Thirty years ago IBM impacted the world in a way no one could have predicted. On August 12, 1981, “Big Blue” announced the creation of the IBM Personal Computer – the IBM 5150. For only $1,565, people could have their very own computer with a whopping 16K of memory, monitor and disk drives not included. The industry has come a long way since that time, but these advancements would not have been possible without this important stepping-stone. To celebrate this milestone birthday for the IBM PC, let’s look back and see the top five ways personal computers have changed the way we now live our lives.
5 Ways the IBM PC Changed the World Forever
- 5. Business Operations
- The PC was not only desirable to have in individual homes, but started to appear on office desks as well. The PC helped standardize business information. Software was created to ensure data created on one computer could be read on another and eventually entire systems were set up on shared networks. Now IBM is currently promoting their new “cloud” computing system, which shares computing resources around the world instead of a local server.
- 4. Printing/Publishing
- Newspapers, magazines, and even books are available on the computer, changing the world of publishing. The older generation doesn’t necessarily show interest in reading a digital copy of their paper, but the industry has undeniably shifted. With this form of publishing on the rise, so is the use of tablet PC’s, like the iPad and Kindle. When IBM released the first PC’s, writers were able to edit their stories on the screen instead of editing it by hand once it had been typed on a typewriter. This convenience has carried through to the current world of online media, which makes information immediately available and updated if something changes.
- 3. Education
- It now seems like such a foreign concept to hear about looking through a card catalog in a library to find a book for a research project. Do today’s youngstudents even know what the Dewey Decimal system is? (Google it!) Schools are now using PC’s in the classroom and computer training is often part of their educational program. IBM implemented the “Reinventing Education Change Toolkit,” which provides educators with the tools to effectively bring technology into the classroom to raise the quality of their education. The program has more than 3,500 registered users in all 50 states and in 10 countries.
- 2.Communication and Correspondence
- When was the last time you received a personal letter in the mail from a friend? Odds are the more recent way you’ve spoken with them was via email. Emails are much more instantaneous and convenient, making them the preferred method in today’s world where time is money. But sending an email wasn’t even on the radar 25 years ago. When IBM made computers available to everyone, the connection people were making went from face-to-face to being between the screens and keyboards they had in their homes.
- 1. Accessibility to Information
- Before personal computers or smart phones, any research or information would have to be found through printed newspapers, magazines, journals or in the dusty back rooms of libraries. Now, thanks to high speed internet we now have endless information at our fingertips nearly anywhere we go. Earlier this year, IBM announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with the University of Rhode Island where they’ll assist in connecting scientific researchers to studies done around the world. This collaboration between scientists and sharing of information, is a direct result of the first IBM PC.
