The 1980's

It was in this decade that computers 'exploded' onto the market with the wider expansion of personal computing and the more widespread distribution of computers in the work place.

Arcade video games, e.g. PAC-Man and home video game systems like the Atari 2000, sparked an interest by the user for more sophisticated programmable home computers.

Networking enabled the sharing of software, memory space, Information and communication with each other. (Sample. O. J., 1999)

1980 - Hard Disk Drive

The first hard disk drive was created for micro computers. Although increased storage was a benefit, the installation of a hard drive decreases the portability of the machine. (Computer History Museum).

Clive Tomlin talks about the work achieved, using computers, by himself and his team at ICL, Jeallots Hill

1981 - IBM Personal Computer

The PC was introduced for home, office and educational use. There was a massive expansion in all three areas as the IBM PC made the Personal Computer more affordable.

1981 - MS-DOS

Microsoft Disk Operating System. This was the basic software for the IBM PC, establishing a long partnership between IBM and Microsoft (Computer History Museum).

Clive Tomlin remembers the changing use of computers in the workplace

1981 - 3 1/2" Floppy Disk Drives

Sony introduced this smaller disk drive and diskettes and shipped them into the USA. This component was first adopted into the computer by Hewlett Packard in 1982.

1981 - Osborne 1

Weighing 24 pounds and costing $1,795 this was the first portable computer. (Computer History Museum).

Osborne 1

(Image courtesy if Computer History Museum)

1983 - Compaq Computer Corporation

This corporation was the first to produce a clone PC, using the same software as IBM. With its success the company recorded 1st year sales a $111 million. (Computer History Museum).

Clive Tomlin explains his personal experience with computer programing on the ZX80

1983 - Word

This word processing program was launched by Microsoft.

1984 - Apple Macintosh

Apple Macintosh

(Image courtesy of Computer History Museum)

1985 - CD ROMs

Compact Disc - Read Only Memory. These compact discs were able to hold 550 megabytes of prerecorded data, their capacity meant they would rarely fill up.

1987 - IBM PS/2

The introduction of this computer made 3 1/2" floppy disk drives and video graphics standard for IBM computers.

IBM PS/2

(Image courtesy of Computer History Museum)

Clive Tomlin remembers his first PC

1989 - Virtual Reality

The concept of virtual reality made a statement at the Siggraph's 1989 Convention in Boston, USA. The concept was at first used for practical reasons; accomplishing flight simulation, although it spread very rapidly into video games, education and travel.

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