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MIK CA80 - Arduino of Eastern Bloc

MIK CA80 - Arduino of Eastern Bloc

One of the first computer kits in the Eastern Bloc had a primitive calculator display and a minimalist keyboard that allowed hexadecimal entry.

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Even before the microcomputer boom in Europe, enthusiasts were using computer kits that they were assembling themselves. This avant-garde of eight-bit computing seemed primitive compared to popular home computers. However, it was little known computers such as the Sinclair MK-14 that inspired the first bedroom-coders. This post however is about a different computer, unknown on the West, forgotten on the East - MIK CA80, early Polish mikrocomputer. The history of modern PCs begins in 1970 when an Italian engineer, Federico Faggin, becomes an employee of Intel.