In recognition of the 20th birthday of the PC, IBM has published an article tracing the “personal computing revolution” from the introduction of the first IBM PC in 1981 to the present. The article presents a year-by-year illustrated timeline plotting the evolution of the PC through all its many phases, and concludes with IBM's predictions of a coming era of “pervasive computing.”

From the… introduction to the article . . .

“Twenty years ago this summer, the IBM PC was introduced to the world. It was an event that launched a revolution and changed the way people did business. The industry definition of a personal computer at the time was: any machine inexpensive enough for one person to own and use, whether at home or work. While the personal computer started as a device for the computer hobbyist, its major market has turned out to be small business users and professionals.”

“The 'information revolution' that futurists had long predicted arrived with the IBM PC, bringing with it dramatic changes in how people lived and worked, perhaps even how they thought. The world would never be the same . . .”

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