8 THE COMPUTER BECOMES OFFICE EQUIPMENT

The IBM Personal Computer, announced in August 1981, was the most consequential computer launch ever: the direct ancestor of most of today's desktop computers, laptops, and servers. IBM grossly underestimated sales: it estimated a total of 250,000 units; "as it turned out, there were some months when we built and sold nearly that many systems."1 The new machine was so successful that in later years, the term PC was understood to refer specifically to an IBM or compatible model. (We follow that usage in this book—personal computer describes the genre, including non-IBM compatible models by Apple, Atari, and Commodore. The abbreviation PC does not.) It was said that if IBM's PC division were a separate company, it would have been ranked number three in the industry in 1984, after the rest of IBM and Digital Equipment Corporation. It gave birth to an entire industry and underpinned the rise of Microsoft and Intel to positions of strategic dominance.