#1980s computers

🇯🇵 Unveiling the Toshiba T1100: A Journey into the Dawn of Portable Computing!

💻 In the early 1980s, a revolutionary device emerged, transforming the landscape of personal computing forever. The Toshiba T1100, released in 1985, marked a significant milestone in the history of portable computers. The Toshiba T1100 has subsequently been described by Toshiba as "the world's first mass-market laptop computer".

🌐 The Toshiba T1100 was among the first truly portable computers, designed for professionals and enthusiasts seeking computing power on the go. Weighing approximately 4.1 kilograms (9 pounds) with its lead-acid battery, this innovative machine provided users with unprecedented mobility.

⚙️ Equipped with an Intel 80C88 processor running at 4.77 MHz and boasting 256 KB of RAM, the Toshiba T1100 offered impressive computing capabilities for its time. Its 9.6-inch monochrome LCD screen provided a crisp display, while the detachable keyboard enhanced usability.

💾 The T1100 introduced several innovative features, including a built-in 3.5-inch floppy disk drive—a rarity at the time—which allowed for data storage and transfer with ease. This model also featured MS-DOS as its operating system, providing a familiar computing environment.

📈 The Toshiba T1100 set a new standard for portable computing, demonstrating the feasibility and practicality of laptops for business and personal use. Its success paved the way for subsequent generations of laptops, influencing the evolution of mobile computing worldwide.

👨‍💻 For professionals in various industries, the Toshiba T1100 represented a game-changer, enabling efficient data management, word processing, and spreadsheet tasks on the move. Its portability and functionality empowered users to work beyond traditional office environments.

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My pretty Early DOS machine, an Amstrad Ppc640. A strange little "portable computer" from 1987-1988. It runs a 8086 processor at 640k RAM, no internal hard drive but does feature a modem (a rarity for the time).

Original Boot disc is a DOS 3.3 with a special organization software. It can be taken on the go with 10 C Batteries for about an hour of battery life.

No backlight, it's capable of running DOS software from the era.

The screen is atrocious but it tries. It uses 2 720k 3.5 floppy drives.

I can get it running Microsoft Windows 2.03.

🇬🇧 Elite is a groundbreaking space trading and combat video game that emerged in the mid-1980s, captivating gamers with its expansive universe and innovative gameplay. Developed by David Braben and Ian Bell, Elite was first released in 1984 for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers, later expanding to other platforms.

🚀 Elite was revolutionary for its time, offering players an open-ended experience set in a vast, procedurally generated galaxy. The game allowed players to pilot a spaceship through various star systems, engaging in trade, combat, and exploration. Elite's development was driven by its ambitious scope and technical achievements, leveraging procedural generation to create a seemingly infinite universe within the constraints of early computer hardware.

🌌 In Elite, players assume the role of a spaceship pilot navigating through a complex network of star systems, each with its own planets, space stations, and resources. The game featured realistic physics for space travel and combat, adding to its immersive appeal. Players could trade goods between star systems, mine asteroids for resources, and engage in dogfights with pirates or law enforcement.

🛰️ As players accumulated wealth and experience, they could upgrade their ships with better weapons, shields, and cargo holds. Elite introduced a reputation system that influenced how NPCs interacted with the player, offering a sense of depth and consequence to the gameplay.

🎮 Elite's success paved the way for the space simulation genre, inspiring a generation of game developers and spawning sequels and spiritual successors. The game's combination of exploration, combat, and trading became a hallmark of the genre, influencing titles like Wing Commander, Freelancer, and EVE Online.

🌠 In recent years, Elite Dangerous, a modern incarnation of the series developed by Frontier Developments, has garnered acclaim for its expansive gameplay and realistic depiction of space exploration. Elite Dangerous builds upon the foundation laid by the original Elite, offering players an even more immersive experience in a procedurally generated galaxy.

🇺🇲 Explore the remarkable story of NeXT Computer and its profound influence on the evolution of computing! Founded by Steve Jobs in 1985 following his departure from Apple, NeXT embarked on a mission to redefine personal computing with its pioneering approach and state-of-the-art technology.

💻 Introduced in 1988, the NeXT Computer was celebrated as a revolutionary workstation that pushed the boundaries of hardware and software integration. With its sleek black design and unparalleled performance, it offered users a glimpse into the future of computing.

💡 At its core, the NeXT Computer ran on the NeXTSTEP operating system, a Unix-based platform renowned for its advanced features and developer-friendly environment. Utilizing an object-oriented programming model and intuitive user interface, NeXTSTEP paved the way for modern operating systems, laying the groundwork for macOS and iOS.

🔍 Notable figures such as Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, relied on NeXT workstations to develop the first web browser and web server, underscoring the platform's impact on shaping the internet as we know it today.

📉 Despite initial commercial challenges, the NeXT Computer's legacy endured through its profound influence on the technology industry. In 1997, Apple acquired NeXT, marking Steve Jobs' return to the company he co-founded and setting the stage for Apple's resurgence as a global leader in technology.

🇺🇲 Delve into the fascinating history of AT&T Information Systems, a subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T Corporation) that played an important role in the computer technology landscape. Established as one of the core units of AT&T following the breakup of the Bell System, AT&T Information Systems focused on computer technology ventures, telephone sales, and other unregulated business endeavors.

📊 As a strategic move to compete with industry giant IBM, AT&T Information Systems collaborated with Olivetti, leveraging their production capabilities to manufacture the AT&T PC 6300 series of computers. This series, alongside the 3B series computers and the AT&T UNIX PC, represented a multi-faceted approach to challenging IBM's dominance in the computer market.