The first IBM PC came out 30 years ago today (Friday )

Tthe Inquirer ^ | Fri Aug 12 2011, 12:37 | Egan Orion

[NVDave]

I think the first real “personal computer” was the IBM 5100, which ran BASIC and APL out of ROM. The machines based on the 8088 were simply more affordable.

[Daffynition]

As far as I can fathom, it’s mockup [photoshop] of a submarine control panel that someone made a long time ago, that went viral.

[Aunt Polgara]

nah.. This was the best PC game:

You actually had to think... and be able to spell. :-)

[Erasmus]

My first PC was a PC/XT clone from Taiwan I called a “Chingao.”

(My first computer of any kind was an MP-68 kit from Southwest Technical Products, which I built in 1976.)

The “370” series PCs were interesting. They executed the IBM System/370 instruction set (partly by emulation). The CPU was designed by Motorola based on the MC68000, retargeted to the S/370 instruction set. Motorola’s internal name for the chip set was “Cascadilla.”

[Erasmus]

You could get them running sometimes by taking them out and hitting it with a small hammer.

In the IBM Customer Engineering organization, they didn't want us to alarm the client; we were told to call it an "impact forming tool."

[Erasmus]

I’m not sure about the wheels. I believe the photo is of an early Nuke Sub training simulator. Maybe the wheels are the control rod controls.

BTW, the printing terminal in the foreground is a photoshopped anachronism. The simulator is obviously from the 1950’s whereas the DECWriter is from the the 70’s or 80’s.

[Da Coyote]

That computer was v cool. Thanks for that video.

[Da Coyote]

Methinks that pic is of an early sub simulator ... Or just a cobbled photoshop...much like those “scans” of his faked birth certificates.

[Paladin2]

I have 3 stashed away, I think they are Model Ms. I like the Gateway AnyKey keyboards to be able to program HTML strings for posting (e.g. {P}{img src=””} with one keystroke)

[Uri’el-2012]

I think the first real “personal computer” was the IBM 5100, which ran BASIC and APL out of ROM. The machines based on the 8088 were simply more affordable.

I deployed a network of Datapoints 1100, 2200, 5500
for data collection in 1974.

It was two years later that IBM demo'ed the 5100.

They were all based on 8008-8088 Intels.

http://www.old-computers.com/history/images/intel_8008_datapoint-2200.jpg

[blam]

The Texas Instruments TI99/4 computer was introduced two years earlier.

[Texas Fossil]

My Trash 80 had two 5-1/4” floppies, homebrew power supply & case, no hard drive, tape storage, booted from floppy, had full complement of 64K of RAM. And it ran NewDos80. At the time I thought it was pretty nice. Even learned to program in Basic.

The machine is still in the back of my shop and I best it would work if I plugged it back together. hee hee hee

Believe it or not, there are some guys who actually run Linux on Z80 computers. Talk about a throwback!

[editor-surveyor]

>> “In 1983 Compaq Computer reverse engineered the IBM PC BIOS, beginning the era of IBM compatible PCs with its Compaq Portable suitcase PC.” <<

.
I remember designing and staking out their parking lot in Milpitas in the winter of ‘82-’83, and wondering who they were. Everything was hush-hush, and their front door was kept locked, except when someone had to go in or out.

[editor-surveyor]

>> “And how long was it before Al Gore invented the internet?” <<

.
Actually, Algore invented it as a small child, but he had to wait a long time for the computer to come along so he could use his invention...

[editor-surveyor]

>> “typing this at a logitech Desktop keyboard,...not too bad” <<

.
At this moment, I’m using a Key Tronic that I bought in ‘97, real bad I have to admit.

[MarkL]

I remember those "heady" days. Most people I knew who had a PC got it with no floppy disk drive, but a cassette recorder: It appeared to have 2 keyboard connectors, but the second was actually a 5 pin DIN plug for connecting to the cassette recorder.

I also remember the original IBM AT, which came with 256KB RAM on the system board... Later on IBM release the 512MB AT, which was the same machine, but the memory chips were soldered one of top of the other, giving rise to the name "bug humping AT" because the memory chips looked like 2 bugs mating. I also remember the 370AT, which didn't run DOS - It actually ran IBM System 370 DOS, the same as a lot of IBM minis and mainframes: I think they sold about 12 of those. And I remember the "Sears Business Centers" which sold the computers.

Later on, I bought one of the very first Everex 386 computers sold in KC - It was a screamer: 20MHz 80386 with 4 MB of RAM, I replaced the disk controller with a high performance RLL controller giving me a total of about 186MB of storage, and running SCO Xenix.

Mark

[MarkL]

IBM always made the best keyboards — computer or typewriter. The click was as perfect a typing tool as ever invented.

Holy cow, you're right. I had a keyboard many years ago that felt like it came off of an IBM Selectric, and I would kill for another one today. Amazing keyboard. I've heard people will pay upwards of $200 for a NOS IBM keyboard.

Mark

[MarkL]

We has some IBM model 80 servers

I used to joke that the Model 80 was a "portable computer," since it had that swing up handle on top of the case for carrying it.

It was an MCA (Microchannel Architecture) system.

Here's a trivia question: What were the only 2 companies that licensed MCA from IBM?

Highlight below for the answer...

Tandy, ALR. MCA & ISA (PC) architectures are NOT compatible, however ALR designed a server with both MCA and ISA buses.

Mark

[ColdSteelTalon]

Now they are made in China..

[Marine_Uncle]

RE: "That picture has been around for a long time too!"
Heheh. It sure has.