The Making of the PCArno Huetter

First computer I ever used (1984):

Sinclair ZX-80

� Zilog Z80, 3,25MHz

� 1k RAM (expandable to 16k), 4k ROM

� 32x24 characters monochrome

� Storage: Cassette Tape

� Sinclair Basic

Also in 1984 (but I had no clue)

It‘s Microsoft Basic

Hollerith Tabular Machine1890

ENIAC (US Army)1946

IBM Type 3-S Tabulator1924

Vacuum Tubes Transistors Integrated Circuits MicroprocessorsMechanicalElectro-

mechanical

UNIVAC1951

IBM 701/7021952

Whirlwind (MIT)1951

DEC PDP-11961

IBM System/3601964

IBM 350 Disk1956

Intel 40041971

MITS Altair 88001975

Apple II1977

IBM PC1981

Xerox Alto1974

Apple Mac1984

SAGE1958

DEC PDP-81965

DEC VAX-111977

IBM System/3701970

Transistor1947

Mark I (Harvard)1944

DEC PDP-111970

19701960195019401890 1980

IBM 14011959

OS/360 Unix CP/M VMS DOS MacOS

SUN-11982

Arpanet1969

The 1960s

� IBM and the seven dwarfs

The early 1970s -

Revolution waiting to happen

� Mainframes operated by white coat engineers

� Valley electronic components industry (e.g. young Steve

Jobs simply phones HP‘s Bill Hewlett for obtaining parts)

� Technology enthusiasts want their own computer

� Microprocessor innovation

� Venture capital funding

� Personal computer possibilities neglected by big players

(e.g. Woz offered Apple I to HP initially)

Famous tech predictions

� Ken Olson (DEC founder) as late as 1977:

“There is no reason for any individual to have a computer

in his home.”

Microsoft Founding / Altair Basic

� 1974/75: Gates and Allen develop Altair Basic on

Harvard University‘s PDP-10 (4k mem footprint). Delivered

on paper tape

� Allen had to implement an Intel 8008 emulator first

� Gates basically sells a non-existing product to MITS

� On the flight to Albuquerque, Allen finds out

bootstrapper is missing, and builds one on the plane

� Microsoft founded April 4th, 1975 in Albuquerque

� Basic ports for most 8bit microcomputers

� Fortran, Cobol, Assembler, Xenix follow

Apple Founding / Apple II

� 1975/76: Wozniak develops Apple I. Inspired by Altair,

IMSAI, based on MOS Technology 6502

� Wozniak and Jobs show Apple I at Homebrew Computer

Club. Jobs sells 50 fully assembled units to Byte Shop

� Apple founded April 1st, 1976. Working out of Jobs‘

family garage. In 1977 Markulla steps in as investor

� Wozniak morphs Apple I into Apple II. 1MHz, 4k-64k RAM,

280x192px, Integer Basic. Millions of units sold over the

years. First killer app: VisiCalc

IBM PC

� 1980: IBM finally awakes due to Apple‘s success

� PC design based on open standards (except BIOS). Intel

8088, 4,77MHz, 16-256k RAM, 5,25“ floppy disks

� IBM approaches Microsoft for providing languages

� Digital Research fumbles opportunity to sell CP/M

� Microsoft steps in, purchases QDOS for 50k and transforms it

into PC DOS. Non-exclusive license opens doors for clone-

makers

� 1981: IBM 5150 introduced, sets standards for years to

come. First killer app: Lotus 1-2-3 CP/M InventorGary Kildall(Digital Research)

Apple Macintosh

� 1979: Steve Jobs visits Xerox Parc, sees Alto GUI

� Pirate project within Apple, highly dedicated team works in death-march mode for years

� Motorola 68000, 8MHz, 128k RAM, 3,5“ floppy disk, 384×256px B+W, overlapping windows

� Introduced in famous 1984 Super Bowl TV commercial

� Sold at USD 2,490 initially, sales plummet until 512k version was introduced

� First killer app: Aldus PageMaker (combined with LaserWriter)

What happened next (1)

� 1982: Sun Microsystems founded, C64 launches

� 1983: IBM introduces XT (5160). Compaq offers IBM-

compatible Portable, Microsoft creates Word for DOS

� 1984: IBM announces AT (5170)

� 1985: Apple ousts Steve Jobs. Microsoft introduces Windows

1.0 as well as Word and Excel for Macintosh. Atari ST

launches

� 1986: First 386-based PC comes from Compaq, not IBM

What happened next (2)

� 1987: IBM announces PS/2 platform (Microchannel

architecture). Microsoft ships Windows 2.0

� 1988: IBM and Microsoft introduce OS/2. Compaq and

Gang of Nine push EISA architecture

� 1989: Steve Job‘s NeXT becomes available. Microsoft offers

Word for Windows

� 1990: Windows 3.0 hits the market

� 1991: Linus Torvalds creates initial Linux version

� 1993: Windows NT introduced. IBM in crisis

� 1994: Netscape founded, WWW takes off

What happened next (3)

� 1995: Windows 95 launches

� 1996: Sun introduces Java. Apple close to bankruptcy. Jobs

sells NeXtStep to Apple (Mach kernel, foundation for OS X)

� 1997: Jobs becomes Apple interim CEO

� 1998: Apple introduces iMac

� 2000: OS X launches

� 2002: HP acquires Compaq

Bibliography

� Canion, R.: „Open: How Compaq Ended IBM's PC Domination and

Helped Invent Modern Computing “

� Cringeley, R.: „Triumph of the Nerds“, http://www.pbs.org/nerds/

� Cringeley, R.: „Accidental Empires“

� Freiberger, P.: „Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal

Computer”

� Hiltzik, M.: „Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the

Computer Age “

� Linzmayer, O.: „Apple Confidential“

� Isaacson, W.: „Steve Jobs“

� Wallace, J.: „Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft

Empire”