Computers
The development of electronic computing since 1945 can be organised by a few broad categories of machines, such as:
- Mainframes
- Minicomputers
- Workstations
- Personal computers
The introduction of mobility for computers adds these categories:
- Laptops
- PDAs and Pads
- Smart phones
The special needs of science and industry adds:
- Supercomputers
- GPUs
- Application specific purpose computers
The emergence of the first seven types is largely chronological and determined by developments in the electronics of processors, memories, displays, peripherals etc. The changes are reflected dramatically in size, computational power, energy consumption, battery life, mobility, convenience, new functionalities and, of course, production cost.
The Collection contains materials illustrative of all these types of computer, and more.
The Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 Micro Computer System
Launched in August, 1977. The TRS-80 is the least known of the three personal computers that appeared that year: Apple II and Commodore PET.
