My First PC

Although the first microprocessor (the Intel 4004) was introduced to the public in 1971, it wasn’t until 1977 that the first successful personal computers appeared – the Apple II, the Commodore PET and the Tandy (RadioShack) TRS-80. It wasn’t long after that software began appearing that turned these expensive toys of the hobbyist to useful devices.

I had a TRS-80 and it wasn’t long before I found my PC useful for engineering calculations at work. These first PCs were not portable which required that I take my work home when I wanted to use it. When I prepared my departments budget on my PC, a process that normally took full week of laborious hand calculation and many forms, in one afternoon, my boss was impressed and allowed me to buy a PC for the office

The PC comes to work

After my success with the budget, I approached my boss about buying one for the office. He was agreeable, but getting approval was going to be a problem. After all Radio Shack was a toy store. No purchasing department was going to approve buying such an expensive toy.  Instead, we got authorization to buy a “programable calculator” with attached printer. The functional description was correct, so the purchase was approved.

In those early days, software was very limited. Fortunately, I had a number of programs written for the “GE Timeshare” system which I modified to run on the PC.

Another source was magazine articles. The first word processor I had came from a magazine article. It was the largest and most complex program I had up to the time. It took several days to type in the computer code and debug it. But once I got it working, I had a word processor just like the IBM DisplayWrite System used by the Home Office clerical staff.  (Note: this broke an unwritten rule.  I began typing my own letters and memos.  This may be common today, but it was unheard then.)

In my opinion, the software package that changed everything was VisiCalc. It was the first computer spreadsheet program. It was written by two Harvard Business School students for the Apple II. Versions for TRS-80 and other PCs followed.

VisCalc was intended to be an accounting program. But its ability to embed equations made it a natural for engineers also. I was able to solve complex problems that previously required hours of manual calculations in a few minutes on my PC.

Home Office engineering management began to paid attention. The toy was about to become a legitimate tool.

PC Becomes Legitimate

Although it was becoming obvious that the idea of PCs in the office was sound, the problem was what to buy. Our purchasing department and most senior engineers considered most of the available PCs to be toys. They would be ridiculed if they approved wholesale purchasing of the Apple or Radio Shack products.

About this time, the IBM corporation realized there was a new opportunity, and in 1981 entered the market. The original IBM-PC was mediocre at best.  Nevertheless, it was to dominate the market for the next few years. The primary reason was its name. As one IT manager said “No one ever got fired for buying an IBM product.”   IBM was behind other PCs makers in the amount and quality of available accessories and software. They made a decision to open source both hardware and software. Unlike many of the other makers, IBM did not require all accessories be bought from them. This had the effect of making the IBM THE standard design because very quickly both hardware and software developers were introducing a wide variety of products. At CPL, the advent of the IBM-PC, melted the reluctance of managers to buy PCs. Soon most departments had acquired one or more.