RCR Episode 281: The IBM PC and its sticks of ennui

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Blake Patterson

Topic: 1981

In 1981, we started communicating with AT commands and Kermit. Timex/Sinclair released the 1000/ZX-81. We got the BBC Micro and the ABC 800. IBM introduced the PC, for business, no fun allowed. And MS-DOS. And more.

Topic/Feedback links:

• Sony 3.5 drive
• Quick, hide in this closet! (folklore.org)
• IBM PC
  • “Atari” design
• MS-DOS
• Osborne 1
• Xerox Star
• IPv4
• Kermit
• kermitproject.org
• C-Kermit 10.0 beta 11 released in early August
• Hayes Smartmodem 300
• Hayes AT command set
• Sinclair ZX81
• Timex/Sinclair 1000
• BBC Micro
• ABC 800
• Donkey Kong
• E-mu Emulator

Retro Computing News:

• Thomas Kurtz obituary (Legacy.com)
• Dartmouth BASIC at 50
• CHM in memoriam Thomas Kurtz
• San Francisco Muni will stop using floppy disks Any Day Now
• Atari ST Notebook (it was real)
• The Pentium as a Navajo weaving (Nat Gallery of Art)
• Ward Christensen passed away
• CBBS for winter contact in the Chicago computer hobbyists’ group. Feb 1978, written up in Byte Nov 1978
• Ward Christensen obituary (NYT)

Vintage Computer(-related) commercials:

• Magnavox TV with built-in Odyssey
• Super Pong
• HayesStack