A Trivia Forum... I'll throw out the first question
Who was the inventor of the first Personal Computer?
From wikipedia:
"IBM first promoted the term "personal computer" to differentiate themselves from other microcomputers, often called "home computers", and also IBM's own mainframes and minicomputers. Unfortunately for IBM, the microcomputer itself was widely imitated, as well as the term. The component parts were commonly available to manufacturers and the BIOS was reverse engineered through cleanroom design techniques. IBM PC compatible "clones" became commonplace, and the terms "Personal Computer," and especially "PC" stuck with the general public."
"A microcomputer is a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit. They are physically small compared to mainframe and minicomputers. Many microcomputers (when equipped with a keyboard and screen for input and output) are also personal computers (in the generic sense)."
"The Datapoint 2200, made by CTC in 1970, is perhaps the best candidate for the title of "first microcomputer". While it contains no microprocessor, it used the 4004 programming instruction set and its custom TTL logic was the basis for the Intel 8008, and for practical purposes the system behaves approximately as if it contains an 8008. This is because Intel was the contractor in charge of developing the Datapoint's CPU but ultimately CTC rejected the 8008 design because it needed 20 support chips.[7]"
So the altair is out, because it's not a personal computer & it's late by 5 years. IBM made the term popular, but Datapoint 2200 seems to be the first.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9111341/Forgotten_PC_history_The_true_origins_of_the_personal_computer "Also in 1972, design Patent 224,415 was issued to Roche, Ray, and Frassanito for the appearance of the Datapoint 2200, allowing them to say they held the patent for the first PC. (Other parties claimed utility patents for the microprocessor, and the precedence of these other patents was in litigation for decades.) "
http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=arU8AAAAEBAJ&dq=224,415
