Non-toy computers were only available to the relatively wealthy for nearly a decade. The original Apple II was the equivalent of around $5000, which certainly w

Non-toy computers were only available to the relatively wealthy for nearly a decade. The original Apple II was the equivalent of around $5000, which certainly wasn't a casual purchase for most people. If you look in back-issues of Byte the prices of early PCs with a usable spec are eye-watering, even before correcting for inflation. Prices didn't start dropping to more accessible levels until the 90s.