Recalling the Evolution of Home and Personal Computers
From the early 1960s to the 21st century, the evolution of home and personal computers has been marked by remarkable advancements in technology and user experience. This article delves into the personal journey of one individual, exploring the first computers in various settings and the operating systems that powered them. Understanding these early devices and their operating systems provides valuable insights into the history of computing.
Early Experiences with Computers
My first encounter with a home computer was in 1981, around the same time the personal computing revolution was beginning. The Commodore VIC-20 was the first home computer in our household, and it ran on BASIC as its operating system. This 8-bit machine had roughly 4 kilobytes of memory and could be programmed in 6502 machine language. One of the fascinating aspects of the VIC-20 was its ability to read programs from a cassette tape recorder and display on a television tuned to channel 3 or 4, which were used as the primary output.
Additionally, the computer featured a slot for a program cartridge, which allowed us to run the Forth programming language/operating system from a cartridge. I also spent considerable time writing programs in BASIC, a language I had learned earlier in the mid-1970s. The Vic-20, with its limited but flexible hardware, allowed for a lot of creative coding and experimentation.
Professional Computation: The Osborne I Luggable
Simultaneously at work in 1981, the Osborne I luggable portable computer was the first personal computer to grace our office environment. Built for business use, this machine ran the CP/M operating system. The Osborne I was notable for its portability and included two 180 KB single-sided floppy disks, an 8-bit Z80 CPU, 64 KB RAM, and a 5-inch CRT display. The text display featured 24 lines with a 52-character line count. The machine weighed 25 pounds, or 11 kg, making it a significant departure from previous models which were often larger and less portable.
A Look Back at Early Computing
Even before the advent of home computers, I had earlier experience with computing in the 1960s. The Univac Digital Trainer, a 15-bit desktop computer built for the U.S. Navy, was one of my first encounters with a computer in a professional setting. This machine covered the entire desktop and was about a meter high. Its operating environment was limited, as it did not have an operating system and was programmed directly in machine code. However, it did have a bootstrap mechanism that could read six-bit characters from a paper tape reader and assemble them into computer words. This paper tape reader was part of a Friden Flexwriter, a common office device in the 1950s and 1960s for printing form letters.
The Univac Digital Trainer stored approximately a kilobyte of memory and could either punch tape or print directly to the Flexwriter. Its input method was through a keyboard, and it could accept programs and data via paper tape.
Advancing with Technology
The late 1980s saw a significant upgrade in my computing environment with a custom-built under-desk system. This system, installed in 1982, ran MS-DOS and featured a 12MHz Intel 80286 processor, the fastest available at the time. It included a 1200 baud modem, a 16MB hard drive, a 5.25" floppy drive, and, though it's unclear, possibly a 3.5" floppy drive as well. This system was a significant leap in computing power, with the processor speed and memory capacity representing a substantial improvement over previous models.
Over the next 38 years, I continually upgraded the system, including the box, which once housed a home server running Linux for a decade or more. The journey from a machine with limited capabilities to one that could perform extensive server duties is a testament to the rapid evolution of technology and the significant impact it has had on both home and professional computing.