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The IBM PS/2: 25 Years of PC History
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    Twenty-five years ago, IBM announced the Personal System/2 (PS/2), a new line of IBM PC-compatible machines that capped an era of profound influence on the personal computer market.

    By the time of the PS/2's launch in 1987, IBM PC clones--unauthorized work-alike machines that could utilize IBM PC hardware and software--had eaten away a sizable portion of IBM's own PC platform. Compare the numbers: In 1983, IBM controlled roughly 76 percent of the PC-compatible market, but in 1986 its share slipped to 26 percent.

    IBM devised a plan to regain control of the PC-compatible market by introducing a new series of machines--the PS/2 line--with a proprietary expansion bus, operating system, and BIOS that would require clone makers to pay a hefty license if they wanted to play IBM's game. Unfortunately for IBM, PC clone manufacturers had already been playing their own game.

    In the end, IBM failed to reclaim a market that was quickly slipping out of its grasp. But the PS/2 series left a lasting impression of technical influence on the PC industry that continues to this day.

    Read the rest: http://www.pcworld.com/article/258989/the_ibm_ps2_25_years_of_pc_history.html

    This was first PC compatible computer I worked on.
    You can still find remains of this computers. PS/2 ports are still alive and present on any good MB. And, of course, amazing keyboards. Get one if you don't have it, and during celebration of 50 years you'll be still typing on it.

  • 2 Replies sorted by
  • I still use my IBM Model M keyboard. At the rate it's going I'll probably leave it to my son.

  • That's cool. I love reading about technology because no matter how old, it leaves a huge legacy which influences what we have today (like those PS/2 connectors) and it's always interesting to know how problems were overcome. By the way there's a picture-article on the keyboard here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/147939/inside_the_worlds_greatest_keyboard.html#tk.mod_stln which explains the clever thinking that went into it.