Few people have heard of it, yet many consider John Blankenbaker's KENBAK-1 to be the first commercial personal computer.
Naming The Transistor
By James Grahame
Once, not that long ago, there were no transistors. Even the word didn't exist. Johngineer at Adafruit Industries dug up this Bell Labs memo from May 1948 that discusses naming their revolutionary semiconductor switching device.
My favorite contender is Crystal Triode, because it sounds like something Spock would install in his tricorder to save a doomed planet (oops - might have given away the plot of the next movie).
If you're in need of a sudden nap, here's the full text of the memo in all its Dilbertesque glory.
How The Transistor Got Its Name [adafruit.com]
