alexkerhead
Veteran Member
Here is a new list of the 25 best computers of all time.
25. Non-Linear Systems Kaypro II (1982)
Non-Linear Systems' Kaypro II didn't break new ground when it appeared toward the end of 1982, but it was a classic case of the right product at the right time. Even more than the Osborne (which had pioneered the concept of the luggable microcomputer), it appealed to a growing group of nongeeks who were awakening to the productivity benefits of personal computers but couldn't afford (or didn't want to spend) several thousand dollars for an Apple or IBM PC along with the necessary software and peripherals (such as a printer).
Named for NLS founder (and digital voltmeter inventor) Andrew Kay, the Kaypro II--and its series of successors over the ensuing years, including the 4 and the 2x--was a moderately priced alternative. When first released, the Kaypro II cost $1795 and, like the Osborne, came with all the productivity software (word processor, spreadsheet) most people would need. Encased in grey and blue metal, the Kaypro was rugged and utilitarian in design: You could latch the keyboard over the 9-inch monochrome display (far roomier than the Osborne's stingy 5-incher) and carry it like a suitcase. But at 26 pounds, it was a heavy piece of luggage. The Kaypro line also represented the last gasp of the CP/M operating system: By the mid-1980s, MS-DOS was already becoming the lingua franca of non-Apple personal computing.
The Kaypro's affordability and out-of-the-box usability was very popular with journalists, including myself: In 1984 I took out a $1600 loan to buy a Kaypro 2x--my first computer--and by then the purchase price also got me a daisy-wheel printer. A year or so later, I became a TV critic for a newspaper, which bought me a Hayes Smartmodem that let me electronically transmit my reviews from home (the modem also enabled my introduction to online computing). I used that Kaypro and Hayes modem until 1992, when I took out another loan to buy my first IBM clone. I've never again used the same PC for eight years. Yardena Arar
24. Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV650 (2006)
Increasingly, PCs have evolved into sophisticated entertainment devices. And the first truly entertainment-centric notebook to catch our attention was Toshiba's Qosmio, which continues to innovate as a portable entertainment PC two years after its introduction. (Oh, that name? Toshiba says it derived Qosmio, pronounced "kozmio," from cosmos, as in universe, and the Italian word mio, meaning "my.") The latest iteration not only improves on the thoughtful design of its predecessors but is also the first notebook to integrate a blue-laser-based optical drive--in this case, HD DVD--for playback of high-definition entertainment content.
The current, third-generation Qosmio G35-AV650 packs a slew of features that will make it as at home in your living room as in your home office. A stylish 10.1-pound notebook, this $2999 model's HDMI port supports HDCP and 1080i output, so you can connect it to an HDTV. It also runs
Windows XP Media Center and comes with a TV tuner and remote control, so it can serve as a DVR. The 17-inch wide-screen LCD gets its power from two lamps instead of one, which we found generated greater brightness than competing models. The system features an integrated 1-bit digital amplifier, Harman/Kardon speakers, and Dolby Home Theater enhancements, as well.
When I first reviewed the Qosmio, I liked its winning combination of looks and design. I have big hands, and I found the notebook easy to navigate. I also appreciated its bright, high-resolution display. The roomy LCD provides plenty of on-screen real estate for when I'm working on spreadsheets, and its audio-visual prowess provides welcome relief after hours.Danny Allen
23. Apple eMate 300 (1997)
Over the past three decades, Apple Computer has released a bunch of great PCs that had a huge impact on the marketplace. Here's one that had almost no impact during its short life--aside from its cameo in the film Batman & Robin as Batgirl's (Alicia Silverstone's) PC--but we love it anyway.
The $799 eMate was idiosyncratic in virtually every way a computer can be idiosyncratic, starting with its target audience: schoolkids. It ran an operating system designed for PDAs (Apple's Newton OS). It didn't have a hard drive, but it did have pen input. It looked vaguely like a notebook, but its industrial design--with a green, curvy case that looked like it had sprung from the mind of science-fiction illustrator H.R. Giger--was utterly unique.
The eMate attracted a cult audience among business users. But
Steve Jobs, who returned to Apple soon after its launch, wasn't a believer: Less than a year after the eMate shipped, he killed it, along with the rest of the Newton line. The cult continues, though--you can even find hacks to overclock the eMate at Stephanie's Newton Web Site.
Almost a decade later, the eMate feels like an early pass at the kind of innovative, affordable educational PC that the world is still trying to create. Too bad it turned out to be a dead end.
Greatest PCs: 22-20
22. Hewlett-Packard 100LX (1993)
HP's 100LX wasn't the first would-be pocket PC, but it was the first one that nailed both the "pocket" and the "PC" aspects of the equation. (The Poqet PC wasn't really pocketable, and HP's own 95LX had a low-res screen that hobbled compatibility with desktop apps.)
The $749 100LX managed to squeeze a lot of functionality into its tiny clamshell design. It had a QWERTY keyboard (with a separate numeric keypad!), an 80-by-25-character monochrome display, and Lotus 1-2-3 in ROM. Best of all, it ran DOS 5.0, which meant that it was compatible with thousands of popular programs.
HP's 200LX, a slightly improved version of the 100LX, was also popular. With the 300LX, however, the company dumped DOS in favor of the then-new Windows CE operating system. Compatibility with desktop software was lost--which might be one reason why the 300LX is forgotten but people are still using its predecessors to this day.
21. Alienware Area-51 (1998)
For as long as there have been PCs, there have been PC gamers. In 1996, Sakai of Miami--named after a Japanese warrior--began rethinking how to market its home computers. "The premise was that we could sell gaming PCs, that we could target people like us who were gamers," recalls company cofounder Nelson Gonzalez. In 1997 the company renamed itself Alienware ("I was really into The X-Files and aliens back then, and I was into computer hardware," he says) and launched its first gaming machine, The Blade, with a 3D video graphics card.
In 1998 that model evolved into the Area-51 (an Intel machine; its AMD counterpart, the Aurora, came out a year later). It was amped up with gaming hardware, including three video cards (one 2D card, plus two 3D add-on cards with 3Dfx's Voodoo chip) and two sound cards (a Sound Blaster 16 for older games and a newer Diamond Monster Sound card, which took advantage of DirectX-capable features like 3D positioning). Back then a high-end system set you back $3799. In 2000, the company added an array of space-age colors to its still-ordinary Area-51 and Aurora case design; it wasn't until 2003 that the vendor introduced its current hallmark design, the sci-fi "Predator" chassis.
Alienware's innovative and startling design influenced PC cases in general, and gave gaming PCs new street cred (even Dell and HP have produced gaming systems in the years since). The company, which Dell bought last year, continues to refine its distinctive design and to produce top-flight gaming rigs: In May we named the Alienware Aurora 7500 one of the Top 100 Products of 2006, and in July the company introduced an improved alien-motif case design.
20. Gateway 2000 Destination (1996)
Back in 1996, when convergence was still more buzzword than reality, Gateway 2000 (the company later dropped the 2000 from its name) launched a system that was the precursor to today's media-centric PC. At its debut, the Destination was priced from $3499 to $4699. But for that hefty cost of admission, you got a system that was ahead of its time: The Destination married a 31-inch CRT monitor with a multimedia PC, a combination designed to replace the gear already filling your entertainment center.
The PC itself was black and boxy, practically the size of two 1990s-vintage VCRs stacked on top of each other. It included a wireless keyboard and remote control, a TV tuner, and surround-sound speakers. As with today's DVRs, you could browse TV listings--but you couldn't record TV to the hard disk.
Along with other proto-Media Center PCs such as Compaq and RCA's PC Theatre, the Destination attracted lots of attention but failed to make its way into many living rooms. However, it did find a niche among businesses and schools as a presentation machine. And the basic idea it pioneered returned in 2002, when PCs based on Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center operating system appeared.
Greatest PCs: 19-17
19. Apple iMac, Second Generation (2002)
The first-generation iMac of 1997 may have been the machine that told the world that Apple, and its recently returned cofounder Steve Jobs, were back. But its second-generation successor was a vastly different, far more inventive computer. And even though it didn't turn out to be an influential one, it remains a high point in PC design history.
With its dome-shaped base and its flat-panel screen that "floated" on a swivel arm, this iMac was, quite literally, like no computer that came before it. It had a friendly, anthropomorphic feel, in part because it bore a spiritual resemblance to Luxo Jr., the plucky desk-lamp hero of the Oscar-winning short film from Pixar, Steve Jobs's other company.
The design looked cool, saved space, and provided near-infinite adjustability for the display. But it didn't last long: In 2004 the second-gen iMac was replaced by yet another all-new model, which squeezed the entire computer into the back of the flat-panel monitor. That elegant design is probably more practical than its lamp-like predecessor, but it lacks the older machine's whimsical exuberance.
18. Hewlett-Packard OmniBook 300 (1993)
The innovative OmniBook 300 wasn't just one of the first subnotebooks--it was one of the most innovative hardware designs ever, albeit one that didn't prove particularly influential. Weighing 2.9 pounds, the system stored Windows 3.1, Excel 4.0, Word 2.0, and MS-DOS 5.0 in ROM memory rather than on a hard drive; this allowed it to boot up instantly. User storage was solid-state too, on a 40MB PCMCIA Type III hard disk or a 10MB PCMCIA Type II flash-disk drive.
Productivity was a central theme for the OmniBook, which started at $1950. The unit came with LapLink Remote Access and HP's organizational tools (contacts, appointments, and a financial calculator, same as in the HP 100LX), and provided one-button access to all applications. It also had a unique integrated mouse that popped out of the laptop's right side on a thin piece of plastic; the design eliminated the need for an annoying mouse cable, but the mouse was small and awkward to move about.
Given the OmniBook's basic 386SXLV CPU, monochrome 9-inch VGA screen, and power-friendly ROM storage, it's not surprising HP gave the notebook a high battery-life rating--up to 9 hours of power for the 10MB flash-disk version. (In a pinch, the unit could run on AA batteries--unheard of for a computer with a full-size keyboard.) Although the solid-state approach to laptop storage didn't catch on at the time, it's back today in products like Samsung's new 16GB and 32GB flash-memory drives. Funny how things come full circle.
17. Toshiba T1000 (1987)
Toshiba's wildly popular T1000 brought DOS in a truly lap-friendly portable size. The T1000 measured 12 by 2 by 11 inches and weighed 6.4 pounds--a veritable featherweight compared with suitcase-size luggables, and more than 3.5 pounds lighter than its nearest competitor, the Datavue Spark. It was also cheaper than most laptops of its time.
The T1000's durable clamshell design accommodated a full-size 82-key keyboard, a 720KB 3.5-inch floppy drive, 512KB of RAM, and an internal modem. The unit embedded MS-DOS 2.11 in ROM--which eliminated the need to have two floppy drives, as some competing notebooks of that era had, but also made it impossible to use certain software (such as WordPerfect Executive, which required two disks to run).
To achieve its size and cost, the T1000 made some sacrifices in CPU and battery performance. Nonetheless, this model helped catapult Toshiba to the fore of mobile computing, and it paved the way for the next wave of laptops, including number 18 on our list, HP's OmniBook 300 (above). (You can read the T1000 quick-reference guide at this fan site.)
Greatest PCs: 16-14
16. Tandy TRS-80 Model I (1977)
Tandy's TRS-80 Model I lacked the pizzazz of the Apple II, but it was the first computer to be truly marketed to the masses: Over 200,000 of the monochromatic little machines were sold by Radio Shack, an electronics retailer with thousands of locations in an age when almost nobody had ever heard of a computer store.
For $600, the first iteration of the TRS-80 gave you a measly 4KB of RAM and a rudimentary version of the BASIC language, and it stored programs on sluggish, flaky audiocassette tapes. As with other early PCs, the best way to get it to do something was to write a program from scratch. "There was an almost indescribable joy to be had the first time a program that you wrote yourself actually worked," remembers early owner Craig Landrum.
Over time the Model I gained more memory, disk drives, networking, and other enhancements; acquired a library of thousands of programs; and saw the debut of progeny such as the TRS-80 Model 100 portable (number 8 on our list). TRS-80 computers were the first to be the subject of magazines devoted entirely to one company's PCs; today, they're impressively documented at Ira Goldklang's TRS-80.com.
15. Shuttle SV24 Barebone System (2001)
For years, the PC was all about the big beige box. But in 2001, Shuttle came up with a toaster-size design for do-it-yourselfers that would push the limits of how much you could pack into a tight space. And it was tight: The case measured just 10.6 by 7.5 by 6.7 inches, and its components were so crammed in that airflow seemed to be an afterthought. To get an idea of just how small it was compared with a standard midsize tower, turn to Anandtech's review of this system.
The $250 SV24 Barebone System offered the basics, namely a compact Flex ATX motherboard with integrated audio and graphics and a 150-watt power supply, housed in Shuttle's small, aluminum case. You supplied the processor, memory, and storage. Appropriate for home or office use, this tiny system sparked a slew of imitators, all trying to match and improve upon its combination of size, functionality, and style.
Today, Shuttle not only sells bare-bones systems but also offers fully hatched PCs, like the XPC G5 2100 we recently tested for the value half of our Top 10 Desktop PCs chart. The company's compact models have upped the ante considerably with regard to performance and construction.
14. Atari 800 (1979)
Two years after Atari unleashed its first video game console, later dubbed the Atari 2600, the company shipped its first home computers. In many ways the Atari 800--the more advanced of the two models Atari introduced in late 1979--redefined the expectations of what a home computer could do, especially in graphics and sound.
Part game machine, part productivity enhancer, the $999 Atari 800 was the first home computer to feature a custom video coprocessor in addition to its CPU, which was the same 8-bit 6502 used in the Apple II. This design enabled the Atari 800 to generate 128 colors (256 in later versions) on screen. The system could also display four programmable animated screen objects at once--a boon for action games such as Star Raiders, the system's "killer app"--and it had another custom chip that helped it produce superior sound (four voices, across 3.5 octaves). Two cartridge slots under the hood were available for games and other applications, and four joystick ports were included, too.
While Atari eventually replaced its 8-bit computers with the 16-bit ST line, designer Jay Miner, who led the team behind the Atari 800's video chips, went on to lead the group that developed the Commodore Amiga 1000's graphics system.
Like all kids my age, I wanted an Atari 2600 to play games. But my mom thought it would be a good idea to get something that could be educational, so my family decided on an Atari 800. Many a night of head-to-head Star Raiders, Missile Command, and Pac-Man tournaments ensued with my dad (all very educational, of course). But the Atari 800 wasn't entirely about the games; I also used mine to learn BASIC programming and compose my school papers. For years my memory retained AtariWriter's string of control codes--conceptually similar to HTML coding--for such common tasks as making text italic or bold. Little did my mom know then where all of that would lead...Melissa J. Perenson
Greatest PCs: 13-11
25. Non-Linear Systems Kaypro II (1982)
Non-Linear Systems' Kaypro II didn't break new ground when it appeared toward the end of 1982, but it was a classic case of the right product at the right time. Even more than the Osborne (which had pioneered the concept of the luggable microcomputer), it appealed to a growing group of nongeeks who were awakening to the productivity benefits of personal computers but couldn't afford (or didn't want to spend) several thousand dollars for an Apple or IBM PC along with the necessary software and peripherals (such as a printer).
Named for NLS founder (and digital voltmeter inventor) Andrew Kay, the Kaypro II--and its series of successors over the ensuing years, including the 4 and the 2x--was a moderately priced alternative. When first released, the Kaypro II cost $1795 and, like the Osborne, came with all the productivity software (word processor, spreadsheet) most people would need. Encased in grey and blue metal, the Kaypro was rugged and utilitarian in design: You could latch the keyboard over the 9-inch monochrome display (far roomier than the Osborne's stingy 5-incher) and carry it like a suitcase. But at 26 pounds, it was a heavy piece of luggage. The Kaypro line also represented the last gasp of the CP/M operating system: By the mid-1980s, MS-DOS was already becoming the lingua franca of non-Apple personal computing.
The Kaypro's affordability and out-of-the-box usability was very popular with journalists, including myself: In 1984 I took out a $1600 loan to buy a Kaypro 2x--my first computer--and by then the purchase price also got me a daisy-wheel printer. A year or so later, I became a TV critic for a newspaper, which bought me a Hayes Smartmodem that let me electronically transmit my reviews from home (the modem also enabled my introduction to online computing). I used that Kaypro and Hayes modem until 1992, when I took out another loan to buy my first IBM clone. I've never again used the same PC for eight years. Yardena Arar
24. Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV650 (2006)
Increasingly, PCs have evolved into sophisticated entertainment devices. And the first truly entertainment-centric notebook to catch our attention was Toshiba's Qosmio, which continues to innovate as a portable entertainment PC two years after its introduction. (Oh, that name? Toshiba says it derived Qosmio, pronounced "kozmio," from cosmos, as in universe, and the Italian word mio, meaning "my.") The latest iteration not only improves on the thoughtful design of its predecessors but is also the first notebook to integrate a blue-laser-based optical drive--in this case, HD DVD--for playback of high-definition entertainment content.
The current, third-generation Qosmio G35-AV650 packs a slew of features that will make it as at home in your living room as in your home office. A stylish 10.1-pound notebook, this $2999 model's HDMI port supports HDCP and 1080i output, so you can connect it to an HDTV. It also runs
Windows XP Media Center and comes with a TV tuner and remote control, so it can serve as a DVR. The 17-inch wide-screen LCD gets its power from two lamps instead of one, which we found generated greater brightness than competing models. The system features an integrated 1-bit digital amplifier, Harman/Kardon speakers, and Dolby Home Theater enhancements, as well.
When I first reviewed the Qosmio, I liked its winning combination of looks and design. I have big hands, and I found the notebook easy to navigate. I also appreciated its bright, high-resolution display. The roomy LCD provides plenty of on-screen real estate for when I'm working on spreadsheets, and its audio-visual prowess provides welcome relief after hours.Danny Allen
23. Apple eMate 300 (1997)
Over the past three decades, Apple Computer has released a bunch of great PCs that had a huge impact on the marketplace. Here's one that had almost no impact during its short life--aside from its cameo in the film Batman & Robin as Batgirl's (Alicia Silverstone's) PC--but we love it anyway.
The $799 eMate was idiosyncratic in virtually every way a computer can be idiosyncratic, starting with its target audience: schoolkids. It ran an operating system designed for PDAs (Apple's Newton OS). It didn't have a hard drive, but it did have pen input. It looked vaguely like a notebook, but its industrial design--with a green, curvy case that looked like it had sprung from the mind of science-fiction illustrator H.R. Giger--was utterly unique.
The eMate attracted a cult audience among business users. But
Steve Jobs, who returned to Apple soon after its launch, wasn't a believer: Less than a year after the eMate shipped, he killed it, along with the rest of the Newton line. The cult continues, though--you can even find hacks to overclock the eMate at Stephanie's Newton Web Site.
Almost a decade later, the eMate feels like an early pass at the kind of innovative, affordable educational PC that the world is still trying to create. Too bad it turned out to be a dead end.
Greatest PCs: 22-20
22. Hewlett-Packard 100LX (1993)
HP's 100LX wasn't the first would-be pocket PC, but it was the first one that nailed both the "pocket" and the "PC" aspects of the equation. (The Poqet PC wasn't really pocketable, and HP's own 95LX had a low-res screen that hobbled compatibility with desktop apps.)
The $749 100LX managed to squeeze a lot of functionality into its tiny clamshell design. It had a QWERTY keyboard (with a separate numeric keypad!), an 80-by-25-character monochrome display, and Lotus 1-2-3 in ROM. Best of all, it ran DOS 5.0, which meant that it was compatible with thousands of popular programs.
HP's 200LX, a slightly improved version of the 100LX, was also popular. With the 300LX, however, the company dumped DOS in favor of the then-new Windows CE operating system. Compatibility with desktop software was lost--which might be one reason why the 300LX is forgotten but people are still using its predecessors to this day.
21. Alienware Area-51 (1998)
For as long as there have been PCs, there have been PC gamers. In 1996, Sakai of Miami--named after a Japanese warrior--began rethinking how to market its home computers. "The premise was that we could sell gaming PCs, that we could target people like us who were gamers," recalls company cofounder Nelson Gonzalez. In 1997 the company renamed itself Alienware ("I was really into The X-Files and aliens back then, and I was into computer hardware," he says) and launched its first gaming machine, The Blade, with a 3D video graphics card.
In 1998 that model evolved into the Area-51 (an Intel machine; its AMD counterpart, the Aurora, came out a year later). It was amped up with gaming hardware, including three video cards (one 2D card, plus two 3D add-on cards with 3Dfx's Voodoo chip) and two sound cards (a Sound Blaster 16 for older games and a newer Diamond Monster Sound card, which took advantage of DirectX-capable features like 3D positioning). Back then a high-end system set you back $3799. In 2000, the company added an array of space-age colors to its still-ordinary Area-51 and Aurora case design; it wasn't until 2003 that the vendor introduced its current hallmark design, the sci-fi "Predator" chassis.
Alienware's innovative and startling design influenced PC cases in general, and gave gaming PCs new street cred (even Dell and HP have produced gaming systems in the years since). The company, which Dell bought last year, continues to refine its distinctive design and to produce top-flight gaming rigs: In May we named the Alienware Aurora 7500 one of the Top 100 Products of 2006, and in July the company introduced an improved alien-motif case design.
20. Gateway 2000 Destination (1996)
Back in 1996, when convergence was still more buzzword than reality, Gateway 2000 (the company later dropped the 2000 from its name) launched a system that was the precursor to today's media-centric PC. At its debut, the Destination was priced from $3499 to $4699. But for that hefty cost of admission, you got a system that was ahead of its time: The Destination married a 31-inch CRT monitor with a multimedia PC, a combination designed to replace the gear already filling your entertainment center.
The PC itself was black and boxy, practically the size of two 1990s-vintage VCRs stacked on top of each other. It included a wireless keyboard and remote control, a TV tuner, and surround-sound speakers. As with today's DVRs, you could browse TV listings--but you couldn't record TV to the hard disk.
Along with other proto-Media Center PCs such as Compaq and RCA's PC Theatre, the Destination attracted lots of attention but failed to make its way into many living rooms. However, it did find a niche among businesses and schools as a presentation machine. And the basic idea it pioneered returned in 2002, when PCs based on Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center operating system appeared.
Greatest PCs: 19-17
19. Apple iMac, Second Generation (2002)
The first-generation iMac of 1997 may have been the machine that told the world that Apple, and its recently returned cofounder Steve Jobs, were back. But its second-generation successor was a vastly different, far more inventive computer. And even though it didn't turn out to be an influential one, it remains a high point in PC design history.
With its dome-shaped base and its flat-panel screen that "floated" on a swivel arm, this iMac was, quite literally, like no computer that came before it. It had a friendly, anthropomorphic feel, in part because it bore a spiritual resemblance to Luxo Jr., the plucky desk-lamp hero of the Oscar-winning short film from Pixar, Steve Jobs's other company.
The design looked cool, saved space, and provided near-infinite adjustability for the display. But it didn't last long: In 2004 the second-gen iMac was replaced by yet another all-new model, which squeezed the entire computer into the back of the flat-panel monitor. That elegant design is probably more practical than its lamp-like predecessor, but it lacks the older machine's whimsical exuberance.
18. Hewlett-Packard OmniBook 300 (1993)
The innovative OmniBook 300 wasn't just one of the first subnotebooks--it was one of the most innovative hardware designs ever, albeit one that didn't prove particularly influential. Weighing 2.9 pounds, the system stored Windows 3.1, Excel 4.0, Word 2.0, and MS-DOS 5.0 in ROM memory rather than on a hard drive; this allowed it to boot up instantly. User storage was solid-state too, on a 40MB PCMCIA Type III hard disk or a 10MB PCMCIA Type II flash-disk drive.
Productivity was a central theme for the OmniBook, which started at $1950. The unit came with LapLink Remote Access and HP's organizational tools (contacts, appointments, and a financial calculator, same as in the HP 100LX), and provided one-button access to all applications. It also had a unique integrated mouse that popped out of the laptop's right side on a thin piece of plastic; the design eliminated the need for an annoying mouse cable, but the mouse was small and awkward to move about.
Given the OmniBook's basic 386SXLV CPU, monochrome 9-inch VGA screen, and power-friendly ROM storage, it's not surprising HP gave the notebook a high battery-life rating--up to 9 hours of power for the 10MB flash-disk version. (In a pinch, the unit could run on AA batteries--unheard of for a computer with a full-size keyboard.) Although the solid-state approach to laptop storage didn't catch on at the time, it's back today in products like Samsung's new 16GB and 32GB flash-memory drives. Funny how things come full circle.
17. Toshiba T1000 (1987)
Toshiba's wildly popular T1000 brought DOS in a truly lap-friendly portable size. The T1000 measured 12 by 2 by 11 inches and weighed 6.4 pounds--a veritable featherweight compared with suitcase-size luggables, and more than 3.5 pounds lighter than its nearest competitor, the Datavue Spark. It was also cheaper than most laptops of its time.
The T1000's durable clamshell design accommodated a full-size 82-key keyboard, a 720KB 3.5-inch floppy drive, 512KB of RAM, and an internal modem. The unit embedded MS-DOS 2.11 in ROM--which eliminated the need to have two floppy drives, as some competing notebooks of that era had, but also made it impossible to use certain software (such as WordPerfect Executive, which required two disks to run).
To achieve its size and cost, the T1000 made some sacrifices in CPU and battery performance. Nonetheless, this model helped catapult Toshiba to the fore of mobile computing, and it paved the way for the next wave of laptops, including number 18 on our list, HP's OmniBook 300 (above). (You can read the T1000 quick-reference guide at this fan site.)
Greatest PCs: 16-14
16. Tandy TRS-80 Model I (1977)
Tandy's TRS-80 Model I lacked the pizzazz of the Apple II, but it was the first computer to be truly marketed to the masses: Over 200,000 of the monochromatic little machines were sold by Radio Shack, an electronics retailer with thousands of locations in an age when almost nobody had ever heard of a computer store.
For $600, the first iteration of the TRS-80 gave you a measly 4KB of RAM and a rudimentary version of the BASIC language, and it stored programs on sluggish, flaky audiocassette tapes. As with other early PCs, the best way to get it to do something was to write a program from scratch. "There was an almost indescribable joy to be had the first time a program that you wrote yourself actually worked," remembers early owner Craig Landrum.
Over time the Model I gained more memory, disk drives, networking, and other enhancements; acquired a library of thousands of programs; and saw the debut of progeny such as the TRS-80 Model 100 portable (number 8 on our list). TRS-80 computers were the first to be the subject of magazines devoted entirely to one company's PCs; today, they're impressively documented at Ira Goldklang's TRS-80.com.
15. Shuttle SV24 Barebone System (2001)
For years, the PC was all about the big beige box. But in 2001, Shuttle came up with a toaster-size design for do-it-yourselfers that would push the limits of how much you could pack into a tight space. And it was tight: The case measured just 10.6 by 7.5 by 6.7 inches, and its components were so crammed in that airflow seemed to be an afterthought. To get an idea of just how small it was compared with a standard midsize tower, turn to Anandtech's review of this system.
The $250 SV24 Barebone System offered the basics, namely a compact Flex ATX motherboard with integrated audio and graphics and a 150-watt power supply, housed in Shuttle's small, aluminum case. You supplied the processor, memory, and storage. Appropriate for home or office use, this tiny system sparked a slew of imitators, all trying to match and improve upon its combination of size, functionality, and style.
Today, Shuttle not only sells bare-bones systems but also offers fully hatched PCs, like the XPC G5 2100 we recently tested for the value half of our Top 10 Desktop PCs chart. The company's compact models have upped the ante considerably with regard to performance and construction.
14. Atari 800 (1979)
Two years after Atari unleashed its first video game console, later dubbed the Atari 2600, the company shipped its first home computers. In many ways the Atari 800--the more advanced of the two models Atari introduced in late 1979--redefined the expectations of what a home computer could do, especially in graphics and sound.
Part game machine, part productivity enhancer, the $999 Atari 800 was the first home computer to feature a custom video coprocessor in addition to its CPU, which was the same 8-bit 6502 used in the Apple II. This design enabled the Atari 800 to generate 128 colors (256 in later versions) on screen. The system could also display four programmable animated screen objects at once--a boon for action games such as Star Raiders, the system's "killer app"--and it had another custom chip that helped it produce superior sound (four voices, across 3.5 octaves). Two cartridge slots under the hood were available for games and other applications, and four joystick ports were included, too.
While Atari eventually replaced its 8-bit computers with the 16-bit ST line, designer Jay Miner, who led the team behind the Atari 800's video chips, went on to lead the group that developed the Commodore Amiga 1000's graphics system.
Like all kids my age, I wanted an Atari 2600 to play games. But my mom thought it would be a good idea to get something that could be educational, so my family decided on an Atari 800. Many a night of head-to-head Star Raiders, Missile Command, and Pac-Man tournaments ensued with my dad (all very educational, of course). But the Atari 800 wasn't entirely about the games; I also used mine to learn BASIC programming and compose my school papers. For years my memory retained AtariWriter's string of control codes--conceptually similar to HTML coding--for such common tasks as making text italic or bold. Little did my mom know then where all of that would lead...Melissa J. Perenson
Greatest PCs: 13-11
