🚀 go-pugleaf

Gareth's Downstairs Computer
<headstone255.but.n...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On 20/03/2018 20:42, Peter Flass wrote:
>> 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).
>> 
> 
> 1987 I had the Amstrad PC1512 (2 off 5" floppies" ) which came with the 
> choice of PCDOS or GEM operating systems

I don't think GEM was an OS. It was move of a graphical shell.

-- 
Pete