HP 150

One of the many compatible computers that weren't compatible enough. In the late 1970s, when people spoke of "compatible" computers, they always meant compatibility with the Apple II. There were countless computers with names like Pineapple, Apricot, and so on. By the mid-1980s, "compatible" meant compatibility with the IBM PC.

The HP 150 was one of them. Unfortunately, all the concepts among the "compatible" computers that didn't slavishly adhere to the original, often down to the case and the location of the I/O ports in the address space, were doomed to rapid extinction. In the HP 150, the computer was integrated into the monitor, and an optional thermal printer could also be installed. The floppy disk drives were (of course) connected via the HP-IB bus. A special feature of the computer was a touchscreen that used infrared sensors. Without a floppy disk drive connected, it functioned as an ASCII terminal.