Kenbak-1 on Ebay

[William Maddox]

--- steve <gkicomputers at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I don't think you can ever claim any computer as the
> first one without some qualifications(computer using
> relays, tubes, TTL, microprocessor etc), I think in
> the 1950's a relay computer kit called Simon was
> available from Radio Electronics.

Simon was a construction project, but I am fairly
sure that it was never offered in kit form.

I certainly mean to exclude anything that is not an
electronic stored-program digital computer, including
the Geniac and various "electronic slide rule" analog
computers that were sold as kits as early as the
1950's.

> For microprocessor based computers the original
> manufacturer always made the first computers based
> on
> their processor (so if you assume the 4004 was the
> first microprocessor then Intel Intellec or its
> single
> board cousin Sim-4 could be considered the first
> microprocessor based computers).

Definitely.  The question at issue is what was the
first computer sold in *kit* form.  Neither the
Kenback nor the NRI 832 used a microprocessor,
however, though I wouldn't be surprised to find that
the Intellec or another Intel development system
predated them, as they were all roughly
contemporaneous around 1971 or so.

--Bill