One of the world’s first personal computers is up for sale (Kenbak-1)

Engadget ^ | 11/07/2015 | Richard Lawler

[Olog-hai]

Many people don't know the history of the Kenbak-1 Digital Computer, but it's considered to be the world's first commercially available personal computer, and one is going up for sale in just a few minutes. [...]

It didn't have a microprocessor at all, and contained only 256 bytes (you read that correctly) of RAM. No more than 50 units were ever made, although a few have been popping up for sale in the last few years. ...

[IronJack]

You may be right. TRS-DOS may have been on a boot ROM. I had an Apple IIc, and if I recall, it had to have a "system" disk to boot. And the TRS came before it. I knew a gal who worked on a Xerox 820 in the early 80s, and it needed a boot disk (not a cassette).

I'm sure the government is still using TRS-80s somewhere. They could probably tell us.

[roadcat]

I liked it when the computers were all brass wheels and walnut cabinetry

I built my own analog computer similar to that in the early 1960s. It was a kit. Smaller than that, but having pots with knobs and glass gauges to read. Worked pretty good at calculations, like a souped up slide rule. Unfortunately after I moved out at 19, my mom tossed all my stuff in the garbage.

[Oztrich Boy]

Is it internet ready?

[texas booster]

My first calculator in 1975 or 1976 was a programmable Texas Instruments SR-50. Learned to program moon landings and some other game via key punches.

Moved up to a TI-99 (the first one), bought through an MLM scheme. Learned to program in assembly, Forth, Pascal, Fortran and Cobol. I may have had a BASIC interpreter but didn't fancy BASIC.

I bought the whole kit, and still have some of it. Computer, speech synthesizer, expansion box, 256K memory expansion card, a LOGO simulator, a SSSD floppy (90k) and of course, a cassette interface. Modems started at 300 baud and slowly went up. I also had a Milton Bradley speech interface unit that allowed game play via speech - one of the very first usable speech/touch pads.

Over time I acquired a TI 99-4/A, the 99/8 (never released), a 99/2 (never released) and many one off projects for the expansion box.

So if you are every wondering why my social life was a bit barren back then, now you know.