🚀 go-pugleaf

Andreas Kohlbach <a...@spamfence.net> wrote:
> On Tue, 20 Mar 2018 08:34:53 +0000, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
>> 
>> On Mon, 19 Mar 2018 17:56:46 -0400
>> Andreas Kohlbach <a...@spamfence.net> wrote:
>> 
>>> Yes, 1977. That was when the Commodore PET, the Apple ][ and the Tandy
>>> TRS-80 were offered. The first computers which also had a keyboard and
>>> monitor (well for the Apple ][ the customer needed to buy a
>>> monitor). Thus people not being nerds could actually use them. That
>>> kicked off the home computer revolution in my opinion.
>> 
>> Agreed, prior to those three home computing was about building a
>> computer, afterwards it was about using one, not just home use either but
>> also small business use started with these three (I wrote a cattle feed
>> program on the TRS-80 for one farmer).
> 
> And there was the MITS Altair. It just had panel switches like some PDP
> computers.
> 
> You could add cards though and then had video output and keyboard
> input. But that was not default.
> 
> If I understand this correctly the BASIC Allen and Gates wrote was
> also an operating system.
> 
>>> I say it was triggered in the late 70s but really kicked off in the
>>> 80s.
>> 
>> The next important thing after the PET/Apple/TRS-80 appearing was
>> CP/M bringing with it industry standard applications (WordStar in
>> particular).
> 
> A shame CP/M was killed of by MS-DOS. Would had been interesting to see
> what happened to it if not. Especially when the GUIs came out in the mid
> 80. I know GEM ran on it, but (other than used in an ATARI ST and for
> UNIX/Linux) it never really took off or was developed further.

GEM ran on PC/MS DOS, too. At the time I thought it was a better bet than
windows, probably because of smaller resource requirements. (my "distaste"
for microsoft came later).

-- 
Pete