The IBM PC turns 40

guest · Aug 14, 2021

Beige Against the Machine: The IBM PC turns 40
August 12, 2021
https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/12/ibm_pc_40_anniversary/

It is 40 years today since the IBM Model 5150 was unleashed upon the world, creating a tsunami of beige that washed over offices everywhere.

IBM was famously late to the game when the Model 5150 (or IBM PC) put in an appearance. The likes of Commodore and Apple pretty much dominated the microcomputer world as the 1970s came to a close and the 1980s began. Big Blue, on the other hand, was better known for its sober, business-orientated products and its eyewatering price tags.
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The basic price for the 5150 was $1,565, with a fully loaded system rising to more than $3,000. Users could enjoy high resolution monochrome text via the MDA card or some low resolution graphics (and vaguely nauseating colours) through a CGA card (which could be installed simultaneously.)

RAM landed in 16 or 64kB flavours and could be upgraded to 256kB while the Intel 8088 CPU chugged along at 4.77 MHz.
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IBM's approach resulted in an immense market for expansion cards and third party software. And, distressingly for the beancounters at Big Blue, a huge number of imitators.

The 5150 was eventually discontinued in 1987, although we wouldn't be surprised to find one or two still lurking in production environments.
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The IBM PC turns 40

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