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Inventors of the Modern Computer
The IBM PC
International Business Machines
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 In
July of 1980, IBM
representatives met for the first time with Microsoft's Bill
Gates to talk about writing an operating
system for IBM's new hush-hush "personal" computer. IBM had been observing
the growing personal computer market for some time. They had already made
one dismal attempt to crack the market with their IBM
5100. At one point, IBM considered buying the fledgling game company
Atari to commandeer Atari's early line of personal computers. However,
IBM decided to stick with making their own personal computer line and developed
a brand new operating system to go with. The secret plans were referred
to as "Project Chess". The code name for the new computer was "Acorn".
Twelve engineers, led by William C. Lowe, assembled in Boca Raton, Florida,
to design and build the "Acorn". On August 12, 1981, IBM released their
new computer, re-named the IBM PC. The "PC" stood for "personal computer"
making IBM responsible for popularizing the term "PC".
 The
first IBM PC ran on a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088 microprocessor. The PC came equipped
with 16 kilobytes of memory, expandable to 256k. The PC came with one or
two 160k floppy
disk drives and an optional color monitor. The price tag started at
$1,565, which would be nearly $4,000 today. What really made the IBM PC
different from previous IBM computers was that it was the first one built
from off the shelf parts (called open architecture) and marketed by outside
distributors (Sears & Roebucks and Computerland). The Intel chip was
chosen because IBM had already obtained the rights to manufacture the Intel
chips. IBM had used the Intel 8086 for use in its Displaywriter Intelligent
Typewriter in exchange for giving Intel the rights to IBM's bubble memory
technology.
Less
than four months after IBM introduced the PC, Time Magazine named
the computer "man of the year".
Further
Reading:
History Of The Microcomputer Revolution - IBM's Secret - History of
the IBM PC - The History of Intel Chips - Jason Patterson - Early Programs.
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artwork ©MaryBellis
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