(Rick--IIRC, some later Curta (knockoffs?) could do square roots too, is that true, do you have one?)
OK, I'll loosen up, or make exceptions. Maybe some devices before the altair used the exact or inexact words "personal computer". but they did not "create a market" or lead directly to a series of similar, competing products, and do not come anywhere close to what we think of as a "personal computer" now. The Altair is very different from a modern personal computer, but still has more similarities and a continuous chain of intermediate stages. Part of what makes a personal computer to us is that we can easily switch from one to another. That would not have been possible between the LGP-30, LINC, etc. I still ask the question, what fraction of the G-15, LINC, IBM 610, Programma 101, etc, were purchased as "personal" devices by an individual, for personal use, and from household funds rather than via a corporate (including educational) purchase-order? Other terminology: IIRC the first computers that were sold as "supercomputers" were scalar, maybe with a few more processors than the generation before, but programmed in the same manner. Then shortly came the massively parallel "supercomputers" created from commodity microcomputer chips, and the term supercomputer has transitioned to mean them. <pre>--Carey</pre> > On 05/25/2024 3:33 PM CDT Rick Bensene via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> > wrote: > > > While the LGP-30(vacuum tube/drum), G-15(vacuum tube/drum), and > PB-250(transistor/delay lines) predated it, the ground-breaking Olivetti > Programma 101(transistor/delay line) programmable desktop calculator was > officially called a "personal computer" in some of its advertising and sales > literature. It was introduced in October of 1965. > > Late in the game as far as single-user, standard AC-line-powered computing > devices compared to those machines and probably others, but those machines, > AFAIK, were not advertised nor specified as "personal computers". > > That said, I am much more aware of electronic calculator history than > computer history, so I could be entirely biased here. Also, the Programma > 101, as I've stated here before, only scratches the definition of a true > computer in that it is not capable of handling any data type but floating > point binary-coded decimal numbers, has very limited data storage capability, > and had no peripheral interfacing capability. > > There were quite a number of single-user computing devices made and sold that > ran on standard AC power, and were vastly more capable than the Programma > 101, and predated it, but, AFAIK, were not advertised or particularly > marketed as "personal computers". > > One that comes to mind is the Monroe Monrobot III(vacuum tube/drum), > introduced in February, 1955. > > Another is the IBM 610 "Auto Point"(vacuum tube/drum) computer, introduced in > 1957. > It was originally named the "Personal Automatic Computer" (PAC) by its > designer. > > I'm sure that there are quite a few other machines developed in the > mid-to-late 1950's that would qualify as personal computing devices, but > these two are the ones that I'm aware of that seem to fit the bill. Some of > these may actually have been capable of manipulating data types other than > decimal numbers. > > In 1962, Casio introduced its AL-1 programmable (up to 360 steps) relay-based > electric calculator. It was definitely intended as a personal computing > device, and calculations could be performed manually from a keyboard much > like a regular calculator, but also automatically via plastic toothed gears > that would have teeth broken off of them to encode program steps. The gears > would be electrically read by the machine and directed the machine to perform > computer-like operations. > > I'm not arguing that any of these, including the Programma 101, are the first > "personal computers" by any means. I'm just adding some thoughts to the > discussion. > > Rick Bensene > The Old Calculator Museum > https://oldcalculatormuseum.com
