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The phrase "personal computer" was common currency before 1981, and was used as early as 1972 to characterize the Xerox PARC Alto. However, due to the success of the IBM PC, what had been a generic term came to mean specifically a microcomputer compatible with IBM's specification (see IBM PC compatible). (The term "personal computer" is still occasionally used to the wider generic sense).
The original PC was an IBM attempt to get into the home computer market then dominated by the Apple II.
Rather than going through the usual IBM design process, which had already failed to design an affordable microcomputer (for example the failed IBM 5100), a special team were assembled to bypass normal company restrictions and get something to market rapidly. The project was given the code name Project Chess.
The team consisted of just 12 people headed by William Lowe . They succeeded — development of the PC took about a year. To achieve this they first decided to build the machine with "off-the-shelf" parts from a variety of different Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM)s and countries. Previously IBM had developed their own components. Second they decided on an open architecture so that other manufacturers could produce and sell compatible machines — the IBM PC compatibles, so the specification of the ROM BIOS was published. IBM hoped to maintain their position in the market by royalties from licensing the BIOS, and by keeping ahead of the competition.
Unfortunately for IBM, other manufacturers rapidly reverse engineered the BIOS to produce their own royalty-free versions. ( Compaq Computer CorporationCompaq Computer Corporation was founded in February 1982 by Rod Canion, Jim Harris and Bill Murto, three senior managers from semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments. Each invested $1,000 to form the company. Their first venture capital came from Ben manufactured the first cloned IBM PC compatible in 1984). And once the IBM PC became a commercial success the PC came back under the usual IBM management control, with the result that competitors had little trouble taking the lead from them. (In this regard, IBM's tradition of "rationalizing" their product lines—deliberately restricting the performance of lower-priced models in order to prevent them from "cannibalizing" profits from higher-priced models—worked against them).
The first IBM PC was released on August 12 1981. Although not cheap, at a base price of $1,565 it was affordable for businesses — and it was business that purchased the PC. However it was not the corporate "computer department" that was responsible for this, for the PC was not seen as a 'proper' computer. It was generally well educated middle managers that saw the potential — once the revolutionary VisiCalcVisiCalc was the first spreadsheet program available for personal computers. Indeed it was the " killer app" that turned the microcomputer from a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a business tool. Conceived by Dan Bricklin, refined by Bob Frankston and spreadsheet, the " killer app", had been ported to the PC. Reassured by the IBM name, they began buying the machines on their own budgets to help do the calculations they had learned at business school.
The models of IBM's first-generation Personal Computer (PC) series have names:
The models of its second generation, the Personal System/2 (PS/2), are known by model number: Model 25 , Model 30 . Within each series, the models are also commonly referenced by their CPU clock rate.
All IBM personal computers are software compatible with each other in general, but not every program will work in every machine. Some programs are time sensitive to a particular speed class. Older programs will not take advantage of newer higher-resolution display standards.
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