According to TechSpot , employees of the home cleaning service Just Clear accidentally discovered two strange computers in a box stored in a storage room of a house in London (UK). Instead of destroying the machines, the company kept the devices and brought them to an expert to learn more about the product.
The two models were confirmed to be the Q1 PC model - the world's first desktop computer with a fully integrated single microprocessor. The product was launched by Q1 Corporation in 1972, with a flat plasma screen, running an 8-bit Intel 8008 chip, supporting 16 KB of memory and a maximum clock speed of 800 kHz.
Only three intact Q1 PCs remain in existence worldwide
TechSpot Screenshot
The 8008 architecture was designed by Computer Terminal Corporation (CTC), and Intel was responsible for the implementation and production. Initially, this chip was designed for use in CTC's Datapoint 2200 terminal programming device, but the two sides reached an agreement to allow Intel to commercially produce it for other customers after Seiko raised the issue of using it for its computer line. In addition to the Q1 PC, the 8008 chip was also used in other products such as SCELBI (USA), Micral N (France), MCM/70 (Canada).
The discovery of the sanitation worker attracted public attention because the number of Q1 PCs imported into the UK is very limited and currently there are only three recorded devices in the world (including the two models just found). The machine is currently on display at the Museum of Technology at Kingston University (Surrey, UK).
Brendan O'Shea, owner of Just Clear, said: "The company's staff reported the discovery during the cleanup. Although I thought it was related to history, I never imagined that the discovery would be so important in the field of technology and the computer industry. Experts say these models are extremely rare, so to see two of them together is extremely exciting."
After the exhibition, both devices will be auctioned off or sold to private collectors. There is no new valuation for the two machines, but the old price (according to available information) of the product sold in 1979 was $20,500, equivalent to $87,000 today.
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