What is Home computer?
[[File:Cpc464.computer.750pix.jpg|thumb|Children playing with a [[joystick]] on an Amstrad CPC in 1988.]] A '''home computer''' is the name given to early [[personal computer]]s made in the 1970s and 1980s that could be plugged into a [[television|television set]]. They were used for playing [[video game]]s and doing school work and were usually owned by [[teenager]]s. At that time, most adults did not own a computer at all. Typically, home computers can produce colored [[Computer graphics|graphics]], have several [[music|sound]] channels and a [[Keyboard (computer)|keyboard]]. They use a [[tape recorder]] or [[floppy disk drive]] to load and store programs. Optionally, home computers may be used with a [[Computer printer|printer]], a [[Cartridge (electronics)|game cartridge]], a [[modem]], [[joystick]]s and a [[Computer mouse|mouse]]. Many of them display an interactive [[BASIC (programming language)|BASIC]] prompt at start-up. Home computers were made possible through the introduction of the [[microprocessor]] in the early 1970s. It made computers small, affordable, reliable and power efficient enough that they could be used in homes. In contrast to home computers, computers used by [[business]]es were either bulky [[minicomputer]]s or gigantic [[mainframe]]s. Those computers came with much more [[computer memory|memory]], with [[hard disk]]s, one or more [[computer terminal]]s and a proper [[operating system]]. However, such machines needed a lot of space, were very noisy and also were far too expensive for private [[consumer]]s at the time. == Makers of home computers == * [[Commodore International|Commodore]] * [[Atari, Inc.|Atari]] * [[Apple Inc|Apple]] (popular in the US) * [[TRS-80|Tandy]] (popular in the US) * [[Sinclair Research Ltd]] (popular in Europe) * [[Amstrad]] (popular in Europe) * [[ASCII Corporation]] and [[Microsoft]] (creators of the [[MSX]], popular in the [[East Asia]] and [[Southeast Asia]]) * [[North Star Computers]] (active in the US) * [[Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems