Travel Back to the 80s with the Computers That Ruled the Decade

Looking back through the 1980s is unquestionably an exciting look at how far computers have come over the last 40 years. Names like IBM, Atari, Apple, Commodore, and many more help us look at how we went from computers that took up entire desks to now only weighing just a few pounds.

There’s just something magical about this decade before the computer wars of the 1990s, which saw many of the manufacturers here be swallowed up by the new industry giants. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs played a role but are certainly not the only famous names and faces you’ll learn about today.

 A Video Look Back

This video, broken down by year, is a fantastic look at many of the computers mentioned below. Thanks to YouTuber Retro Dream, we can see the visual images of how IBM, Atari, Texas Instruments, and other popular 1980s brands marketed these computers, which is a fantastic walk down memory lane.

The number of celebrities who appeared in 1980s computer ads is something to write about on its own. Bill Cosby, Alan Alda, and Charlie Chaplin appear in advertisements for best-selling computer models. However, nothing is more exciting about this video than a reminder of just how far PC gaming has come.

1980

In Living Color

Each new decade brought mankind closer and closer to the computers we know and use today. The 1980s were no exception. In the summer of 1980, Tandy put out the TRS-80 Color Computer. A personal computer based on a Motorola processor and rooted in Microsoft’s BASIC programming language, the Tandy computer’s features boasted color graphics and computer games. It effectively acted as a bridge between a home computer’s features and computer games’ features.

Hard Disk Hardware

Also in 1980, Seagate Technology debuted the ST506: the first microcomputer hard disk drive. A big step up from the floppy disk, the hard drive could handle up to five megabytes of storage (more than five times that of a floppy disk, all while fitting in the same size space as a floppy disk).

Home Computer Craze

The boom of the home computer wasn’t just an American thing—it was also happening in the United Kingdom. The Sinclair ZX80, released in 1980, sold in kit form for 79 pounds and came assembled for 99. Over 50,000 people got their hands on this tiny little personal computer that had to be hooked to a person’s home television as a monitor.

1981

Getting Familiar

In 1981, the BBC—through its Computer Literacy Project—debuted a television program focused on introducing adults to the vast world and the seemingly endless possibilities of the home computer. Complete with its own BBC Microcomputer System and everything, the program allowed viewers to follow along with it almost like a walkthrough tutorial. The corresponding BBC Microcomputer came with many handy software, including productivity tools, educational programs, and video games.

Meet the Personal Computer

Undoubtedly, IBM’s creation of the personal computer in 1981 was one of the most seminal events in computer history thus far. (And not just in the 1980s, either — its significance goes far beyond the decade.)

Here are the facts: The first IBM personal computer (or PC) came loaded with the Intel 8088 — a 4.77 MHz microprocessor — and Microsoft’s newly announced MS-DOS operating system. IBM’s invention of the personal computer singlehandedly revolutionized the personal computer, the work computer, the home computer, and the history of computers as a whole. The IBM PC takes the cake when it comes to the best 80s computers.

Getting to Work

Apollo had made a splash in earlier decades, but the 1980s saw the debut of the DN100, Apollo’s first workstation for engineering and scientific fields. Equipped with a Motorola 68000 microprocessor, built-in network, and high-resolution display, Apollo dominated the world of computer workstations throughout the remainder of the 1980s. 

The Power of Portable

The Osborne 1’s release in 1981 marked the first mass-produced portable computer. At nearly $1,800 for a five-inch display, 64 KB of memory storage, and a pair of floppy disk drives, it might not have been the most practical purchase, but it sure was portable.

Inching Toward the Internet

The TCP/IP protocol was established in September 1981. While its simple name sounds unremarkable, this protocol singlehandedly established the ability for information to be carried across the Internet. Today, we’d be lost without it.

1982

Commodore Conquers

In January of 1982, Commodore debuted the Commodore 64. A titan in speed, technology, design, and storage, the computer was created in just a couple of months. With 64K of RAM and 16K of switchable ROM, the Commodore 64 (or C64) went on to sell around 20 million units by 1992. It was the best-selling computer model of all time and undoubtedly one of the best 80s computers.

Here Comes the Sun

An abbreviation for Stanford University Network, Sun Microsystems was born out of a simple loan. Stanford grad student Andy Bechtolsheim took the Alto Ethernet network and laser printer that Xerox PARC had landed in the engineering department and redesigned it for Stanford’s computer network.

This one little action led Bechtolsheim and fellow students Vinod Khosla and Scott McNealy to create a model workstation with a UNIX operating system, Ethernet, and high-resolution graphics in one. Sun quickly became a legitimate competitor for even the biggest names and brands like Bill Gates and Apple. 

1983

Meet Lisa

In January of 1983, Apple introduced the world to Lisa. Lisa was no person, however. Lisa was the first personal computer with a GUI (or graphical user interface) to be mass-marketed. While its creation proved to be a vital moment in the eventual push for GUIs in PCs, Lisa’s slow speed and huge price tag of $10,000 meant it was destined to be unpopular. For all its pros and cons, Lisa’s impact on the future of the PC is too great to dismiss the invention as an outright failure.

The CD Arrives

It’s hard to imagine a world without CDs (and CD-ROMs), but before 1983, this was the reality. Initially developed by Sony and Philips to store and distribute music, the CD was eventually used by computer and electronics companies to store information and software.

The Compact Compaq

Described to the general public as the very first computer to be 100% IBM PC-compatible, Compaq Computer Corporation’s Compaq Portable was a clone of the IBM PC capable of running all the same software at a smaller price. The company quickly surpassed $100 million in sales, the most an American company had ever made in a year.

Welcome, Windows

Bill Gates and his company, Microsoft, had a pretty great 1983. From the announcement of Microsoft Windows to the release of Microsoft Word, it was clear that this company was making the kind of advancements that would cement them as a real computing powerhouse.

DNS Debuts and the Internet Comes Alive

Similar to establishing the TCP/IP protocol in 1981, the introduction of the DNS in 1983 brought the world closer to the Internet we know and rely on today. In short, DNS is the structured naming system that the Internet uses to identify computers that can be reached over the Internet. It’s with this introduction that many consider to be the official start of the Internet as we know it.

1984

Apple Macintosh Released

Not long after the trial and error that was Lisa, Apple took the pros and cons from their previous product launch and turned it into the Apple Macintosh. The first GUI computer to successfully utilize a mouse, the Macintosh, was born out of the Motorola 68000 microprocessor and sold for a low price of $2,500.

LaserJet Takes Off

Between the launch of the Hewlett Packard LaserJet printer in 1984 and a decade later, HP sold over 10 million printers. This single invention effectively secured its status as a pillar of the computing industry. The inkjet technology pioneered here remains in use today.

Invented in a Flash

Flash memory was invented in Japan in 1984. Invented by Fuji Masuoka, it could be erased and reprogrammed repeatedly and quickly rose in popularity throughout the computer industry.

1985

C++ is an A+

1985 saw the release of the C++ programming language, designed to appeal to both serious and amateur programmers alike. A general-purpose language, C++ allowed difficult programs to be written relatively easily. It was an enormous success.

Nintendo Entertainment System Released

While it might sound hard to believe, the video game market in America was unstable throughout much of the early to mid-1980s. Many consoles, games, and brands had come and gone after very poor performances, and it wasn’t totally clear where this technology was going from there. Then, one of the most recognizable brands came along and dropped a hit: the Nintendo Entertainment System. With this, the American video game industry was up and running again. 

1986

The Battle of the PCs

Compaq, Apple, IBM, Amstrad, Sinclair… each of these brands with its PC, each of these brands with their pros and cons, each of these brands fighting to be the best-selling PC on the market. From Apple to IBM, Compaq to Amstrad, 1986 saw the big names fighting tooth and nail to come out on top with continued improvements to their already successful PCs.

Consumers knew all the facts, they knew all the features, and they knew the pros and cons. As such, each brand began to establish its sizable following. This loyalty would continue throughout the rest of the 80s and beyond.

1987

Get the Duct Tape

Perl — or Practical Extraction and Report Language — was written by Larry Wall in 1987. Designed to allow for report processing and the scanning and extraction of text files for auto-generating reports, Perl was easy to use and helped speed up the programming process. While you might not have heard of it before, it was soon integrated into nearly every corner of computing and is jokingly referred to as the Internet’s duct tape.

1988

Optical Chips See the Light of Day

While electrons are still considered the standard for computing bandwidth, 1988 saw some push for photons to be used instead. With the invention of the optical chip, some hoped that light could be used to heighten processing speed instead of electricity. While it didn’t catch on immediately, this was like an early step toward fiber optics.

Steve Jobs’s Next Move

After being pushed out of his position at Apple in 1985 after the failure of Lisa, Steve Jobs—now operating under the company NeXT—debuted a new computer in 1988. Called the NeXT, the computer had three microprocessors and 8 MB RAM. It had a groundbreaking object-oriented operating system capable of serious multitasking, making it a real selling point for programmers and developers and a real threat to Apple.

1989

The Internet Hits 100,000 Hosts, and the World Wide Web Emerges

The Internet’s launch in 1983 did not necessarily explode in popularity. It took a little time, but by 1989, it had finally hit 100,000 hosts. This benchmark was unheard of at the time, and it showed the world that this was not some simple little fad—the Internet was here to stay. This was further underlined by the emergence of a proposal for the World Wide Web in Switzerland (and, not long after, the entire globe).

Handheld and Portable

The release of the Nintendo GameBoy and the launch of the Macintosh Portable in 1989 showed consumers and developers alike that the decade ahead would emphasize convenience, portability, and handheld capabilities. Smaller, better, faster, stronger, and more affordable were the real pillars of technological advancements, and these priorities would come to the forefront in the 1990s.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Anton_Ivanov/Shutterstock.com.