The original IBM PC (Wikimedia Commons / Boffy b) IBM may have
been out of the personal computing business for some time, but
30 years ago it kicked off a revolution by bringing small,
affordable computers to the masses. Yeah, there were other PCs
before the IBM PC – originally known by its numeric moniker, the
5150 – but the strategy of using off-the-shelf, interchangeable
parts to build a personal computer was an innovative one at the
time. Ironically, that approach also proved to be IBM’s undoing,
as it quickly spawned a slew of competitors who copied its
design and sold systems for much less. Among them, of course,
was Houston-based Compaq Computer. In a post on the official
Microsoft blog, Frank X. Shaw – the company’s VP of corporate
communications – waxes nostalgic about the event, which also
happened to put his company on the map. History is made in the
moment but defined over time, and through that lens, it’s clear
that 30 years ago, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City
on Aug. 12, 1981, was