
           ANCIENT HISTORY
  The first programmable computers were invented in the 1940's. 
Before then, people were stuck with the abacus, adding machine, 
and slide rule.
  During the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's, most computers used 
punched cards ___ whose history is weird. The cards were first 
used for weaving tapestries. Where the cards had holes, rods 
could move through the cards; those moving rods in turn made 
other rods move, which caused the threads to weave pictures. That 
machine was called the Jacquard loom.

           Charles Babbage
  Charles Babbage was a wild-eyed English mathematician who, in 
the 1800's, believed he could build a fancy computing machine. He 
convinced the British government to give him lots of money, then 
bilked the government for more. Many years later ___ and many 
British pounds later ___ he still hadn't finished his machine. So 
he dropped the idea and ___ can you believe this? ___ tried to 
build an even fancier machine. He didn't finish that one either. 
You might say his life was a failure that was expensive for the 
British government.
  But Charlie (as I'll call him) is admired by all us 
computerniks (in spite of his face, which was even sterner than 
Beethoven's), because he was the first person to realize that a 
computing machine must be composed of an input device (he used a 
card reader), a memory (which he called ``The Store''), a central 
processing unit (which he called ``The Mill''), and an output 
device (he used a printer).

            Lady Lovelace
  Feminists will kill me if I don't mention Charlie's side-kick, 
Lady Lovelace. (No, she's not related to Linda.) She was one of 
Charlie's great admirers, but he never noticed her until she 
translated his stuff. And boy, it was impossible for him not to 
notice her translations. Her ``footnotes'' to the translation 
were three times as long as what she was translating!
  She got very intense. She wrote to Charlie, ``I am working very 
hard for you ___ like the Devil in fact (which perhaps I am).''
  The two became love-birds, although he was old enough to be her 
father. (By the way, her father was Lord Byron, the poet. She was 
Lord Byron's only ``official'' daughter. His other daughters were 
illegitimate.) Some people argue that she was actually brighter 
than Charlie, despite Charlie's fame. She was better at 
explaining Charlie's machines and their implications than Charlie 
was. Some people have dubbed her, ``the world's first 
programmer''.
  Stunning She stunned all the men she met. She was so bright and 
. . . a woman! Here's how the editor of The Examiner described 
her (note the pre-Women's-Lib language!):
``She was thoroughly original. Her genius, for genius she 
possessed, was not poetic, but metaphysical and mathematical. 
With an understanding thoroughly masculine in solidity, grasp, 
and firmness, Lady Lovelace had all the delicacies of the most 
refined female character. Her manners, tastes, and 
accomplishments were feminine in the nicest sense of the word; 
and the superficial observer would never have divined the 
strength and knowledge
that lay hidden under the womanly graces. Proportionate to her 
distaste for the frivolous and commonplace was her enjoyment of 
true intellectual society. Eagerly she sought the acquaintance of 
all who were distinguished in science, art, and literature.''
                                         Mad Eventually, she went 
mad. Mattresses lined her room to prevent her from banging her 
head. Nevertheless, she died gruesomely, at the ripe young age of 
36, the same age that her father croaked. (I guess premature 
death was popular in her Devilish family.)
                                         Who's the heroine? I 
wish feminists would pick a different heroine than Lady Lovelace. 
She was not the most important woman in the history of computing.
                                         Far more important were 
Grace Hopper and Jean Sammet. In the 1950's Grace Hopper invented 
the first programming languages, and she inspired many of us 
programmers until her recent death. Jean Sammet headed the main 
committee that invented COBOL; she's the world's top expert on 
the history of programming languages, and she's been president of 
the computer industry's main professional society, the ACM.
                                         Lady Lovelace was 
second-string to Babbage. Grace Hopper and Jean Sammet were 
second-string to nobody.
                                         But since Hopper and 
Sammet led less racy lives, journalists ignore them; and since 
Hopper was an Admiral in the Navy (bet you didn't know the Navy 
had lady Admirals!), she irked some of us doves. Nevertheless, 
whenever she stepped in front of an audience she got a standing 
ovation because all of us realize how crucial she was to the 
computer industry.
                                         But I'm straying from my 
story. . . . 

                                                 Herman Hollerith
                                         The U.S. Bureau of the 
Census takes its census every ten years. To tabulate the results 
of the 1880 census, the Bureau took 7 years: they didn't finish 
until 1887. When they contemplated the upcoming 1890 census, they 
got scared; at the rate America was growing, they figured that 
tallying the 1890 census would take 12 years. In other words, the 
results of the 1890 census wouldn't be ready until 1902. So they 
held a contest to see whether anyone could invent a faster way to 
tabulate the data.
                                         The winner was Herman 
Hollerith. He was the first person to successfully use punched 
cards to process data.
                                         Hermie (as I'll call 
him) was modest. When people asked him how he got the idea of 
using punched cards, he had two answers. One was, ``Trains'': he 
had watched a train's conductor punch the tickets. His other, 
more interesting answer was, ``Chicken salad''. After saying 
``Chicken salad'', he'd pause for you to ask the obvious 
question, ``Why chicken salad?'' Then he'd tell his tale. . . . 
                                         One day, a girl saw him 
gulping down chicken salad. She said, ``Oh, you like chicken 
salad? Come to my house. My mother makes excellent chicken 
salad.'' So he did. And her father was a head of the Census. (And 
he married the girl.)
                                         By the way, Herman 
Hollerith hated one thing: spelling. In elementary school, he 
jumped out a second-story window, to avoid a spelling test.
  In some versions of FORTRAN, every string must be preceded by 
the letter H. For example, instead of saying ___
'DOG'
you must say:
3HDOG
The H is to honor Herman Hollerith.
  Anyway, getting back to the story, in 1890 the Census used 
Hollerith's system, and used it again in 1900.
  In 1910, the Census switched to a fancier system created by a 
Census Bureau employee, James Powers. Later, Powers quit his job 
and started his own company, which merged into 
Remington-Rand-Sperry-Univac. Meanwhile, Herman Hollerith's own 
company merged into IBM. That's how the first two computer 
companies began doing data processing.

            World War II
  The first programmable computers were invented in the 1940's 
because of World War II. They could have been invented sooner ___ 
most of the know-how was available several decades earlier ___ 
but you can't invent a computer unless you have big bucks for 
research. And the only organization that had big enough bucks was 
the Defense Department (which in those days was more honestly 
called the ``War Department'').  And the only event that was big 
enough to make the War Department spend that kind of money was 
World War II.
  Of course, the Germans did the same thing. A German fellow, 
Konrad Zuse, built computers which in some ways surpassed the 
American ones. But since the Germans lost the war, you don't hear 
much about old Konrad anymore. Fortunately, throughout World War 
II the German military ignored what he was doing.
  During the 1940's, most computers were invented at 
universities, usually funded by the War-Defense Department. Some 
of the most famous computers were the Mark I (at Harvard with 
help from IBM), the ENIAC and the EDVAC (both at the University 
of Pennsylvania), the Whirlwind (at the Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology, M.I.T.), and the Ferranti Mark I (at the 
University of Manchester, in England). Which of those computers 
deserves to be called ``the first programmable computer''? The 
answer's up for grabs. Each of those machines had its own 
peculiar hang-ups and required years of debugging before working 
well.
  Each of those computers was, as they say in the art world, a 
``signed original''. No two of those computers were alike.

  The first generation (1951-1958)
  The first computer to be mass-produced was the UNIVAC I, in 
1951. It was made by the same two guys (Eckert & Mauchly) who'd 
built the ENIAC and EDVAC at the University of Pennsylvania. 
(Mauchly was an instructor there, and Eckert was the graduate 
student who did the dirty work.) While others at the school were 
helping build the EDVAC, Eckert and Mauchly left and formed their 
own company, which invented and started building the UNIVAC. 
While building the UNIVAC, the Eckert-Mauchly company merged into 
Remington Rand (which later merged into Sperry-Rand, which later 
merged into Unisys).
  The UNIVAC I was so important that historians call it the 
beginning of the ``first generation''. As for computers before 
UNIVAC ___ historians disparagingly call them the ``zeroth 
generation''.
                                         So the first generation 
began in 1951. It lasted through 1958. Altogether, from 1951 to 
1958, 46 of those UNIVACs were sold.
                                         46 might not sound like 
many. But remember: in those days, computers were very expensive, 
and could do very little. Another reason why only 46 were sold is 
that newer models came out, such as the UNIVAC 1103, the UNIVAC 
80, and the UNIVAC 90. But the biggest reason why only 46 of the 
UNIVAC I were sold is IBM.
                                         The rise of IBM Although 
IBM didn't begin mass-marketing computers until 1953 ___ two 
years after UNIVAC ___ the IBM guys were much better salesmen, 
and soon practically everybody was buying from IBM. During the 
first generation, the hottest seller was the IBM 650. IBM sold 
hundreds and hundreds of them.
                                         There were many smaller 
manufacturers too. People summarized the whole computer industry 
in one phrase: IBM and the Seven Dwarfs.
                                         Who were the dwarfs? 
They kept changing. Companies rapidly entered the field ___ and 
rapidly left when they realized IBM had the upper hand. By the 
end of the first generation, IBM was getting 70% of the sales.
                                         Primitive input and 
output During the first generation, there were no terminals. To 
program the UNIVAC I, you had to put the program onto magnetic 
tape (by using a non-computerized machine), feed that tape to the 
computer, and wait for the computer to vomit another magnetic 
tape, which you had to run through another machine to find out 
what the tape said.
                                         One reason why the IBM 
650 became more popular was that it could read cards instead of 
tapes. It really liked cards. In fact, the answers came out on 
cards. To transfer the answers from cards to paper, you had to 
run the cards through a separate non-computerized machine.
                                         Memory At the beginning 
of the first generation, there was no RAM, no ROM, and no core. 
Instead, the UNIVAC's main memory was banks of liquid mercury, in 
which the bits were stored as ultrasonic sound waves. It worked 
slowly and serially, so the access time ranged from 40 to 400 
microseconds per bit.
                                         UNIVAC's manufacturer 
and IBM started playing around with a different kind of memory, 
called the Williams tube, which was faster (10 to 50 
microseconds); but since it was less reliable, it didn't sell 
well.
                                         In 1953, several 
manufacturers started selling computers that were much cheaper, 
because they used super-slow memory: it was a drum that rotated 
at 3600 rpm, giving an average access time of 17000 microseconds 
(17 milliseconds). (During the 1970's, some computers still used 
drums, but for auxiliary memory, not for main memory.) The most 
popular first generation computer, the IBM 650, was one of those 
cheap drum computers.
                                         Core memory consists of 
tiny iron donuts strung on a grid of wires, whose electrical 
current magnetizes the donuts. That scheme was first conceived in 
1950. The first working models were built in 1953 at M.I.T. and 
RCA, which argued with each other about who owned the patent. The 
courts decided in favor of M.I.T., so both RCA and IBM came out 
with core-memory computers. Core memory proved so popular that 
most computers used it through the 1970's, though in the 1980's 
RAM finally overshadowed it.
  Languages During the first generation, computer programming 
improved a lot. During the early 1950's, all programs had to be 
written in machine language. In the middle 1950's, assembly 
language became available. By 1958, the end of the first 
generation, three major high-level languages had become 
available: FORTRAN, ALGOL, and APT.
  Fancy programs Programmers tried to make computers play a 
decent game of chess. All the attempts failed. But at IBM, Arthur 
Samuel had some luck with checkers. He got his first checkers 
program working in 1952 and then continually improved it, to make 
it more and more sophisticated. In 1955, he rewrote it so that it 
learned from its own mistakes. In 1956, he demonstrated it on 
national TV. He kept working on it. Though it hadn't reached 
championship level yet, it was starting to look impressive.
  Computer music scored its first big success in 1956, on the 
University of Illinois' ILLIAC computer. Hiller & Isaacson made 
the ILLIAC compose its own music in a style that sounded 
pre-Bach. In 1957, they made the program more flexible, so that 
it produced many styles of more modern music. The resulting 
mishmash composition was dubbed ``The ILLIAC Suite'' and put on a 
phonograph record.
  In 1954, IBM wrote a program that translated simple sentences 
from Russian to English. Work on tackling harder sentences 
continued ___ with too much optimism.

  The second generation (1959-1963)
  Throughout the first generation, each CPU was composed of 
vacuum tubes. Back in 1948, Bell Telephone had invented the 
transistor, and everybody realized that transistors would be 
better than vacuum tubes; but putting transistors into computers 
posed many practical problems that weren't solved for many years.
  Finally, in 1959, computer companies started delivering 
transistorized computers. That year marked the beginning of the 
second generation. Sales of vacuum-tube computers immediately 
stopped.
  All second-generation computers used core memory.
  IBM The first company to make transistors for computers was 
Philco, but the most popular second-generation computer turned 
out to be the IBM 1401, because it was business-oriented and 
cheap. IBM announced it in 1959 and began shipping it to 
customers in 1960.
  Its core memory required 11 microseconds per character. Each 
character consisted of 6 bits. The number of characters in the 
memory could range from 1.4K up to 16K. Most people rented the 
1401 for about $8,000 per month, but you could spend anywhere 
from $4,000 to $12,000 per month, depending on how much memory 
you wanted, etc.
  Altogether, IBM installed 14,000 of those machines.
  IBM also installed 1,000 of a faster version, called the 1410. 
It required only 4 microseconds per character, had 10K to 80K, 
and rented for $8,000 to $18,000 per month, typically $11,000.
  Altogether, IBM produced six kinds of computers. . . . 
small business computers:the 1401, 1410, 1440, and 1460
small scientific computers:the 1620

medium-sized business computers:the 7010
medium-sized scientific computers:the 7040 and 7044

large business computers:the 7070, 7074, and 7080
large scientific computers:the 7090 and 7094

                                         CDC Several employees 
left Remington-Rand-Sperry-Univac and formed their own company, 
called the Control Data Corporation (CDC). During the second 
generation, CDC produced popular scientific computers: the 1604, 
the 3600, and the 3800.
                                         Software During the 
second generation, software improved tremendously.
                                         The three major 
programming languages that had been invented during the first 
generation (FORTRAN, ALGOL, and APT) were significantly improved. 
Six new programming languages were invented: COBOL, RPG, LISP, 
SNOBOL, DYNAMO, and GPSS.
                                         Programmers wrote 
advanced programs that answered questions about baseball, wrote 
poetry, tutored medical students, imitated three-person social 
interaction, controlled a mechanical hand, proved theorems in 
geometry, and solved indefinite integrals. The three most popular 
sorting methods were invented: the Shuffle Sort, the Shell Sort, 
and Quicksort.

                                        Dawn of 3rd generation (1964-1967)
                                         The third generation 
began with a big bang, in 1964. Here's what happened in 1964, 
1965, 1966, and 1967. . . . 
                                         Families The first 
modern computer families were shipped. They were the CDC 6600, 
the IBM 360, and DEC's families (the PDP-6, PDP-8, and PDP-10).
                                         Of those families, the 
CDC 6600 ran the fastest. The IBM 360 was the most flexible and 
was the only one that used integrated circuits. The PDP-6 and 
PDP-10 were the best for timesharing. The PDP-8 was the cheapest.
                                         Here are the dates. CDC 
began shipping the CDC 6600 in 1964. IBM announced the IBM 360 in 
1964 but didn't ship it until 1966. DEC began shipping the PDP-6 
maxicomputer in 1964, the PDP-8 minicomputer in 1965, and the 
PDP-10 maxicomputer (a souped-up PDP-6) in 1967.
                                         New languages IBM 
announced it would create PL/I, a new computer language combining 
FORTRAN, COBOL, ALGOL, and all other popular languages. It was 
designed especially for IBM's new computer, the 360. In 1966, IBM 
began delivering PL/I to customers.
                                         Programmers invented the 
first successful languages for beginners using terminals. Those 
languages were BASIC, JOSS, and APL.
                                         Dartmouth College 
invented the first version of BASIC in 1964, and significantly 
improved it in 1966 and 1967.
                                         The RAND Corporation 
invented JOSS in 1964 for the JOHNNIAC computer, and put an 
improved version (JOSS II) on the PDP-6 in 1965. During the 
1970's, three popular variants of JOSS arose: a souped-up version 
(called AID), a stripped-down version (FOCAL), and a 
business-oriented version (MUMPS).
                                         IBM completed the first 
version of APL in 1965 and put it on an IBM 7090. IBM wrote a 
better version of APL in 1966 and put it on an IBM 360. IBM began 
shipping APL to customers in 1967.
                                         Stanford University 
invented the most popular language for statistics: SPSS.
                                         Artificial intelligence 
Researchers calling themselves ``experts in artificial 
intelligence'' taught the computer to chat in ordinary English. 
For example, Bertram Raphael made the computer learn from 
conversations, Daniel Bobrow made it use algebra to solve ``story 
problems'', The Systems Development Corporation made it know 
everything in an encyclopedia, General Electric made it answer 
military
questions, Ross Quillian made it find underlying concepts, and 
Joe Weizenbaum made it act as a psychotherapist.
  Also, Richard Greenblatt wrote the first decent chess program. 
It was good enough to play in championship tournaments against 
humans.

     Era of boredom (1968-1974)
  As you can see, the first, second, and third generations ___ up 
through 1967 ___ were exciting, full of action. But then, from 
1968 to 1974, nothing newsworthy happened. That was the era of 
boredom.
  During that era, progress was made, but it was gradual and 
predictable. Nothing dramatic happened.
  Of course, nobody actually came out and said, ``Life is 
boring.'' People phrased it more genteelly. For example, in 
September 1971 Robert Fenichel and Joe Weizenbaum wrote this 
introduction to Scientific American's computer anthology:
``Partly because of the recent recession in the American economy, 
but more for reasons internal to the field, computer science has 
recently relaxed its pace. Work has not stopped, but that the 
current mood is one of consolidation can scarcely be doubted. 
Just a few years ago, computer science was moving so swiftly that 
even the professional journals were more archival than 
informative. This book could not then have been produced without 
great risk of misfocus. Today it's much easier to put the 
articles that constitute this book ___ even the most recent ones 
___ into context.''
  Since the first generation had lasted eight years (1951-1958), 
and the second generation had lasted four years (1959-1963), 
people were expecting the third generation to last at most four 
years (1964-1967) and some kind of ``fourth generation'' to begin 
about 1968. But it never happened.
  The only ``major'' announcement around then came in 1970, when 
IBM announced it would produce a new line of computers, called 
the IBM 370, which would make the IBM 360 obsolete. But to IBM's 
dismay, many computer centers decided to hang onto the old 360 
instead of switching to the 370. The 370's advantage over the 360 
was little, until several years later, when IBM started 
developing 370 software that wouldn't run on the 360.
  Since the difference between the 370 and 360 was 
disappointingly small, not even IBM claimed that the 370 marked a 
fourth generation. Computer historians, desperate for something 
positive to say about the 370, called it the beginning of the 
``late third generation'', as opposed to the 360, which belonged 
to the ``early third generation''.
  The cruel fact is, in the entire history of computers, there 
was just one year all computer manufacturers acted together to 
produce something new. That year was 1959, when all manufacturers 
switched from vacuum tubes to transistors. Since 1959, we haven't 
had any consistency. For example, although the third generation 
began with a ``big bang'' in 1964, each manufacturer was banging 
on a different drum. IBM was proclaiming how great the IBM 360 
would be because it would contain integrated circuits; but other 
manufacturers decided to ignore integrated circuits for several 
years, and concentrated on improving other aspects of the 
computer instead. For many years after the beginning of the third 
generation, CDC and DEC continued to use discrete transistors (a 
sign of the second generation) instead of integrated circuits.
  Why? The era of boredom happened for three reasons:
  1. The preceding years, 1964-1967, had been so successful that 
they were hard to improve on.
                                         2. When the Vietnam War 
ended, the American economy had a recession, especially the 
computer industry, because it had depended on contracts from the 
Defense Department. In 1969, the recession hit bottom, and 
computer companies had to lay off many workers. In that year, 
General Electric gave up and sold its computer division to 
Honeywell. In 1971, RCA gave up too and sold its computer 
division to Remington-Rand-Sperry-Univac.
                                         3. The world wasn't 
ready yet for ``the era of personal computing'', which began in 
1975.
                                         Quiet changes During the 
era of boredom, these changes occurred ___ quietly. . . . 
                                         In 1970, DEC began 
shipping the PDP-11. The PDP-8 and PDP-11 became the most popular 
minicomputers ___ far more popular than IBM's minicomputers. So 
in the field of minicomputers, IBM no longer had the upper hand.
                                         BASIC became the most 
popular language for the PDP-8 and PDP-11 and most other 
minicomputers (except IBM's, which emphasized RPG). In high 
schools and business schools, most of the introductory courses 
used BASIC, instead of FORTRAN or COBOL.
                                         Many businesses and high 
schools bought their own minicomputers, instead of renting time 
on neighbors' maxicomputers. The typical high-school computer 
class used a PDP-8. The richest high schools bought PDP-11's.
                                         In universities, the 
social sciences started using computers ___ and heavily ___ to 
analyze statistics.
                                         All new computer 
families used 8-bit bytes, so the length of each word was a 
multiple of 8 (such as 8, 16, 32, or 64). Most older computer 
families, invented before the era of boredom, had used 6-bit 
bytes, so the length of each word had been a multiple of 6: for 
example, the PDP-8 had a word of 12 bits; the PDP-10 , UNIVAC 
1100, and General Electric-Honeywell computers had a word of 36 
bits; and the CDC 6600 had a word of 60 bits. The IBM 360 was the 
first computer to use 8-bit bytes instead of 6-bit; during the 
era of boredom, all manufacturers copied that feature from IBM.
                                         CRT terminals (TV-like 
screens attached to keyboards) got cheaper and cheaper, until 
they were finally as cheap as hard-copy terminals (which use 
paper). Most computer centers replaced hard-copy terminals by CRT 
terminals because CRT terminals were quicker, quieter, and could 
do fancy editing.
                                         Use of keypunch machines 
decreased because many computer centers replaced cards by CRT 
terminals.
                                         Interest in new computer 
languages died. Most computer managers decided to stick with the 
old classics (FORTRAN and COBOL), because switching to a 
progressive language (such as PL/I) would require too much time 
to retrain the programmers and rewrite all the old programs.
                                         Programmers made two 
last-ditch attempts to improve ALGOL. The first attempt, called 
ALGOL 68, was too complicated to win popular appeal. The second 
attempt, called PASCAL, eventually gained more support.
                                         Maxicomputers were given 
virtual core ___ disks that pretend to be core, in case you're 
trying to run a program that's too large to fit into core.
                                         Memory chips got cheaper 
and cheaper, until they were finally cheaper than core. Most 
manufacturers replaced core by memory chips.
                                         In 1971, Intel began 
shipping the first microprocessor (complete CPU on a chip). It 
was called the 4004 and had a word of just 4 bits. In 1972, Intel 
began shipping an improved version, the 8008, whose word had 8 
bits. In 1973, Intel began shipping an even better version, the 
8080.

            MICRO HISTORY
  In 1975, the first popular microcomputer was shipped. It was 
called the Altair and was built by a company called MITS. It cost 
just $395.
  It was just a box that contained a CPU and very little RAM: 
just  of a K!
  It included no printer, no disk, no tape, no ROM, no screen, 
and not even a keyboard! The only way to communicate with the 
computer was to throw 25 switches and watch 36 blinking lights.
  It didn't understand BASIC or any other high-level computer 
language. To learn how to throw the switches and watch the 
blinking lights, you had to take a course in ``machine 
language''.
  You also had to take a course in electronics ___ because the 
$395 got you just a kit that you had to assemble yourself by 
using a soldering iron and reading electronics diagrams. 
Moreover, when you finished building the kit, you noticed some of 
the parts were missing or defective, so that you had to contact 
MITS for new parts.
  That computer contained several empty slots to hold PC cards. 
Eventually, many companies invented PC cards to put into those 
slots. Those PC cards, which were expensive, let you insert extra 
RAM and attach a printer, tape recorder, disk drives, TV, and 
terminal (keyboard with either a screen or paper).
  Bill Gates invented a way to make the Altair handle BASIC. He 
called his method Microsoft BASIC. He patterned it after DEC's 
BASIC; but he included extra features that exploited the Altair's 
ability to be ``personal'', and he eliminated features that would 
require too much RAM.
  Gary Kildall invented a disk operating system that the Altair 
could use. He called that operating system CP/M.
  Many companies built computers that imitated the Altair. Those 
imitations became more popular than the Altair itself. 
Eventually, the Altair's manufacturer (MITS) went out of 
business.
  The computers that imitated the Altair were called S-100 bus 
computers, because they each used a Standard cable containing 100 
wires.
  In those days, the microcomputer industry was standardized. 
Each popular microcomputer used Microsoft BASIC, CP/M, and the 
S-100 bus. The microcomputer was just a box containing PC cards; 
it had no keyboard, no screen, and no disk drive. A cable went 
from the microcomputer to a terminal, which was priced 
separately. Another cable went from the microcomputer to a disk 
drive, which was also priced separately.
                                                Built-in keyboards
                                         In 1977, four companies 
began selling microcomputers that had built-in keyboards, so you 
didn't have to buy a terminal. Their computers became popular 
immediately. The four companies were Processor Technology, Apple, 
Commodore, and Radio Shack.
                                         Processor Technology's 
computer was called the Sol 20, to honor Solomon Libes, an editor 
of Popular Electronics. Apple's computer was called the Apple 2, 
because it improved on the Apple 1, which had lacked a built-in 
keyboard. Commodore's computer was called the Pet (inspired by 
Pet Rocks). Radio Shack's computer was called the TRS-80, because 
it was manufactured by Tandy's Radio Shack and contained a Z-80 
CPU.
                                         For a fully assembled 
computer, Processor Technology charged $1850, Apple charged $970, 
Commodore charged $595 (but quickly raised the price to $795), 
and Radio Shack charged $599 (but soon lowered the price to 
$499).
                                         Notice that Commodore 
and Radio Shack had the lowest prices. Also, the low prices from 
Commodore and Radio Shack included a monitor, whereas the prices 
from Processor Technology and Apple didn't. So Commodore and 
Radio Shack were the real ``bargains''.
                                         In those days, ``the 
lower the price, the more popular the computer''. The cheapest 
and most popular computer was Radio Shack's. The second cheapest 
and second most popular was Commodore's Pet. The third cheapest 
and third most popular was the Apple 2. Processor Technology, 
after a brief fling of popularity, went bankrupt. The most 
expensive kind of microcomputer was the CP/M S-100 bus system, 
which was the oldest kind and therefore had accumulated the 
greatest quantity of business software.

                                                   Improvements
                                         In 1978 and 1979, the 
three main companies (Apple, Commodore, and Radio Shack) improved 
their computers.
                                         The improved Apple 2 was 
called the Apple 2-plus. The improved Commodore Pet was called 
the Commodore Business Machine (CBM). The improved Radio Shack 
TRS-80 was called the TRS-80 model 2.
                                         After announcing the 
Apple 2-plus, Apple Computer Company stopped selling the plain 
Apple 2.
                                         Commodore continued 
selling its old computer (the Pet) to customers who couldn't 
afford the new version (the CBM), which cost more. Likewise, 
Radio Shack continued selling its model 1 to customers who 
couldn't afford the model 2.

                                             Texas Instruments & Atari
                                         In 1979, Texas 
Instruments (TI) and Atari entered the microcomputer marketplace 
and began selling low-priced computers.
                                         TI's microcomputer was 
called the TI 99/4. Atari offered two microcomputers: the Atari 
400 and the Atari 800.
                                         TI charged $1150. Atari 
charged $1000 for the regular model (the Atari 800) and $550 for 
the stripped-down model (the Atari 400).
  TI's price included a color monitor. Atari's prices did not 
include a screen; you were to attach Atari's computers to your 
home's TV.
  TI's computer was terrible, especially its keyboard. The Atari 
800 computer was wonderful; reviewers were amazed at its 
easy-to-use keyboard, easy-to-use built-in editor, gorgeous color 
output on your TV, child-proofing (safe for little kids), and 
dazzling games, all at a wonderfully low price! It was cheaper 
than an Apple (whose price had by then risen to $1195) and yet 
was much better than an Apple.
  From that description, you'd expect Atari 800 to become the 
world's best-selling computer, and the TI 99/4 to become an 
immediate flop. Indeed, that's what most computer experts hoped. 
And so did the TI 99/4's product manager: when he saw what a mess 
the TI 99/4 had become, he quit TI and went to work for Atari, 
where he became the product manager for the Atari 400 & 800!
  But even though computer experts realized that TI's computer 
was junk, TI decided to market it very aggressively, in several 
ways. TI coaxed Milton Bradley and Scott Foresman to write lots 
of programs for the 99/4. It paid researchers at MIT to make the 
99/4 understand LOGO (a computer language used by young children 
and very popular in elementary schools). It improved the keyboard 
just enough so that people would stop laughing at it; the version 
with the new keyboard was named the 99/4A. TI paid Bill Cosby to 
praise the 99/4A and ran hundreds of TV ads showing Bill Cosby 
saying ``wow''. TI dramatically slashed the $1150 price to $650, 
then $150, and then finally to just $99.50! (To bring the price 
that low, TI had to exclude the color monitor from the price; 
instead, TI included a hookup to your home's color TV.)
  By contrast, Atari did hardly anything to market or further 
improve the Atari 400 & 800. Instead, Atari concentrated on its 
other products: the big Atari game machines (which you find in 
video arcades) and the Atari VCS machine (which plays video games 
on your home TV).
  The TI 99/4A therefore became more popular than the Atari 400 & 
800 ___ even though the TI 99/4A was inherently worse.

     Sinclair, Osborne, backlash
  In 1980 and 1981, two important companies entered the 
microcomputer marketplace: Timex Sinclair (1980) and Osborne 
(1981).
  The first complete computer selling for less than $200 was 
invented by a British chap named Clive Sinclair and manufactured 
by Timex. The original version was called the ZX-80 (because it 
was invented in 1980, contained a Z-80 CPU, and was claimed to be 
``Xellent''); it sold for $199.95. In 1981, Clive Sinclair 
invented an improved version, called the ZX-81. Later, he and 
Timex invented further improvements, called the ZX Spectrum and 
the Timex Sinclair 1000. When TI dropped the price of the TI 
99/4A to $99.50, Timex retaliated by dropping the list price of 
the Timex Sinclair 1000 to $49.95, so that the Timex Sinclair 
1000 remained the cheapest complete computer.
  In April 1981, Adam Osborne began the Osborne Computer Corp. 
and began selling the Osborne 1 computer, designed by Lee 
Felsenstein (the inventor of Processor Technology's Sol 20 
computer). The Osborne 1 computer included practically everything 
a business executive needed: its $1795 price included a keyboard, 
a monitor, a Z-80A CPU, a 64K RAM, two disk drives, CP/M, 
Microsoft BASIC, a second version of BASIC, the Wordstar word 
processor, and the Supercalc spreadsheet program. Moreover, it 
was the world's
first portable business computer: the entire computer system 
(including even the monitor and disk drives) was collapsible and 
turned itself into an easy-to-carry attach case. (Many years 
later, Compaq copied Osborne's idea.)
                                         While Timex Sinclair and 
Osborne were entering the marketplace, Radio Shack, Apple, and 
Commodore were introducing new computers of their own. Let's 
examine them. . . . 
                                         In 1980, Radio Shack 
began selling three new computers. The TRS-80 model 3 replaced 
Radio Shack's cheapest computer (the model 1) and was almost as 
good as Radio Shack's fanciest computer (the model 2). The TRS-80 
Color Computer drew pictures in color and cost less than the 
model 3. The TRS-80 Pocket Computer fit into your pocket, looked 
like a pocket calculator, and was built for Radio Shack by Sharp 
Electronics in Japan.
                                         In 1980, Apple began 
selling the Apple 3. It was overpriced; and to make matters 
worse, the first Apple 3's that rolled off the assembly line were 
defective. Apple eventually lowered the price and fixed the 
defects; but since the Apple 3 had gotten off to such a bad 
start, computer consultants didn't trust it and told everybody to 
avoid it.
                                         In 1981, Commodore began 
selling the Vic-20, which drew pictures in color and cost less 
than Radio Shack's Color Computer. In fact, the Vic-20 was the 
first computer that drew pictures in color for less than $300.
                                         The Vic-20 originally 
sold for $299.95. When TI lowered the price of the TI 99/4A to 
$99.95, Commodore lowered the price of the Vic-20. At discount 
department stores (such as K Mart, Toys R Us, and Child World), 
you could buy the Vic-20 for just $85: it was still the cheapest 
computer that could handle color. (The Timex Sinclair 1000 was 
cheaper but handled only black-and-white.)
                                         Moreover, the Vic-20 had 
standard Microsoft BASIC, whereas the Timex Sinclair 1000 and TI 
99/4A did not; so the Vic-20 was the cheapest computer that had 
standard Microsoft BASIC. It was the cheapest computer that was 
pleasant to program.
                                         Also, the Vic-20 had a 
nice keyboard, whereas the keyboards on the Timex Sinclair 1000 
and TI 99/4A were pathetic.
                                         The Vic-20 became 
immediately popular.

                                                      IBM PC
                                         On August 12, 1981, IBM 
announced a new microcomputer, called the IBM Personal Computer 
(or IBM PC).
                                         Although IBM had 
previously invented other microcomputers (the IBM 5100 and the 
IBM System 23 Datamaster), they'd been overpriced and nobody took 
them seriously ___ not even IBM. The IBM Personal Computer was 
IBM's first serious attempt to sell a microcomputer.
                                         The IBM Personal 
Computer was a smashing success, because of its amazingly high 
quality and amazingly low price. It became the standard against 
which the rest of the microcomputer industry was judged.

               CYCLES
  Every 8 years, the country's mood about computers has changed. 
After 8 years of dramatic revolution, we switched to 8 years of 
subtle evolution, then back again.

            Pivotal years
  The pivotal years were 1943 (beginning the first revolution), 
1951 (beginning the first period of evolution), 1959 
(revolution), 1967 (evolution), 1975 (revolution), 1983 
(evolution), and 1991 (revolution). Here are the details. . . . 
  Revolution From 1943 to 1950, researchers at universities were 
building the first true computers, which were big monsters. Each 
was custom-built; no two were alike.
  Evolution In 1951, Sperry began selling the first mass-produced 
computer: the UNIVAC I. Sperry built 46 of them. During the 
8-year era from 1951 to 1958, computers gradually became smaller 
and cheaper and acquired more software. That evolutionary era was 
called the first generation.
  Revolution The next computer revolution began in 1959, when IBM 
began selling the IBM 1401, the first IBM computer to use 
transistors instead of vacuum tubes. During that eight-year 
revolution from 1959 to 1966, computerists polished FORTRAN and 
ALGOL (which had been begun earlier), invented 9 other major 
computer languages (COBOL, BASIC, PL/I, LISP, SNOBOL, APL, 
DYNAMO, GPSS, and RPG), and began developing FORTH and SPSS. They 
created many amazing programs for artificial intelligence, such 
as Weizenbaum's Eliza program, which made the computer imitate a 
therapist. During that same eight-year period, IBM invented the 
IBM 360: it was the first popular computer that used integrated 
circuits, and all of IBM's modern mainframes are based on it.
  Evolution The years from 1967 to 1974 showed a gradual 
evolution. Computer prices continued to drop and quality 
continued to improve. DEC began selling PDP-10 and PDP-11 
computers, which became the favorite computers among researchers 
in universities.
  Revolution In 1975, MITS shipped the first popular 
microcomputer, the Altair, which launched the personal computer 
revolution. Soon Apple, Commodore, Tandy, and IBM began selling 
microcomputers also. Programmers developed lots of useful, fun 
software for them. The revolution climaxed at the end of 1982, 
when many Americans bought microcomputers as Christmas presents.
  Evolution In January 1983, the cover of Time magazine declared 
that the 1982 ``man of the year'' was the personal computer. But 
consumers quickly tired of the personal-computer fad, chucked 
their Commodore Vic and Timex Sinclair computers into the closet, 
and shifted attention to less intellectual pursuits. Many 
computer companies went bankrupt. In 1983, Lotus announced 1-2-3, 
but that was the computer industry's last major successful new 
product. After that, prices continued to fall and quality 
gradually increased, but no dramatic breakthroughs occurred. The 
computer industry became boring. During that time, if you were to 
ask ``What fantastically great happened in the computer industry 
during the past year?'' the answer was: ``Not much''.
                                         Revolution In 1991, the 
computer industry became exciting again. Here's why. . . . 
                                         Part of that excitement 
came from revolutionary influences of the previous two years: in 
1989 & 1990 the Berlin Wall fell, the Cold War ended, a new 
decade began, Microsoft finally invented a version of Windows 
that worked well (version 3.0), and Apple invented a color Mac 
that was affordable (the LC). In 1991, Microsoft put the 
finishing touches on Windows (version 3.1) and DOS (version 5).
                                         In 1991 and 1992, a 
series of price wars made the cost of computers drop 45% per year 
instead of the customary 30%. Those lower prices made people 
spend more money on computers, because the ridiculously low 
prices for fancy stuff encouraged people to buy fancier 
computers: 486 instead of 286, Super VGA instead of plain VGA, 8M 
RAM instead of 1M, 200M hard drives instead of 40M.
                                         The sudden popularity of 
Windows whetted the public's hunger for those muscle machines, 
since Windows requires lots of muscle to run well. That growing 
American muscle (bigger and bigger!) in turn made Windows 
practical enough to become desirable. All big software companies 
hastily converted their DOS and Mac software to Windows.
                                         The challenge of doing 
that conversion well forced them to rethink the twin questions of 
software wisdom: ``What makes software easy to use?'' and ``What 
kinds of software power do users want?'' Many creative solutions 
were invented to those questions.
                                         During the 1992 
Christmas season, fast CD-ROM drives finally became cheap enough 
to create a mass market: many American bought them, and CD-ROMs 
became the new standard way to distribute encyclopedias, 
directories, other major reference works, and software libraries 
(full of fonts and shareware). The attention given to CD-ROMs 
made customers think about the importance of sound, and many 
customers bought sound cards such as the Sound Blaster.
                                         I'd tell you more about 
this computer revolution, but I'm stuck in the middle of it now 
and must get back to my battle station.
                                         When the revolution 
ends, we historians will try to summarize it. With the advantage 
of hindsight, we'll all sit back in our easy chairs, smoke our 
pipe dreams, wax eloquent about our war stories, and gigglishly 
play Monday-morning quarterback, which is so much funnier than 
calling the shots while the game's in progress.
        Presidential politics
  The 8-year computer cycle coincides with the American cycle of 
switching political parties. After years of Roosevelt & Truman, 
the presidential election of 1952 ushered in eight years of a 
Republican (Eisenhower); 1960 brought eight years of Democrats 
(Kennedy & Johnson); 1968, eight years of Republicans (Nixon & 
Ford).
  1976 began another 16-year experience of ``Democrat followed by 
Republicans''; but alas, the Democrat (Carter) got just 4 of 
those years, and the Republicans (Reagan and Bush) got the 
remaining 12. (Carter got just 4 of those years instead of 8 
because he lost face in the middle of the Iran hostage crisis, 
oil crisis, and recession.)
  1992 began another experience of ``Democrat followed by 
Republicans''. The Democrat was Clinton.
  I wonder who will come after Clinton. If you're reading this 
book long after Clinton has come and gone, please enter your time 
machine, go through a time warp, come back to my time, and tell 
me who Clinton's successor will be. I'm dying to know. I'm also 
curious how you future folks will judge his administration, since 
one of my classmates is in his cabinet.
  When Americans love liberals and revolution, they vote for 
Democrats; when Americans prefer a more conservative evolution, 
they vote for Republicans. As historical analyst Krigsman so 
neatly codifies it, ``An excitable mood in the country causes a 
computer revolution, and the next year the Democrats take 
power.''