# The most important computers in history

From Konrad Zuse's Z3 to ENIAC and the Apollo Guidance Computer, and on to the Altair 8800, the Apple II and the IBM PC: the machines that changed our world. Which was the most important?

- 25 votes · 12 items
- Dec 19, 2024 · netzfund_linz
- https://even.best/en/l/2899/the-most-important-computers-in-history

## Top 12

1. **Colossus (1943)** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — The British valve computer built to crack the Lorenz cipher.
2. **Altair 8800 (1975)** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — The kit that sparked home computing, with Gates and Allen's Altair BASIC.
3. **Zuse Z3 (1941)** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — The first working, programmable, fully automatic computer.
4. **ENIAC (1945)** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Often cited as the first electronic general-purpose computer.
5. **Ferranti Mark 1 (1951)** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — It came to market a month before UNIVAC.
6. **PDP-1 (1959)** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — An icon of hacker culture; Spacewar! ran on it.
7. **PDP-8 (1965)** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — The first computer to cost under $20,000.
8. **Apollo Guidance Computer** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — One of the first computers with integrated circuits; it flew to the Moon.
9. **UNIVAC I (1951)** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — The first commercial computer built in the United States.
10. **Apple II (1977)** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — A ready-to-use machine with a case, keyboard and colour graphics.
11. **Xerox Alto (1973)** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — A graphical interface and a mouse, long before the Mac.
12. **IBM PC 5150 (1981)** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — Its architecture still shapes the PC today.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.