01
 
02
 
03
 
04
 
05
 
06
 
07
 
08

The IBM PC

IBM Personal Computer CPU

IBM’s first personal computer arrived nearly 10 years after others were available, but instantly legitimized the market. Unlike most previous IBM products, the PC incorporated hardware and software from other companies. IBM published design details, inspiring often superior “clones.”

The IBM PC

Many companies were dubious. Could small personal computers really be serious business tools? The IBM name was a reassuring seal of approval.

IBM introduced its PC in 1981 with a folksy advertising campaign aimed at the general public. Yet, the IBM PC had its most profound impact in the corporate world. Companies bought PCs in bulk, revolutionizing the role of computers in the office—and introducing the Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS DOS) to a vast user community.

IBM Personal Computer advertisement

In promoting their PC, IBM touted their long history of making computers. But the PC was designed, built and sold very differently from any of their previous computers.

View Artifact Detail
IBM Rules the Office

As the leading business computer manufacturer, IBM had a large, loyal customer base. It also had credibility, which reassured companies that personal computers weren’t just playthings, but made good business sense.

Businesses bought IBM PCs in quantity. Personal computers and workstations ultimately reached desks at every corporate level.

Growing sales nourished a rapidly expanding software market for the PC platform—including spreadsheet and word processing software that became integral parts of corporate life. This expanding library of programs made IBM PCs an ever more versatile tool, which further generated sales.

Don Estridge (1937-1985)

Estridge led the team developing IBM’s PC at its Boca Raton office, using third-party hardware and software to an extent unprecedented within “Big Blue.” Estridge died in a plane crash three years after the PC’s introduction, but after more than a million had been sold.

View Artifact Detail
09
 
10
 
11
 
12
 
13
 
14
 
15