From the article: “Personal computers functioned differently in the 1970s and 1980s. Unlike domestic computational technologies such as video game consoles or pocket calculators, the Apple II and many of its competitors were not designed as proprietary or closed systems. Indeed, the entire appeal of a personal computer was that it put computing power directly in the hands of users. It was essential that users be able not only to program on their machine but also to save and distribute the work they did.”
It needs to be like this now!
I was in my early teens in the 1970’s and 1980’s. My family was way too poor to afford any of the computer. The only people in my hometown who had this stuff were wealthy. So I think this authors use of the term “relatively inexpensive” sorta downplays how much that shit cost in the day.
The first actual computer I ever saw or got to play with was a RadioShack TRS-80, that my then-gf’s dad had. The 1977 cost for that was $599 USD. Adjusted for Inflation, that’s around $3,000 USD in today’s dollars.
From the article: “Personal computers functioned differently in the 1970s and 1980s. Unlike domestic computational technologies such as video game consoles or pocket calculators, the Apple II and many of its competitors were not designed as proprietary or closed systems. Indeed, the entire appeal of a personal computer was that it put computing power directly in the hands of users. It was essential that users be able not only to program on their machine but also to save and distribute the work they did.”
It needs to be like this now!
I was in my early teens in the 1970’s and 1980’s. My family was way too poor to afford any of the computer. The only people in my hometown who had this stuff were wealthy. So I think this authors use of the term “relatively inexpensive” sorta downplays how much that shit cost in the day.
The first actual computer I ever saw or got to play with was a RadioShack TRS-80, that my then-gf’s dad had. The 1977 cost for that was $599 USD. Adjusted for Inflation, that’s around $3,000 USD in today’s dollars.