Unstoppable rise of the home computer

Falstaff · Feb 9, 2004, 10:49 AM

Computers pervade every aspect of our culture. But only 50 years ago, they were considered futuristic devices that belonged to the scientific world, as BBC Four's Hard Drive Heaven documentary explains. You had to be a computer scientist to operate early computers. It was the computer enthusiasts who helped the industry balloon into a multi-million pound business at the core of our world. In 1949 the Manchester Baby was declared the world's first modern computer and its birth caused huge excitement in the scientific world. But it was impossible to imagine that a room full of valves and wires would one day evolve into the home computer. With technological advances these electronic brains became more powerful and more sophisticated, although you still had to be a computer scientist to operate one.

Source: BBC News

Feb 9, 2004, 10:49 AM	#1
Falstaff Old Codger Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: USAFA Posts: 19,048 Rep Power: 207	Unstoppable rise of the home computer Computers pervade every aspect of our culture. But only 50 years ago, they were considered futuristic devices that belonged to the scientific world, as BBC Four's Hard Drive Heaven documentary explains. You had to be a computer scientist to operate early computers. It was the computer enthusiasts who helped the industry balloon into a multi-million pound business at the core of our world. In 1949 the Manchester Baby was declared the world's first modern computer and its birth caused huge excitement in the scientific world. But it was impossible to imagine that a room full of valves and wires would one day evolve into the home computer. With technological advances these electronic brains became more powerful and more sophisticated, although you still had to be a computer scientist to operate one. Source: BBC News