The world’s first desktop computer found at a sale in the UK has been sold for a staggering amount | Mirror on the Internet

The world’s first desktop computer – found at a UK home sale – has sold for £37,179.

The 1972 Q1 desktop microcomputer with internal printer, discovered along with its slightly later sibling the Q1 Lite, was the world’s first fully integrated desktop computer. The Q1 Lite was sold at auction for £8,316. Two of the last three known surviving Q1s, they were discovered last year when waste management company Just Clear was cleaning up a London property. They also found a Q1 desktop printer to accompany the Q1 Lite, which cost £1,175.

Three historic devices were offered without reserve at Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. The machines were on display at a February exhibition of early computers and slot machines at Kingston University in London titled Creating the Device of Everything: A Showcase of the Machines that Built the Future.

Q1 hit the market four years before Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs introduced Apple 1. It was sold for the equivalent of over PLN 70,000. pounds each; too expensive to be sold for individual use. Valarie Spiegel, Heritage Director of Video Games, says: “Very few examples of these historic items have survived, making this a landmark auction.

“The move to a microprocessor-based architecture allowed the Q1 to far exceed its weight and handling capabilities typically reserved for larger systems. The capabilities of this early machine were impressive and set a precedent in the computer industry; pointed to the future of personal computing and represented a pivotal moment in the history of technology, demonstrating the enormous potential of microcomputers to transform both the professional and personal computing landscapes.”

Ahead of the auction, Sara Balbi, managing director of Heritage Auctions’ London office, said: ‘Please remember that these have never been auctioned and there is no record or precedent for them. We will have to see what the market will decide.” The Heritage Auctions sale ended on May 24.