During the 1970s a variety of other personal computers came on to the market as well. Although some were in kit form, and of more interest to enthusiasts than general home and business users, the personal computer market started to gain pace, aided in no small part by the popularity of the Apple computer, which also became popular with business users. Another boost for the PC was the introduction of applications such asVisicalc and WordStar that turned the PC into an easy-to-use and multifaceted business tool.
The 1970s also saw businesses completely embrace computing and information technology. Businesses of all sizes were buying mainframes or mini-computers and employing teams of operators to run the systems.
The 1970s were also the formative years for today's Internet. Initially created as a tool for the Department of Defense, the ARPAnet had been in use and growing for a number of years, and prompted research and development into technologies that served to further the general goals of networking. As the Internet is now, the ARPAnet of the 1970s was the network of all networks.
Still on the subject of networking, it was during the 1970s that Ethernet, the standard on which a large proportion of today's local area networks (LANs) are based, was created. The standard and the technology to support LANs would not be released for some time, however.
The Decade of the PC
The start of the 1980s saw an event that would change the computing landscape completely. IBM, who by now had confirmed its place as a major player in the computing world, launched its first personal computer that ran with a new operating system, called PC-DOS. Subsequent versions of this operating system were produced under the now familiar name of MS-DOS. PC-DOS was the product of a small software company called Microsoft that had been started by two college students some years earlier. As every new business owner does, these two students had aspirations for success, but neither could have expected that within 20 years their company would become one of the largest and most successful in the world.
In 1983, with the total number of computers in use in the U.S. passing the one million mark, Time magazine took the rather unusual step of naming the personal computer as the "1982 Man of the Year." That such an esteemed publication would give the prize to an object rather than a human being indicated the level of impact that the world was feeling from technology and from personal computers in particular.
As the decade drew on, PCs appeared in homes and offices all over the globe. Applications started getting increasingly powerful, peripherals such as printers became more affordable, and people started to look for new ways to use the power of the PC to the maximum. Computer games with advanced graphics and amazing sound effects began to drive PCs toward the arena of multimedia. The PC was becoming more than just a device for working and playing games, it was turning into an entertainment center. All that was needed was an efficient method to get the entertainment to the masses.
The 1990s saw the growth of the IT industry surpass everyone's expectations. Millions of people the world over realized the power of the Internet and logged on to use email, chat rooms, and the World Wide Web (WWW).The initial burst was driven by providers such as CompuServe and America Online (AOL), but it was quickly followed by smaller providers, all competing for a share of the increasing lucrative market. At first, access was expensive, then it became cheap, then it was almost free, and by the end of the decade you could get a free PC if you signed up for an Internet access agreement.
The increases in speed, functionality, and availability of PCs continued apace, with many businesses surrendering their mini- and mainframe computers in favor of powerful PC-based systems. Microsoft's operating systems continued to dominate the market. Possibly one of the oddest moments of television in the 1990s was the pictures of people sleeping outside cornputer superstores so that they could be the first to own a copy of Microsoft's new Windows 95 operating system. But it was not just the home and business PC market that Microsoft was starting to dominate. They were also making drastic inroads to the PC networking market, initially with LAN Manager, and subsequently with Windows NT.
The decade ended with a wake-up call for the IT industry. The fact that many of the world's computer systems and programs had been created with a built-in bug caused panic among the IT community. Governments, companies, and individuals across the globe braced themselves for the passing of that great date when, it was forecast, the airliners would drop out of the sky, hospital power plants would fail, and, more significantly, fast-food chains would run out of burgers. Some minor problems were reported, but the world celebrated the coming of a new millennium without any massive computer failures. No nuclear weapons fired themselves and no banks ran out of money. Most people began to wonder what all the fuss had been about.
Some people put the non-event of Y2K down to extensive preparation and diligence of the governments of the world. Others pointed an accusing finger at software manufacturers and consultancy companies and accused them of scare mongering. In reality, most companies and individuals alike were just happy that New Year's Eve passed without too much drama. With the removal of the last obstacle, the world, and the IT industry, were able to look forward to a new era of development, with nothing to hold them back.
