The Franklin Ace 1000 was a result of the popularity of Apple computers. It was a clone that was so close to the original Apple computer that Apple sued Franklin and won in court. Some say it was not just the design that Franklin copied, but the software as well, …
This is a machine that you won’t see very often. It’s the Astral 2000. It was first mentioned in the May 1976 issue of the Homebrew Computer Club newsletter and first advertised in the November issue of Byte magazine. It was manufactured by M & R Enterprises and designed completely …
A now rare computer from the 80s came out under the name of Sinclair ZX80. Even though it was not overly popular, some say this was the computer that started the personal computer revolution in the United Kingdom. It was created by Sinclair Research and was a futuristic design for its …
Byte Magazine has come and gone, but traces of its existence are still online. Its founder, Wayne Green, was hailed as a visionary. He was definitely a “do it yourself” type of man who had the knack of being able to know what was coming up in the realm of …
Some of the earlier computers were rare ones. The Panasonic Sr. Partner is just such a computer. This was designed in Japan as a type of IBM clone back in 1983. It was one of the first clones to leave Japan for other shores. The computer was created to be …
The Kaypro II was a more modern looking computer even though it came out in 1982. The Kaypro company was founded by Andy Kay and under the name of Non-Linear Systems. The Kaypro II was the first computer made totally of metal. It was designed to be portable. It weighed …
Apple was one of the first manufacturers of personal computers. The Apple IIe was so early in the computing game that some call it the “original personal computer”. The later 5150 from IBM is said to have copied some of the aspects of the Apple IIe. Steve Jobs and Steve …
The Heath Company of Benton Harbor, Michigan founded in 1912 by Edward Bayard Heath became early pioneers in the electronics industry. They created a line of products known as Heathkits, these allowed electronic enthusiasts to purchase a kit version of an electronic product and build an equivalent home assembled version …
The Rockwell AIM 65 was a development computer introduced to the market back in 1976. The AIM acronym stood for Advanced Interactive Microcomputer and the 65 denoted the first two numbers of the 6502 MOS Technology microprocessor that the Rockwell AIM 65 was based upon. Rockwell were well known for …
The Osborne 1 or OCC-1 was the first portable computer to get to market and become a commercial success. Released in 1981 by the Osborne Computer Corporation the unit weighed in at a hefty 23.5lb and cost a whopping $1795. Housed in a sewing machine sized box, the unit comprised …
