Semiconductors & the History of the PC

Semiconductors & the History of the PC (Part Two)

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The Semiconductor industry is one of the most important industries in the world today. Semiconductors are in fact the cornerstone of the post-modern age, the reason technology surges forward at such a rate and enabled the birth of modern electronics and the instigator of our reliance on electronic gadgets and entertainment and the phenomenon of the home computer. Following on from the previous post, “How Semiconductors Changed the World,” we continue our charting of the history of the personal computer from 1971 to 2001:

• 1971: The unveiling of the Kenbak 1, an 8-bit computer with 256 bytes of memory, considered to be the first personal computer.
• 1973: Based on an Intel 8008 microprocessor, the Micral N form the French company Réalisation d'Études Électroniques (R2E), was the first ever commercial non-kit computer.
• 1975: The Altair 8800 was launched by MIT featuring Intel’s second 8-bit microprocessor the 8080. The S-100 bus became the standard computer bus and its programming language saw the beginnings of Microsoft with Altair BASIC .
• 1976: The single board Apple I, designed and hand built by Steve Wozniack.
• 1977: The Commodore Pet (Personal Electronic Transactor), Commodore's first full-featured computer announced.
  Apple II introduced, replacing the Apple I, featuring a printed circuit motherboard, keyboard, games paddles and a backed up by cassette.
  Based on a TRS-80 microprocessor, the hugely popular Tandy Radioshack desktop computer was launched.
• 1981:  The first time a personal computer was called a PC, IBM based its machine on the Intel 8080 and an OS that they named PC-DOS and which was later renamed MS-DOS.
• 1983: Compaq cloned the IBM PC.
  The launch of the earliest viable PC networking software revived the Novell Corporation.
• 1984: The Apple Macintosh boasted a graphical interface and the first to use a mouse.
  The AT from IBM was launched using an Intel 80286 microprocessor.
• 1985:  A leap forward in the shape of Microsoft Windows.
• 1987: IBMs PS/2 employed 3.5” floppy discs and enjoyed a high resolution video display.
• 1989:  A meeting of minds – Microsoft and IBM form an alliance to develop systems software enhancing MS-DOS, OS/2 and LAN to work with Intel 386 and 486.
  Novell reaches prominence in networking software with the Netware 3.1x range.
• 1990:  Windows 3.0, the next phase in the Microsoft march to OS domination is launched.
• 1993:  Microsoft strikes again with Windows NT. Unlike its predecessors this is not a 16 bit OS, for networking this is the big contender to Novell.
  The Mosaic web browser, credited with popularizing the World Wide Web, is launched.
• 1995:  Not resting on its laurels, Microsoft launches the fully integrated 32 bit Windows 95 to replace Windows 3.11, Windows for Workgroups and MS-DOS. There is also the introduction of the server OS Windows NT 4.0.
• 1998:  Windows 98 integrated 95 and the Microsoft browser IE 4.0.
• 1999:  As a challenger to the growing monopoly that is Windows, Linux is born.
  Novell begins to concentrate more on the internet.
  The dot-com bubble begins to grow as internet based industries spring up.
• 2000:  Windows 2000 arrives with network server software.
  The dot-com bubble bursts, several companies stock prices tumble, some going bust and investors lose millions.
• 2001:  Windows XP replaces Windows 2000.

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