Legends of Tech The IBM PC revolutionized computing by setting standards for hardware and software compatibility - it's a symbol of standardization that reshaped the industry for decades to come.
The IBM PC: The Most Influential Non-Invention
- Thread starter Amir Shoam
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Anton Longshot
Posts: 104 +203
I had one of the early IBM 8088's with a 5.25″ floppy disk drive and a 10 MB hard drive IIRC + Hercules graphics + Amber monitor I loved it to bits.
And then a bit later - color...and ...3DFX and 𝑸𝑼𝑨𝑲𝑬
Etc. - I'm sorry that box got lost in the upgrade cycles because I'd makeshift modern electronics into it.
My gear's all clone stuff now even my Thinkpad wasn't made by IBM.
And then a bit later - color...and ...3DFX and 𝑸𝑼𝑨𝑲𝑬
Etc. - I'm sorry that box got lost in the upgrade cycles because I'd makeshift modern electronics into it.
My gear's all clone stuff now even my Thinkpad wasn't made by IBM.
mgwerner
Posts: 296 +481
"the IBM machine would include a ROM (read-only memory) chip with a version of Microsoft BASIC, so users could create their own apps – the easiest way to get apps in the early days."
There were no "apps." They were programs. The term "app" was not coined yet, and is still looked down on by many serious programmers as demeaning of their work.
There were no "apps." They were programs. The term "app" was not coined yet, and is still looked down on by many serious programmers as demeaning of their work.
Endymio
Posts: 3,599 +3,492
They were apps. Language changes over time. Your statement is like claiming there were no deer in the forests of early North America, because the word hadn't been in use yet.
veLa
Posts: 1,287 +1,088
I don’t disagree, but how pedantic do we want to be? A command line script is clearly a program but not an app, while a word processor can clearly meet both definitions.
And then, when does a static program stop being a program and start being a process? When it is moved into memory and executed.
It’s the 2020’s man, people change the way they use language.
AndrettiGTO
Posts: 15 +2
With the introduction of the IBM-PC, advertising was focused around business people using the system. “Imagine, my own IBM computer” was one caption depicting a business woman.
It wasn’t until later that IBM licensed the Tramp.
An extremely well built system and I still have mine from ‘82.
It wasn’t until later that IBM licensed the Tramp.
An extremely well built system and I still have mine from ‘82.
The ad in the article wasn't the first in the series. This one is more in line with what you are describing:
AndrettiGTO
Posts: 15 +2
No, I’m talking about IBMs original advertising for the 5150. This was prior to The Tramp character
AnilD
Posts: 224 +315
IBM's decision to use off-the-shelf components and an open BIOS was a masterclass in unintended consequences. The clone industry didn’t just follow IBM’s lead—they outpaced them, and IBM never recovered.
Also, Microsoft’s licensing of MS-DOS wasn’t just a smart business move... it redefined how software companies could operate.
Also, Microsoft’s licensing of MS-DOS wasn’t just a smart business move... it redefined how software companies could operate.
Endymio
Posts: 3,599 +3,492
IBM's BIOS was proprietary, not open. It was reverse-engineered first by Phoenix and then by others. IBM even sued Phoenix to shut down that effort ... but lost that suit.
It was Phoenix's clone bios that became the open source standard.
AnilD
Posts: 224 +315
True, I misrepresented what I meant to say
They were also called applications back then which is where the term app came from. There's no difference in an app, a program or an application. They all do the same thing. It's software that runs on a particular operating environment.
This is correct. That is why people couldn't make IBM Clones early on because they didn't have the BIOS. I knew one of the developers of the Phoenix BIOS. From what he told me they didn't let the developers use IBM PCs and only gave them the specs of the BIOS. This allowed them to claim they didn't "copy" the IBM BIOS because they had never seen it.
BuckarooBonzaii
Posts: 719 +501
8086, now there's a chip that brings back memories in school. Playing Flight Simulator in DOS was Awesome!!!.
Microsoft revisionist history states that Gary Kildall blew off IBM when they wanted to license CP/M for the IBM PC. The truth is that Bill Gates's mother had connections inside IBM and that gave them the inside track.
CP/M should have been the operating system for the PC. It would have been better, and we would have been saved from decades of agony.
CP/M should have been the operating system for the PC. It would have been better, and we would have been saved from decades of agony.
Endymio
Posts: 3,599 +3,492
According to a 1995 documentary, when IBM attempted to discuss licensing CP/M with Kildall, he refused to sign their NDA, and thus the talks ended before they started. No conspiracy theories needed.
Still, CP/M could have been successful regardless -- except Kildall refused to sell it for less than $240/copy ... equivalent to more than $800 in today's dollars. DOS, at $40/copy (or as little as $10 with bulk licensing) took the market by storm.
Ben Myers
Posts: 355 +137
App is to application like X (Twitter) is to English.
Ben Myers
Posts: 355 +137
Or maybe a different agony.
I hate the term "app"
meanwhile, I'm restoring an PS/2 Model 50 and rebuilding an XT clone
PierreJG
Posts: 41 +11
I will always have a soft spot for IBM. Not cause they are the latest and greatest but The first PC I built on my own was in 1987 when I was 5 years old. I built a rare dual CPU IBM that ran 2x 386sx 33mhz and 24mb ram but... The tech was not there yet so think it could max read 16mb. Speaking under correction as that is way to long ago for my puny brain to remember 
unoficialoficial
Posts: 139 +96
I remember the feeling of using a PC with an 8088, it had programs and OS, but it was a device closer to a simple calculator. There is no way it could run a flight simulator, it was too slow and had noticeable lag even in a simple command like dir. Maybe these PCs had something like an 80286 or 80386.
Imagine what would happen if in the early 1980s, they had only one PC from the future with hardware like an AMD Ryzen 9800X3D and an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX (they didn't know about NVIDIA back then), 192 GB of DDR5 RAM, 8 TB of NVMe SSD and an OLED 30” 4K monitor. But this PC would only have BIOS (so they could see the hardware specs) and no other software or operating system...
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Endymio
Posts: 3,599 +3,492
No, Flight Simulator ran on an 8088, though it ran better with the 8087 coproc. It would even run on the (slower) Apple II.
unoficialoficial
Posts: 139 +96
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