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  3. /The Useful Personal Computer
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  3. /The Useful Personal Computer
Nov 10, 2025 at 10:26 AM EST

The Useful Personal Computer

cfmcdonald
17 points
3 comments

Mood

calm

Sentiment

neutral

Category

other

Key topics

AI Marketing

Microcomputer History

ChatGPT

Debate intensity20/100

The article 'The Useful Personal Computer' is discussed in the context of how new technology is marketed to consumers, drawing parallels between the early days of microcomputers and current AI advertising campaigns like ChatGPT.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

Discussion Activity

Light discussion

First comment

4d

Peak period

2

Day 4

Avg / period

1.5

Comment distribution3 data points
Loading chart...

Based on 3 loaded comments

Key moments

  1. 01Story posted

    Nov 10, 2025 at 10:26 AM EST

    15 days ago

    Step 01
  2. 02First comment

    Nov 14, 2025 at 1:58 AM EST

    4d after posting

    Step 02
  3. 03Peak activity

    2 comments in Day 4

    Hottest window of the conversation

    Step 03
  4. 04Latest activity

    Nov 15, 2025 at 1:00 AM EST

    11 days ago

    Step 04

Generating AI Summary...

Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns

Discussion (3 comments)
Showing 3 comments
jamietanna
11 days ago
1 reply
Dupe: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45790530
gsf_emergency_4
11 days ago
TIL from a closer read: EasyWriter was made with a custom Forth compiler.

(This looks it came from the 3rd-chance pool... because the rate at which old-timers contribute to

https://news.ycombinator.com/highlights

seems to have dropped)

speerer
11 days ago
> To market their new products to people who had not already spent years pining for a computer of their own, the creators of the second wave of microcomputers had to face head on the question of what the microcomputer was actually good for.

This is exactly the task of ChatGPT's current consumer advertising campaign in the UK. Lots of small use cases.

View full discussion on Hacker News
ID: 45876876Type: storyLast synced: 11/20/2025, 1:54:04 PM

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