''Digital Retro: The Evolution and Design of the Personal Computer'' is a
coffee table book
A coffee table book, also known as a cocktail table book, is an oversized, usually hard-covered book whose purpose is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and from which it can serve to inspire convers ...
about the history of
home computers and
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
s. It was written by
Gordon Laing, a former editor of ''
Personal Computer World
''Personal Computer World'' (''PCW'') (February 1978 - June 2009) was the first British computer magazine.
Although for at least the last decade it contained a high proportion of Windows PC content (reflecting the state of the IT field), the mag ...
'' magazine
and covers the period from 1975 to 1988 (the era before widespread adoption of
PC compatibility
IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones. ...
).
Its contents cover home computers, along with some business models and
video game console
A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...
s,
but hardware such as
minicomputer
A minicomputer, or colloquially mini, is a class of smaller general purpose computers that developed in the mid-1960s and sold at a much lower price than mainframe and mid-size computers from IBM and its direct competitors. In a 1970 survey, ...
s and
mainframes
A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise ...
is excluded.
In writing the book, the author's research included finding and interviewing some of those who worked on the featured hardware and founded the companies.
Such hardware was borrowed from private collections and computer museums,
with more than thirty coming from the
Museum of Computing
The Museum of Computing in Swindon, England is dedicated to preserving and displaying examples of early computers. It was the first United Kingdom museum exclusively dedicated to the history of computing and opened in February 2003.
Aims
It ...
in
Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
.
Contents
Topics covered include choice of
video chip
A video display controller or VDC (also called a display engine or display interface) is an integrated circuit which is the main component in a video-signal generator, a device responsible for the production of a TV video signal in a computing ...
and how designers of
sound chip
A sound chip is an integrated circuit (chip) designed to produce audio signals through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics. Sound chips are typically fabricated on metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) mixed-signal chips that process ...
s later proceeded to make
synthesiser
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...
s.
A number of British computers "that most Americans have probably never encountered in person" are included, such as the
Acorn Atom
The Acorn Atom is a home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd from 1980 to 1982, when it was replaced by the BBC Micro. The Micro began life as an upgrade to the Atom, originally known as the Proton.
The Atom was a progression of the MOS Techn ...
, and
Grundy NewBrain
The Grundy NewBrain was a microcomputer sold in the early 1980s by Grundy Business Systems Ltd of Teddington and Cambridge, England.
Beginnings
The NewBrain project was started in 1978 when Sinclair Radionics began design work with Mike Wak ...
.
Almost forty computers are included in total.
Reception
It has been described as a "beautifully illustrated" "well written"
book which "drips detail",
with the author being noted as a "perfectionist".
The photographs depict "external views of each machine from several angles".
Omissions (such as the ) were noted by Mike Magee in ''
The Inquirer
''The Inquirer'' (stylized as TheINQUIRER) was a British technology tabloid website founded by Mike Magee after his departure from ''The Register'' (of which he was one of the founding members) in 2001. In 2006 the site was acquired by Dutch ...
''.
There are internal photographs in a few cases.
Writing in ''
The Register
''The Register'' is a British technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee, John Lettice and Ross Alderson. The online newspaper's masthead sublogo is "''Biting the hand that feeds IT''." Their primary focus is information tec ...
'', Lance Davis commented on the importance of such books, stating "... history isn't just about dead people who wore crowns."
References
External links
*
Coffee table books
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