Get Wired | 30th birthday of the PC

INDIANAPOLIS - Thirty years ago, on August 12, 1981, IBM introduced what we know as the PC – or the personal computer, IBM 5150.

What we know as a PC today and what they produced a little over a quarter of a century ago are vastly different.

We now can hold a computer in one hand – i.e. netbook – that can hold millions of more bytes of data than the IBM 5150.

It’s amazing. It’s a miracle. And to quote a very distinguished philosopher – * cough cough * comedian – Louie C.K., “It’s magic,” and we should be grateful for even having something like this.

Seriously, though, in 30 short years we have gone from big, clunky, tan boxes to slim, sleek micro-machines that contain tons of our very important info, photos, movies and games. We can toss it in a bag and go, whether it’s our smart phone, our netbook or an iPad. We are mobile. We have definitely evolved.

If you watch this awesome commercial for the IBM 5150, you’ll see that people had that same feeling about the original PC, because it was a huge difference from previous computers, some which took up entire rooms!

To celebrate this austere occasion, let’s take a moment and think about how we take our personal electronics for granted everyday. These tiny machines that most people think they can’t live without deserve a little “thumbs up.

Happy Birthday Personal Computer! 

A little Birthday Music by Kraftwerk

And as always:

NYAN CAT says: You will follow Twinkle on Twitter. You will follow Twinkle on Tumblr . You will smile and return next week for another Get Wired.