1 | <?php |
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2 | $seiten_id = 'personalcomputer'; |
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3 | $version = '$Id$'; |
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4 | $titel = 'Historical Personal Computers: The first PCs'; |
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5 | |
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6 | require "../../lib/technikum29.php"; |
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7 | ?> |
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8 | <header class="teaser seitenstart"> |
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9 | <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/header-wang2200.jpg" width="940" height="545"> |
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10 | <h2>Historical Personal Computers</h2> |
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11 | </header> |
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12 | |
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13 | <h3 id="wang2200"><b>WANG 2200B</b> with an extensive set of peripherals</h3> |
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14 | |
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15 | <p>An often posed question is that of how to define the notion of a "personal |
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16 | computer". We would answer like this: "A personal computer is a single-user |
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17 | system with attached display (back then typically a CRT) and a suitable |
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18 | complement of peripherals to store and retrieve data and for input/output of |
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19 | data and programs. It is also easily transportable."<br> |
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20 | |
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21 | One of the first personal computers, PC for short, is the WANG 2200 A/B dating |
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22 | back to 1973. Wang realized pretty early that a key component for such a device |
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23 | was an electronic display capable of displaying multiple lines at once. |
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24 | Comparable HP systems from that time only had a single line LED-display. A nice |
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25 | comparison between these two types of machines can be found here: |
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26 | <a href="http://www.wang2200.org/docs/internal/HP_Competitive_Analysis_9830_vs_Wang_2200B_Mar_1974.pdf" target="_blank"> HP competitive Analysis 9830 vs WANG 2200B (PDF)</a>. |
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27 | <br> |
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28 | This is, in fact, a comparison performed by HP and was suited to aid the |
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29 | salesperson when he or she faced a situation where HP had to compete agains a |
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30 | Wang offer. HP and WANG were THE opponents in these days when it came to |
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31 | scientific calculators and early PCs. <br> |
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32 | The system 2200 and its successors featured a plethora of peripheral devices as |
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33 | well as a vast library of programs for a variety of scientific and commercial |
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34 | problems. Though, there was no assembler or access to machine language at all. |
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35 | The system was programmed in a BASIC dialect.<br> |
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36 | |
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37 | The system on display here is unique in Germany with its set of peripheral |
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38 | devices: Paper tape reader (2203), card reader (2234), marker card reader |
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39 | (2214), triple 8 inch diskette drive (2270-3) and a disk subsystem (2230-1) |
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40 | with 14 inch disks. The weight of the disk subsystem alone is about 100 kg, and |
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41 | it cost a whopping 24 000 DM back in its days. Its total capacity is 5 MB for |
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42 | programs and data.</p> |
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43 | |
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44 | <h3 id="wang2200s"><b>WANG 2200S</b></h3> |
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45 | |
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46 | <div class="box center"> |
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47 | <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/wang-2200s.jpg" width="350" height="304" /> |
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48 | <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/wang-2200s-detail.jpg" width="429" height="304" /> |
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49 | </div> |
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50 | |
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51 | <p>This new acquisition (December 2017) is a smaller version of the WANG 2200B, |
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52 | built in 1974/75, the "S" probably denoting "small". The additional magnetic |
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53 | tape unit (2217) allows to store 1.7 kB of data on one meter of tape at a |
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54 | transfer rate of 326 characters/second. It is equipped with three independent |
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55 | motors and capable of reading/writing in both directions. The tape is always |
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56 | written/read in blocks of 256 bytes. As slow as it is, the low price of the |
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57 | storage media more than compensated for that. <br> |
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58 | |
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59 | Also interesting is the golf-ball typewriter as output device. Thanks to the |
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60 | unique stepper motor driven mechanics, the system can also be used to plot |
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61 | graphs. The model 2202 is identical with the model 702 typically used in |
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62 | conjunction with a <a class="go" href="/en/computer/ic-technology.php#WANG_700" target="_blank">WANG 700 system.</a> </p> |
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63 | |
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64 | <p class="small">We would like to express our thanks to the University of Muenster who donated this system.</p> |
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65 | |
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66 | |
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67 | <h3 id="wang-pcs"><b>WANG PCS II</b></h3><br> |
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68 | |
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69 | 1977 WANG introduced the new computer PCS-II, a much more compact system than |
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70 | the 2200-series. The central processor was still implemented with discrete TTL |
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71 | ICs and shared a common enclosure with all necessary interface connectors and |
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72 | the power supply. A dual 5.25" diskette drive was attached at the top, so the |
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73 | only other peripheral device was a printer. Memory could be expanded up to 32 |
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74 | kB, as small as the memory featured by the much cheaper PET made by Commodore. |
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75 | |
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76 | <div class="box left"> |
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77 | <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/wang-pcs-2.jpg" width="241" height="202"/> |
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78 | <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/wang-pcs-2-innen.jpg" width="268" height="202"/> |
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79 | </div> |
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80 | |
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81 | The picture shows the implementation of the machine. All in all, four printed |
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82 | circuit boards (PCBs for short) crammed with ICs, were required. Repairing a |
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83 | machine like this can easily turn out to be a veritable nightmare. |
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84 | <br> |
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85 | The machine was much too expensive for private citizens: In 1978, one would |
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86 | have had to pay 20 000 DM ($ 7500) for a machine like this. A reasonable car like a |
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87 | FORD Capri Sportcoupe would have cost only 12 000 DM in comparison! |
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88 | <br> |
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89 | |
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90 | <p class="bildtext small">This beautifully preserved machine is currently not functional. We would trade |
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91 | it for another, equally valuable system suitable for our museum. If you are |
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92 | interested, please do not hesitate to contact us.</p> |
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93 | |
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94 | |
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95 | |
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96 | <h3 id="cbm"><b>Commodore (CBM) PET 2001, 8096-SK</b></h3><br> |
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97 | |
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98 | The Commodore computers are popular amongst the vintage computing community and thus not too interesting for our exhibition. |
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99 | Anyway, for completeness, we have some devices in our collection. |
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100 | |
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101 | <br> |
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102 | |
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103 | In 1977, most pupils already heard about the new computer technology and wanted to gain experience. |
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104 | |
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105 | <div class="box left"> |
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106 | <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/ur-pet.jpg" width="300" height="266" /> |
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107 | </div> |
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108 | <div class="box right"> |
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109 | <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/pet+floppy.jpg" width="500" height="266" style="margin-top:1em" /> |
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110 | </div> |
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111 | |
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112 | <p> |
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113 | The PET 2001 is a 2000 DM (~1000 US $) device by Commodore and thus was also affordable by schools. Virtually overnight |
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114 | computer pool rooms were created where one had to sign up in a waiting list in order to get entry -- or to wait up to |
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115 | late in the evenings (after 6pm) to enter. |
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116 | |
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117 | <p>In the beginning, the PET offered 7kB RAM and the very slow "datasette". This long term storage medium was nothing |
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118 | more than a standard 1970s compact cassette recorder. The PET was programmed in BASIC. |
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119 | <br>Soon it was obvious that this general purpose computer was also suitable for games. In our |
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120 | birthday workshops we observe that today's pupils are fascinated by these classical computer games |
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121 | with their high level of abstraction and apparently no attempt to recreate reality. |
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122 | |
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123 | <p>The successor model replaced the miniature keyboard (actually quite suitable for children) by a regular one. |
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124 | Given the money, it was possible to upgrade the machine with a 5,25" floppy disk drive which was as expensive as the |
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125 | computer itself. However, with the disk drive it was possible to solve real world problems which made the computer |
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126 | attractive for small buisnesses. |
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127 | <div class="box left"> |
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128 | <img src="/shared/photos/rechnertechnik/commodore-8096.jpg" width="300" height="276" /> |
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129 | </div> |
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130 | |
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131 | <p>In the subsequent models, the design was revised. Personal computers shall look elegant and beautiful, as demonstrated |
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132 | by the 19080s model 8096-SK (also nicknamed "the egg"). 80 means 80 characters per row, 96 means 96 kB RAM and SK means |
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133 | seperate keyboard -- the keyboard is removable. The monitor can be leant and rotated and can display big and small letters. |
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134 | The workspace was completed with a dot matrix printer. |
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135 | <br>Special software allowed to operate the computer without further knowledge. |
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136 | <br>Some technical data:<br> |
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137 | |
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138 | Central processor: MOS 6502<br> |
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139 | Processor frequency: 1 MHz<br> |
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140 | RAM: 96 kByte, ROM: 18 kByte<br> |
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141 | |
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142 | |
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143 | <p>At this time, the mass production of personal computers started and our exhibition ends, since we concentrate on |
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144 | rarities and very early computing in the 20th century. |
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145 | |
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146 | |
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147 | |
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