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Unstoppable rise of the home computer

edesignuk

edesignuk

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
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.

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.
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Full Article.
 
Originally posted by johnnyjibbs
I'm just glad we live now and not the 1950s. Imagine trying to take that thing to lectures 😀 😉
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I guess that in 50 years, people might be saying the same thing about our rudimentary laptops ^_^

"Imagine those poor 2000s folks having to drag around their heavy laptops to holo-lectures. Thank God-2.1 for cyber-implants and nanocomputers."
 
Originally posted by srobert
"Imagine those poor 2000s folks having to drag around their heavy laptops to holo-lectures. Thank god-2 for cyber-implants and nanocomputers."
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😀 😀 😀

I guess there'll be some really sweet computers by 2050, if they still exist! Mind you, got to take future lag into account - things are never as advanced as people think they will be (they thought we'd be hopping around in space boots and stuff in the year 2000, 50 years ago!!). Not saying there'll be no major advances in the next 50 years, just that I doubt it'll make such an impact as the last 20 years of computing. On the other hand, the internet and wireless connectivity has been starting to transform our lives in the last five or so years.
 
Originally posted by johnnyjibbs
😀 😀 😀

I guess there'll be some really sweet computers by 2050, if they still exist! Mind you, got to take future lag into account - things are never as advanced as people think they will be (they thought we'd be hopping around in space boots and stuff in the year 2000, 50 years ago!!). Not saying there'll be no major advances in the next 50 years, just that I doubt it'll make such an impact as the last 20 years of computing. On the other hand, the internet and wireless connectivity has been starting to transform our lives in the last five or so years.
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It's all about economics. If we could make lots of money being in space, we probably would, but it's not very economical.

Computer Tech, is very economical and can increase productivity so it has taken off! Just think if no one bought computers, how far would we be today?
 
Originally posted by Dippo
It's all about economics. If we could make lots of money being in space, we probably would, but it's not very economical.
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I guess space cars like in the Jetsons could be possible now but are far more expensive to run than normal cars so we stay on the ground.
 
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