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IBM Personal Computer

Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F077948-0006, Jugend-Computerschule mit IBM-PC.jpg
IBM Personal Computer model 5150 with IBM CGA monitor (model number 5153), IBM PC keyboard, IBM 5152 printer and paper stand. (1988)
Type Personal computer
Release date August 12, 1981; 35 years ago (1981-08-12)
Discontinued April 2, 1987 (1987-04-02)
Operating system IBM BASIC / PC DOS 1.0
CP/M-86
UCSD p-System
CPU Intel 8088 @ 4.77 MHz
Memory 16 kB ~ 256 kB
Sound 1-channel PWM
Predecessor IBM Datamaster
Successor IBM Personal Computer XT
IBM PCjr
IBM Portable Personal Computer
IBM Personal Computer/AT
IBM PC Convertible
IBM Personal Computer
Ibm pc 5150.jpg
IBM 5150 PC with IBM 5151 monitor

The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981. It was created by a team of engineers and designers under the direction of Don Estridge of the IBM Entry Systems Division in Boca Raton, Florida.

The generic term "personal computer" was in use before 1981, applied as early as 1972 to the Xerox PARC's Alto, but because of the success of the IBM Personal Computer, the term "PC" came to mean more specifically a desktop microcomputer compatible with IBM's PC products. Within a short time of the introduction, third-party suppliers of peripheral devices, expansion cards, and software proliferated; the influence of the IBM PC on the personal computer market was substantial in standardizing a platform for personal computers. "IBM compatible" became an important criterion for sales growth; only the Apple Macintosh family kept significant market share without compatibility with the IBM personal computer.

International Business Machines (IBM), one of the world's largest companies, had a 62% share of the mainframe computer market in 1981. Its share of the overall computer market, however, had declined from 60% in 1970 to 32% in 1980. Perhaps distracted by a long-running antitrust lawsuit, the "Colossus of Armonk" completely missed the fast-growing minicomputer market during the 1970s, and was behind rivals such as Wang, Hewlett-Packard (HP), and Control Data in other areas.


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