ID 1291161 
Lot 121  | A KENBAK-1 DIGITAL COMPUTER
Valeur estimée
$ 20 000 – 30 000 
Consisting of Kenbak-1 personal computer and cable
The first commercially available personal computer.
The Kenbak-1, first advertised at $750 in September1971 by John Blankenbaker, is widely regarded as one of the world's first personal computers. It was a simple and affordable machine designed for educational purposes, featuring a 256-byte memory and 1 MHz speed, using toggle switches for programming.
John Blankenbaker's vision for the Kenbak-1 began in the late 1950s while he was working at Hughes Aircraft Company, where he first conceived the idea of a low-cost, programmable computer. It wasn’t until 1970, after becoming unemployed, that Blankenbaker seriously pursued this idea. His goal was to create a computer that was inexpensive, educational, and capable of demonstrating fundamental programming concepts.
The Kenbak-1 was characterized by its minimalist design, featuring switches and lights for input and output, which helped keep costs down. The inventor’s surname was considered too long to be marketable, so a subset of letters was settled upon – Kenbak. Of the 44 initially sold, only 14 are thought to survive.
41/4 in. (10.8 cm) high, 191/4 in. (48.9 cm.) wide, 11 in. (28 cm.) deep
| Lieu d'origine: | Etats-Unis | 
|---|---|
| Catégorie maison de vente aux enchères: | Instruments | 
| Lieu d'origine: | Etats-Unis | 
|---|---|
| Catégorie maison de vente aux enchères: | Instruments | 
| Adresse de l'enchère | 
CHRISTIE'S 20 Rockefeller Plaza 10020 New York Etats-Unis  | ||||||||||||||
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| Aperçu | 
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| Téléphone | +1 212 636 2000 | ||||||||||||||
| Fax | +1 212 636 4930 | ||||||||||||||
| Conditions d'utilisation | Conditions d'utilisation | ||||||||||||||
| transport | 
Service postal Service de messagerie ramassage par vous-même  | ||||||||||||||
| Modes de paiement | 
Virement bancaire | ||||||||||||||
| Heures d'ouverture | Heures d'ouverture
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