Few people noticed it at the time, but August 12, 1981, was a seminal date in world history. Less than two weeks after the launch of MTV, IBM introduced the original Model 5150 IBM PC. Sure, there were personal computers before then, produced by such companies as Apple and Radio Shack but they were hardly the ubiquitous items that people see everywhere. They were exclusively for hobbyists and geeks in a world where geek meant something completely different. Once IBM jumped into the fray, desktop computers began to be taken seriously.
It was hardly the PC that we know today. The most basic model had only 16 kilobytes of memory, though that could be upgraded to a mind-numbing 64K for what it costs to buy about 50 thumb drives on a back to school sale today. Then there were those annoying floppy disks to store programs and information. A monitor whose colors were limited to green added a few hundred dollars more to the price, and the truly wealthy could add a top of the line dot matrix printer for the same price.
The desktop computer took up most of a desk top, but it was far less powerful than the standard smartphone which can slip into a pocket with ease. Today people talk in Gigabytes and Terrabytes, and monochrome monitors make steam engines look positively cutting edge, considering that an iPad is essentially an interactive monitor.
The computer has come a long way in thirty years, thanks largely to the innovators here in Silicon Valley. Still, it’s worth remembering its humble origins, and how they once seemed so over-the-top and cutting edge. One can only wonder what the next thirty years will bring.
Taiko Jam 2011 
