Information Technology Reference
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Kenbak-1 educational computer. (Photograph by Z. Stachniak.)
Of course, computers were being manufactured for personal
ownership and use long before the MCM /70's announcement.
But these were simple educational devices, such as Berkeley's
relay-based Simon or the digital, electronic Kenbak-1 computer
sold by Kenbak Corporation in 1971. Even the promotional lan-
guage used by Kenbak resembled that adopted two years later
by MCM . “Modern electronic technology created the Kenbak-1
with prices that even private individuals and small schools
can afford,” read a 1971 ad placed by Kenbak in the Scientiic
American . “Very quickly you, or your family or students, can
write programs of fun and interest.” 15 But with just 256 bytes of
memory and no microprocessor, the Kenbak-1 was just another
educational toy which, at the price of $750, did not find too
many takers. The French Micral was not a personal computer
either. This microprocessor-based computer was announced by
R 2 E three months before the MCM /70's first public demonstra-
tion. However, the Micral was a special-purpose computer in-
tended for, among other applications, process control, teletrans-
mission, and the operation of scientific instrumentation. That
leads us to the conclusion that the MCM /70, first demonstrated
in May 1973, was possibly the earliest versatile microprocessor-
based computer intended for individual use and ownership.
 
 
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