The Commodore/MOS KIM-1

Developed by the digital god himself, Chuck Peddle, and his MOS Technologies (which soon became Commodore Semiconductor Group), this is a genuine kit computer. A kit computer is a computer in the most basic sense of the word. It includes a processor unit (in this case, the famous 6502), and memory (1 kilobyte). It includes numerous I/O ports, including an expansion port for including other circuit boards (also called a bus port), as well as a regulated I/O port for peripherals like tape drives. The system is completely programmable. Programs are entered through a numeric keyboard, using the machines native machine language encoding (yes, MACHINE LANGUAGE -- not ASSEMBLY). Feedback is given to the user through a six-digit LED display just above the keypad. Typical programs will accept input from that same keypad and change the display according to the program instructions.

Personal Note : The KIM-1 is interesting, and I appreciate its place in computer history, but, let's face it, it is barely a computer at all, and clearly meant to amuse those interested in the electronics side of computers (simple gates, digital io, etc.) Besides, I still need to build a damn power supply for this thing. It was an eBay purchase.