes.com
2. ^ Horseless Classrooms from the Hawaii Education & Research Network
3. ^ Clement Ader from Beb's Old Phones
4. ^ Reviving Old Computer Games
5. ^ gametap.com - Traffic Details from Alexa
6. ^ Grandiose Price for a Modest PC

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

See also

• Computer magazines
• History of computing hardware (1960s-present)
• List of home computers
• List of home computers by category
• List of home computers by video hardware
• List of video game consoles
• The influence of the IBM-PC on the PC market
• Microprocessor development board and List of early microcomputers, first microprocessor based systems used by hobbyists
• Personal computer
• Pirates of Silicon Valley - docu-fiction focused on Apple and Microsoft evolution
• Triumph of the Nerds
• Video Display Controller, chips that were used to create the video graphics of many early home computers

This is a list of magazines marketed primarily for computer and technology enthusiasts or users. ... The history of computing hardware starting in the 1960s begins with the development of the integrated circuit (IC), which formed the basis of the first computer kits and home computers in the 1970s, notable examples being the MITS Altair, Apple II and Commodore PET; and which eventually powered personal and... This is a list of home computers, sorted alphanumerically by manufacturers name and chronologically by computer model. ... This is a list of home and office computers by category where the main category is the home computers CPU wordlength (8/16/32/64 bits) and the subcategory is the specific CPU used in each machine. ... This is a list of home computers, sorted alphanumerically, which lists all relevant details of their Video Hardware. ... This is a list of video game consoles by the era they appeared in. ... A Microprocessor Development Board is a printed circuit board containing a microprocessor and the minimal support logic needed for an engineer to become acquainted with the microprocessor on the board, and to learn do some elementary assembler programming on it. ... The is a list of early microcomputers encompassing the microprocessor-based development system/hobbyist microcomputers being made and sold as DIY kits or pre-built machines in relatively small numbers in the mid-1970s, before the advent of the later, simpler to operate, significantly hotter-selling home computers (listed in... Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999) is an unauthorized made-for-television docudrama written and directed by Martyn Burke. ... Docu-fiction is the name given to pieces of fiction that are based in historical truth. ... Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires is a documentary film written and hosted by Robert X. Cringely. ... A Video Display Controller or VDC is an integrated circuit which is the main component in a video signal generator, a device responsible for the production of a TV video signal in a computing or game system. ...

External links

• Rune's PC Museum
• Collection of old analog and digital computers at Old Computer Museum
• Computer History Museum – An online museum of home computing and gaming
• HCM - Home Computer Museum
• "Total share: 30 years of personal computer market share figures" – From Ars Technica
• article on computing in the 1980s

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