PREVIOUS VERSIONS of Windows
were unsuccessful, but with 1990’s
Windows 3.0, the PC desktop was
seen as a viable alternative to the
Macintosh and Amiga. Windows 3.0
had a new interface, multitasking
abilities, and mouse-driven
productivity suites that freed users
from the command line.
Meanwhile, IBM’s OS/2 had
been trying to establish itself as
the respectable GUI for corporate
America. By 1990, the alliance
between IBM and Microsoft
had essentially finished,
with the two becoming rivals.
Although newer versions of
OS/2 would be more advanced,
for now Microsoft had the
technological advantage.
IBM was still hampered by
286 machines, keeping OS/2
primarily 16-bit, unable to use the
advanced features of the 386.
April 1992 finally saw OS/2
become 32-bit. In most ways, it
was superior, with extensions to
DOS, and Windows 3.x support in
a stable environment. But while
Windows targeted clone machines,
OS/2 targeted IBM hardware, so
it couldn’t run on many clones
where Windows ran perfectly.
Furthermore, while IBM sold OS/2
as a separate product, Microsoft
bundled Windows with new PCs.
Microsoft’s dominance started
with Windows for Workgroups 3.11
in August 1993. It had new 32-bit
capabilities and proper networking.
It devoured the business space,
and 3.11 would be the environment
many people grew up with.THE MULTIMEDIA AGE
In the mid-’90s, every PC had a
soundcard, CD-ROM drive, andtinny set of multimedia speakers.
CD-ROM’s 650MB of storage
allowed more expansive gaming,
with FMV cutscenes and CD-audio
soundtracks. Schools bought
edutainment packages with
archived video and interactivity.
By now, the 486 was standard.
Although 386s were still functional
business machines, you needed a
486 to enjoy this era. Thankfully,
hardware prices fell dramatically;
while ’80s PCs usually had Intel
CPUs, rival manufacturers were on
the ascent and lowering costs.
Although AMD CPUs were often
from a previous generation to
Intel’s, its chips were more efficient
and allowed higher clock speeds,
giving similar performance at much
lower prices. Cyrix was making a
name for itself with 486-upgrade
processors, providing a cheap
upgrade route for 386 owners with
a new CPU in their old motherboard.
1993’s Intel Pentium brought
the next generation of CPUs. Intel
dropped the “86” to differentiate
itself from other manufacturers,
with “Pent” coming from the Greek“penta,” meaning five (implying a
586 without saying it).
The Pentium gave almost twice
the performance per clock cycle
as the 486, but early Pentiums
were only 50–66MHz. Meanwhile,
AMD was pumping out insanely
overclocked 486s, such as the
DX4-120 running at 120MHz, nearly
matching early Pentiums. AMD’s
strong performance and low prices
attracted manufacturers such as
Acer and Compaq, whereas Cyrix’s
efficient designs caught IBM’s eye,
starting a partnership in 1994.
1995 saw the introduction of the
ATX standard we use today, defining
new mounting placements and
features like automatic shutdowns.
Unlike XT and AT, this change was
brought by Intel instead of IBM.
August 1995 would see the
biggest change to the computing
landscape yet: Windows 95. On
the technical side, Windows 95
was designed around 32-bit pre-
emptive multitasking, compatibility
with existing DOS and Windows
programs, and new tech such as
DirectX and Plug and Play support.
But the real change was the
interface. A taskbar, a “Start” button
in the bottom-left, the “Maximize,”
“Minimize,” and “Close” buttons at
the top-right of the window.... We
take these norms for granted now,
but they started with Windows 95.
Windows 95 truly established the
Microsoft goliath. Computing had
become mainstream, and Microsoft
was a household name. It was over
for competitors: Commodore had
gone bankrupt, Atari hit the wall,
and Apple was barely surviving. IBM
still had OS/2, with its newer Warp
release from a year prior, but thisTHE 32-BIT ’90s
A decade when
computers would
adopt desktops
and multimedia
It’s difficult to
overstate the 386’s
importance. In
short, the 32-bit 386
is where modern
computing began.
List the features of
a modern OS, and
for the PC, these
abilities started with
the 386, serving
as the basis and
minimum spec forthe next generation
of OSes in the ’90s.
With the 386, PC
operating systems
immediately became
more advanced,
with a flood of
Unix variants
being ported to
the platform.
Advanced computing
was previously
dominated byexpensive Unix
workstations, but
once the PC went
32-bit, they grew
redundant, and big
Unix companies
such as DEC and
Sun Microsystems
started falling away.
Until late 2012, a 386
could still run Linux
(now it requires a
decadent 486).The 386 and the 32-Bit Era
Put a squeaky
millennial in front
of a 16-bit machine
and they won’t
know what they’re
looking at, but with
a 386, they might
stand a chance.A typical ’90s
gaming PC,
where a 3D
accelerator
would make
you the envy
of all n00bs.the history of the PC
46 MAXIMUMPC DEC 2019 maximumpc.com