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From: kurt@fluke.UUCP (Kurt Guntheroth)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: what's needed for a home pc
Message-ID: <948@vax2.fluke.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 30-Sep-85 12:03:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: vax2.948
Posted: Mon Sep 30 12:03:53 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 2-Oct-85 06:12:22 EDT
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Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA
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What a home computer needs to have (my own opinion)

1.  Price under $1000.00 US (1985 dollars).  This is an absolute requirement
because you need to make it have the same relative kind of expense as
another major appliance.

2.  Multitasking OS with memory protection.  If you are going to use this
thing to monitor security, control appliances, etc., it can't be going down
all the time while you are programming it.  You need a system that protects
one program from another.  Furthermore, if it does go down, it has to come
up quickly and lot loose the state of things it is controlling.  This
implies a sophistication in its control software.

3.  Integration with the phone system; autoanswer modem, digital storage
answering machine, autodial phone numbers, automatic alarm calling, maybe
packet store and forward network.

4.  Integration with appliances.  This is mostly a requirement that the
appliances be computer controllable.  There will also have to be a
"universal control language" or smart, device independent control software.

5.  Integration with home entertainment equipment.  A computer would be the
ultimate VCR timer.  You can integrate the display with a TV, the storage
with a CD, and the computer can control and interact with audio and video
programming.

6.  The system will have to have fast mass storage, and a letter quality
printer.  (Or a dot matrix printer if we can change our notion of what
letter quality means.)

7.  Whatever all the computer does, it must visibly save money to pay for
its existence.  If it is capable of decreasing power consumption, or can
do call routing like some PBX's, or replaces other expensive devices, it
will be successful.  If it relies on being able to "save your recipes on
disk", "help you write letters" or "educate your kids" it will be a failure.


The interesting thing about all this is that it is almost possible today.
Look at the Atari 520ST with its 68000, disk, and CRT for under $1000.
Mostly what we're waiting for is software, and the determination to make the
development effort.

-- 
Kurt Guntheroth
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
{uw-beaver,decvax!microsof,ucbvax!lbl-csam,allegra,ssc-vax}!fluke!kurt


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