The personal computer industry really started when IBM launched their PC in 1982. This then cost £2,950 (about £6,000 or Rm: 37,000 in today's money). It contained an Intel 8088 processor running at 4.77 or 8 MHz, 64 Kb of Memory and 160 Kb Floppy Drive. It did not have a hard disk. Manuals, operating system and cables were all extras. It was black and white and had no sound save for a tiny beep. What could this early machine do ?
Word ProcessingSpreadsheet
Database work - in corporations
Simple E-mail (VT100 emulation)
Games
Let us look at how this compares with last year's PC. I use as my reference point the quoted prices of new equipment on the UK high street (December 1998). E.g. a Siemens Nixdorf PII 266 - £650 (Rm:3,900) with an Intel Pentium II 266 MHz (33 to 56 times faster than the IBM PC) processor, 32 Mb of RAM (500 times the amount in the IBM PC), 4.3 Giga Byte Hard Disk, 1.4 Mb floppy disk (8.7 times the size of the IBM PC), 24x CD-ROM drive, sound and colour.
The Simiens Nixdorf machine is a nice system but what can this machine do ?
Word Processing (and spell checking)Spreadsheet
Database work
Complex E-mail and the Internet
Games
It is clear to see that there has not been any real increase in functionality. Why this is the case and the consequences which follow requires analysis