May 19, 1982. (Photo: Dave Buresh/Denver Post)
December 6, 1982. (Photo: Denver Post)
(Photos via Lexibell/eBay)
Archive for the 'Personal Computers' Category
Computer Labs, 1982: The Commodore VIC-20
Published July 5, 2013 Commodore Computers , Computer Labs , Personal Computers 1 Comment‘Press Any Key To Begin Your Mission’: Space Assault Lives!
Published June 4, 2013 DIY , Interview with a Geek , Personal Computers , Video Games 8 Comments
If you read my interview with Mikey Walters last month, you’ll know that he wrote an Atari BASIC game called Space Assault in 1983 that was published in A.N.A.L.O.G. magazine.
Well, Lefty Limbo and I basically begged him to get it up and running again, so he retyped all that code, plugged it into an emulator, and bam!—the Clovis Aliens are back!
I’d say we were all in the process of kicking old school alien ass (last I heard, friend J. was up to 8500 points), but in my case, the aliens are the ones doing the ass-kicking. That’s okay. The ‘Game Over’ music is so cool, I don’t really mind.
If you want to give the game a try (you really should), send me an email and I’ll pass along the game file and instructions.
A profound thanks to Mikey for giving us back a piece of 1983, and for being awesome enough to create the game in the first place.
You can see more Space Assault screenshots on his Flickr.
Processor Technology’s Sol-20: ‘The Small Computer That Won’t Fence You In’
Published June 4, 2013 Ads , Personal Computers Leave a Comment
Press photo: October 23, 1977
The Sol-20 was introduced in the July 1976 issue of Popular Mechanics and released by Popular Technology Corporation in December of the same year.
The Popular Mechanics article breaks “video computer terminals” into “dumb” and “smart,” the Sol-20 being “one of the most advanced of intelligent terminals.” Why is it so advanced? Because it’s “possible for two SOL terminals to communicate with each other without human supervision.” Brilliant.
The ad is great too.
A lot of semantic nonsense is being tossed around by some of the makers of so-called “personal” computers. To hear them tell it, an investment of a few hundred dollars will give you a computer to run your small business… and when day is done play games by the hour.
But the few PCs that can handle “meaningful work… don’t come for peanuts.” Interesting how the company uses “small” instead of “personal”—small actually means bigger in this case, like a small pizza is bigger than a personal pizza. And how many Americans today would understand the phrase “semantic nonsense”?
Also, plunking the computer down in a hostile environment does not make it more attractive. The desert is a wide open space without fences because it’s so dessicated that nothing can live there.
Anyway, the point of the ad is to justify the Sol-20’s price tag. There was a reason only pediatricians could afford this puppy. The Sol-20 retailed for over $2000 assembled, or about $1000 as a kit. $2000 in 1977 amounts to almost $8000 today.
Processor Technology failed to deliver a next generation, and by May of 1979 they were out of business.
Technology moved pretty fast at the dawn of the PC revolution. If you didn’t stop and rob a bank once in a while, you probably missed it.
(Images via eBay and oldcomputers.net)
Letter from Computer Camp, 1983
Published May 8, 2013 Computer Camp , Letters from Kids , Personal Computers 3 Comments
This beauty is from Ben Ullman’s Flickr. The “microcomputer” he’s talking about is a TRS-80 Model 16, a pretty sophisticated (for the time) business system that sold for $5,000 when released in 1983. With peripherals, it was a lot more.
Here’s the main menu for Scripsit, the word processing program written for the TRS-80s.
“I can correct my mistakes on the screen and then print the letter out perfectly.” That line really gets me. It’s hard to imagine now, but what we take for granted as the most basic of conveniences was not very long ago a revolutionary event, as anyone who’s ever had to use a typewriter can tell you.
These days, the suggestion that we correct what we type/text carries the stink of fanaticism, and hard copies are simply food for the shredder.
I hope you snagged a ribbon at one of the races, Ben. Old Acres sounds like a nice place to spend the summer.
(TRS-80 and Scripsit images via Connecting the Dots, ZDNet, and Wikipedia)
And You Shall Know the Atari 400 by the Awkwardness of Its Keyboard
Published April 10, 2013 '80s Decor/Design/Fashion , Atari , Personal Computers Leave a Comment
December 26, 1983. (Photo: Denver Post)
Nice ferns?
By the way, true story, there was actually something called a fern bar in the late ’70s and early ’80s: “an upscale or preppy (or yuppie) bar or tavern catering to singles usually decorated with ferns or other `fussy’ plants, as well as such decor as fake Tiffany lamps.”
(Photo via Lexibell/eBay)
Computer Lab, 1980: The Commodore PET
Published March 12, 2013 Commodore Computers , Computer Labs , Personal Computers 2 Comments
Pacific Science Center, Seattle, Washington, 1980. (Photo: Unknown)
Original caption:
The Pacific Science Center’s PET Computer Lab helps introduce the public to the capabilities and limitations of computers. The Lab features 16 PET microcomputers which are available to Science Center visitors on weekends and weekdays for limited times. Programs run from games to simulations to educational in nature. The Lab is also used for teacher workshops and School for Science classes, as shown in this picture.
What we have here is the Commodore PET (Personal Electronic Transactor), Commodore’s first true PC, released in 1977. The original model (2001) came with 4K RAM, a built-in tape deck, and a “chiclet keyboard,” as seen below.
In 1979 the 2001-N was released. 8K, 16K, and 32K models were offered. The tape deck was removed, and a full-sized keyboard was added.
The 2001-N is what the folks are using in the first photo.
(Images via Seattle Washington Archive and cosam.org)
These High School Students Dare You to Mess with Their Apple II (1983)
Published March 6, 2013 '80s Decor/Design/Fashion , High School , Personal Computers 1 Comment
Cherry Creek High School, Englewood, CO, 1983. (Photo: Denver Post/Aaron E. Tomlinson)
Actually, these dudes are editors of the school paper, the Union Street Journal, after winning an award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. I love it when nerds try to look tough.
(Photo via Lexibell/eBay)
Toy Aisle Zen (1983): Atari
Published February 20, 2013 Atari , Home Consoles , Personal Computers , Toy Stores/Toy Aisles/Toy Departments , Video Games 3 Comments
Toys “R” Us, Sunnyvale, CA, 1983. The 5200 is listed at $160.00. The Atari 800 (back shelf, far right) is $500 (it was $1000 in 1980). A snapshot of the crash.
(Images via Computer History Museum)
Computer Labs (1982, 1985): The Atari 800
Published February 6, 2013 Atari , Computer Labs , Personal Computers 3 Comments
North Beach Elementary School, Miami, Florida, 1982. (Photo: The Miami Herald)
1985 (Photo: The Miami Herald)
There’s some masking tape on the computer in the first photo. I can make out “Do Not,” but that’s it.
Lots more Atari 800’s in the second photo. Yes, kids, those were our monitors. We have the hernias to prove it.
(Images via Vintage Photos 2012)
Computer Camp Certificate, 1981
Published January 22, 2013 Computer Camp , Personal Computers Leave a Comment
Dimmerswitch, the lucky recipient of this awesome certificate, says it was awarded in 1981. Pascal was serious business! I couldn’t even hack BASIC.
2 Warps to Neptune 