IBM-computers. Personal Computer

IBM - a large corporation, today engaged in the development and supply of computers, software and other high-tech products. For its more than 100-year history, it brought to the market many new products. Thanks to IBM computers appeared in almost every home.

Start

IBM appeared at a time when a personal computer was even hard to imagine. In 1896 it was founded by Herman Hollerith. The company's name was then acquired by TMC and was engaged in the production of counting and analytical machines, which were sold mainly to government organizations.

At the beginning of its history, the company received a huge order from the Ministry of Statistics, and as a result, immediately took a significant position in the market. However, the founder and owner due to health problems still had to sell the firm to the famous financial genius Charles Flint. The millionaire paid for the company a huge amount for those times amounting to $ 2.3 billion.

The emergence of IBM

After gaining control over TMC, Charles Flint immediately began merging with other assets, for example, ITRC and CSC. As a result, the prototype of the modern "blue giant" CTR corporation was created.

The educated company started producing the most diverse equipment corresponding to that time. Among them were scales, time recording systems and, most importantly, card-punch equipment. The latter played a big role in the company's transition to the production of computers.

For the first time the IBM brand appeared in 1917 on the Canadian market. This is how the company decided to show that it has become an international corporation. After sufficient success of the new name, the US unit in 1924 also changed its name to IBM.

Over the next several years, the company is actively continuing to improve its own technologies, creating a new type of punched cards with the name IBM Card. Also, the corporation again gets access to large state orders, which allows it to practically not make cuts even during the Great Depression.

IBM and World War II

IBM actively cooperated with the fascist regime in Germany. In 1933, after Hitler came to power in Germany, the corporation even launched its own plant. However, the company, like most other American firms, declares only the sale of cars and does not consider it a support for the regime.

In the United States during the war years, the corporation mostly engaged in supplying the front on state orders. It engaged in the production of sights for throwing bombs, rifles, engine parts and other military goods needed. At that, the head of the corporation then established a nominal profit of 1%, which was sent not to shareholders, but to the needs of the aid funds.

The Beginning of the Computer Age

The first IBM-computer was released in 1941-1943 and was named "Mark-I". The car drove an impressive 4.5 tons. After testing, its official launch took place only in 1944, after transfer to Harvard University.

In fact, Mark-I was a very much improved arithmometer, but due to automation and programming capabilities it is the first electronic computer.

The cooperation of the international corporation and the main developer Howard Aiken proved to be extremely unsuccessful. IBM-computers continued to develop without it. As a result, in 1952 the company produced the first tube computer.

At the end of 1950, the first IBM computers based on transistors were created. It was thanks to this improvement that it was possible to improve the reliability of computers and to create on their basis the first defense system from a missile strike. At the same time, IBM's first serial computer with a hard drive appears. True, the drive, shown to the Soviet leader in 1958, occupied two large cabinets and was 5 MB in size. IBM's prices for it also set rather big. The first prototype of the hard drive cost about $ 50,000 at the prices of that time. But that was only the beginning.

The first appearance of the IBM System

In 1964 new IBM computers were introduced. They have changed significantly and set the standards for many years to come. The family is called IBM System / 360. These were the first machines that allowed you to gradually increase the processing power by changing the model and without changing the software. It was in these mainframes that microcode technology was first introduced.

IBM-built computers have received a very successful architecture, which has become the de facto standard for many years. And today the System Z series, which is the logical continuation of the System / 360 line, is used very actively.

First PC

In IBM, personal computers were not seen as a promising market. However, in 1976 they introduced the first desktop computer series IBM 5100. It was intended more for engineers and was not suitable for office work or personal use.

The first mass personal computer "blue giant" introduced only in 1981. Strictly speaking, the company did not particularly hope for its success. That's why most of its components have been purchased from other companies. The new computer was included in the IBM 5150 family and was named PC.

The popularity of IBM PC

The new processor from Intel demanded a modern operating system, which was successfully proposed by a young company founded by Bill Gates.

The most important factor, which brought the popularity of PC, was the open architecture. In the corporation for the first time abandoned the multi-year principles and did not license the applied components or BIOS. This allowed a lot of third-party firms to quickly build an assembly of "clones" on the basis of published specifications.

Open architecture provided other advantages, such as the possibility of repair and self-upgrading of computers. In the future this gave rise to personal computers.

However, IBM itself on the market of home computers almost did not hit. The original IBM PC model was quite expensive. Plus, this base kit needed to purchase a floppy controller and the drives themselves. Competitors on this background looked more promising.

Nevertheless, the company tried to run a number of models for home users. One of them, called IBM PCjr, is one of the 25 worst computer devices. But the production of this model was quickly discontinued.

In the business segment, IBM has traditionally felt excellent, including in the personal computer market. This was achieved by high brand recognition, sound marketing. The result of success was the emergence of IBM PC / XT machines and IBM PC / AT.

The first laptop

Despite enough poor initial attitude to personal computers, the giant was forced to think. First of all, this was influenced by the staggering success of the IBM PC. By the way, the semi-annual sales plan for the first personal computer was completed in less than 30 days.

As a result, the company decided to continue to create small computers. As a result, there was a model 68 series 5155, which was released about two years, from the beginning of 1984. A little later the world saw from IBM a laptop. They became a model of Convertible.

The first IBM Convertible notebook went on sale in early 1986 and, despite rather modest characteristics, was produced before 1991. From innovations this device was the first PC from a giant corporation equipped with a 3.5 "drive.

The 90s

By the 1990s, the giant corporation was rapidly losing its position in the personal computer market, but for a long time it continued to produce new models of stationary and mobile computers.

First in 1990, IBM introduced a new computer to the market, having a completely new architecture and incompatible with the hardware and software with the past generations.

The new computer received a modern data bus, and many components were changed in such a way that it was almost impossible to reproduce them by small companies from Asia for technological and licensing reasons. But the architecture was a failure. Although some of the innovations applied in these PCs lasted long enough, for example, PS / 2 mouse and keyboard connectors are sometimes used even in modern machines.

Simultaneously, the company produced a series of computers compatible with the previous generation called PS / 1, and later - Aptiva.

These were the last personal computers produced by the "blue giant". By 1996-1997, the production of machines for this market segment was curtailed.

2000's and the final exit from the PC market

IBM, despite stopping the development and production of stationary PCs, continued to produce and successfully sell laptops on the market. Some users even continued to count computers manufactured by IBM as benchmarks.

In 2004, the corporation made a difficult decision, as a result, the entire business for the production of personal computers and laptops was sold to the Chinese company Lenovo. The company itself focused on a much more interesting market for servers and support services for the giant. Somewhat later, IBM sold other units that linked it to PC production, for example, the hard disk drive department went under the control of HITACHI.

The long history of IBM allowed the company to accumulate vast experience in the creation of computer hardware and software. Today, despite the withdrawal from the PC market, the company has a strong enough influence on the development of the entire industry.