IBM

IBM is an American technology company founded in 1911. Its 1981 IBM PC helped establish the personal-computer market, and it later became known for enterprise computing and consulting.

Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company: The American office-machine company formed in 1911 that became IBM in 1924. IBM began as this company before adopting its enduring name.
IBM PC: IBM’s personal computer, introduced in 1981, built around an Intel processor and Microsoft software. This product is the clearest link between IBM and the PC market’s rise.
IBM PC compatible: A personal computer designed to run software and hardware made for the IBM PC standard. Compatible machines spread the platform beyond IBM’s own products.
Apple Inc.: An American technology company that designs personal computers, mobile devices, software, and services. Apple’s tightly controlled Macintosh platform contrasted with IBM’s PC-compatible ecosystem.
Herman Hollerith: An American inventor whose punched-card tabulating system processed census data. His tabulating business became one of the predecessors of IBM.
Open architecture: A system design that allows components or extensions from multiple suppliers to interoperate. The IBM PC’s published specifications enabled outside firms to make compatible hardware.
Compaq Portable: A 1983 portable computer that ran IBM PC software and helped establish the market for compatible systems. Compaq demonstrated that IBM’s specifications could support a successful rival.
Commodore International: An American computer company known for the PET, VIC-20, and Commodore 64. Commodore competed in personal computing with vertically integrated, consumer-focused machines.
Thomas J. Watson: The IBM president and chief executive who led the company from 1914 to 1956. He shaped IBM’s growth into a major business-machine company.
Intel 8088: An Intel 16-bit microprocessor with an 8-bit external data bus, used in the original IBM PC. IBM selected it as the PC’s central processor.

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