They have changed greatly.
August 12, 1981, exactly 35 years ago, IBM released its first personal computer — the IBM 5150, which was the first step towards the computerization of the modern society. Before the advent of personal computers, the purchase and operation of computers were very expensive and few people could afford to acquire such a marvel of technology at home. Usually computers were installed in large companies, universities, research centers and government agencies.
The IBM 5150 was sold for $ 1565. It occupied relatively little space and was pretty easy to use. It was installed the Intel 8088 clocked at 4.77 megahertz and a block of memory of 16 or 64 kilobytes. The hard disk was not, and to use the floppies, it was necessary to buy separately the drive.
We invite you to remember what were the computers since 1946 and how we came to such a life.
1. The ENIAC, in 1946. Electronic numerical integrator and calculator (ENIAC) is considered the first computer was used during the Second world war and a year after. Established at the University of Pennsylvania, these 40 individual 2-meter machine with 18,000 tubes was used to calculate the ballistic trajectory. (Jerry Cooke / Corbis)
2. SAGE, 1954. Huge computerized SAGE system was created to help the air force to obtain radar data in real time. Equipped with technical innovations of that time such as modems and graphic displays, this machine weighed 300 tons and occupied a separate floor of the building. (Mark Richards)
3. NEAC 2203, 1960. Produced by the company Nippon Electric Company, this machine is based on a drum, became one of the first transistorized Japanese computers. It was used for business, scientific and engineering programs. (Mark Richards)
4. IBM System/360, 1964. Being part of a family of interchangeable computers, the IBM System/360 was the first computer that covered a whole range of programs — from small to large, from commercial to scientific. Users can change settings without making the grueling calculations and software updates. More advanced models of System/360 made its contribution to the mission of NASA “Apollo”, as well as in control systems of air traffic control. (Charles Rotkin / Corbis)
5. CDC 6600, 1964. The fastest car of its time, 6600 from Control Data Corporation were designed by the famous architect of the computer Seymour Cray. She held the title of the fastest computer in the world until 1969, when Cray made its next supercomputer. (Mark Richards)
6. DEC PDP-8, 1965. First commercially successful microcomputer, the PDP-8, developed by Digital Equipment Corporation, sold more than 50,000 copies. Before such was not. For many years before Apple and Gnu/Linux offered alternatives to the dominant paradigms of the IBM/Microsoft, DEC has offered its vision, encouraging users to educate themselves and participate in the evolution of computers. (SSPL / Getty)
7. Front-end processor messages, 1969. Hidden during the cold war, when the U.S. government sought ways to maintain their network of computers, in case the enemies will destroy them message nodes, IMP firewall had a pair of the first generation, which is today known as router. IMP performed a key role in the development of the first territorial network and ARPANET, the predecessor of modern global Internet. (Fred Prouser / Reuters / Corbis)
8. Kenbak-1, 1971. “Kenbak” is often considered the world’s first personal computer. It was advertised as “easy to use educational tool, but it sold only a few dozen copies of this device. It had no microprocessor, respectively, power was only 256 bytes, and the output he gave a series of twinkling lights.
9. The Cray-1, 1976. The Cray-1 was the fastest computer of its time in the world. Despite the huge price — from 5 to 10 million dollars — he sold very well. It was one of the many machines designed by Seymour Cray — a developer of computer architecture, who devoted his life to the creation of so-called supercomputers and computer systems, with priority to the ability to process data and computation speed. (Charles O’rear / Corbis)
10. Apple I, 1976. Originally designed by Steve Wozniak as a computer class DIY, the Apple I was rejected by the boss Steve in the Hewlett-Packard company. Wozniak decided to go further and suggested that the company’s computer Homebrew Computer Club. Together with his friend Steve jobs he was able to sell 50 models in the store, The Byte Shop, in mountain view, California. The price of the computer was $ 666. It didn’t sell very slowly, this computer paved the way to success for his successor — the Apple II. (SSPL / Getty)
11. IBM PC, 1981. The IBM PC keyboard, printer and monitor helped move the PC out of garage engineers-lovers straight to the markets and in the company. Its commercial success made it the model for all personal computers for many years and has led to the fact that other manufacturers started making similar devices. (AFP / Getty)
12. Portable computer “Osborne 1” in 1981. The first commercial portable computer “Osborne” weighed 10 kg and cost less than $ 2,000. It quickly became popular due to its low cost and extensive library of software. (Mark Richards)
13. Hewlett-Packard 150, 1983. Representing the first step in the technology available today, the HP 150 was the first commercially available computer with touch screen”. 22-inch computer was surrounded by infrared transmitters and receivers that determine the location of the user’s finger. (Roger Ressmeyer / Corbis)
14. Deep Blue, 1997. The Deep Blue project, which started in the late 80s, IBM was an attempt to use parallel data processing to solve a difficult task: in this case — to beat the world champion Garry Kasparov in chess. During a match of six games, Kasparov lost, the confused, the master made his contribution to the promotion of technology. (Louie Psihoyos / Science Faction / Corbis)
15. iPhone, 2007. A handy little device provided by the Executive Director of Apple Steve jobs in 2007 not only encompasses the usual phone, Internet, camera and media player, but also supports a large number of other applications that give access to everything from recipes to maps of the night sky. Besides, it looks great. (Paul Sakuma / AP)
16. iPad, 2010. Came tablet. It’s called the iPad. It is 1.2 cm in thickness, weighs 450 grams and has a display of 9.7 inches. As said Steve jobs, the device can work up to 10 hours without recharging and you can use apps, games, videos and online apps as they want. The starting price of iPad with Wi-Fi $ 499, and the 3G version is $ 629. (Justin Sullivan / Getty)
