Book Description
Akin to the car buff's collector book, this beautifully illustrated chronological look at the PC from the 1970's to today, is sure to spark nostalgia in every PC enthusiast's heart. Digital Retro: The Evolution and Design of the Personal Computer is a definitive guide that tells the story of the classic home computers that paved the way for the PCs we use today. It uniquely combines the technological and design evolution of the modern PC with stories of the masterminds behind the machines--inventors, programmers, designers, and businessmen. It even includes specially commissioned photography of actual machines from the personal collections of computer enthusiasts and historians.

From the Back Cover
The late Seventies to the early Nineties was a completely unique period in the history of computing. Long before Microsoft and Intel ruled the PC world, a disparate variety of home computers, from an unlikely array of suppliers, were engaging in a battle that would shape the industry for years to come. Products from established electronics giants clashed with machines which often appeared to have been (or actually were) assembled in a backyard shed by an eccentric inventor. University professors were competing head to head with students in their parents' garages. Compatibility? Forget it! Each of these computers was its own machine and had no intention of talking to anything else. The same could be said of their owners, in fact, who passionately defended their machines with a belief that verged on the religious. This book tells the story behind 40 classic home computers of an infamous decade, from the dreams and inspiration, through passionate inventors and corporate power struggles, to their final inevitable demise. It takes a detailed look at every important computer from the start of the home computer revolution with the MITS Altair, to the NeXT cube, pehaps the last serious challenger in the personal computer marketplace. In the thirteen years between the launch of those systems, there has never been a more frenetic period of technical advance, refinement, and marketing, and this book covers all the important steps made on both sides of the Atlantic. Whether it's the miniaturization of the Sinclair machines, the gaming prowess of the Amiga, or the fermenting war between Apple Computer, "Big Blue," and "the cloners," we've got it covered. Digital Retro is an essential read for anyone who owned a home computer in the Eighties.

About the Author
Gordon Liang is a technology writer and former Editor of Personal Computer World magazine. He writes regularly for leading UK technology titles including PC Advisor, Computeractive, Future Home, and MacUser, and is "Techie," the London Evening Standard's IT agony aunt. He is also and established broadcaster, having presented "Buyers Guide" on Sky's .TV for two years and "The Lab" every week on London local radio for two and a half years.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Nowadays, a PC￯﾿ﾽs pretty much a PC, unless it￯﾿ﾽs a Mac. (Maybe that￯﾿ﾽs why so many people have gotten into modding.) But it wasn￯﾿ﾽt always thus. Gordon Laing￯﾿ﾽs Digital Retro revisits a time when PCs of every imaginable type flourished: a virtual Cambrian Explosion of home computers that are the unsung ancestors of those we use today.

This is the computing equivalent of the classic car buff￯﾿ﾽs collectors book: full-color, with splendid photography of ancient computers normally hidden away in private collections. If you were around in the glory days, it￯﾿ﾽll bring back memories. If not, you￯﾿ﾽll find it fascinating -- though you may laugh at some of the ￯﾿ﾽugly ducklings￯﾿ﾽ in here.

Remember Clive Sinclair￯﾿ﾽs ZX-81, which drove the price of home computers down from Apple￯﾿ﾽs four figures all the way to $99? (Ooh, that membrane keyboard: my fingers still hurt just thinking about it.) Or Adam Osborne￯﾿ﾽs legendary Osborne I, the first portable (at 24 pounds with a handle) -- bundled with everything from CP/M to WordStar? They￯﾿ﾽre here, sweetly photographed and annotated with respectful histories: who was behind them, how they were designed, how they went extinct.

Along with the computers you￯﾿ﾽve probably heard of (Steve Jobs￯﾿ﾽs Lisa, the Mac￯﾿ﾽs ancestor; 1981￯﾿ﾽs inaugural IBM PC, Model 5150; Jack Tramiel￯﾿ﾽs Commodore VIC-20 and 64), there are plenty you won￯﾿ﾽt recall. The Grundy Newbrain. The NASCOM-1 Kit. The Jupiter ACE. The Oric-1. A more innocent, primitive time? Yeah, but arguably more exciting, too. Bill Camarda

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2003 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks for Dummies, Second Edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This book takes a detailed look at every important computer from the start of the home computer revolution with the MITS Altair, to the NeXT cube, perhaps the last serious challenger in the personal computer marketplace. In the thirteen years between the launch of those systems, there has never been a more frenetic period of technical advance, refinement, and marketing, and this book covers all the important steps made on both sides of the Atlantic. Whether it's the miniaturization of the Sinclair machines, the gaming prowess of the Amiga, or the fermenting war between Apple Computer, "Big Blue," and "the cloners," we've got it covered.

SYNOPSIS

Akin to the car buff's collector book, this beautifully illustrated chronological look at the PC from the 1970's to today, is sure to spark nostalgia in every PC enthusiast's heart. Digital Retro: The Evolution and Design of the Personal Computer is a definitive guide that tells the story of the classic home computers that paved the way for the PCs we use today. It uniquely combines the technological and design evolution of the modern PC with stories of the masterminds behind the machines--inventors, programmers, designers, and businessmen. It even includes specially commissioned photography of actual machines from the personal collections of computer enthusiasts and historians.

FROM THE CRITICS

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