On Sun, 26 May 2024, ben via cctalk wrote:
I think the most important thing for a Personal Computer,
is the average Joe, can afford and use it. The second thing is
to have ample memory and IO to run useful programs. The basic Apple I,II
does not count as many others as it had BASIC in ROM and tape IO.
The third thing is a real OS. Nobody has one, as a personal computer.
CP/M and MSDOS does not handle IRQ's. Unix for the PDP-11 is real operating
system but not personal as it requires a admin,and a swapping
media.
So, basically, the first "Personal Computer" does not yet exist, and all
of those being discussed are merely predecessors for it.
I can definitely agree with that,
although not necessarily with your specific list of requirements.
Although there need to be some that Joe Average can afford, they don't all
need to be, as a requirement; Tony Cole can build a gold plated one, and
billg can spec optional features that the rest of us can't afford - if I
were designing billg's house, I'd build some "personal" computing
capability in the walls, or filling the main rooms, and bedroom could be
a cot in the walls.
"Ample memory"??!? perhaps that should be TerrorBytes.
I/O??!? Does that need to be built in, in the minimum purchase
configuration, or merely provision for it externally?
"Real OS"? While I don't agree with your specific examples of
inadequacies, I will readily concede that nothing so far is ready for the
title.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred ci...@xenosoft.com
