In 1981,
IBM introduced its personal computer (PC) for use in the home, office and schools. The
1980's saw an expansion in computer use in all three arenas as clones of the IBM PC made
the personal computer even more affordable. The number of personal computers in use more
than doubled from 2 million in 1981 to 5.5 million in 1982. Ten years later, 65 million
PCs were being used. Computers continued their trend toward a smaller size, working their
way down from desktop to laptop computers (which could fit inside a briefcase) to palmtop
(able to fit inside a breast pocket). In direct competition with IBM's PC was Apple's
Macintosh line, introduced in 1984. Notable for its user-friendly design, the Macintosh
offered an operating system that allowed users to move screen icons instead of typing
instructions. Users controlled the screen cursor using a mouse, a device that mimicked the
movement of one's hand on the computer screen.
In 1980, IBM first
approached Bill Gates and Microsoft, to discuss the state of home computers and Microsoft
products. Gates gave IBM a few ideas on what would make a great home computer, among them
to have Basic written into the ROM chip. Microsoft had already produced several versions
of Basic for different computer system beginning with the Altair, so Gates was more than
happy to write a version for IBM.
As for an
operating system (OS) for the new computers, since Microsoft had never written an
operating system before, Gates had suggested that IBM investigate an OS called CP/M
(Control Program for Microcomputers), written by Gary Kildall of Digital Research. Kindall
had his Ph.D. in computers and had written the most successful operating system of the
time, selling over 600,000 copies of CP/M, his OS set the standard at that time.
IBM tried to
contact Kildall for a meeting, executives met with Mrs. Kildall who refused to sign a
non-disclosure agreement. IBM soon returned to Bill Gates and gave Microsoft the contract
to write the new operating system, one that would eventually wipe Kildall's CP/M out of
common use.
The
"Microsoft Disk Operating System" or MS-DOS was based on QDOS, the "Quick
and Dirty Operating System" written by Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products, for
their prototype Intel 8086 based computer.
QDOS was based on
Gary Kildall's CP/M, Paterson had bought a CP/M manual and used it as the basis to write
his operating system in six weeks, QDOS was different enough from CP/M to be considered
legal.
Microsoft bought
the rights to QDOS for $50,000, keeping the IBM deal a secret from Seattle Computer
Products.
Gates then talked
IBM into letting Microsoft retain the rights, to market MS DOS separate from the IBM PC
project, Gates proceeded to make a fortune from the licensing of MS-DOS.
In 1981, Tim
Paterson quit Seattle Computer Products and found employment at Microsoft.
On November 10,
1983, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, Microsoft Corporation formally announced
Microsoft Windows, a next-generation operating system that would provide a graphical user
interface (GUI) and multitasking environment for IBM computers. Microsoft promised that
the new program would be on the shelf by April 1984. It might have been released under the
original name of Interface Manager if Microsoft's marketing whiz, Rowland Hanson, had not
convinced Microsoft founder Bill Gates that Windows was the better name.
That same
November, Bill Gates showed a beta version of Windows to IBM's head honchos. Their
response was lackluster, perhaps because IBM was also working on its own product called
Top View. They did not give Microsoft the same encouragement for Windows that they gave
MS-DOS in 1981, the first highly successful operating system that Microsoft wrote for the
IBM-PC.
Top View was
released in February 1985, as a DOS-based multitasking program manager without any GUI
features. IBM promised that future versions of Top View would have a GUI. The promise was
never kept, and the program was discontinued barely two years later.
No doubt, Bill
Gates realized how profitable a successful GUI for IBM computers would be. He had seen
Apple's Lisa computer and later the more successful Macintosh computer. Both Apple
computers came with a stunning graphical user interface.
Side
Note: Early MS-DOS diehards liked to refer to MacOS as 'WIMP' - the Windows, Icons,
Mice and Pointers interface.
Microsoft Windows
faced potential competition from IBM's own Top View, and there were others. VisiCorp's
short-lived VisiOn, released in October 1983, was the official first PC-based GUI. The
second was GEM (Graphics Environment Manager), released by Digital Research in early 1985.
Both GEM and VisiOn lacked support from the all-important third-party developers--and, if
nobody wanted to write software programs for an operating system, nobody would want to buy
it.
Microsoft finally
shipped Windows 1.0 on November 20, 1985, almost two years past the initially promised
release date.
| Year |
Event |
| 1980 |
IBM hires Paul Allen and Bill
Gates to create an operating system for a new PC. The pair buy the rights to a simple
operating system manufactured by Seattle Computer Products and use it as a template. IBM
allows the two to keep the marketing rights to the operating system, called DOS. |
| 1980 |
IBM hires Microsoft to develop
versions of BASIC, FORTRAN, COBOL and Pascal for the PC being developed by IBM. |
| 1980 |
Microsoft licenses Unix
and starts to develop a PC version, XENIX. |
| 1980 |
The programming language FORTRAN 77 is created. |
| 1980 |
The first Color computer is
introduced. |
| 1980 |
is founded. |
| 1981 |
MS-DOS 1.0 was released August, 1981. |
| 1981 |
American National Standards
Institute more commonly known as ANSI was founded. |
| 1981 |
IBM joins the computer race
with its IBM PC, which runs the new DOS operating system. |
| 1981 |
Xerox introduces the graphical
Star workstation. This computer greatly influences the development of Apple’s future
computer models, Lisa and Macintosh, as well as Microsoft’s Windows. |
| 1981 |
Hayes Introduces the Smartmodem
300 with its standard setting AT command set and a operating speed of 300 bits per second. |
| 1981 |
Adam Osborne introduces the
Osborne I, the first successful portable computer, which weighs 25 pounds. |
| 1981 |
Hewlett-Packard Superchip the
first 32-bit chip is introduced. |
| 1981 |
Commodore ships the VIC-20,
which later becomes the world’s most popular computer costing only $299.95. |
| 1981 |
Logitech is founded in Apples,
Switzerland. |
| 1981 |
Adaptec is founded. |
| 1981 |
Hayes releases the Smartmodem
1200 with transfer rates of 1,200 bits per second. |
| 1981 |
CTX is established. |
| 1982 |
Peter Norton creates Norton
Utilities. |
| 1982 |
Sony releases its first
Trinitron monitor |
| 1982 |
Microsoft releases FORTRAN for
the PC COBOL for MS-DOS, and Multiplan for the Apple II and CP / M machines. |
| 1982 |
Microsoft establishes a
subsidiary in England to begin foreign sales efforts. |
| 1982 |
WordPerfect Corporation
introduces WordPerfect 1.0 a word processing program that will become one of the computer
markets most popular word processing program. |
| 1982 |
The first luggable computer is
introduced. |
| 1982 |
Sun is incorporated in February
1982, with four employees. |
| 1982 |
Lotus Development Corporation
is founded and Lotus 1-2-3, a spreadsheet program is introduced. |
| 1982 |
Compaq Computer Corp. is
founded by Rod Canion and other Texas Instruments Incorporated engineers. Compaq is the
first company to introduce a clone of the IBM PC and become IBM’s biggest challenger
in the corporate market. |
| 1982 |
The Commodore 64 begins to be
sold with 64 kilobytes (KB) of random-access memory (RAM) and containing Microsoft BASIC
and dropping in price from $600 to $200 allows it to become the best-selling computer of
all time. |
| 1982 |
The HX-20 becomes the first
notebook-sized portable computer is introduced by Epson. |
| 1982 |
MS-DOS version 1.25 is
released. |
| 1982 |
Apple Computer is the first
personal computer manufacture to hit the $1 billion mark for annual sales. |
| 1982 |
The Intel 80286 processor is
announced. |
| 1982 |
Adobe is founded. |
| 1982 |
BTC is founded |
| 1983 |
The IBM XT is first introduced. |
| 1983 |
The Time magazine nominates the
PC as the "man of the year." |
| 1983 |
The Apple IIe is introduced.
The computer contains 64 kilobytes (KB) of RAM one megahertz 6502 processor and running
Applesoft BASIC and sells for $1,400. |
| 1983 |
Tandy, Epson and NEC all sell
notebook computers however only the Tandy’s model 100 becomes popular because of its
low price of $499. |
| 1983 |
More then 10 million computers
are in use in the United States. |
| 1983 |
MS-DOS 2.0 was released March, 1983. |
| 1983 |
True BASIC is created and is a
compiled, structured language. It doesn't require line numbers, as the original BASIC did,
and includes the advanced control structures necessary for structured programming. |
| 1983 |
The QIC Standard becomes the
first standard in the computer history for tape drives. |
| 1983 |
Microsoft Windows was announced November, 1983 |
| 1984 |
Bill Gates is featured on the
cover of Time magazine. |
| 1984 |
The 3.5-inch floppy diskette is
introduced and later becomes an industry standard. |
| 1984 |
Dell Computer is founded May 3,
1984 in Austin Texas. |
| 1984 |
The now famous Apple commercial
is shown during the Super Bowl, the commercial introduces the Apple Macintosh, a computer
with graphical user interface instead of needing to type in commands. In six months sales
of the computer reach 100,000. |
| 1984 |
Dhrystone is developed. |
| 1984 |
IBM develops EGA. |
| 1984 |
The computer Museum opens in
downtown Boston. |
| 1984 |
Microsoft introduces MS-DOS 3.0
for the IBM PC AT and MS-DOS 3.1 for networks. |
| 1984 |
The Tandy 1000 personal
computer is introduced and becomes the best-selling IBM-compatible computer of the year. |
| 1984 |
IBM introduces the Enhanced
Graphics Adapter (EGA) video card with higher resolution, more colors, and a quicker
response then previous video cards. |
| 1984 |
University of Southern
California professor Fred Cohen creates alarm when he warns the public about computer
viruses. |
| 1984 |
The begining of the greatest
adventure computer gaming series is released by Sierra. Kings Quest 1: Quest for the crown
is released to the public. |
| 1984 |
The Yellow book of CD-ROM
standards is written. |
| 1984 |
Cirrus is established. |
| 1984 |
ISA is expanded to 16-bit
capability. |
| 1985 |
The GNU manifesto is published
by Dr. Dobb's Journal |
| 1985 |
Microsoft and IBM begin
collaboration on the next-generation operating system (OS/2). |
| 1985 |
The computer company Gateway
2000 is founded in Siox City, Iowa. |
| 1985 |
Intel introduces the 80386, a
16 MHz processor that incorporates 275,000 transistor and capable of accessing up to four
gigabytes of memory. The processor sells for $299. |
| 1985 |
Aldus Corporation introduces
PageMaker for the Macintosh, a program that lets users mix type and graphics on the same
page. The combination of this software and the new Apple LaserWriter laser printer begin
the era of desktop publishing. |
| 1985 |
The Mach Project begins at the
Carnegie Mellon University. |
| 1985 |
IBM develops NetBEUI. |
| 1985 |
Microsoft Windows 1.0 is
shipped and allows users to navigate the PC computers through a graphical user interface
making the computer much easier to use. The software begins selling for $100.00 |
| 1985 |
The Nintendo Entertainment
System makes its debut. |
| 1985 |
ATI is founded. |
| 1985 |
Boca is established. |
| 1985 |
Corel is founded. |
| 1986 |
Apple introduces the Mac Plus.
The computer contained one megabyte of RAM, new keyboard that contained cursors and
numeric keypad and sold for $2,600. |
| 1986 |
Compaq introduces the first
386-based PC compatible computer. |
| 1986 |
Microsoft is listed on the New
York Stock Exchange selling shares to the public at $21 each, making Bill Gates one of the
world’s youngest billionaires. |
| 1986 |
More than 30 million computers
are in use in the United States. |
| 1986 |
MS-DOS 3.2 was released April, 1986. |
| 1986 |
IMAP is developed by Stanford University. |
| 1986 |
CD-i format is specified. |
| 1986 |
Aztech is established. |
| 1987 |
Microsoft purchases Forethought
Incorporated. The company that developed the presentation software PowerPoint. |
| 1987 |
Microsoft introduces Windows
2.0 and Microsoft Works. |
| 1987 |
Microsoft and IBM release OS/2
1.0 |
| 1987 |
The Mac SE is introduced at
$2,900 |
| 1987 |
IBM introduces the PS / 2
personal computer, which has improved graphics, a 3.5-inch diskette drive, and proprietary
bus to help prevent clone makers competition. |
| 1987 |
IBM sends clone manufactures
letters demanding retroactive licensing fees. |
| 1987 |
IBM develops 8514/A. |
| 1987 |
MS-DOS 3.3 was released April, 1987. |
| 1987 |
IBM introduces MCA. |
| 1987 |
Microsoft Shares hits $100 per
share. |
| 1987 |
Apogee is founded, Apogee is
well known for its computer games as well as the company who first released a 'Shareware'
game. |
| 1987 |
The SPARC processor is
introduced by Sun. |
| 1987 |
IBM introduces VGA. |
| 1987 |
Elitegroup Computer Systems is
established. |
| 1988 |
Apple files a copyright
infringement against Microsoft for Windows 2.03 and Hewlett Packard for New Wave in
comparison with their Macintosh operating system. |
| 1988 |
About 45 million PCs are in use
in the United States. |
| 1988 |
Creative Labs introduces the
SoundBlaster, a sound card for the PC that contains an 11-voice FM synthesizer with
text-to-speech, digitized voice input / output, a MIDI port, a joystick port and bundled
software. |
| 1988 |
EISA is developed as an
alternative to MCA. |
| 1988 |
Morphing is first introduced in
the movie Willow. |
| 1988 |
MS-DOS 4.0 was released July, 1988. |
| 1988 |
MS-DOS 4.01 was released November, 1988. |
| 1989 |
GriD Systems Corporation
introduces the first pen-based computer. |
| 1989 |
Intel releases the 486DX
processor, with more than 1 million transistors and multitasking capabilities. |
| 1989 |
Tim Berners-Lee develops HTML. |
| 1989 |
Poqet announces the Poqet PC
the first pocket-sized MS-DOS compatible computer. |
| 1989 |
Asus is founded. |
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