I collect computers, and some of the 80's classics I have are actually quite rare now.
Epson HX-20 - first commercial laptop. Built-in printer, screen, batteries, mini tape player. They cost about £2600 new and you could do about sod all with them. 18 hour battery life and you can't charge and use at the same time.
Amstrad CPC464 - the classic Amstrad gameing computer. Built-in tape drive, 64k RAM, could either use a TV, green monitor or a Colour monitor!
Amstrad CPC6128 - for all thoes rich kids who just had to beat the 464. built-in disk drive, 128kb RAM (switched into two 64k sections - always screwed up!), no flash colours. Also available with a monitor.
Acorn Electron - The Acorn equivelant of the Spectrum, but worse. Able to use said Amstrad monitor, but the picture goes off the edge of the screen.
ZX Spectrum - I have two of these, one with rubber keys and one upgraded one. The upgraded one has more internal RAM, a propper keyboard and a propper speaker. Long gone are the days when you nudged the memory card and lost the program you'd spent 5 hours typing in.
IBM-AT - THE computer if you had $9000 to spare. Mine imported in 1983 with upgraded floppy drive (to 1.2Mb) and a extra large 20Mb hard drive - full height (2 CD-ROM drives size). I still have its original monitor and keyboard.
IBM PS/2 - The IBM revolution came about shortly after the AT. Improved mouse and keyboard connectors, smaller cases (like you can fit them AND a keyboard onto a desk). Of course the PS/2 servers are a bit larger (they have a warning on them about 18kg).
Atari 800XL - The flash version of the 800. Thats about it really. It has a HUGE power supply, and an external tape drive.
Commadore Amega 500+ - more into the 90's but uses the same technology as all the others. Amega was generated by 3 or 4 men, 2 of whom were dentists.
HP Vecra - The Vectra series is a workstation, however the E series were servers. My E12 is a 12MHz 286 with 640kb RAM. It used to have a 20Mb "low profile" hard drive (only one CD-ROM drive size). It used to be the server in a doctors sergury until it was hoit by lightning. Still works though.
Toshiba 2000 - a 286 Laptop. Quite sefisticated actually, one of the first to use a miniture hard drive. had a 1/2 size screen (i.e. top half) but was very good at its job.
What they had before digital projectors - If you wanted to display your fantastic presintation you have done on your IBM AT, you had to lug your whole computer down to the lecture theater, along with an overhead projector projection screen. This is a LCD displey (like a laptop uses) but its see-through. You placed that on the Overhead Projector and used it like a large monitor. These devices usually costing about £500.
Extra RAM - Not as simple as you think. There are 4 types of RAM, Cache, Conventional, Expanded and Extended. Cache usually didn't matter, Conventional must be below 1Mb, and the other two don't work in DOS properly. One PS/2 machine (a £18,000 server) has 24Mb of RAM, 4Mb on-board, 16Mb Expanded and 4Mb Extended. DOS uses the Extended part easily enough but it has to have an advanced memory controller to use the Extended RAM. The 16Mb RAM card cost someone £2400 in 1986!
MCA, ISA, 32-bit ISA or PCI? - No one could figure out which one to use. IBM chose the far-superior MCA but wouldn't let anyone use it. ISA was good but limited for the future. 32-bit ISA took up the whole of the room in the computer, and PCI had problems working next to ISA slots. PCI came to be in the end, but it took nearly 10 years.
Portable computer? Computers made that wern't laptops (like they'd break your legs if you put them on you lap), but could run off batteries were made. IBM, HP, and a few other long lost makes made them. Imagine a computer, with a mini-monitor on the side and bloody great batteries at the back. Some required 2 people to lift them. Portable - with a vehiacle.
There were many more computers than Spectrums and Commadores, but they all cost too much. The internet was running, but you had to be a large business or University to use it.
Where will we be in 10 years time?
