Much of the appeal of early microcomputers was actually their similarity to the more powerful machines that were being used for "real work". This was true even

Much of the appeal of early microcomputers was actually their similarity to the more powerful machines that were being used for "real work". This was true even in the 8-bit era with CP/M, a command-line system that was used almost exclusively for work purposes. That CP/M interface took quite a few elements from the microcomputer and mainframe terminals of its day, and the trend continued with MS-DOS and early Windows. Pure "home computers" did exist during the same time period, but they still looked a lot more professional than the toys we get today, and you could even use them for some light office work.