IBM PC 5150

Whenever computers were mentioned in the 1960s and 1970s, IBM was the name on everyone's lips. Despite this, the manufacturing giant was so slow to react that it almost missed out on the personal computer revolution, eventually launching its own PC in August 1981. The device proved an immediate hit, becoming an office mainstay. After all, it was a product of THE computer company, a fact which engendered trust among businesses that had not had any faith in the models available on the market thus far. The IBM PC, which ran with Microsoft's DOS operating system, provided the industry standard that had been lacking for so long. Photo: Jan Braun, HNF