Re: World-wide 8-bit computer sales (all-time)?

[vairxpert@hotmail.com (vairxpert)]

On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 07:28:56 +0000 (UTC), pausch@saaf.se (Paul
Schlyter) wrote:

>In article <3eff7fb0.35967984@news.netnitco.net>,
>vairxpert <vairxpert@hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> On Sun, 29 Jun 2003 15:31:12 +0000 (UTC), pausch@saaf.se (Paul
>> Schlyter) wrote:
>> 
>>>In article <o9ctfvc6143n8sqi01f6lpode89p5stnki@4ax.com>,
>>>Peter Thomas  <see-my-sig@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> On Sun, 29 Jun 2003 01:01:20 -0500, Exegete
>>>> <millers@noneofyourbusiness.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> I loved it. It was slow - compared to an IBM disk drive. From what I've 
>>>>> seen of Commodore disk drives, well.... I never had ANY problem with 
>>>>> mine. But all the ADAM's I've ever seen had the warning not to leave the 
>>>>> tapes on top of a color TV, or it would be erased. Perhaps, or perhaps 
>>>>> that was a "cover" for tapes that did go bad.
>>>> 
>>>> Leaving *any* kind of magnetic storage on top of a television is never
>>>> a good thing. I'm not sure why Coleco specified a colour television
>>>> either. All TVs, to my knowledge, play around with magnetic fields,
>>>> and can damage magnetic media.
>>> 
>>>Which is why you should never get some models of the Apple Macintosh:
>>>a CRT display as well as a floppy and a harddisk inside the same
>>>cover..... *shudder*.....
>> 
>> Have you ever owned a one piece computer system?
> 
>Only some laptops with LED or LCD screens, where this problem with
>magnetic fields doesn't exist.  I always thought 1-piece computers
>systems with CRT displays either were too bulky or had a screen
>too small.

Full blown laptop computers with LCD screens didn't exist back in the
late 70's/early 80's.  If you were around and able to use a computer
back then you had no choice.  Towards '83 there was the Tandy 100 but
that was more or less a fancy rolladex.

 
>> Those systems were
>> designed to work that way so there is no reason people shouldn't have
>> bought one.  Just about every high end serious business computer was
>> all one piece with either 5.25" or 8" floppy drives back in the early
>> 80's.
> 
>...I don't think so.  CP/M machines were the most common micros used
>by businesses back, and they usually had a separate terminal.  And
>minis and mainframes (which were the most serious computers back
>then) _definitely_ had separate terminals !!!!

We're not talking about terminals, mini's and mainframes.

I can give you a mile long list of popular systems (most CPM
compatible) that were all in one, including every TRS-80 (model II,
III, 4, 4P, 12, 16), Kaypro's, Osbornes, macs, ect.

What business systems from 1982 and earlier do you recall that used a
separate CPU, keyboard and monitor?  Something that you would walk
into a persons office and see sitting on a desk?

 
>> The floppy drives on my TRS-80 Model III still work fine till
>> this day and have never had a problem with losing data.  My guess is
>> the Apple systems had a shielded drive tower just as my Model III
>> does.
>> 
>> Toss a disc or cassette right over any monitor (where there is no
>> shielding) and there's going to be problems, especially at start up
>> when the degausing coil is activated for a few seconds.
> 
>No thanks... :-( ....but here you provide an explanation why these
>integrated CRT terminals didn't pose a problem to magnetic storage:
>back then, degaussing coils were rare.

It's not just the degausing coil, a b&w CRT will easily scramble data
on a cassette or floppy.  The degausing coil was aimed at the ADAM
warning lablel post about color TV's.  I also don't know of any
terminals from back then that used any type of storage.  All I picture
is the little amber or green screen monitor with a separate keyboard
or the one piece mostly hollow Service Merchandise "Silent Sam"
terminals.