AFTER A 12-month development,
IBM announced its new Personal
Computer on August 12, 1981. The
$1,565 base model included 16KB
of RAM, CGA graphics, and an input
jack, relying on the user to provide
a cassette deck (disk drives were
optional and far more expensive).
Rivals such as RadioShack and
Apple were unconcerned, as they
had many times more dealers,
large support networks, extensive
software libraries, cheaper
products, and models with better
performance. Steve Jobs bought
one to dissect and was unimpressed
by some of its old-fashioned tech. In
its hubris, Apple took out a full-page
ad proclaiming “Welcome, IBM.
Seriously.” But it failed to recognize
the weight a company like IBM
carried with businesses.
Even though IBM’s product was
inferior in many ways to its cheaper
competitors, businesses sawTHE 1980s: THE PC
OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES
Rivals were unfazed by the
old timer’s new machine,
but had no idea what
was about to hit them
IBM as a safe bet, with excellent
customer support. Within a year, the
PC overtook the Apple II as the best-
selling desktop computer. In 1983,
two thirds of corporate customers
standardized on the PC as their
computer of choice, with only nine
percent choosing Apple, and by
1984, the PC’s annual revenue had
doubled Apple’s.
IBM surprised the industry by
breaking its own traditions. Not only
did it allow service training for non-
IBM personnel, but it published the
PC’s tech specs and schematics to
encourage third-party peripherals
and software. Within a
couple of years, the PC
was the new standard
for desktop computers,
spawning a massive sub-
industry of peripherals
and expansions.
In 1982, the PC was
updated to IBM’s XT(eXtended Technology) standard,
removing the cassette jack, and
adding a 10MB hard disk. It was the
fi r s t P C w i t h a h a r d d i s k a s s t a n d a r d.
August 1984 brought IBM’s next
major release, the PC/AT (Advanced
Technology). Sporting a 6MHz Intel
80286 (aka 286—no one used the
“80” prefix anymore), it came with
256KB of RAM, expandable up to
16MB. Initial models were limited
to CGA and monochrome, but IBM’s
new 16-color EGA standard was
soon introduced, allowing for 16
colors at 640x350. This was another
step toward the PC we recognize
now, with things like standardized
drive bays, motherboard mounting
points, and the basic keyboard
layout we now take for granted.THE IBM-COMPATIBLES
Although a hit with
businesses, the first PC
was too expensive for
home users. The base
model’s price wasn’t too
outlandish, but it didn’t
include a monitor or floppy
drive—a decent 64KB modelThe PCjr looked
promising: an Intel
8088 CPU, CGA
Plus graphics,
and the kind of
sound chips used
by Sega consoles.
IBM promised a
home machine with
PC compatibility,
improved graphics
and sound, and
a lower price of$1,269. Consumers
adored the wireless
keyboard, and it
was IBM, the king of
computing. Pundits
thought the PCjr
would destroy the
competition, but
on release it was
universally panned.
A Commodore 64
was a third of the
price, faster, with
better graphics,
and a huge software
library. The PCjr’sstrange hardware
and optimizations
also meant it was
only partially
PC compatible,
failing gamers and
business users alike.
What really riled
consumers was the
appalling rubber
chiclet keyboard: A
relatively expensive
computer—from a
company known for
quality keyboards—
was lumbered withsomething found on
$99 budget micros.
Initial sales
were a disaster,
but a campaign
of discounts, ads,
and upgrades
(particularly the
keyboard) turned
things around,
making the PCjr
a mild success.
Nevertheless, its
reputation was
damaged—the PCjr
was canceled in 1985.PCjr
If it weren’t
for that nasty
keyboard,
perhaps the
PCjr could
have worked
out....The Compaq
Portable
made waves
as the first
proper IBM-
compatible. If
you could lift it.A 386 with VGA—ask someone to
think of classic DOS gaming,
and this is likely the first
thing that comes to mind.the history of the PC
44 MAXIMUMPC DEC 2019 maximumpc.com