Beginning
Micral N
The first actual microcomputer dates back to 1973 – the release of first commercially available microcomputer – Micral N. Its development started in June 1972 in France. Micral N was fitted with an Intel 8008 microprocessor clocked at 500 kHz, two Pluribus 74-pin connector buses supporting up to 24 boards. It construction supported parallel input and output. Microcomputer was programmed with a punched tape which is a form of data storage on a long strip of paper with punched holes. It didn’t come with a screen but a teleprinter or a modem.
Development
Featured on the cover of the magazine Popular Electronics in January 1975 was the MITS Altair 8800 and this started the new era of the microcomputer. Limited as it were, it was still widely popular - though mainly amongst geeks. The MITS could be purchased as a DIY project, and when is was assembled it had eight switches that could be used to program it. Each switch represented one bit in the memory register and instructions were made one byte at a time.
As the microcomputers developed and became more advanced, they would have more memory and a build in keyboard. They would also come with some sort of text based interface – typically a specific flavour of a programming language like Basic or something similar.
One of the most well-known microcomputers was the ZX81, which came out in 1981. This computer had a wide appeal even though it had no more than 1 Kb of RAM. Later extension modules became available, so that you could upgrade to either 16 or 64 Kb. With so much RAM you could type in 64.000 characters of computer code. The ZX81 was followed by the ZX Spectrum in 1982. This one came with 16 Kb but could be upgraded to 128 Kb. In order to use it, one would have to connect it to a television set and the resolution you’d see would be 256 x 192 pixels which equals to 32 characters across in 24 lines. The computer was able to show 8 colours and play five octaves of sound in mono.
Altair 8800
From calculators to communication devices
Computers continued to develop. In the microcomputer age the computer were mostly used as a very specialized machine. In many cases it was a toy used for gaming or a little bit of home programming. Later that changed, as the internet developed and people began to connect. In the words of Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and the developer of MSDOS: I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.