[inforoots] GRiD and the IEEE 488 GPIB

['Computer Collector Newsletter']

 >>> Portable - it was on wheels

You're joking, right?  "Portable" in the current discussion applies to
things you could easily carry around.

Doug Salot says the "first" personal computer was from 1950:
http://blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml ... But that discussion is a huge can of
worms.

-----Original Message-----
From: inforoots-bounces at computerhistory.org
[mailto:inforoots-bounces at computerhistory.org] On Behalf Of
rweaver at ix.netcom.com
Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2006 7:52 PM
To: Open Discussion about the history of the Information Age; Open
Discussion about the history of the Information Age;
inforoots at computerhistory.org
Subject: Re: [inforoots] GRiD and the IEEE 488 GPIB

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=======================================
-----Original Message-----
>From: Barrie Robinson <barrie at look.ca>
>Sent: Feb 18, 2006 2:13 PM
>To: Open Discussion about the history of the Information Age 
><inforoots at computerhistory.org>, inforoots at computerhistory.org

The first "Personal Computer" would have been the IBM 610, cira 1958.
Portable - it was on wheels, rolled into your office when you wanted it,
rolled out when done.   Don't have the specs handy, but as I recall it did
math on 256 digit numbers (!).  The program was stored on paper tape - an
early advance over Von Neuman machines in that the program could not modify
itself(!).  Blank tape was threaded first through a punch, then a reader.
After you had punched your program, execution began as the tape was read and
-- this is the good part -- as the program was being read it was also being
punched again.  Thus when your punched copy had been read, a new copy was
ready on the same tape.  If  your program did 1000 iterations, then 1000
copies of the program were punched.

So:

-- stored program computer
-- personal
-- portable
-- 1958 or thereabouts

dick w

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