History of Computers
The 1980's,
1980: First issue of InfoWorld is published.
1980: Microsoft licenses UNIX operating system from Bell Laboratories and introduces its XENIX adaptation.
1980: Total computers in use in the U.S. exceed one million units.
1981: Commodore introduces the VIC-20 home computer, which sells over one million units.
1981: IBM enters the personal computer market, creating a de facto standard.
1981: Osborne Computer introduces the Osborne 1, the first portable computer.
1982: Compaq Computer incorporates.
1982: Sun Microsystems is founded.
1982: Microsoft licenses MS-DOS to 50 microcomputer manufacturers in the first 16 months of availability.
1982: Time Magazine names the computer its Man of the Year.
1982: U.S. drops IBM antitrust suit begun in 1969.
1983: Compaq ships its first computer in January and sells $111M, the greatest first-year sales in the history of American business.
1983: Cray 2 computer introduced with one billion FLOPs (floating point operations per second) performance rating.
1983: Lotus 1-2-3 replaces VisiCalc as the spreadsheet software of choice for microcomputers.
1983: NEC announces the SX-1 and SX-2 supercomputers.
1983: Total computers in use in the U.S. exceed ten million units.
1984: Apple introduces the Macintosh computer.
1984: IBM introduces the PC AT (Advanced Technology). IBM merges with Rolm Corp., which becomes a telecommunications subsidiary.
1984: The Tandy 1000 personal computer becomes the #1 selling IBM PC-compatible in its first year.
1985: Aldus introduces PageMaker for the Macintosh and starts the desktop publishing era.
1986: Compaq makes the Fortune 500 list. Introduces its first Intel 80386-based PC.
1986: Computerworld publishes its 1,000th issue on November 3.
1986: HP introduces its Spectrum line of reduced instruction set computers (RISC).
1986: Tandy has over 7300 retail outlets including more than 4800 company-owned Radio Shack stores in the U.S.
1986: The number of computers in the U.S. exceeds 30 million.
1987: IBM introduces its PS/2 family and ships over 1 million units by year end.
1987: Sun Microsystems introduces its first workstation based on a RISC microprocessor.
1987: Apple introduces the Macintosh II and Macintosh SE and HyperCard.
1987: Compaq reaches a billion dollar in sales in its fifth year of operation.
1987: Apple spins off its application software business as a separate company and names it Claris.
1987: Texas Instruments introduces the first AI microprocessor chip.
1988: IBM announces its long awaited Silverlake mid-range computers called AS/400.
1988: The first graphics supercomputers are announced by Apollo, Ardent and Stellar. These computers are aimed
at 3D graphics applications.
1988: The first PS/2-compatible computers are announced by Tandy, Dell Computer and others.
1988: Sematech picks Austin, TX as its headquarters and the consortium will be headed by Robert Noyce.
1988: A consortium of PC companies led by Compaq introduces the EISA counter standard to IBM's PS/2 MicroChannel bus.
1988: IBM wins a $3.6B contract to build the next generation air traffic control system.
1988: A nondestructive worm spreads via the Internet network and brings several thousand computers to their knees.
