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Home computers were a class ofmicrocomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single, non-technical user. These computers were a distinct market segment that typically cost much less than business, scientific, or engineering-oriented computers of the time, such as those runningCP/M or theIBM PC,[2] and were generally less powerful in terms ofmemory and expandability. However, a home computer often had bettergraphics and sound than contemporary business computers. Their most common uses wereword processing, playingvideo games, andprogramming.
Home computers were usually sold already manufactured in stylish metal or plastic enclosures. However, some home computers also came as commercialelectronic kits, like theSinclair ZX80, which were both home and home-built computers since the purchaser could assemble the unit from a kit.
Advertisements in the popular press for early home computers were rife with possibilities for their practical use in the home, from cataloging recipes topersonal finance tohome automation,[3][4][5] but these were seldom realized in practice. For example, using a typical 1980s home computer as a home automation appliance would require the computer to be kept powered on at all times and dedicated to this task. Personal finance and database use required tediousdata entry.
By contrast, advertisements in the specialty computer press often simply listed specifications, assuming a knowledgeable user who already had applications in mind.[6][7] If no packaged software was available for a particular application, the home computer user could program one—provided they had invested the requisite hours to learncomputer programming, as well as the idiosyncrasies of their system.[8][9] Since most systems arrived with theBASIC programming language included on the systemROM, it was easy for users to get started creating their own simple applications. Many users found programming to be a fun and rewarding experience, and an excellent introduction to the world of digital technology.[10]
The line between 'business' and 'home' computer market segments vanished completely onceIBM PC compatibles became commonly used in the home, since now both categories of computers typically use the same processor architectures, peripherals, operating systems, and applications. Often, the only difference may be the sales outlet through which they are purchased. Another change from the home computer era is that the once-common endeavor of writing one's own software programs has almost vanished from home computer use.[11][12]
As early as 1965, some experimental projects, such as Jim Sutherland'sECHO IV, explored the possible utility of a computer in the home.[13][14] In 1969, theHoneywell Kitchen Computer was marketed as a luxury gift item, and would have inaugurated the era of home computing, but none were sold.[15]
Computers became affordable for the general public in the 1970s due to the mass production of themicroprocessor, starting in 1971.Early microcomputers such as theAltair 8800 had front-mounted switches and diagnostic lights (nicknamed "blinkenlights") to control and indicate internal system status, and were often sold inkit form to hobbyists. These kits would contain an emptyprinted circuit board which the buyer would fill with theintegrated circuits, other individual electronic components, wires and connectors, and then hand-solder all the connections.[16]
While two early home computers (Sinclair ZX80 andAcorn Atom) could be bought either in kit form or assembled, most home computers were only sold pre-assembled. They were enclosed in plastic or metal cases similar in appearance totypewriter orhi-fi equipment enclosures, which were more familiar and attractive to consumers than the industrial metal card-cage enclosures used by the Altair and similar computers. The keyboard - a feature lacking on the Altair - was usually built into the same case as themotherboard. Ports for plug-in peripheral devices such as a video display,cassette tape recorders,joysticks, and (later) disk drives were either built-in or available onexpansion cards. Although theApple II had internal expansion slots, most other home computer models' expansion arrangements were through externally-accessible 'expansion ports' that also served as a place to plug in cartridge-based games. Usually, the manufacturer would sell peripheral devices designed to be compatible with their computers as extra-cost accessories. Peripherals and software were not often interchangeable between different brands of home computer, or even between successive models of the same brand.
To save the cost of a dedicated monitor, the home computer would often connect through anRF modulator to the familyTV set, which served as both video display and sound system.[17]
The rise of the home computer also led to a fundamental shift during the early 1980s in where and how computers were purchased. Traditionally, microcomputers were obtained bymail order or were purchased in person at general electronics retailers likeRadioShack.Silicon Valley, in the vanguard of the personal computer revolution, was the first place to see the appearance of new retail stores dedicated to selling only computer hardware, computer software, or both, and also the first place where such stores began to specialize in particular platforms.[18]
By 1982, an estimated 621,000 home computers were in American households, at an average sales price ofUS$530 (equivalent to $1,727 in 2024).[19] After the success of theRadio ShackTRS-80, theCommodore PET, and theoriginal Apple II in 1977, almost every manufacturer ofconsumer electronics rushed to introduce a home computer. Large numbers of new machines of all types began to appear during the late 1970s and early 1980s.Mattel,Coleco,Texas Instruments, andTimex, none of which had any prior connection to the computer industry, all had short-lived home computer lines in the early 1980s. Some home computers were more successful. TheBBC Micro,Sinclair ZX Spectrum,Atari 8-bit computers, andCommodore 64 sold many units over several years and attracted third-party software development.
Almost universally, home computers had aBASICinterpreter combined with aline editor in permanentread-only memory, which one could use to type in BASIC programs and execute them immediately, or save them to tape or disk. Indirect mode, the BASIC interpreter was also used as theuser interface, and given tasks such as loading, saving, managing, and running files.[20] One exception was theJupiter Ace, which had aForth interpreter instead of BASIC. A built-in programming language was seen as a requirement for any computer of the era, and was the main feature setting home computers apart fromvideo game consoles.
Still, home computers competed in the same market as the consoles. A home computer was often seen as simply a higher-end purchase than a console, adding abilities and productivity potential to what would still be mainly a gaming device. Acommon marketing tactic was to show a computer system and console playing games side by side, then emphasizing the computer's greater ability by showing it running user-created programs, education software, word processing, spreadsheet, and other applications, while the game console showed a blank screen or continued playing the same repetitive game. Another capability home computers had that game consoles of the time lacked was the ability to access remote services over telephone lines by adding aserial port interface, amodem, andcommunication software. Though it could be costly, it permitted the computer user to access services likeCompuserve, and private or corporatebulletin board systems andviewdata services to post or read messages, or to download or upload software. Some enthusiasts with computers equipped with large storage capacity and a dedicated phone line operated bulletin boards of their own. This capability anticipated the internet by nearly 20 years.
Some game consoles offered "programming packs" consisting of a version of BASIC in aROM cartridge. Atari'sBASIC Programming for theAtari 2600 was one of these. For theColecoVision console,Coleco even announced an expansion module which would convert it into a full-fledged computer system. TheMagnavox Odyssey² console had a built-in keyboard to support its C7420 Home Computer Module. Amongthird-generation consoles,Nintendo'sFamily Computer offeredFamily BASIC (sold only in Japan), which included a keyboard that could be connected to an external tape recorder to load and store programs.
Books oftype-in program listings likeBASIC Computer Games were available, dedicated for the BASICs of most models of computer, with titles along the lines of64 Amazing BASIC Games for the Commodore 64.[21] While most of the programs in these books were short and simple games ordemos, some titles, such asCompute!'sSpeedScript series, contained productivity software that rivaled commercial packages. To avoid the tedious process of typing in a program listing from a book, these books would sometimes include a mail-in offer from the author to obtain the programs on disk or cassette for a few dollars. Before the Internet, and before most computer owners had amodem, books were a popular and low-cost means of software distribution—one that had the advantage of incorporating its own documentation. These books also served a role in familiarizing new computer owners with the concepts of programming; some titles added suggested modifications to the program listings for the user to carry out. Applying apatch to modify software to be compatible with one's system, or writing autility program to fit one's needs, was a skill every advanced computer owner was expected to have.[22]
During the peak years of the home computer market, scores of models were produced, usually as individual design projects with little or no thought given to compatibility between different manufacturers, or even within product lines of the same manufacturer.[23] Except for the JapaneseMSX standard,[24] the concept of acomputer platform was still forming, with most companies considering rudimentary BASIC language and disk format compatibility sufficient to claim a model as "compatible". Things were different in the business world, where cost-conscious small business owners had been usingCP/M running onZ80-based computers fromOsborne,Kaypro,Morrow Designs, and a host of other manufacturers. For many of these businesses, the development of the microcomputer madecomputing andbusiness software affordable where they had not been before.
Introduced in August 1981, theIBM Personal Computer would eventually supplant CP/M as the standard platform used in business. This was largely due to the IBM name and the system's16 bitopen architecture, which expanded maximum memory tenfold, and also encouraged production ofthird-party clones. In the late 1970s, the 6502-based Apple II had carved out a niche for itself in business, thanks to the industry's firstkiller app,VisiCalc, released in 1979. However, the Apple II would quickly be displaced for office use by IBM PC compatibles runningLotus 1-2-3.[25]Apple Computer's 1980Apple III was underwhelming, and although the 1984 release of theMacintosh introduced the modernGUI to the market, it was not common untilIBM-compatible computers adopted it.[26] Throughout the 1980s, businesses large and small adopted the PC platform, leading, by the end of the decade, to sub-US$1000IBM PC XT-classwhite box machines, usuallybuilt in Asia and sold by US companies likePCs Limited.
In 1980,Wayne Green, the publisher ofKilobaud Microcomputing, recommended that companies avoid the term "home computer" in their advertising, as it "I feel is self-limiting for sales...I prefer the term "microcomputers" since it doesn't limit the uses of the equipment in the imagination of the prospective customers".[27] With the exception of Tandy,[28] most computer companies – even those with a majority of sales to home users – agreed, avoiding the term "home computer" because of its association with the image of, asCompute! wrote, "a low-powered, low-end machine primarily suited for playing games". Apple consistently avoided stating that it was a home-computer company, and described theIIc as "a serious computer for the serious home user", despite competing against IBM'sPCjr home computer.John Sculley denied that his company sold home computers; rather, he said, Apple sold "computers for use in the home".[29][30][31] In 1990, the company reportedly refused to support joysticks on its low-costMacintosh LC andIIsi computers to prevent customers from considering them as "game machines".[32]
Although the Apple II and Atari computers are functionally similar, Atari's home-oriented marketing resulted in a game-heavy library with much less business software.[33] By the late 1980s, manymass merchants soldvideo game consoles like theNintendo Entertainment System, but no longer sold home computers.[34]
Toward the end of the 1980s, clones also became popular with non-corporate customers. Inexpensive, highly-compatible clones succeeded where the PCjr had failed. Replacing the hobbyists who had made up the majority of the home computer market were, asCompute! described them, "people who want to take work home from the office now and then, play a game now and then, learn more about computers, and help educate their children". By 1986, industry experts predicted an "MS-DOS Christmas", and the magazine stated that clones threatened Commodore, Atari, and Apple's domination of the home-computer market.[31]
The declining cost of IBM compatibles on the one hand, and the greatly-increased graphics, sound, and storage abilities offourth generation video game consoles such as theSega Genesis andSuper Nintendo Entertainment System on the other, combined to cause the market segment for home computers to vanish by the early 1990s in the US. In Europe, the home computer remained a distinct presence for a few years more, with the low-end models of the16-bit Amiga and Atari ST families being the dominant players, but by the mid-1990s, even the European market had dwindled.[35] The Dutch government even ran a program that allowed businesses to sell computers tax-free to its employees, often accompanied by home training programs. Naturally, these businesses chose to equip their employees with the same systems they themselves were using. Today, a computer bought for home use anywhere will be very similar to those used in offices; made by the same manufacturers, with compatible peripherals, operating systems, and application software.
Many home computers were superficially similar. Most had a keyboard integrated into the same case as themotherboard, or, more frequently, amainboard. While the expandable home computers appeared from the very start (theApple II offered as many as seven expansion slots) as the whole segment was generally aimeddownmarket, few offers were priced or positioned high enough to allow for such expandability. Some systems have only one expansion port, often realized in the form of cumbersome "sidecar" systems, such as on theTI-99/4, or required finicky and unwieldyribbon cables to connect the expansion modules.
Sometimes they were equipped with a cheapmembrane orchiclet keyboard in the early days, although full-travel keyboards quickly became universal due to overwhelming consumer preference. Most systems could use anRF modulator to display 20–40 column text output on a home television. Indeed, the use of a television set as a display almost defines the pre-PC home computer. Although dedicatedcomposite or "green screen" computer displays were available for this market segment and offered a sharper display, a monitor was often a later purchase made only after users had bought afloppy disk drive, printer, modem, and the other pieces of a full system. The reason for this was that while those TV-monitors had difficulty displaying the clear and readable 80-column text that became the industry standard at the time, the only consumers whoreally needed that were the power users utilizing the machine for business purposes, while the average casual consumer would use the system for games only and was content with the lower resolution, for which a TV worked fine. An important exception was theRadio ShackTRS-80, the first mass-marketed computer for home use, which included its own 64-column display monitor and full-travel keyboard as standard features.
This "peripherals sold separately" approach is another defining characteristic of the home computer era. A first-time computer buyer who brought a base C-64 system home and hooked it up to their TV would find they needed to buy adisk drive (theCommodore 1541 was the only fully-compatible model) orDatasette before they could make use of it as anything but a game machine orTV Typewriter.
In the early part of the 1980s, the dominantmicroprocessors used in home computers were the8-bitMOS Technology6502 (Apple, Commodore, Atari,BBC Micro) andZilog Z80 (TRS-80,ZX81,ZX Spectrum,Commodore 128,Amstrad CPC). One exception was theTI-99/4, announced in 1979 with a 16-bitTMS9900 CPU.[36] The TI was originally to use the 8-bit 9985 processor designed especially for it, but this project was cancelled. However, theglue logic needed to retrofit the 16-bit CPU to an 8-bit 9985 system negated the advantages of the more powerful CPU.[37][38] Another exception was the SovietElektronikaBK series of 1984, which used the fully-16-bit and powerful for the time1801 series CPU, offering a fullPDP-11 compatibility and a fully functionalQ-Bus slot, though at the cost of very anemicRAM and graphics. TheMotorola6809 was used by the Radio ShackTRS-80 Color Computer, theFujitsuFM-7, andDragon 32/64.
Processorclock rates were typically 1–2 MHz for 6502 and 6809-based CPUs and 2–4 MHz for Z80-based systems (yielding roughly equal performance), but this aspect was not emphasized by users or manufacturers, as the systems' limited RAM capacity, graphics abilities, and storage options had a more perceivable effect on performance than CPU speed. For low-price computers, the cost of RAM memory chips contributed greatly to the final product price to the consumer, and fast CPUs demanded expensive, fast memory. As a result, designers kept clock rates only adequate. In some cases, like the Atari and Commodore 8-bit machines, coprocessors were added to speed processing of graphics and audio data. For these computers, clock rate was considered a technical detail of interest only to users needing accurate timing for their own programs. To economize on component cost, often the samecrystal used to produce color television-compatible signals was also divided down and used for the processor clock. This meant processors rarely operated at their full rated speed, and had the side-effect thatEuropean andNorth American versions of the same home computer operated at slightly different speeds and different video resolution due to different television standards.
Initially, many home computers used the then-ubiquitouscompact audio cassette as a storage mechanism. A rough analogy to how this worked would be to place a recorder on the phone line as a file was uploaded bymodem to "save" it, and playing the recording back through the modem to "load".[39] Most cassette implementations were notoriously slow and unreliable, but 8" drives were too bulky for home use, and early 5.25" form-factor drives were priced for business use, out of reach of most home buyers.[40] An innovative alternative was theExatron Stringy Floppy, a continuous-loop tape drive which was much faster than adata cassette drive and could perform much like a floppy disk drive. It was available for theTRS-80 and some others. A closely-related technology was theZX Microdrive, developed bySinclair Research in the UK, for theirZX Spectrum andQL home computers.
Eventually, mass production of 5.25" drives resulted in lower prices, and after about 1984, they pushed cassette drives out of the US home computer market. 5.25" floppy disk drives would remain standard until the end of the 8-bit era. Though external 3.5" drives were made available for home computer systems toward the latter part of the 1980s, almost all software sold for 8-bit home computers remained on 5.25" disks. 3.5" drives were used for data storage, with the exception of the JapaneseMSX standard, on which 5.25" floppies were never popular. Standardization of disk formats was not common; sometimes, even different models from the same manufacturer used different disk formats. Almost universally, the floppy disk drives available for 8-bit home computers were housed in external cases, with their own controller boards and power supplies contained within. Only the later, advanced 8-bit home computers housed their drives within the main unit; these included theTRS-80 Model III,TRS-80 Model 4,Apple IIc,MSX2, andCommodore 128D. The later 16-bit machines, such as theAtari 1040ST (not the 520ST),Amiga, andTandy 1000, did house floppy drive(s) internally. At any rate, to expand any computer with additional floppy drives, external units would have to be plugged in.
Toward the end of the home computer era, drives for a number of home computer models appeared offering disk-format compatibility with the IBM PC. The disk drives sold with the Commodore 128, Amiga, and Atari ST were all able to read and write PC disks, which themselves were undergoing the transition from 5.25" to 3.5" format at the time (though 5.25" drives remained common on PCs until the late 1990s, due to existence of the large software and data archives on five-inch floppies). 5.25" drives were made available for the ST, Amiga, and Macintosh, otherwise 3.5" based systems with no other use for a 5.25" format.Hard drives were never popular on home computers, remaining an expensive, niche product mainly forBBSsysops and the few business users.
Variouscopy protection schemes were developed for floppy disks; most were broken in short order. Many users would only tolerate copy protection for games, as wear and tear on disks was a significant issue in an entirely floppy-based system. The ability to make a "working backup" disk of vital application software was seen as important. Copy programs that advertised their ability to copy or even remove common protection schemes were a common category ofutility software in this pre-DMCA era.
In another defining characteristic of the home computer, instead of acommand line, theBASICinterpreter served double duty as a user interface. Coupled to a character-basedscreen orline editor, BASIC's file management commands could be entered indirect mode. In contrast to modern computers, home computers most often had theiroperating system (OS) stored inROM chips. This made startup times very fast (no more than a few seconds), but made OS upgrades difficult or impossible without buying a new unit. Usually, only the most severe bugs were fixed by issuing new ROMs to replace the old ones at the user's cost. In addition, the small size and limited scope of home computer "operating systems" (really little more than what today would be called a kernel) left little room for bugs to hide.
Although modern operating systems include extensiveprogramming libraries to ease development and promote standardization, home computer operating systems provided little support to application programs. Professionally-written software oftenswitched out the ROM-based OS anyway to free theaddress space it occupied and maximize RAM capacity. This gave the program full control of the hardware and allowed the programmer to optimize performance for a specific task. Games would often turn off unused I/O ports, as well as theinterrupts that served them. Asmultitasking was never common on home computers, this practice went largely unnoticed by users. Most software even lacked an exit command, requiring a reboot to use the system for something else.
In an enduring reflection of their early cassette-oriented nature, most home computers loaded theirdisk operating system (DOS) separately from the main OS. The DOS was only used for disk and file-related commands and was not required to perform other computing functions. One exception wasCommodore DOS, which was not loaded into the computer's main memory at all – Commodore disk drives contained a 6502 processor and ran DOS from internal ROM. While this gave Commodore systems some advanced capabilities – a utility program couldsideload a disk copy routine onto the drive and return control to the user while the drive copied the disk on its own – it also made Commodore drives more expensive and difficult to clone.
Many home computers had acartridge interface which accepted ROM-based software. This was also used for expansion or upgrades such asfast loaders. Application software on cartridge did exist, which loaded instantly and eliminated the need fordisk swapping on single-drive setups, but the vast majority of cartridges were games.[41]
From the introduction of theIBMPersonal Computer (ubiquitously known as the PC) in 1981, the market for computers meant for the corporate, business, and government sectors came to be dominated by the new machine and itsMS-DOS operating system. Even basic PCs cost thousands of dollars and were far out of reach for typical home computer users. However, in the following years, technological advances and improved manufacturing capabilities (mainly greater use of robotics and relocation of production plants to lower-wage locations in Asia) permitted several computer companies to offer lower-cost, PC-style machines that would become competitive with many 8-bit home-market pioneers like Radio Shack, Commodore, Atari, Texas Instruments, and Sinclair. PCs could never become as affordable as these because the same price-reducing measures were available to all computer makers. Furthermore, software and peripherals for PC-style computers tended to cost more than those for 8-bit computers because of theanchoring effect caused by the pricey IBM PC. As well, PCs were inherently more expensive since they could not use the home TV set as a video display. Nonetheless, the overall reduction in manufacturing costs narrowed the price difference between old 8-bit technology and new PCs. Despite their higher absolute prices, PCs were perceived by many to be better values for their utility as superior productivity tools and their access to industry-standard software. Another advantage was the 8088/8086's wide, 20-bit address bus. The PC could access more than 64 kilobytes of memory relatively inexpensively (8-bit CPUs, which generally had multiplexed 16-bit address buses, required complicated, tricky memory management techniques likebank-switching). Similarly, the default PC floppy was double-sided, with about twice the storage capacity of floppy disks used by 8-bit home computers. PC drives tended to cost less because they were most often built-in, requiring no external case, controller, or power supply. The faster clock rates and wider buses available to later Intel CPUs compensated somewhat for the custom graphics and sound chips of the Commodores and Ataris. In time, the growing popularity of home PCs spurred many software publishers to offer gaming and children's software titles.[42]
Many decision-makers in the computer industry believed there could be a viable market for office workers who used PC/DOS computers at their jobs and would appreciate an ability to bring diskettes of data home on weeknights and weekends to continue work after-hours on their "home" computers. So, the ability to run industry-standardMS-DOS software on affordable, user-friendly PCs was anticipated as a source of new sales. Furthermore, many in the industry felt that MS-DOS would eventually (inevitably, it seemed) come to dominate the computer business entirely, and some manufacturers felt the need to offer individual customers PC-style products suitable for the home market.
In early 1984, market colossus IBM produced thePCjr as a PC/DOS-compatible machine aimed squarely at the home user. It proved a spectacular failure because IBM deliberately limited its capabilities and expansion possibilities in order to avoid cannibalizing sales of the profitable PC. IBM management believed that if they made the PCjr too powerful, too many buyers would prefer it over the bigger, more expensive PC. Poor reviews in the computer press and poor sales doomed the PCjr.
Tandy Corporation capitalized on IBM's blunder with its PCjr-compatibleTandy 1000 in November. Like the PCjr, it was pitched as a home, education, and small-business computer, featuring joystick ports, better sound and graphics (same as the PCjr but with enhancements), combined with near-PC/DOS compatibility (unlike Tandy's earlierTandy 2000). The improved Tandy 1000 video hardware became a standard of its own, known asTandy Graphics Adapter or TGA. Later, Tandy produced Tandy 1000 variants in form factors and price-points even more suited to the home computer market, comprised particularly by the Tandy 1000 EX[43] and HX[44] models (later supplanted by the 1000 RL[45][46]), which came in cases resembling the original Apple IIs (CPU, keyboard, expansion slots, and power supply in a slimline cabinet) but also included floppy disk drives. The proprietaryDeskmate productivity suite came bundled with the Tandy 1000s. Deskmate was suited to use by computer novices with its point-and-click (though not graphical) user interface. From the launch of the Tandy 1000 series, their manufacture were price-competitive because of Tandy's use of high-densityASIC chip technology, which allowed their engineers to integrate many hardware features into the motherboard (obviating the need for circuit cards in expansion slots as with other brands of PC). Tandy never transferred its manufacturing operation to Asia; all Tandy desktop computers were built in the USA (this was not true of the laptop and pocket computers, nor peripherals).
In 1985, theEpson corporation, a popular and respected producer of inexpensive dot-matrix printers and business computers (theQX-10 andQX-16), introduced its low-costEpson Equity[47] PC. Its designers took minor shortcuts, such as few expansion slots and a lack of a socket for an8087 math chip, but Epson did bundle some utility programs that offered decent turnkey functionality for novice users. While not a high performer, the Equity was a reliable and compatible design for half the price of a similarly-configured IBM PC. Epson often promoted sales by bundling one of their printers with it at cost. The Equity I sold well enough to warrant the furtherance of the Equity line with the follow-on Equity II and Equity III.
In 1986, UK home computer makerAmstrad began producing theirPC1512[48][49] PC-compatible for sale in the UK. Later they would market the machine in the US as the PC6400. In June 1987, an improved model was produced as the PC1640. These machines had fast8086 CPUs, enhancedCGA graphics, and were feature-laden for their modest prices. They had joystick adapters built into their keyboards and shipped with a licensed version of theDigital Research'sGEM, aGUI for the MS-DOS operating system. They became marginal successes in the home market.
In 1987, longtime small computer makerZenith introduced a low-cost PC they called theEaZy PC.[50][51] This was positioned as an "appliance" computer much like the original Apple Macintosh: turnkey startup, built-in monochrome video monitor, and lacking expansion slots, requiring proprietary add-ons available only from Zenith, but instead with the traditional MS-DOSCommand-line interface. The EaZy PC used a turbo NEC V40 CPU (up-rated 8088) which was rather slow for its time, but the video monitor did feature 400-pixel vertical resolution. This unique computer failed for the same reasons as did IBM's PCjr: poor performance and expandability, and a price too high for the home market.
Another company that offered low-cost PCs for home use wasLeading Edge, with their Model M andModel D computers. These were configured like full-featured business PCs, yet still could compete in the home market on price because Leading Edge had access to low-cost hardware from their Asian manufacturing partnersMitsubishi with the Model M andDaewoo with the Model D. TheLEWP was bundled with the Model D. It was favorably reviewed by the computer press and sold very well.[52]
By the mid '80s, the market for inexpensive PCs for use in the home market was expanding at such a rate that the two leaders in the US,Commodore and Atari, themselves felt compelled to enter the market with their own lines. They were only marginally successful compared to other companies that made only PCs.[53][54]
Still, later prices ofwhite box PC clone computers by various manufacturers became competitive with the higher-end home computers (see below). Throughout the 1980s, costs and prices continued to be driven down by: advanced circuit design and manufacturing, multi-function expansion cards,shareware applications such asPC-Talk,PC-Write, andPC-File, greater hardware reliability, and more user-friendly software that demanded less customer support services. The increasing availability of faster processor and memory chips, inexpensiveEGA andVGA video cards,sound cards, and joystick adapters also bolstered the viability of PC/DOS computers as alternatives to specially-made computers and game consoles for the home.
From about 1985, the high end of the home computer market began to be dominated by "next-generation" home computers using the 16-bitMotorola68000 chip, which enabled the greatly-increased abilities of theAmiga andAtari ST series (in the UK, theSinclair QL was built around theMotorola 68008 with its external 8-bit bus). Graphics resolutions approximately doubled to give roughlyNTSC-class resolution, and color palettes increased from dozens to hundreds or thousands of colors available. The Amiga was built with a customchipset with dedicated graphics and soundcoprocessors for high-performance video and audio. The Amiga found use as a workstation fordesktop video, a first for a stand-alone computer, costing far less than dedicated motion-video processing equipment costing many thousands of dollars. Stereo sound became standard for the first time; the Atari ST gained popularity as an affordable alternative forMIDI equipment for the production of music.
Clock rates on the 68000-based systems were approximately8 MHz with RAM capacities of256 kB (for the base Amiga 1000[55]) up to1024 kB (1 MB, a milestone, first seen on the Atari 1040ST). These systems used 3.5" floppy disks from the beginning, but 5.25" drives were made available to facilitate data exchange with IBM PC compatibles. The Amiga and ST both hadGUIs with windowing technology. These were inspired by theMacintosh, but at a list price ofUS$2,495 (equivalent to $7,300 in 2024), the Macintosh itself was too expensive for most households. The Amiga in particular had truemultitasking capability, and unlike all other low-cost computers of the era, could run multiple applications in their own windows.
The second generation ofMSX computers (MSX2) achieved the performance of high-performance computers using a high-speed video processor (Yamaha V9938) capable of handling resolutions of 512 × 424 pixels, and 256 simultaneous colors from a palette of 512.
MSX was a standard for a home computing architecture that was intended and hoped to become a universal platform for home computing. It was conceived, engineered and marketed byMicrosoft Japan withASCII Corporation.[56] Computers conforming to the MSX standard were produced by most all major Japanese electronics manufacturers, as well as two Korean ones and several others in Europe and South America. Some 5 million units are known to have been sold in Japan alone. They sold in smaller numbers throughout the world. Due to the "price wars" being waged in the USA home computer market during the 1983-85 period, MSX computers were never marketed to any great extent in the USA. Eventually more advanced mainstream home computers and game consoles obsoleted the MSX machines.
The MSX computers were built around theZilog Z80 8-bit processor, assisted with dedicated video graphics and audio coprocessors supplied byIntel,Texas Instruments, andGeneral Instrument. MSX computers received a great deal of software support from the traditional Japanese publishers of game software.Microsoft developed theMSX-DOS operating system, a version of their popularMS-DOS adapted to the architecture of these machines, that was also able to runCP/M software directly
After the first wave of game consoles and computers landed in American homes, the United StatesFederal Communications Commission (FCC) began receiving complaints ofelectromagnetic interference to television reception. By 1979 the FCC demanded that home computer makers submit samples for radio frequency interference testing. It was found that "first generation" home computers emitted too much radio frequency noise for household use. TheAtari 400 and 800 were designed with heavy RF shielding to meet the new requirements. Between 1980 and 1982 regulations governing RF emittance from home computers were phased in.[57] Some companies appealed to the FCC to waive the requirements for home computers, while others (with compliant designs) objected to the waiver. Eventually techniques tosuppress interference became standardized.[58]
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In 1977, referring to computers used in home automation at the dawn of the home computer era,Digital Equipment Corporation CEOKen Olsen is quoted as saying "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home."[59] Despite Olsen's warning, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, from about 1977 to 1983, it was widely predicted[60] that computers would soon revolutionize many aspects of home and family life as they had business practices in the previous decades.[61] Mothers would keep their recipe catalog in"kitchen computer" databases and turn to a medical database for help with child care, fathers would use the family's computer to manage family finances and track automobile maintenance. Children would use online encyclopedias[62] for school work and would be avidvideo gamers. The computer would even be tasked withbabysitting younger children.[63]Home automation would bring about theintelligent home of the 1980s. UsingVideotex,NAPLPS or some sort of vaguely conceptualized computer technology, television would gain interactivity. It would be possible to do the week's grocery shopping through the television.[64] The "personalized newspaper" (to be displayed on the television screen) was another commonly predicted application.[65] Morning coffee would be brewed automatically under computer control.[66][67] The same household computer would control the home's lighting and temperature.Robots would take the garbage out, and be programmed to perform new tasks via the home computer. Electronics were expensive, so it was generally assumed that each home would have only one computer for the entire family to use.[68] Home control would be performed in amultitaskingtime-sharing arrangement, with interfaces to the various devices it was expected to control.
When the computer revolution was unofficially announced in the early 1980s, all indications were that it would change the world. Experts predicted that within five years, every household would have a computer. Dad would run his business on it. Mom would store her recipes on it. The kids would do their homework on it. Today only 15% of American homes have a computer – and the other 85% don't seem the least bit interested. There is a general feeling that the home computer was a fad and that there is really no practical purpose for a computer in the home.[69]
— Commodore Magazine, September 1987
All this was predicted to be commonplace by the end of the 1980s, but by 1987Dan Gutman wrote that the predicted revolution was "in shambles", with only 15% of American homes owning a computer.[69] Virtually every aspect that was foreseen would be delayed to later years or would be entirely surpassed by later technological developments. The home computers of the early 1980s could not multitask,[70] which meant that using one as a home automation or entertainment appliance would require it be kept powered on at all times and dedicated exclusively for this use. Even if the computers could be used for multiple purposes simultaneously as today, other technical limitations predominated; memory capacities were too small to hold entire encyclopedias or databases of financial records;[71] floppy disk-based storage was inadequate in both capacity and speed for multimedia work;[72] and the home computers' graphics chips could only display blocky, unrealistic images and blurry, jagged text that would be difficult to read a newspaper from.[73] Although CD-ROM technology was introduced in 1985 with much promise for its future use, the drives were prohibitively expensive and only interfaced with IBM PCs and compatibles.[74][75][76]
TheBoston Phoenix stated in 1983 that "people are catching on to the fact that 'applications' like balancing your checkbook and filing kitchen recipes are actually faster and easier to do with a pocket calculator and a box of index cards".[77]inCider observed that "companies cannot live by dilettantes alone".[78] Gutman wrote that when the first computer boom ended in 1984, "Suddenly, everybody was saying that the home computer was a fad, just anotherhula hoop".[79] Robert Lydon, publisher ofPersonal Computing, stated in 1985 that the home market "never really existed. It was a fad. Just about everyone who was going to buy a computer for their home has done it", and predicted that Apple would cease to exist within two years.[80]
A backlash set in; computer users were "geeks", "nerds" or worse, "hackers". Thevideo game crash of 1983 soured many on home computer technology as users saw large investments in 'the technology of the future' turn into dead-ends when manufacturers pulled out of the market or went out of business. The computers that were bought for use in the family room were either forgotten in closets or relegated to basements and children's bedrooms to be used exclusively for games and the occasionalbook report. Home computers of the 1980s have been called "a technology in search of a use".[81] In 1984 Tandy executive Steve Leininger, designer of the TRS-80 Model I, admitted that "As an industry we haven't found any compelling reason to buy a computer for the home" other than for word processing.[82] A 1985 study found that, during a typical week, 40% of adult computer owners did not use their computers at all. Usage rates among children were higher, with households reporting that only 16-20% of children aged 6––17 did not use the computer during a typical week.[83]
It would take another 10 years for technology to mature, for thegraphical user interface to make the computer approachable for non-technical users, and for theWorld Wide Web to provide a compelling reason for most people to want a computer in their homes. Separate 1998 studies found that 75% of Americans with Internet access accessed primarily from home and that not having Internet access at home inhibited Internet use.[83] While computers did enter the home in the '90s, and were commonly called "personal" or "home" computers, machines commonly used in the home during this decade were largedesktops, often shared amongst all members of a family through usage of multipleuser accounts.
It wouldn't be until the 2000s and 2010s that many of the dreams of the home computer revolution were fully realized, though often in unanticipated ways. The cost of computer systems dropped precipitously, allowing individuals to access their own personal computing hardware, with shared desktop machines leaving the home during the 2010s. With better network connectivity and speed, resources such as encyclopedias, recipe catalogs and medical databases moved online and are now accessed over the Internet, with local storage solutions like floppy disks and CD-ROM's falling out of use for these purposes during those decades. Television never gained substantial interactivity on its own; newer forms of interactive media consumption such aslive streaming and on demand content instead evolved from Internet video platforms and gradually replaced traditional broadcasting models. As of the 2020s, interactive media consumption is done on screens of all sizes, with the traditional television only largely replaced by thesmart TV, an Internet-connected computer with the form factor of a traditional television set, in the later 2010s, after the technologies had matured. The promises ofhome automation were realized by smallembedded devices, not home computers, and the dream of user-controlled, interactive home automation was only realized in the 2010s as these embedded devices began to be connected to externally managedcloud serversover the Internet. Throughout the 2000s, robots such asRoomba andAibo began to make inroads into the home, but remained a niche product throughout the 2010s, limited largely to tasks such as cleaning.
This delay was not out of keeping with other technologies newly introduced to an unprepared public. Earlymotorists were widely derided with the cry of "Get a horse!"[84] until theautomobile was accepted.Television languished in research labs for decades before regular public broadcasts began. In an example of changing applications for technology, before the invention of radio, the telephone was used to distribute opera and news reports, whose subscribers were denounced as "illiterate, blind, bedridden and incurably lazy people".[85] Likewise, the acceptance of computers into daily life today is a product of continuing refinement of both technology and perception.
Retrocomputing is the use of vintage hardware, possibly performing modern tasks such as surfing the web and email. As programming techniques evolved and these systems were well-understood after decades of use, it became possible to write software giving home computers capabilities undreamed of by their designers. TheContiki OS implements a GUI andTCP/IP stack on the Apple II, Commodore 8-bit and Atari ST (16-bit) platforms, allowing these home computers to function as both internet clients and servers.[86]
The Commodore 64 has been repackaged as theC-One andC64 Direct-to-TV, both designed byJeri Ellsworth with modern enhancements.[87]
Throughout the 1990s and 1st decade of the 21st century, many home computer systems were available inexpensively at garage sales and oneBay. Many enthusiasts started to collect home computers, with older and rarer systems being much sought after. Sometimes the collections turned into avirtual museum presented on web sites.[88]
As their often-inexpensively manufactured hardware ages and the supply of replacement parts dwindles, it has become popular among enthusiasts[89] toemulate these machines, recreating their software environments[90] on modern computers. One of the more well-known emulators is theMulti Emulator Super System (MESS) which can emulate most of the better-known home computers. A more or less complete list of home computer emulators can be found in theList of computer system emulators article. Games for many 8 and 16 bit home computers became available for theWiiVirtual Console.
The time line below describes many of the most popular or significant home computers of the late 1970s and of the 1980s.
The most popular home computers in the USA up to 1985 were: theTRS-80 (1977), various models of theApple II (first introduced in 1977), theAtari 400/800 (1979) and its follow-up models, theVIC-20 (1980), and theCommodore 64 (1982). The VIC-20 was the first computer of any type to sell over one million units, and the 64 is still the highest-selling single model of personal computer ever, with over 17 million produced before production stopped in 1994 – a 12-year run with only minor changes.[91] At one point in 1983 Commodore was selling as many 64s as the rest of the industry's computers combined.[77]
The British market was different, as relatively high prices and lower disposable incomes reduced the appeal of most American products.New Scientist stated in 1977 that "the price of an American kit in dollars rapidly translates into the same figure in pounds sterling by the time it has reached the shores of Britain".[92] The Commodore 64 was also popular, but aBYTE columnist stated in 1985:[93]
It's not easy for a U.K. citizen to write about home computers for an American magazine. We use the term to refer to an altogether different object on our side of the Atlantic.
In the U.S.A., an Apple II is a home computer; the IBM PC in its smaller configurations is a home computer; the Macintosh is a home computer. Home computers use floppy disks for mass storage and perform useful functions like word processing and income tax preparation as well as playing games.
In the U.K., those computers would be considered rather expensive as business computers, let alone for home use. Home computers typically cost less than £200 (about $250) and use cassette tape recorders for mass storage. We have various manufacturers of our own, some unheard of in the U.S.A. ... Even when we do have machines in common (the Commodore 64), I suspect that the vast majority of U.S. users buy the disk drive, while the majority of U.K. users have only the cassette deck.
Many of the British-made systems like Sinclair'sZX81 andZX Spectrum, and later theAmstrad/SchneiderCPC were much more widely used in Europe than US systems. A few low-cost British Sinclair models were sold in the US byTimex Corporation as theTimex Sinclair 1000 and the ill-fatedTimex Sinclair 2068, but neither established a strong following. The only transatlantic success was the Commodore 64, which competed favorably price-wise with the British systems, and was the most popular system in Europe as in the USA.[94][95]
Until the introduction of the IBM PC in 1981, computers such as the Apple II and TRS 80 also found considerable use in office work.[96][97] In 1983 IBM introduced the PCjr in an attempt to continue their business computer success in the home computer market, but incompatibilities between it and the standard PC kept users away.[98][99] Assisted by a largepublic domain software library and promotional offers from Commodore, the PET had a sizable presence in the North American education market until that segment was largely ceded to the Apple II as Commodore focused on the C-64's success in the mass retail market.[100]
Three microcomputers were the prototypes for what would later become the home computer market segment; but when introduced they sold as much to hobbyists and small businesses as to the home.
The following computers also introduced significant advancements to the home computer segment:
Several popular home computers existed before the 1981 IBM PC launch. But the regimented business world considered Apple, Commodore, and Radio Shack's Tandy products "toys."
Let's not kid ourselves in a haze of nostalgia—there are very good reasons why things like Scratch and Processing were created, the same reasons why many, if not most, of those 8-bit machines wound up being used solely to play games. Tapping out Basic programs often meant a lot of effort with nothing to show for it other than that Great Sphinx of computer messages: "SYNTAX ERROR."
This process may sound familiar. That's because it's very similar to the way the computer saves programs and other data on the cassette recorder.
The Commodore 64 Home Babysitter cartridge can keep your youngest child occupied for hours and teach alphabet/keyboard recognition at the same time. It also teaches special learning concepts and relationships.
Although the initial purchase price of $1495 may keep initial sales out of the home market in volume, the price for CD-ROM technology is expected to drop quickly over the next couple of years.
In response to its designers' ambitions and a changing marketplace, it evolved from a video game console into a home computer before it even reached the prototype stage.
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