Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: Plug & Play Hardware RAID up to 8.0TB. High Performance, Data Redundant Solutions. FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB2, or eSATA. Hot Swappable Bays, Data Rates over 200MB/s. Click here

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Cortland

Book Review: Digital Retro

- 2006.11.10

Rating: 3 out of 4

Digital RetroI've always had an interest in early personal computers and the history behind them. Gordon Laing explores into the evolution and design of the personal computer in his illustrated book Digital Retro.

The book covers major personal computers such as the MITS Altair, Apple II, Atari 400/800, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Osborne 1, IBM PC, Compaq Portable, Apple Macintosh, and many others. It's an ideal book for those who want to see professional photographs of the systems and in-depth descriptions. This book clearly captures the industrial design involved in some of the most important personal computers ever made.

Not only does this book include a wide range of personal computers, it also includes systems originally known as home computers as well as workstations such as the NeXT Cube. The book also talks about the history behind the companies that manufactured and designed these personal computers.


© 2004 Ilex Press Limited.

For many, this book will bring back long-forgotten memories. If you ever owned an early home computer - such as the Commodore 64, a Sinclair, or even an Apple II - this book will be close to your heart.

Probably the best thing about the book is the uniqueness, not only of its page layout, but also because every single photograph is new - never before seen gems! I personally think it is a real joy to see full-color high quality photographs of these computers, especially compared to other books which usually have small black and white photographs.

Some will find that this book lacks information; personally, I don't mind this, since the photographs are priceless. But some readers may prefer more text and in-depth background information and history. Some pages of the book are rather scarce, and technical specifications are missing for several computers.

Unfortunately the book is missing several systems that should have been included, such as the Xerox Alto 1, Microbee, Apple III, Macintosh Portable, and many others. Of course, books have their limits, and the author wisely chose the systems we all know and love. (Admittedly, because the author decided to photograph the systems himself, including the Xerox Alto was an impossible task, as this system is extremely rare.)

I highly recommend this book, a fascinating coverage of home computer history. LEM

Digital Retro
£13.96, $17.99, €25.94
Author: Gordon Laing
Publisher: Ilex(UK), Sybex Books(US)
Date: October 2004
ISBN: 078214330X

Joshua Coventry's writing can also be found on Silicon User.

Recent Cortland articles

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Custom Search

Amazon.com

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum

DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ

Abandonware
   Petition

Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

Open Link