Page 174 - Inventions - A Visual Encyclopedia (DK - Smithsonian)

Home computers

Since the arrival of the earliest personal computers,
which were boxy and heavy, the trend has been towards FAST FACTS

ever smaller devices with greater processing power. ■ In the 1950s, computers were commonly
The computing power of our smartphones is far greater referred to as “electronic brains.”
■ The computer in your smartphone
than that of early computers that were the size of a closet. has more processing power than all the
COMMUNICATION men to the moon.
computers in the Apollo lander that took

In 1980, the first 1 GB hard drive
■
cost $40,000 and weighed more than
500 lb (226 kg).
Steve Wozniak’s Apple II

■ What? Apple II
■ Who? Apple Computer, Inc
■ Where and when? US, 1977
Build-it-yourself computer
The Apple II was designed by The screen display
offers up to
Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple
■ What? Altair 8800 16 colors.
■ Who? MITS Computer Inc (now just Apple), in
■ Where and when? US, 1974 1977. It was one of the first consumer
products to be sold by Apple. With
Many of the earliest personal computers
color graphics, sound, and a plastic The Apple II was
were sold as build-it-yourself kits to
casing, it set the template for all the first computer
hobbyists. After the Altair 8800 appeared on with a plastic case.
personal computers to follow.
the cover of Popular Electronics magazine,
it sold in large numbers and kick-started
a personal computing revolution.
1970s Apple II
computer

The first laptop

■ What? Epson HX-20 The Epson HX-20 had a
■ Who? Yukio Yokozawa of Seiko printer like a cash register.
■ Where and when? Japan, 1981
Computing The Epson HX-20
at home was the first laptop
computer. It was
■ What? Atari 400/800 developed by the Seiko
■ Who? Atari company in Japan and
■ Where and when? US, 1979 marketed internationally by
The first home computers, intended for Epson. It was about the size
nontechnical users, arrived in 1979. Leading of an 81/2 x 11 sheet of paper
the pack were models by manufacturers and weighed 31/2 lb (1.6 kg).
Texas Instruments and, particularly, Atari. The monitor screen was no
Their most common uses were playing video bigger than that of a calculator.
games, but some people used them for word Epson HX-20
processing and basic programming. laptop, 1981

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