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Long before reaching showrooms around the world, computers became the property of universities, research institutes, and the company’s headquarters. After all, the flickering, bulky mainframes of the 60s can easily fill your own room.
The invention of the microprocessor (Intel 4004 was the first to be commercially available in 1971) changed all of this. Manufacturers could finally make machines small enough to fit in customers’ homes.
However, the question was: can companies convince people that they really want to have it there?
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Original Apple Macintosh, released in 1984. Scroll through the gallery to see more photos from his book. of credit: John Short
“The technology already existed,” he said in a phone interview. “But the most important idea was to give him a form that could be easily bought and used.”
The earliest Wiltshire book models were aimed at hobbyists and industry people. These so-called “sets” of computers only had basic functions, such as binary arithmetic, and their attraction was adding new components or modifying equipment in other ways. In other words, they were all functions and had no form, as the author says, “computers for computers”.
The Wiltshire book contains many of the most important computers of the time, temptingly done by photographer John Short. The photo shows an example of a first “kit” model, Minivac 601 was used primarily by companies to familiarize employees with computers. of credit: John Short
But the advent of easy-to-use machines like Commodore PET 2001 and Apple II in 1977 marked a turning point.
“There has been a big change around the idea:” What if these computers were packaged, presented, and designed in a way that everyone could use? ” “That would not require people to learn computer or welding languages or to sacrifice multiple rooms in their homes,” Wiltshire said.
“What if there were items that people could buy on the shelf and just hook up to the TV?
“It was the moment when the idea of a ‘home computer’ was born and absolutely everything depended on the project.”
Brave New World
Wiltshire said the big challenge was to make computers “not scary.” “Whatever they can do to say, ‘Hey, I could be in your house, I’m not aggressive and I’m not going to take control.’
In fact, while some of the early models could boast of their computing power, with names like Intertec Superbrain, for example in the image above, others were launched in a friendlier way.
Genie, Acorn, Aquarius, Rainbow, Apricot and Alice are just a few of the appealing marks featured in the Wiltshire book, which was built around the collection at the UK Center for Computer History (giving it a slightly focus British).
The Philips P2000C “laptop” weighed 15 kilograms and was equipped with a 9-inch monitor with a green screen. of credit: John Short
These messages were often enhanced by colorful keyboards and discreet round cases in beige and gray. However, in the early years of the industry there was little agreement on what a computer should look like.
The QWERTY keyboard, which is still a standard today, has been widely used from the start. But everything else was ready for experiments. Some computers had small built-in monitors, while others were connected to televisions. Storage appeared on the side, underneath, or completely separate on external drives. The Sharp MZ-80K had a mini cassette unit, while ICL Merlin Tonto even had a phone receiver.
Turbulent industry
However, the apparent simplicity of these early home computers was an illusion.
Computer interfaces were still far from intuitive and generally required users to enter lines of code and text commands to open and use programs.
Wiltshire said the industry “has almost no connection to the broader design world” and that “management and marketing” made design decisions.
“A lot of the elegance of the machines in the box was a bit misleading,” he added, “because you will still have rear cables going to the monitor and the drive.”
On rare occasions, C / WP Cortex was available in different colors. of credit: John Short
Costs can also be misleading. Add-ons, disks and external equipment often de facto raise prices above advertised prices. And, according to Wiltshire, price was the main driving force behind the design of the first machines, which is understandable given that the 1980s proved to be economically unstable for computer companies. “Companies come and go,” said the author. “It was a gold rush.”
Osborne filed for bankruptcy two years after the launch of the aforementioned briefcase-sized laptop, and other big players like Spectravideo and Oric also collapsed during price wars during the decade. The industry was also affected by the lack of standardization, which meant that developing software and games compatible with many platforms was extremely laborious.
Programmers would have to transform their work to the specifications of each machine very carefully.
However, the fierce competition of the time caused the development of new technologies.
The microprocessors quickly gained traction, and the development of graphical point-and-click interfaces has made calculations easier to use than ever.
End of an era
In the 1990s, standardization also continued, and Microsoft Windows operating systems, which were not associated with any type of computer, became dominant in the market. There was also a consensus on what the computer should look like: a rectangular box with a monitor on top and a keyboard on the front.
“It meant that people knew what to expect and sellers knew how to sell them,” Wiltshire explained. “It was not a beautiful object. It had to be placed on the desktop and (even then) I had limited possibilities of placing it, but the home computer needed to be constantly assimilated.
Then came the iconic Apple iMac G3. Created in a wide range of bright colors, this new generation of Macintosh exploded on billboards, television screens, and eventually in people’s homes in 1998. Clean and (seemingly) wireless construction was accompanied by messages that They improved their relative simplicity compared to bulky personal computers. “Step One: Connect” is one of Apple’s iconic television commercials. Step two: connect. Step three … there is no step three. “
The iconic Apple iMac G3 appeared in many bright colors and sold as easier to use than the larger computers of the time. of credit: John Short
Consequently, the iMac G3 is the latest model described in the Wiltshire book. It signals the end of one era and the beginning of another, one in which personal computers have become desirable elements of design.
“People agreed that this beige box would live on their desks and they would have to accept it,” the author explained. “Then Apple said,” It doesn’t have to be this way, it can be a beautiful item. It can be elegant … and it will be part of your daily life, not just what you are working on. “
“It was the beginning of the world we live in now.”
