>> I was under the general impression that the VT100 was "expensive".
>>
> VT100 was/is a CRT terminal, usually monochrome (either green or amber
> display). As any CRT, it was expansive to manufacture.
> It also had a keyboard (no mouse, you pervert) and a dedicated firmware
> to handle a serial line (the 25 copper-line connector one) as DTE.
>
> The serial line could be long enough to cross a few room.
>
> Coupled with a relevant concentrator/server at the other end of the
> serial line, you could ends up having multiple sessions at once on the
> VT100, toggling between session with a set of keypress.
>
> Display is 80x24 characters, usually ascii only. (or was it 80x25 ?)
> Underline&  Bold are possible, as well as inverse video, but not italic,
> IIRC. It could also be able to flash (alternating video).
>
> The expensive part is not the VT100, it was the computer you would
> attach it to. No point in having a VT100 in everyhouse at that time.
>
> The computing power of VT100 is nearly none, when Compared to
> intelligent terminal such as IBM 3270.

OK. So... this discussion started because it was pointed out that the 
Amiga flashes the power light to warn you to press DEL on your serial 
terminal to start the kernel debugger. Now given that the Amiga is a 
home computer, how many homes have a VT100 just laying around?

Well, I guess a home user isn't going to be trying to run a kernel 
debugger anyway. But how many business in the 1990s had a VT100 laying 
around?

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