---
title: "Happy Birthday, IBM PC!"
url: https://campbell-online.com/blog/2006/08/11/happy-birthday-ibm-pc/
description: "The IBM PC was announced to the world on 12 August 1981, helping drive a revolution in home and office computing. The PC came in three versions; the cheapest of which."
published: 2006-08-11
updated: 2006-08-11
---

# Happy Birthday, IBM PC!

Published 2006-08-11

August 11, 2006 · [Uncategorized](https://campbell-online.com/blog/category/uncategorized/) · [Tools and techniques](https://campbell-online.com/blog/category/tools-and-techniques/)

> The IBM PC was announced to the world on 12 August 1981, helping drive a revolution in home and office computing.
>
> The PC came in three versions; the cheapest of which was a $1,565 home computer.

In [2006 dollars](http://www.westegg.com/inflation/), that’s a $3500 computer, folks.

That’s enough to buy you a [nicely equipped Mac Pro with Apple Cinema Display](http://store.apple.com/) (and yes, I’ve been pricing them lately.)

On the other hand, the modern-day, common-as-dirt $500 Dell and HP desktops, not as nice as the Mac Pro by a long shot but light-years ahead of the original IBM PC, would have cost $233 in 1981 dollars.

Anyway, the BBC has a very nice slideshow on the history of personal computing, and it’s nice to think about one thing that consistently gets much more powerful and much less expensive over time: the personal computer.

[BBC News | In pictures: IBM PC anniversary, Birth of the PC](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/technology_ibm_pc_anniversary/html/1.stm)

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