Photo by Yuheng Ouyang on Unsplash
August marks the anniversary of IBM’s introduction of the first personal computer in 1981. If you want to return to that time, take this list with you. It may save a mistake or even a tear in the time continuum. This post ran first on August 12, 2019
Top Ten Things Not to Do at the Introduction of the First IBM Personal Computer in 1981
10 At the intro of the IBM PC, do not laugh out loud at the 16 to 256 kB amount of memory being offered. If you do, at best someone will think you are laughing with delight. At worst, you’ll be put in a position of explaining what you believe to be so funny. (Just because your current laptop has a thousand times that memory, you need not be a snob, Isaias.)
9 At the intro of the IBM PC, do not tell Tiny the WWF champ that he needs to learn to keyboard. If you do, at best Tiny will think you mean someone else. At worst, Tiny will think you are mocking his two-fingered approach to typing. (The other worse part is Tiny just left his self-esteem support group where he was told he is a beautiful, perfect, big boy. I think you will have to deal with his feelings of rejection, Illias. It is going to hurt. I’m just sayin’)
8 At the intro of the IBM PC, do not ask if there are any discounts available on the $1,565.00 price tag. If you do, you’ll likely get a strange look. At worst, the engineers will go into a lot of detail about the components and how expensive everything is inside. (Now don’t you feel foolish, Ismael? Put that Best BUY coupon away. It is not helpful to tell them that you can get a PC priced at $141.00 in 1981 dollars. Might even get you run out of town.)
7 At the intro of the IBM PC, do not ask if you can play Pong on it. If you do, at best, more funny looks. At worst, one of the engineers will suddenly see you as a genius and won’t get away from you. (You may think this is a good thing, Izzy, but the guy hasn’t been out of his clothes for two weeks.)
6 At the intro of the IBM PC, do not use white-out on the screen to correct mistakes you make trying out a unit. If you do, at best the group will think you are cute. At worst, they’ll think you are a technology terrorist. (There are a couple of big guys moving your way, Iban. Might be a good idea to take your white-out and correction tape and head for the door.)
5 At the intro of the IBM PC, do not complain if you get a stripped-down version with no monitor for your $1565.00 ($4313 in 2018 dollars). If you do, you may be told to buy a more expensive model. At worst, the engineers will sit you down and explain that the PC was designed to be hooked to a TV monitor. ( So now you know, Ivo. You just plop that sucker down by your TV and plug it in the back. Well, assuming you have a connection on your TV. If not, come back and get the +$3,000 models. We’ll throw in a couple of floppy disk drives too. Don’t tell me you don’t know what floppy disks are?)
4 At the intro of the IBM PC, do not scoff at Charlie Chaplin’s character The Little Tramp as a spokesperson for the IBM PC. If you do, at best, the market will ignore you. At worst, the advertising folks will lock you in a room and make you watch an endless loop of Little Tramp commercials until you buy a PC. (Best just buy one in the first half-hour, Idal. Otherwise, your brain may melt.)
3 At the intro of the IBM PC, do not buy before you try. If you do, you can expect some inconvenience. At worst, you’ll be trying to save to drives that don’t exist and print to empty slots. (Maybe you should have tried it out first, Isham. Looks like you will need the more expensive one after all.)
2 At the intro of the IBM PC, do not ask if it is compatible with your iPhone. If you do, at best, no one in the room will know what an iPhone is. At worst, the security department will believe you asked the question because you are from a competitor. (Looks like it is going to be a fun ride out the front door, Izak. Try to land on something soft this time.)
1 At the intro of the IBM PC, do not ask if it comes in colors other than grey. If you do, at best the salespeople will think you are joking. At worst, the salespeople will think you are a corporate spy for Apple. (Looks like they are ready for this kind of thing, Issa. Here comes the sheriff with a couple of deputies. Might be a good time to hit the way back button on that cell phone.”
I still miss floppy disks…🐳
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Always fun to sail across the room.
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I really fancied one of those when they came out. At the time, I was working on a DEC PDP-11/03 and my own machine was a brand-new Epson HX-20. It’s staggering to see how much progress has been made in computing capability in 45 years and how little in areas that matter.
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I would have thought we would be further along on the technology spectrum by now. Like maybe HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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I think AIs going rogue and hacking into other systems has to be approaching that level.
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The problem with unrestrained learning.
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Ah, the good ole days! The first computer I used at work had a floppy disk to boot the thing up.
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My first home computer was an Apple IIe with a dot-matrix printer. I didn’t need a boot disk but my next was an IBM which I had to use a disk often.
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My first home computer was a Dell. I sprang for an ink jet printer, which was over $600.
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I got an ink jet well into the 90s. It was a big move forward.
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I didn’t get my first computer until 1995.
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Mine was in 1984.
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I was still using a typewriter in 1984.
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Ha ha ha. Not me.
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Wait. It was supposed to hook up to the TV? That had to be as big a pain as a VCR or Atari 2600.
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It was.😄
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Now he tells us 😉
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😄
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My husband worked for Digital Equipment Company (DEC) where the founder, Ken Olsen, (in)famously stated that no one would want a home computer. And they could not even call them computers–they were called mini-processors. DEC was later bought by Compaq. Not very forward thinking for old Ken.
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Sounds like Ken needed some help with vision. Thanks for sharing, Lois.
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I remember working on one very similar to the photo, lol.
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Ha ha ha. Those were the days.
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I had one of those! I was the only person in my department to have a persona computer! And word processing programs were not common ( a student wrote one for me!) and the printer used paper that had the holes in the sides. Of course the department secretaries took those pages and types them on decent paper with all the usual errors!
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I remember those days.
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That does date us!
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It sure does.
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Good advice, John. It was quite the home computer by IBM. AT the lab I worked at for GM they had a big IBM computer for data storage.
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We had an IBM 360 Model 50 as the mainframe.
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Wow!
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It worked.
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Wow! This is bringing up a lot of memories, John. Those first clunky machines are no longer even fathomable. Great advice!
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I remember having a big ole computer in my office that was hooked to the mainframe. Had to know the commands to make it work.
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I owned computers that resemble that set up. Are you sure this is a computer of that era? Looks newer than the original set up to me. I didn’t hsve that one but did get them by the time they had memory.
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I just got a photo from Unsplash. Didn’t check the date. Think of it as representative.😄
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I wonder what the creators of this original IBM would think of today’s computers!
Hard to believe how far we have come in a rather short amount of time. And now? How to even live without one?
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Living without one would be tough. Thanks, Dale.
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Especially now that we are so attached!
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So true.😄
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These are great. I’ll definitely take this list with me after I invent my Time Machine 😁
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When you finish inventing, I want to go along, too.
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Of course 🤗🧡
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😊
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Oh a different time. It’s amazing how things have changed in a relatively short amount of time. I wonder how this list will change over the next 45 years. Crazy.
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I hope someone takes a look at that, Brian. Fun to contemplate. 😊
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John, this list made me laugh. The memory sizes and the TV hookup brought it all back. Hard to believe how far we’ve come.
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I know. Our phones have more computing power than the IBM mainframes of the 60s
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“At worst, the salespeople will think you are a corporate spy for Apple”
Haha! I’m not a spy, but I have always been an Apple person, I’ve never had a IBM PC. Am I weird? 😉
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No. I never had an IBM either. Went to Compaq from Apple.Now back to Apple. 😄
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👏🎉😉
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😊
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Oh man…do I remember the day those monsters when they finally arrived at the law firm. Those were the days! Great post, John.
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Thank you, Monika. Those were fun times.
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And we thought the loading speed of these was fast in those days. It’s still hard to wrap my brain around these only being around 45 years ago. The computer and internet are some of the greatest inventions in my lifetime.
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I have to agree with you. I feel privileged to know what life was like before the internet, Cell phones, and personal computers. Thanks, Pete.
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All ten were amusing. Back then I was in high school and we had so called min computers, which contrary to the name were really large and located in a different building. We had terminals. At the time I had never heard of personal computers. I mean where in your house would you fit a two ton machine.
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That is funny. Where indeed.
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😂 😂 😂 😂
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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😊
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Very clever. I thought Joey was a rich kid living in his parents basement as so many do these days. Just kidding but sadly I could have been right.
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You could have been right for sure. 😄 Thanks, Tom
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It’s crazy to think that was 45 years ago!
And the prices were also crazy. These guys and gals didn’t know what they didn’t know . . yet. But let’s be honest, they were paving the road for the future and were greeted with a lot of yawning.
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So true. I remember my neighbor paying $2000 for a computer setup.I thought he had lost his mind.
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How times have changed.
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They have. How much is a Dell? Under $500 I think.
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I should buy a backup.
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Go for it. 😊
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Done.
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😊
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This was so funny. White out! 😅
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So glad you liked it. 😄
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Very much so. 😀
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😊
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Loved it.
Surprised to re-learn that the PC came out just 45 years back. Incredible!
Also, looking back, I find it surprising that we in the boonies got a taste of PCs not much later, around 85-86.
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Good news travels fast. 😄
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Oh, what memories! My friends used to have 386… It was almost a miracle for Russia on 90s. Let’s hope that our virtual insanity will be over soon, and we shall be back in time and in technologies. It was yet human age.🍤🍤🍤🍻
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We all need to slow down a bit. 🌹
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