• Today in History - 1981

    From Dave Drum@1:18/200 to All on Sat Aug 12 04:17:00 2023
    12 August 1981 - IBM MAKES IT PERSONAL WITH THE 5150 COMPUTER: $1,565
    will get you 16K of RAM, a 4.77 MHz CPU, and DOS 1.0 on IBM's new entry
    into the marketplace, a machine marketed as a personal computer, or
    'PC.' Open standards mean third parties can write software or build peripherals, which will contribute to the 5150's huge success.

    After a lot of heated arguments, the team concluded they needed to go
    outside the company and use "off-the-shelf" parts to fast-track a
    computer they could sell for US$1500.

    They went to Microsoft for the operating system (QDOS, renamed PC-DOS
    and later sold by Microsoft as MS-DOS) and to Intel +< for its 8088
    processor. They chose an existing monitor from IBM Japan and a
    dot-matrix printer by Epson. Only the keyboard and the system unit
    itself were new designs from IBM. Even more shocking at the time, the
    team opted to make the IBM PC an "open architecture" product, and
    published a technical reference of the systemgCOs circuit designs and
    software source codes. With this information, other companies could
    develop software and build peripheral components.

    On August 12, 1981, Estridge and his team introduced the IBM 5150 at a
    press conference in New York City, triggering a media frenzy that
    continued for months. The new computer had 16KB of RAM, no disk drives,
    several applications-including VisiCalc, a spreadsheet, and EasyWriter,
    a word processor-and sold for US$1565. An expanded model came with 256KB
    of RAM and two floppy disk drives. In another major departure from
    business as usual, IBM sold the PC through retail stores such as
    ComputerLand and Sears.

    MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

    Title: Strawberry Curry Chicken
    Categories: Poultry, Fruits, Curry, Vegetables
    Yield: 2 servings

    1/2 c Mayonnaise
    1/3 c Ketchup
    1 tb Red wine vinegar
    1 tb Onion; fine chopped
    1/4 c Strawberry jam
    2 tb Curry powder
    3 tb Dry onion soup mix
    Salt & pepper
    2 Chicken breast halves or
    - thighs; skinned, boned

    In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except chicken,
    strawberries, and rice.

    Place chicken breasts in a 9" X 13" baking dish.

    Spoon all of the sauce from the bowl over the chicken.

    Cover the pan and refrigerate until well marinated (at
    least 1 hr).

    Set the oven @ 375+|F/190+|C.

    Take dish out of fridge and uncover.

    Bake until chicken is cooked through (abt 20 minutes).

    Pour chicken and sauce onto a plate with cooked white
    rice.

    Garnish with fresh strawberries.

    Serves 2 people.

    By: Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson (IBM application)

    RECIPE FROM: https://www.pcmag.com

    Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives

    MMMMM

    ... "640K ought to be enough for anybody." Bill Gates '81
    ___ MultiMail/Win v0.52

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  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to DAVE DRUM on Sat Aug 12 08:33:00 2023
    They went to Microsoft for the operating system (QDOS, renamed PC-DOS
    and later sold by Microsoft as MS-DOS) and to Intel +< for its 8088 processor. They chose an existing monitor from IBM Japan and a
    dot-matrix printer by Epson. Only the keyboard and the system unit
    itself were new designs from IBM. Even more shocking at the time, the
    team opted to make the IBM PC an "open architecture" product, and
    published a technical reference of the systemgCOs circuit designs and software source codes. With this information, other companies could
    develop software and build peripheral components.

    It is even more shocking in hindsight considering that they would later try
    to make it more difficult to use non-IBM parts on their machines.

    Mike


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  • From Dave Drum@1:229/452 to Mike Powell on Sun Aug 13 07:10:30 2023
    Mike Powell wrote to DAVE DRUM <=-

    They went to Microsoft for the operating system (QDOS, renamed PC-DOS
    and later sold by Microsoft as MS-DOS) and to Intel +< for its 8088 processor. They chose an existing monitor from IBM Japan and a
    dot-matrix printer by Epson. Only the keyboard and the system unit
    itself were new designs from IBM. Even more shocking at the time, the
    team opted to make the IBM PC an "open architecture" product, and
    published a technical reference of the systemgCOs circuit designs and software source codes. With this information, other companies could
    develop software and build peripheral components.

    It is even more shocking in hindsight considering that they would later try to make it more difficult to use non-IBM parts on their machines.

    Well, the guys who wrote the manuals and sneaked them past the bean
    counters weren't the management pirates who woke up and realised that
    they might lose a few pfennigs to the cloners. Sorta like Slick Willie
    Gates gritting his teeth when some bright sparks cloned MS-DOS.

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