Sphere 1 Explained

Sphere 1
Developer:Michael Donald Wise[1] [2] [3]
Manufacturer:Sphere Corporation[4] [5]
Price:US$860 (Kit:Sphere 1)
Discontinued:1977[6] [7]
Unitssold:1,300
Os:"PDS" 1 KB Basic
Cpu:Motorola 6800
Memory:4 KB of RAM (Expandable to 64 KB), 1 KB PROM
Display:16 lines x 32 characters, CRT monitor
Input:keyboard with a numeric keypad

The Sphere 1 was a personal computer completed in 1975 by Michael Donald Wise and Monroe Tyler of Sphere Corporation, of Bountiful, Utah.[8] The Sphere 1 featured a Motorola 6800 CPU, onboard ROM, a full-sized CRT monitor, 4 KB of RAM, and a keyboard with a numeric keypad.

The Sphere 1 was among the earliest complete all-in-one microcomputers that could be plugged in, turned on, and was fully functional.[9] Michael touted it as the first "true PC" because it had a keyboard, a number pad, a monitor, external storage, and did not run on a punch tape. In this respect, it is pre-dated by the 1973 MCM/70, among others, but the Sphere included a full-sized display that these generally lacked. When BYTE Magazine did its annual history of the computer, it always included Sphere 1, showing that prior microcomputers lacked the user I/O interface built into the Sphere 1.

The Sphere 1 also included a keyboard-operated reset feature consisting of two keys wired in series that sent a reset signal to the CPU triggering a hard reboot. Wise considered this to be the first keyboard activated reset a predecessor to the now-common Control-Alt-Delete combination.[10] [11]

It is not clear how many systems were sold; production models were sent to computer stores, but the company disappeared shortly thereafter.

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65293456 Michael Donald "Mike" Wise (1949–2002)
  2. Web site: Splore - About:Michael D. Wise, the founder of Splor . 2017-07-11 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20040411112030/http://www.splor.com/about.html . April 11, 2004 .
  3. Web site: Sphere 1. 2015-12-08. 2016-03-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093234/http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/showthread.php?25740-Sphere-1. dead.
  4. http://www.textfiles.com/bitsavers/pdf/sphere/newsletter/V1N1_Nov75.pdf sphere :: newsletter :: V1N1 Nov75
  5. https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_spherenews_1070506 sphere :: newsletter :: V1N2 Apr76
  6. http://www.atariarchives.org/deli/solomons_memory.php SOLOMON'S MEMORY
  7. http://www.earlycomputers.com/cgi-bin/item-report-main.cgi?20110729 The Sphere 1.
  8. The Computer "System" Concept . Sphere Corporation . Byte . 94–95 . 1 . September 1975 . 6 February 2022 .
  9. Web site: The first decade of personal computing.. 2020-12-14. David H. Ahl. CREATIVE COMPUTING VOL. 10, NO. 11 / NOVEMBER 1984 / PAGE 30. You may think that the Apple II (1977) was the first integrated computer. Not so; the Sphere computer (1975) designed by Mike Wise contained the processor, keyboard, and display all in a case that looked very much like a Hazeltine terminal or TRS-80 Model III..
  10. Web site: Vintage Computer Festival - Featured Speaker. 2011-12-13. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120206025749/http://www.vintage.org/vcf99/mw-bio.htm. 2012-02-06.
  11. http://bugbookmuseum.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/vintage-sphere-computer-at-bugbook.html Vintage Sphere Computer at the "Bugbook Historical Microcomputer Museum"

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