6 ms·

> Imagine a smart watch, but from 1984. That sounds like something straight out of a scifi film since the 80s is not exactly known for great advances in persona

> Imagine a smart watch, but from 1984. That sounds like something straight out of a scifi film since the 80s is not exactly known for great advances in personal computing. Now that's a ridiculous statement, especially when you're specifically talking about the year 1984... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErwS24cBZPc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErwS24cBZPc

andrelaszlo 2y ago
Interesting, but weirdly written article. > The Mac, before it was cool. That caption (of an image of the original Macintosh) also made me wonder. I wasn't born, but I had the impression that there was a lot of hype around the Mac, with the iconic Superbowl ad and everything? > While the UC-2000 apparently played video games, we can’t imagine how it would have looked like with such a tiny and colorless display. This was immediately followed by an image of Tetris being played on the watch. No need to imagine, haha.
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  Not hype like the iPod or iPhone. Computers hadn't become a household item yet. The internet didn't exist yet, software companies were barely a thing, and for the price there just wasn't really a justifiable use at home yet. It was an expensive video game console and word processor. Neat sure, but it wasn't flying off the shelves. Rich person toy. Early and mid 90s is when home computers really took off.
  - raffraffraff 2y ago
    Very rich person toy! Not only had computers not become a household item, but for those who were interested enough to buy a home computer, there were many different brands and models to choose from, most at a fraction of the price of the Apple. The computers I actually saw in the 80s were Timex, Toshiba, Sinclair, Commodore, Tandy, BBC, Amstrad, Archimedes. These were pretty much all separate ecosystems, with different models from the same manufacturer frequently being incompatible with their stable mates. Considering how capable machines like the Amiga and Archimedes were at a fraction of the cost of the Apple, and considering the fact that Apple was just another expensive ecosystem, you had to be particularly loaded to buy into it. Was there a must-have piece of software that only existed for the Mac back then? Computer graphics was arguably better on the Amiga, and even desktop publishing wasn't a done deal. I know of only one person who had a Mac, and it was loaned to him by the company he worked for (as a software developer). No idea why they chose Apple. The first "PC" I ever saw in real life was a Wang (unknown model) some time in the very late 80s. that was purchased for our school tech drawing class. It ran DOS and AutoCAD (unknown version) and also had Prince of Persia.
    - Rinzler89 2y ago
      >The first "PC" I ever saw in real life was a Wang Anyone got a history on why Wang Computers didn't take off?
      - defrost 2y ago
        The succint answer would be they were choked out of existence in the office market by IBM. They had an early lead and captured word processing, IBM had big iron and expanded down to personal computers suitable for office word processing and had the big government | military | banking contracts to force through sweeter deals on the desktop range as a "one shop" solution for everything computing related.
        Rinzler89 2y ago
        Does that mean the trademark is now free and I can start selling Wangs to people?
        defrost 2y ago
        Hmm, dunno, we've got those in town: https://youtu.be/a64XBWtGuGc?t=39 https://youtu.be/a64XBWtGuGc?t=39
      - FuriouslyAdrift 2y ago
        Founder Dr. An Wang set up the company to have tight control of the stock via his family. He elevated his son, Fred, to president. While Dr. An Wang (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Wang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Wang) was a genius and pioneer in computing, his son was not up to the task of running the company and the coming PC revolution caught him flat footed. The company never really recovered. https://tedium.co/2017/02/14/wang-computers-history-demise/ https://tedium.co/2017/02/14/wang-computers-history-demise/
      - wkat4242 2y ago
        They kinda did, they sold some minicomputer stuff and also standalone wordprocessors even in the Netherlands. I played games on the one at my dad's work. They just didn't pivot to the PC age as others have mentioned.
  - englishrookie 2y ago
    > Rich person toy. The Mac, yes. But my father was a construction worker earning a below median wage (definitely not middle class) in 1988 when we bought our Atari 1040 ST. This was in the Netherlands, Europe. (Although admittedly we were rich by world standards.)
  - jhbadger 2y ago
    Lots of people had computers in the 1980s. Not just "rich people". There were even dozens of magazines about computers that you could find in any bookstore or newsstand. There were stores in every city where you could buy software for computers in the 1980s. You generally didn't have access to the Internet (which certainly did exist even if the Web didn't) unless you were at a university, but other online venues existed in the 1980s such as dial-up bulletin board systems. I got my first modem in 1983.
- Tepix 2y ago
  I agree. The Mac was already cool in 1984, in particular because of Ridley Scott‘s epic ad.
- mjhagen 2y ago
  I certainly wasn’t cool for being into the Mac back then. PCs, but mostly Commodores and Amigas was where it was at.
- dmitrygr 2y ago
  > This was immediately followed by an image of Tetris being played on the watch. No need to imagine, haha. That tetris game was written recently (2010s IIRC) by a guy who reverse engineered the watch. It was most definitely not available back then.
rob74 2y ago
Yeah, I almost stopped reading the article after that phrase. If I had to pick a decade with the greatest advances in personal computing, I would pick the 80s! The first personal/home computers appeared in the 70s, but they were mostly for hobbyists, even sold as PCBs like the Apple I. The 80s began with the first home computers being available in larger numbers (C64, Atari 800, Apple ][, Sinclair Spectrum etc.), continued with the more powerful 16-bit machines (Apple Mac, Amiga, Atari ST) and ended (sadly, I think) with IBM PC clones becoming cheap enough to wipe out almost all of these (except the Mac, which survived just barely).
- psczvnadfjk 2y ago
  > 16-bit machines (Apple Mac, Amiga, Atari ST) (small nitpick) These platforms all began with Motorola 68000 which has a 32-bit ISA.
  - snvzz 2y ago
    ... with 16bit bus. Which is why we call the machines 16bit; they're built around 16bit buses.
flir 2y ago
While we're nitpicking... "it can’t technically be called a computer until you dock it on an external keyboard"
- canadianfella 2y ago
  [dead]
Max-q 2y ago
I came here with that exact quote copied, but expected to find it posted already It's easy to forget that the 80s took us from Apple II, TRS-80, PET, via C64, Amiga, Atari ST and Macintosh to SuperVGA and 486 when we entered the 90s.
billforsternz 2y ago
I did an absolute double take. The 1980s saw the emergence of personal computing. From niche hobby to ubiquitous agent of societal change.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
asdefghyk 2y ago
RE "...since the 80s is not exactly known for great advances in personal computing....." There were great advances all the time in this era. FROM https://www.computerhistory.org/brochures/1970s-early1980s/ https://www.computerhistory.org/brochures/1970s-early1980s/ "...The early 1980s saw the first mass market advertising of computers. Computers were available for personal use due to the diminishing costs of machines. However, manufacturers first had to convince people that they needed a computer in their home. They made use of well-known celebrities as spokespersons: Dick Cavett for Apple; Bill Cosby for Texas Instruments; William Shatner for Commodore; Charlie Chaplin's "Little Tramp" for IBM; and Alan Alda for Atari. Apple and IBM had some of the most successful campaigns during the decade. Apple aired its "1984" commercial during the Super Bowl, introducing an innovative personal computer to smash Orwellian competitors......" Also in 1979 I build my own computer out of individually purchased components . a DREAM 6800. There was also numerous kits available. Massive innovation during that time

andrelaszlo 2y ago

Interesting, but weirdly written article. > The Mac, before it was cool. That caption (of an image of the original Macintosh) also made me wonder. I wasn't born, but I had the impression that there was a lot of hype around the Mac, with the iconic Superbowl ad and everything? > While the UC-2000 apparently played video games, we can’t imagine how it would have looked like with such a tiny and colorless display. This was immediately followed by an image of Tetris being played on the watch. No need to imagine, haha.

bongodongobob 2y ago
Not hype like the iPod or iPhone. Computers hadn't become a household item yet. The internet didn't exist yet, software companies were barely a thing, and for the price there just wasn't really a justifiable use at home yet. It was an expensive video game console and word processor. Neat sure, but it wasn't flying off the shelves. Rich person toy. Early and mid 90s is when home computers really took off.
- raffraffraff 2y ago
  Very rich person toy! Not only had computers not become a household item, but for those who were interested enough to buy a home computer, there were many different brands and models to choose from, most at a fraction of the price of the Apple. The computers I actually saw in the 80s were Timex, Toshiba, Sinclair, Commodore, Tandy, BBC, Amstrad, Archimedes. These were pretty much all separate ecosystems, with different models from the same manufacturer frequently being incompatible with their stable mates. Considering how capable machines like the Amiga and Archimedes were at a fraction of the cost of the Apple, and considering the fact that Apple was just another expensive ecosystem, you had to be particularly loaded to buy into it. Was there a must-have piece of software that only existed for the Mac back then? Computer graphics was arguably better on the Amiga, and even desktop publishing wasn't a done deal. I know of only one person who had a Mac, and it was loaned to him by the company he worked for (as a software developer). No idea why they chose Apple. The first "PC" I ever saw in real life was a Wang (unknown model) some time in the very late 80s. that was purchased for our school tech drawing class. It ran DOS and AutoCAD (unknown version) and also had Prince of Persia.
  - Rinzler89 2y ago
    >The first "PC" I ever saw in real life was a Wang Anyone got a history on why Wang Computers didn't take off?
    - defrost 2y ago
      The succint answer would be they were choked out of existence in the office market by IBM. They had an early lead and captured word processing, IBM had big iron and expanded down to personal computers suitable for office word processing and had the big government | military | banking contracts to force through sweeter deals on the desktop range as a "one shop" solution for everything computing related.
      - Rinzler89 2y ago
        Does that mean the trademark is now free and I can start selling Wangs to people?
        defrost 2y ago
        Hmm, dunno, we've got those in town: https://youtu.be/a64XBWtGuGc?t=39 https://youtu.be/a64XBWtGuGc?t=39
    - FuriouslyAdrift 2y ago
      Founder Dr. An Wang set up the company to have tight control of the stock via his family. He elevated his son, Fred, to president. While Dr. An Wang (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Wang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Wang) was a genius and pioneer in computing, his son was not up to the task of running the company and the coming PC revolution caught him flat footed. The company never really recovered. https://tedium.co/2017/02/14/wang-computers-history-demise/ https://tedium.co/2017/02/14/wang-computers-history-demise/
    - wkat4242 2y ago
      They kinda did, they sold some minicomputer stuff and also standalone wordprocessors even in the Netherlands. I played games on the one at my dad's work. They just didn't pivot to the PC age as others have mentioned.
- englishrookie 2y ago
  > Rich person toy. The Mac, yes. But my father was a construction worker earning a below median wage (definitely not middle class) in 1988 when we bought our Atari 1040 ST. This was in the Netherlands, Europe. (Although admittedly we were rich by world standards.)
- jhbadger 2y ago
  Lots of people had computers in the 1980s. Not just "rich people". There were even dozens of magazines about computers that you could find in any bookstore or newsstand. There were stores in every city where you could buy software for computers in the 1980s. You generally didn't have access to the Internet (which certainly did exist even if the Web didn't) unless you were at a university, but other online venues existed in the 1980s such as dial-up bulletin board systems. I got my first modem in 1983.
Tepix 2y ago
I agree. The Mac was already cool in 1984, in particular because of Ridley Scott‘s epic ad.
mjhagen 2y ago
I certainly wasn’t cool for being into the Mac back then. PCs, but mostly Commodores and Amigas was where it was at.
dmitrygr 2y ago
> This was immediately followed by an image of Tetris being played on the watch. No need to imagine, haha. That tetris game was written recently (2010s IIRC) by a guy who reverse engineered the watch. It was most definitely not available back then.

rob74 2y ago

Yeah, I almost stopped reading the article after that phrase. If I had to pick a decade with the greatest advances in personal computing, I would pick the 80s! The first personal/home computers appeared in the 70s, but they were mostly for hobbyists, even sold as PCBs like the Apple I. The 80s began with the first home computers being available in larger numbers (C64, Atari 800, Apple ][, Sinclair Spectrum etc.), continued with the more powerful 16-bit machines (Apple Mac, Amiga, Atari ST) and ended (sadly, I think) with IBM PC clones becoming cheap enough to wipe out almost all of these (except the Mac, which survived just barely).

psczvnadfjk 2y ago
> 16-bit machines (Apple Mac, Amiga, Atari ST) (small nitpick) These platforms all began with Motorola 68000 which has a 32-bit ISA.
- snvzz 2y ago
  ... with 16bit bus. Which is why we call the machines 16bit; they're built around 16bit buses.

flir 2y ago

While we're nitpicking... "it can’t technically be called a computer until you dock it on an external keyboard"

canadianfella 2y ago
[dead]

Max-q 2y ago

I came here with that exact quote copied, but expected to find it posted already It's easy to forget that the 80s took us from Apple II, TRS-80, PET, via C64, Amiga, Atari ST and Macintosh to SuperVGA and 486 when we entered the 90s.

billforsternz 2y ago

I did an absolute double take. The 1980s saw the emergence of personal computing. From niche hobby to ubiquitous agent of societal change.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

asdefghyk 2y ago

RE "...since the 80s is not exactly known for great advances in personal computing....." There were great advances all the time in this era. FROM https://www.computerhistory.org/brochures/1970s-early1980s/ https://www.computerhistory.org/brochures/1970s-early1980s/ "...The early 1980s saw the first mass market advertising of computers. Computers were available for personal use due to the diminishing costs of machines. However, manufacturers first had to convince people that they needed a computer in their home. They made use of well-known celebrities as spokespersons: Dick Cavett for Apple; Bill Cosby for Texas Instruments; William Shatner for Commodore; Charlie Chaplin's "Little Tramp" for IBM; and Alan Alda for Atari. Apple and IBM had some of the most successful campaigns during the decade. Apple aired its "1984" commercial during the Super Bowl, introducing an innovative personal computer to smash Orwellian competitors......" Also in 1979 I build my own computer out of individually purchased components . a DREAM 6800. There was also numerous kits available. Massive innovation during that time