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DEC PDP-11 model 34 minicomputer

This minicomputer was released by the Digital Equipment Corporation in Mar 1976. At that time universities were becoming hotbeds of self-taught microcomputer expertise. Professors found it cost-effective to buy minicomputers rather than buy time on the universities mainframe computers, which were invariably out of date and overworked. DEC was selling PDP-8 and PDP-11 minicomputers to professors as fast as it could build them. The computers were especially popular in psychology labs, where they were used for experimenting on human subjects, automating animal lab processes, and analyzing data. This model later evolved into three other versions (/34, /34a, /34c).

Commodore Electrronics, PET 2001-16N

The original Commodore PET 2001 was introduced in April 1977 with a price of $600 for a 4k machine and was Commodore's first entry into the fast-expanding microcomputer market just 3 years after "Raido & Electronics" showed an article on building the Mark-8. The 8k version was priced at $795. The original PET 2001 had a membrane chicklet keyboard, an internal tape drive, a 9" 40-column monochrome monitor and 4k or 8k of RAM. Later versions of the PET 2001 left out the tape drive, switching to external units, increased the RAM to 16k or 32k and changed to a full sized typewriter-style keyboard. All 2001-series PETs retained the same 9" CRT, though later series machines increased the size of the built-in monitor to 12". The whole PET line proved to be quite successful in terms of sales. This.particular machine is a later 2001-series machine with the full sized keyboard and 16k of RAM. Program loading is by way of an external Commodore 1530 or C2N cassette recorder or an external Commodore disk drive system, such as the 4040, which connected using the IEEE-488 bus. The machine boots into Commodore Basic when powered on. BASIC used a full-screen editor. On April 29, 1994 Commodore International shut it's doors.

Atari 800

The Atari 400 and 800 were the first home computers to use custom coprocessors and the first to use "sprites" and special video interruptions like display lists, features that will be implemented several years after on the Commodore Amiga. It offered high graphic resolution, lots of colors and great sound capabilities, more than other computers could do then.

IBM PC 5150

IBM introduced the PC, or Personal Computer, on August 12, 1981 and set the industry standard for personal computing. At the time of its introduction, most computers were still processing 8 bits of information per clock cycle. IBM revolutionized the industry by hitting the market with a computer based on the Intel 8088 processor, which was compatible with 8-bit computers but processed information internally at 16-bits per clock cycle. The PC featured an expandable design, known as "open architecture", which made it possible for users to add features to their machines without replacing the whole computer. The original IBM PC came standard with 16k of RAM, advertised as expandable to 256k of RAM and no hard drive. Because of its expandability, third-party manufacturers quickly started selling hard drives that could be used to add mass storage capability to the IBM PC.

IBM Personal System/2 Model P70-386

The IBM P70 is a portable Model 70 in a rather unconventional design. It's meant to be a portable computer, but it's definitely not a laptop or a notebook. Instead, it's more like the "suitcase-design" cases with integrated LC display panel that allows integration of a standard PC main board. The P70 is however much thinner, therefore only allowing two expansion boards, and one of them only offers space for boards of half length. The display is a plasma display, a popular choice for portables at that time, since it allowed far higher display contrasts than the STN or DSTN LC displays available at that time. The bad thing is that such a plasma display consumes a lot of power, so battery-based operation was impossible. It was a fairly sophisticated machine, having more in common with a high-end server than with other luggables of it's day. It came in 386DX-16 and -20 MHz speeds, with 30 MB, 60 MB, or 120 MB DBA ESDI hard disk options. The display/controller combination supports standard VGA resolution at 640x480 pixels (16 gray levels), and includes a 15-pin connector on the rear panel for an external VGA color monitor (16 colors supported). CGA and EGA resolutions are also supported. A maximum of 8 MB of RAM is supported on the system planar, with an additional 8 MB on a memory expansion card in one of the two microchannel slots. One 16-bit and one 32-bit Microchannel expansion slots are provided, along with a socket for a 387DX math coprocessor. Other features include a PS/2 mouse port, serial port, parallel port, internal 1.44 MB floppy disk drive, and an external floppy disk drive port.

IBM Personal System/2 Model 80

The Personal System/2 Model 80 (IBM 8580) enhances the System/2 family of systems by offering a new level of performance in personal computing for both commercial and compute-intensive environments. This system is highlighted by the new MICRO CHANNEL(TM) ARCHITECTURE with a 16 MHz 80386 32-bit microprocessor, high density memory technology, and a wide range of integrated features. With the capability of supporting up to 16 Mb of high speed (80 ns) real memory, over 140 Mb of disk storage, advanced graphics, and an optional 16 MHz 80387 Math Co-Processor, this system opens up a wide range of application opportunities. Designed to meet the requirements of the multitasking environment, the IBM 8580 provides a full 32-bit large system architecture and function within an individual workstation. Its increased speed and high reliability coupled with a wide selection of connectivity options provide the function required to support large server, gateway or multiuser applications. It was the first server in Corcordia.

Apple Macintosh LC

In 1990, Apple introduced the Mac LC as a lower cost, color machine; in fact LC stood for Low-cost Color. Apple had inexpensive Macs (the Classic was only $1000), and very expensive Macs (the IIfx was $10,000), but had no affordable machines in between. The LC was hatched to fill that void, costing about $3000 with a color monitor. A monochrome display was also offered for those focusing on the low cost aspect of the machine. The LC, like the Mac II, was powered by the 68020 chip. This made it about twice as fast as the Classic and SE, but a tad slower than the 68030 based machines. It could not use virtual memory, but was 32-bit clean. The LC was offered configured as a dual floppy system, or with a single floppy and a 40MB or 80 MB hard disk drive. Expansion slots were limited to four: two 30-pin RAM slots, a video RAM upgrade slot, and a single '020 PDS slot. One of the unusual cards that could be put into the LC's PDS slot was an Apple IIe emulation card. This card, along with an Apple II disk drive, allowed one to run Apple II programs on the Mac, thus bridging the gap of Mac and Apple II, and luring some Apple II owners over to the Mac. Along with the IIsi, the LC was one of the first Macs with audio input. Apple sold 500,000 LCs within 12 months of release.

Macintosh Classic II

Introduced in October 1991, the Classic II was both an upgraded Classic and a replacement for the venerable SE/30. Based on a modified LC motherboard, the Classic II shares a 16-bit data path and a RAM ceiling of 10 MB (the Classic II tests at about 60% the performance of the SE/30, even though both use the same 16 MHz 68030 CPU). These shortcomings, plus the lack of an expansion slot, made it a poor replacement for the SE/30 and deserving of the Road Apple label. The Classic II was the last Mac to use a 9" b&w screen.

Below is a part of my database.
Here You can find some quick facts about the previously presented computers:

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