Digital Retro

Digital Retro
Author Gordon Laing
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Publication date
 2004
Media type Print
ISBN 9780782143300
OCLC 56881016

Digital Retro (full title Digital Retro: The Evolution and Design of the Personal Computer) is a coffee table book[1][2] about the history of home computers and personal computers. It was written by Gordon Laing, a former editor of Personal Computer World magazine[1] and covers the period from 1975 to 1988 (the era before widespread adoption of PC compatibility).[1][3] Its contents cover home computers, along with some business models and video game consoles,[1] but hardware such as minicomputers and mainframes is excluded.[2]

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.[1] Such hardware was borrowed from private collections and computer museums,[1] with more than thirty coming from the Museum of Computing in Swindon.[2]

Contents

Topics covered include choice of video chip and how designers of sound chips later proceeded to make synthesisers.[1] A number of British computers "that most Americans have probably never encountered in person" are included, such as the Acorn Atom, Dragon 32 and Grundy NewBrain.[2] Almost forty computers are included in total.[2]

Reception

It has been described as a "beautifully illustrated" "well written"[3] book which "drips detail",[1] with the author being noted as a "perfectionist".[1] The photographs depict "external views of each machine from several angles".[2] Omissions (such as the Apricot PC) were noted by Mike Magee in The Inquirer.[3] There are internal photographs in a few cases.[2]

Writing in The Register, Lance Davis commented on the importance of such books, stating "... history isn't just about dead people who wore crowns."[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Davis, Lance (2004). "Digital Retro goes coffee table". The Register. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lord, Timothy. "Digital Retro". SlashDot. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Magee, Mike. "Digital Retro revisits first personal computers". The Inquirer. Retrieved January 14, 2013.

External links


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