The History of Desktop Computers

As the humble Sinclair ZX Spectrum turns 30, we rewind three decades and take a look at the home computing scene of the early 1980s.
Tags: spectrum,bbc,clive sinclair,micro,zx spectrum,bill gates,software,computer programme,oric atmos,sabre wulf,atic atak,,ian mcnaught-davis,amstrad cpc,altair basic,altair,zx80,raspberry pi,mac,computers,jetpac,speccy,technology,xbox live,commodore-64,colin mcrae,codemasters,cpu,blu-ray,archimedes,android,micro live,knightlore,games,elite,amstrad,arm,electron,desktop-pc

  Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Once upon a time, the land of Silicon was ruled by a mighty blue giant. Many valiant knights had challenged Big Blue in the early years, among them Honeywell, Control Data, Univac, NCR, Burroughs, General Electric and RCA. Most of the challengers paid dearly for their folly. Historians talk about Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, but this was no fairy tale - for most of the dwarves it was a bloody battle for survival.

Almost 300,000 new desktop and laptop computers reach store shelves every year, as of 2014. Counting phones and tablets, this number is over 2.5 million. But just a few decades ago, computers small enough to fit on a desktop -- let alone in a pocket -- were unheard of. Desktop computers were first launched in the 70s as early hobbyist machines,...