Few people have heard of it, yet many consider John Blankenbaker's KENBAK-1 to be the first commercial personal computer.
Great British Design Quest
By James Grahame
[This just in from Giles:] The BBC's Culture Show has hooked up with the UK Design Museum to poll the public as to which of their shortlist of 25 is the design icon of recent times. With everything from Dr. Martens boots to the Raleigh Chopper and the K2 phone box to the Verdana typeface, the list is a veritable hall of uber-style. With such diverse classics as the Dyson vacuum cleaner and New Order's cover for "Power Corruption and Lies" vying for glory the list makes fascinating reading. The beebs micro-site has potted histories on each, for instance did you know that the Catseye was patented by a Yorkshireman in 1934, and is compulsive entertainment for anyone with an aesthetic bone. I just want to know what our Retro Thing editor will vote for....
[Giles Perkins runs the amazing OnSuper8.org, and I'll be voting for Doc Martens. Without them I'd have spent a decade walking barefoot. That said, the miniskirt was a damn clever idea.... -ed]
Point your browsers here to vote (BBC)
