Days of future past................
IBM created the PC to counter the Apple computer on the mainframe operator‘s desk. IBM needed to get their ‘toy’ on the mainframe operator’ desk. That’s why they farmed out the software. IBM considered the PC was a toy. This approach almost killed IBM.
It’ll never catch on.
IBM created the PC to counter the Apple computer on the mainframe operator‘s desk. IBM needed to get their ‘toy’ on the mainframe operator’ desk. That’s why they farmed out the software. IBM considered the PC was a toy. This approach almost killed IBM.
A friend of mine bought one when they first came out for something like $7000. Something like a 20MB hard drive and a 5-1/4” floppy.
She went on to get a PhD in computer science, and being an early adopter of the PC got her ahead of the curve.
I had one of those!
Purchased Spring ‘82. Financed it like a car. Served me well for years.
Back in the days of the dreaded “C\:” terrifying future apple buyers.
The IBM PC was very much outside the IBM paradigm. On its mainframes IBM would do things like have chip manufacturers create custom part numbers or even rotate the integrated circuit inside the chip package to create non-standard pin locations to prevent other companies from upgrading or maintaining IBM computers. If IBM had done that, the IBM PC would have been an interesting note in computer history. Maybe Apple would have been the main computer people used and grown to be a big company.
I worked at DEC. DEC ignored the PC until too late.
Being a poorboy in the early days of home computers, I was a big fan of Commodore: I started with a Vic-20, then got a C-64 as soon as they came out. Eventually moved up to Amiga.
Finally got into IBM-PCs when I bought a pallet load of used 286 systems at an auction for a hundred bucks. Couldn’t afford real IBM software, so I loaded them up with freeware and shareware.
Wow - memory lane. Thanks for posting. Loved VisiCalc. Was a master at Lotus 1-2-3. After a many years with Excel, realized the younger generation was much better at developing complicated models so just relied on my basic knowledge of economics - that don’t change
I bought my first IBM compatible in 1987. It was built by a local company, Florida Computer Traders, and I paid $2300 for it. That is about $6400 adjusted for inflation.
I had recently gotten married and gotten a new job. I was working on a dBase3 program to do the invoicing for the company. I also was addicted to Empire...a computer game.
Anyway, I had gotten a large tax refund and spent most of it on the computer...without discussing it with my wife first. This did not go well.
my first computer, late 80’s, was a IBM 286 ran at 8Mhz, or in turbo mode 10Mhz. Monochrome CRT (orange TV display).It was known as a real ‘number cruncher’.
“Is it plugged in?”
Wow, so much disinformation. “These days, Apple is the only company that produces computers with exclusive software and peripherals. But in the early 1980s, it was the norm. Back then, home computers were seen as upgraded consoles, primarily used for gaming and coding.”
1. There were no early “gaming” computers.
2. Another Freeper said the PC had to come out because Apples were on IT desks. - No, the PC came out before Apple released anything. The PC came out because IBM decided it would be a good idea. No IBM, no PC.
Wow, this brings back such fond memories.
I had an Atari 800 and loved it.
I had several of the computers listed in this article, and first coded on a Radio Shack Model 1.
So many, many things I can say around all of that time. It was such an influential point in my life.
Wow.
Worked at Intel in the 70’s & 80’s. Andy Grove made it clear that anyone caught playing moon lander on an MDS 80 would be fired.
While not an ‘invention’ in the strictest sense, the IBM PC represented a synergistic confluence of existing technologies that hit the sweet spot. Similarly, automobiles were around decades before Ford’s Model-T, it just took Ford to find the magic combination.
No mention of the computer IBM designed for the home market, the Peanut. IBM fought tooth and nail to resrict the home computer market and the Peanut was it’s method.