Admiring one of IBM's biggest mistakes: The PCjr

Presented at Notacon 10 (2013), Unknown date/time (Unknown duration).

The first decade of the personal computing industry saw many blunders and missteps, from the Apple III's overheating problems and market position to the Coleco ADAM's tendency to erase its own tapes. Even well-established companies like IBM fumbled, although it was unusual for them to fumble so badly at the height of success. In this look back at the 1980s home computer market, we'll cover IBM's second-biggest blunder from that time: The IBM PCjr. Topics covered will include what IBM was trying to accomplish (and what actually shipped), how and why it flopped so badly, and how, despite its failure, it still managed to change the PC industry forever. An actual PCjr will be demonstrated so you can admire or ridicule IBM's failure to your heart's content.


Presenters:

  • Jim "Trixter" Leonard
    Jim Leonard is the founder of MobyGames, the world's largest online game database, and the MindCandy series of demoscene DVDs and Blu-rays. Jim has been involved in vintage computing history and preservation for over a decade, and codes 8088 assembler for fun in his spare time when not rescuing computers or software from the trash. Every few months, some part of the Internet discovers 8088 Corruption and freaks out. Jim, meanwhile, is musing about the next big thing to save.

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