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Vintage Computer FestivalBrowse Galleries

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  • Released in 1982, Sony's SMC-70 was the last commercially-available computer that ran the CP/M operating system, but the first to use 3.5 microfloppy discs. It also used a Sony touchscreen display and had a built-in videodisc player -- even back then, consumer electronics giant Sony had multimedia in mind.2308265
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  • The 1976 build-it-yourself Altair 8800b launched the PC revolution and was programmed by flipping switches. This one was restored by Bill Degnan, who teaches computer history at the University of Delaware.2308287
  • Calculators and Personal Computers were often cut from the same cloth back in 1973. These are directions for a $200 build-it-yourself electronic calculator with a 14-digit display2308210
  • 2308212
  • Here's a closer look at that fabulous vintage calculator (and its user manual!)2308222
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  • This tape delay machine is used to create eerie effects on a theremin. Random, but hey, it's from the '70s!2308213
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  • Thanks for the memories: This ol' floppy disc is bigger than Tom Samiljan's head!2308264
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  • Bill Degnan's restored CompuPro 88/85. Eclipsed by the highly-successful IBM computers, this model was never released on a wide scale, and only a few early versions in Europe around 1980-81, according to current owner Bill Deegnan. As a result, there isn't any dedicated software for it, and it's not likely you'll see it in many places.2308224
  • This exhibit focuses on retro graphics from the '70s and '80s, and features a nice vintage copy of 'Byte' magazine, the original PC enthusiasts bible that ceased publication in 1998.2308225
  • This is a close-up of buttons on the Digital Equipment Corporation PDP8/E, a later 1970 version of the world's first minicomputer. These buttons were attached to 9-inch tape drives that held the computer's memory.2308228
  • RCA got into the microcomputer market in 1977 with this game-centric build-it-yourself model, which you can see on the cover of its user manual, pictured here. 2308229
  • The vintage, as-yet-unbuilt innards of RCA's DIY computer.2308230
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  • This directional pad was included on the failed1984 Commodore Plus/4 computer, which had the dubious distinction of staying on the market for only one year.2308233
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  • Like the Macintosh, Apple's 1983 Lisa was one of the first personal computers to feature the windows-and-pull-down-menu-laden graphical user interface (GUI) that we know and love on PCs today. Unfortunately, it was expensive ($10,000) and sluggish, and was eventually eclipsed by the more successful Mac. (GeekMuseum's Michael Lee put together this exhibit of failed computer systems for the festival.)2308238
  • This is an early mouse that came with Apple's failed 1983 Lisa computer. 2308236
  • Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple in 1985, and subsequently founded NeXT computer. The NeXTcube was a compact but high-performance computer, and pictured here is the mouse for it. Expensive, the NeXTcube wasn't compatible with other operating systems, which made it a tough sell at $15,000.2308237
  • 2308231
  • It's hard to believe there was ever a day without laptops, but the pioneering 1989 Macintosh portable (pictured, left) from Apple was very expensive ($6,500) and very heavy (16.4-pounds, thanks to the sealed lead-acid battery). The Apple IIc (pictured, right) was a success, but the optional expensive and heavy LCD screen that's attached, was not. Still, the IIc (and screen)  managed to get a cameo role in 1984's '2010.'2308239
  • Designed by Steve Wozniak, the Apple III lasted from 1980-1984. It failed mainly because of its expensive $7,800 starting price and the fact that it didn't have much dedicated software.2308240
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  • Epson's QX10 came out in 1983 and featured a unique keyboard with dedicated buttons for bold, e-mail, italics, calculator, print, and the like -- a nod towards convenience in the days before mice. The QX10's keyboard was optimized for a program called Valdocs, which was the Microsoft Office of its time.2308246
  • Here's a close-up of some specific buttons on the Epson QX10 Valdocs Keyboard.2308243
  • 2308247
  • This 1976 personal computer was one of the first to feature a built-in keyboard.2308248
  • Built in 1975, this 2308290
  • You might recognize 1975's IMSAI 8080 Microcomputer System -- it's the same one that Matthew Broderick used to hack into NORAD's computers in the 1983 film, 'Wargames.'2308250
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  • If you computed in the early '80s, then you'll recognize the Digital VT100 terminal, which was used to access the mainframe computer at your, say, college or office. To the right of it, a teletype machine. Teletype machines were the main interface for computers prior to the introduction of the keyboards in the mid-to-late '70s.
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  • Released in 1977, the Commodore PET was the company's first PC. True to its late '70s pedigree, it used a 'datacassette' to store data.2308272
  • This PC came out in 1984 and cost a whopping $2,500, but it was the commercial success that turned Apple into a household name.2308266
  • The MARCH Museum is one of the few places that has an original DEC PDP 8, the first commercially successful minicomputer, introduced in 1965. It's extremely rare,  and was donated to MARCH by its previous owner, who had left it in a barn for years.  Says MARCH founder Evan Koblentz of the gift: 2314906
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