Please check your general computer awareness and answer as best you can as per your knowledge.
Not sure why you're asking, unless it's to answer a question on a homework/test :-)
MITS Altair 8800 - http://oldcomputers.net/altair-8800.html
Dear Heyman,
I respect your answer and surprised on your surprise. Yes, that question should not be asked because it is like a homework question for lower standard classes. But unfortunately our school book does not have correct answer and we as well. Unfortunately your answer is wrong here and it is not what I was expected. However I requested to all guys that please don't use google because it is just for fun and check that do we know the very basic thing? Explore again the same link and you may get the right answer or wait for a week then I will give here the correct answer. See you soon here ;-)
I teach that Altair 8800 is the first personal computer to undergraduate students and is what I know based on my background on this topic (let's just say I love of mathematics/CS and technology). I'd suspect this to be true because this machine came out around 1975. With 256B (bytes), you could write programs in BASIC with input switches. It didn't come with a keyboard. There is a gap of time between the idea of a one machine "for all" and the personal computer.
To put into perspective things, Apple 1 came out not too long after.
Yes Daniel you are absolutely right about Apple 1 but it is not considered first personal computer. You can consider Apple LISA but it was little advance and even Apple did not consider it their first personal computer. What they consider their first personal computer, is Apple Macintosh that came in 1984.
Anyway most of us are consider IBM 5150 as the first personal computer that came in 1981 and it was equipped with DOS. In reality, it is not the first personal computer.
Qaim, The IBM 5150 "legitimized" the PC industry - giving it IBM's stamp of approval, but at that point Apple, Commodore, and many others had introduced incompatible (with each other, and with previous generations) computers. IBM created and licensed a standard so that there would be compatibility.
Yes, I used google to answer the question, but only to find a reasonable amount of information about the Altair 8800. I can tell you that I was using various models of the Commodore/CBM PET (2001, 4016, etc), but I doubt they were the first either. As with many of the "first" computers, the CPU was a 6502 - which later powered the Apple II, the Commodore Vic20 and 64.
Dear all,
What is your opinion about Kenbak-1 as first personal computer. However even the company rolled out in just 3 years.
Had never heard of Kenbak-1. while the wikipedia entry seems to classify it as the first Personal Computer, based on the description (no single CPU chip). Do to the toggle switch programming methodology, I personally would find it hard hard to qualify it as such. By price, $750, I could see the classification.
Many societies and museums are widely accepted it as a first personal computer. For further details website address is given below:
http://www.kenbak-1.net
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