Quantcast
PCWorld.com is upgrading some back-end systems. Some site features, such as user registration, may be temporarily unavailable.
Subscribe to magazine

The 10 Worst PCs of All Time

Remember these clunkers? Many of them were so bad they're hard to forget.

Dan Tynan, PC World

  • 0 Yes
  • 0 No

#3. Coleco Adam (1983)

The Coleco Adam

Photograph: Courtesy, Erik Klein of www.vintage-computer.com
In 1983, toymaker Coleco introduced two revolutionary products: The Adam, a $600 home computer, and the Cabbage Patch Kids, a line of $40 dolls. It's a tossup as to which proved more obnoxious.

The Adam was marketed as the first home computer to come with everything you needed, including a tape drive and a letter-quality printer. The problem? Any media left in the drive would get zapped by a surge of electromagnetic energy when you turned the thing on, erasing all the data on it. And the Adam's power supply was inside the printer, so if the printer was defective (and many were), the computer wouldn't work.

The Cabbage Patch Kids eventually made it into orbit, hitching a ride on the space shuttle in 1985. The Adam never really made it off the ground.

  • Recommend this story?
  • 0 Yes
    0 No

"The 10 Worst PCs of All Time " Comments

  • Great year-end deals
    for small business!

  • Get 24/7 live remote AT&T Tech Support 360* service along with select Lenovo* PCs (with Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processors) and save up to 200!

    Learn more

  • HP EliteBook* 6930p Notebook with Intel® vPro™ technology and a free HP Basic Docking Station - $641 instant savings!

    Learn more

  • *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. ©2009 Intel Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, vPro and Core trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries. All rights reserved.

Dell End of Year Deals

People who read this also read:

PC World's How To Buy Laptops Guide

Sponsored Links