1975-1986 Computer reviews from the dawn of technology

By Chris Wild From mashable

From the pages of Byte Magazine. RIP

1975
The RGS 008A Microcomputer Kit. “Microcomputers, microcomputers and more microcomputers! BYTE reviews aid you in the choice of equipment for your homebrew system.”
IMAGE: BYTE MAGAZINE VIA PINGDOM>
The RGS kit sells for $375, making this one of the least expensive kits on the market
BYTE MAGAZINE, 1975

1978
The PET 2001
IMAGE: BYTE MAGAZINE VIA PINGDOM>
The Commodore PET sells for $595 and includes a keyboard, video display, cassette drive and 4K of programmable memory.
BYTE MAGAZINE, 1978

1980
HP-85
IMAGE: BYTE MAGAZINE VIA PINGDOM>
Hewlett Packard’s new $3,250 personal computer has 32K of read-only memory.
BYTE MAGAZINE, 1980

1981
Sinclair Research ZX80
IMAGE: BYTE MAGAZINE VIA PINGDOM>
The new ZX80 computer is a remarkable device, widely advertised as the first personal computer under $200. A kit version is available.
BYTE MAGAZINE, 1981

1981
Zork, The Great Underground Empire
IMAGE: BYTE MAGAZINE VIA PINGDOM>
There was water and food in a brown paper sack, so I typed ‘Eat the lunch and drink the water,’ to which the computer responded with gratitude for satisfying its hunger and thirst.
BYTE MAGAZINE, 1981

1981
IBM PC 5150
IMAGE: BYTE MAGAZINE VIA PINGDOM>
The IBM personal computer sells for $4,385. Up to 256K of user memory may be installed.
BYTE MAGAZINE, 1981

1982
The Osborne 1
IMAGE: BYTE MAGAZINE VIA PINGDOM>
The case of the Osborne 1 is weather-proof and can fit under an airline seat. It would be most useful to a business person.
BYTE MAGAZINE, 1982

1983
Microsoft Windows
IMAGE: BYTE MAGAZINE VIA PINGDOM>
The desktop metaphor and the mouse present attractive concepts, but a factor keeping down the mouse population has been the shortage of things to point at.
BYTE MAGAZINE, 1983

1984
The Macintosh
IMAGE: BYTE MAGAZINE VIA PINGDOM>
Time and again I’ve seen individuals with little or no computer experience use the same words to describe the Macintosh — ‘amazing’ and ‘fun.’ The question is whether ‘powerful’ can be added to that list.
BYTE MAGAZINE, 1984

1986
Atari 1024ST
IMAGE: BYTE MAGAZINE VIA PINGDOM>
A megabyte of memory for $999. This is a preview of the Atari 1040ST. It is NOT a review. We provide this because we feel the Atari 1040ST is significant.
BYTE MAGAZINE, 1986

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