On 01/06/2024 13:44, Liam Proven via cctalk wrote:
d they all functionally look a lot like the common home/personal computer of
~10 years later.
I had some of those in mind -- I mentioned the IBM 5100 in passing.
I don't think any qualify, no, myself. Only if one looks backwards
from a world with PCs in it and looks for earlier similar devices.
It's like saying that steam trains were early cars. They weren't.
Motor vehicles, yes. Self-contained, move under their own power... but
not wherever you want to go, not steerable by the driver, and most of
all, too big for private ownership for all but royalty.
That's a terrible analogy. The first cars were indeed ludicrously
expensive and owned almost exclusively by the wealthy and upper classes.
It took a good 20 years for the car to become affordable to the masses,
in the shape of the Ford Model T. And even then, the Model T wasn't
driven in any way similar to a modern car, it would take the Austin 7,
first built 15 years after the Model T, to truly standardize driving
controls. So given the whole "car" analogy, the first "personal
computer" could well date back much further than you claim. Whether it
is affordable to the masses does not dictate whether it is "personal" or
not. It's the same argument many use for the Alto being the first
computer with a GUI. We don't define it by how accessible by regular
consumers it is, we define it as the first, because it was the first.
The fact no-one could buy one is irrelevant. I don't see how the
definition of a "personal" computer is any different. A PDP-8 could be
defined as a personal computer. It's single user, interactive, it sits
on a desk, and it doesn't require a team of trained professionals to
operate it. This argument has been made time and time again. I don't
think any solid definition could ever be made, because it's so
subjective. it's the same as asking what is the cutoff for "retro" or
"vintage" computers. There's no point discussing it because no-one will
agree on an exact definition. And you can hate me, but in my opinion
Pentium 4's are definitely retro. Thanks, Josh Rice
