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facattack

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Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user. These computers were a distinct market segment that typically cost much less than business, scientific or engineering-oriented computers of the time such as the IBM PC,[1] and were generally less powerful in terms of memory and expandability. However, a home computer often had better graphics and sound than contemporary business computers. Their most common use was playing video games.[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_computer
 
facattack said:
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user. These computers were a distinct market segment that typically cost much less than business, scientific or engineering-oriented computers of the time such as the IBM PC,[1] and were generally less powerful in terms of memory and expandability. However, a home computer often had better graphics and sound than contemporary business computers. Their most common use was playing video games.[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_computer
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I started getting involved with computers in 1983 with an Apple //e. Most people then were using these pc's for word processing (writing resumes, letters, and other docs.) There was also a lot of good database (file management) software and of course early spread sheets which were used at the work place, as well as home uses. Games were very primitive and strictly a diversion, hardly a reason to buy a PC then. A large library of home management type software programs also existed. But I would agree that it was VERY novel to have an actual computer in the home that was capable of business and home organization (even a typewriter was fairly unusual in the average home). Also the schools were already starting to use Apple's in classroom settings. Business use required IBM PCs as most of the good business software was written for it. But I would say the PC market virtually exploded on to the scene by the early 80's. I was working in a technical field, so I was an early user.
 
Billyray said:
I started getting involved with computers in 1983 with an Apple //e. Most people then were using these pc's for word processing (writing resumes, letters, and other docs.) There was also a lot of good database (file management) software and of course early spread sheets which were used at the work place, as well as home uses. Games were very primitive and strictly a diversion, hardly a reason to buy a PC then. A large library of home management type software programs also existed. But I would agree that it was VERY novel to have an actual computer in the home that was capable of business and home organization (even a typewriter was fairly unusual in the average home). Also the schools were already starting to use Apple's in classroom settings. Business use required IBM PCs as most of the good business software was written for it. But I would say the PC market virtually exploded on to the scene by the early 80's. I was working in a technical field, so I was an early user.
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No, the first home computer was the Imsai 8080 introduced in 1974, the PC was introduced in 1981, up till then business machines were S100 CP/M machines.
Sometime in the mid to late seventies there was a quote from someone along the lines of " If my life was so complicated that I needed a computer, I would not get a computer, I would change my life"
 
The only part I'd disagree with is that the IBM PC had "more power" in terms of memory and expandability. It sure was the mentality at the time, but it simply wasn't true.
 
mnbvcxz said:
No, the first home computer was the Imsai 8080 introduced in 1974 [...]
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First, the IMSAI 8080 was introduced in late 1975, not in 1974. Second, it was a clone of the even older MITS Altair 8800. But even that one wasn't the first home computer. The IMSAI 8080 was just the first one that became popular.
 
Their most common use was playing video games.
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I believe that sentence is not supported by the cited article and is gross oversimplification of home computer usage in many areas.

The only part I'd disagree with is that the IBM PC had "more power" in terms of memory and expandability.
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What other home computer during the IBM PC's life was designed to be expanded to 640KB of RAM and had fairly widespread support for Expanded Memory up to 2MB and beyond? Maybe the Amiga, released four years later?

No, the first home computer was the Imsai 8080 introduced in 1974, the PC was introduced in 1981, up till then business machines were S100 CP/M machines.
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The article is unclear about what exactly constitutes a home computer. It seems to treat the earlier, kit-type machines as hobbyist computers, affordable for individuals and beloved by electronic and computer hobbyists, but not exactly something the average family would want to explore.
 
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"The first home computer" I think is still up to debate although different entities and museums have stated various opinions. The blurriness ranges from ideas that were dated before others on paper, actual products released, and actual number of products released are all in the endless debate on who was first.
 
Great Hierophant said:
What other home computer during the IBM PC's life was designed to be expanded to 640KB of RAM and had fairly widespread support for Expanded Memory up to 2MB and beyond? Maybe the Amiga, released four years later?
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Unfortunately, this depends on the definition of home computer. Certainly the Apple /// and TI-99/4 had this capability, but there wasn't anything stopping anyone from adding megabytes of RAM to an Apple //, or any homebrew system. It wasn't popular, but it could be, and was done.

barythrin said:
"The first home computer" I think is still up to debate although different entities and museums have stated various opinions. The blurriness ranges from ideas that were dated before others on paper, actual products released, and actual number of products released are all in the endless debate on who was first.
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I don't think anyone ever even figured out which was the first microprocessor.
 
Timo W. said:
First, the IMSAI 8080 was introduced in late 1975, not in 1974. Second, it was a clone of the even older MITS Altair 8800. But even that one wasn't the first home computer. The IMSAI 8080 was just the first one that became popular.
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If you want to be pedantic, the Imsai 8080 was introduced in January 1975 as an article in a magazine called Popular Electronics, there were earlier microcomputers, but the first home computer should be the first one to sell in significant numbers.

More popular machines available in 1977 were Tandy TRS 80 model 1, Commodore Pet and Apple 2.
 
Great Hierophant said:
Maybe the Amiga, released four years later?
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Not the original A1000. The A2000 from 1987 is the only thing that can rival the PC in terms of number of expansion slots, drive bays etc.
Then again, the A2000 was aimed at professionals, where the A500 was for home users.

In general I think there is a very thin line between "personal computers" and "home computers".
For me personally, a home computer is a computer aimed at regular consumers. So easy to set up out-of-the-box, capable of connecting to a regular TV-set, and not too expensive.
An Altair is a personal computer, but I don't see it as a home computer.
The Commodore 64 is the archetypal home computer in my view.
 
From 1975 to 1981 most of the higher priced systems were bought for Education or business use, so contrary to what the article implies, Business computing/ computers did NOT begin with the PC.
 
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mnbvcxz said:
From 1975 to 1981 most of the higher priced systems were bought for Education or business use, so contrary to what the article implies, Business computing/ computers did begin with the PC.
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I think they talk about computers like the Apple II, the TRS-80, the Commodore PET and the Atari 8-bit machines. The IBM PC was very late to the party.
By 1980 Commodore had already introduced the VIC-20, the first computer to sell more than 1 million units.
 
Quote
What other home computer during the IBM PC's life was designed to be expanded to 640KB of RAM and had fairly widespread support for Expanded Memory up to 2MB and beyond? Maybe the Amiga, released four years later? end quote.

The Nascom 2 introduced in 1979 was designed to address 512KB ram and a later a 2MB ramdisk could be added to the system, there were many "home computers" designed for memory capacities much greater than 64KB, even the mighty IBM PC had only 16KB ram and a cassette interface in the first model.(according to Wikipeadia).
 
mnbvcxz said:
From 1975 to 1981 most of the higher priced systems were bought for Education or business use, so contrary to what the article implies, Business computing/ computers did begin with the PC.
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Sorry, typing too fast, I meant to say "Business computing / computers did NOT begin with the PC"
 
I think the split from microcomputers into business and home lineups would be 1979/80 with the introduction of the Tandy Model II, Apple III, and (as home computer) Commodore VIC. Before that, manufacturers weren't targeting different markets but were hoping that somebody, anybody might buy the system. After, boxes and bundles would be tailored for a specific target market.
 
Up until about 1977, microcomputers for the home were bought by hobbyists who simply wanted a computer of their own, after 1977 when the "big three" arrived computers were advertised to schools and businesses because:
a: they could afford them,
b: they could buy many of them,
c: home users had no real use for a microcomputer, games were rare, just beginning, growing very slowly because the market was not yet big enough for it to really take off, around this time, someone was quoted as saying " if my life were so complicated that I needed a computer, I would not buy a computer, I would change my life".
 
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