Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
The reality today is that, although IBM clearly designed and created the PC in 1981 and controlled the
development and evolution of the PC standard for several years thereafter, IBM is no longer in
control of the PC standard; that is, it does not dictate what makes up a PC today. IBM lost control of
the PC standard in 1987 when it introduced its PS/2 line of systems. Up until then, other companies
that were producing PCs literally copied IBM's systems right down to the chips, connectors, and even
the shapes (form factors) of the boards, cases, and power supplies. After 1987, IBM abandoned many
of the standards it created in the first place, and the designation “IBM compatible” started to be
considered obsolete.
If a PC is no longer defined as an IBM-compatible system, then what is it? The real question seems to
be, “Who is in control of the PC standard today?” That question is best broken down into two parts.
First, who is in control of PC software? Second, who is in control of PC hardware?
Why Is This Important?
I'm often asked why it is important to understand the history, development, and evolution of the
PC. The simple truth is that doing so makes you a much better technician, troubleshooter, and
problem solver! PCs have become complicated devices with a lot of quirks and
idiosyncracies, and much of this was caused by one important design parameter; backward
compatibility. It is amazing, but one can actually run many 1981 programs on a modern system,
and in many cases even connect old hardware as well. Modern PCs may look very different
and be far more powerful and capable than the first PCs built in 1981, but internally they have
a lot of the same “DNA.” Understanding how the design of the PC has evolved into what we
use today will help you especially when solving problems as you will have a deeper
understanding of why things are done the way they are and what problems can be caused by it.
For example, even though many modern systems come with solid-state drives (SSDs), those
drives are built to essentially look and act like magnetic hard disk drives, even appearing as if
they have internal structures like “tracks” and “sectors.” If you had not previously learned
about magnetic drives, you wouldn't understand why SSDs are designed the way they are and
what problems might occur because of it (such as why in some cases they might appear to slow
down dramatically after a period of use). Knowing the history and development of PC
architecture will make you much more in-tune with how and why modern systems are designed
and especially how they function and potentially fail.
Who Controls PC Software?
Most of the people in my seminars don't hesitate for a split second when I ask this question; they
immediately respond, “Microsoft!” I don't think there is any argument with that. Microsoft clearly
controls the dominant operating systems (OSs) used on PCs, which have evolved from the original
MS-DOS to DOS/Windows 3.x, then to Windows 9x/Me, then to Windows NT/2000/XP, and now to
Windows Vista/7/8.
Microsoft has effectively used its control of the PC OSs as leverage to also control other types of PC
software, such as drivers, utilities, and applications. For example, many utility programs originally
offered by independent companies, such as disk caching, disk compression, disk encryption, file
defragmentation, file structure repair, firewalls, and even simple applications such as calculator and
notepad programs, are now bundled in Windows. Microsoft bundles more comprehensive
applications, such as web browsers, word processors, and media players, ensuring an automatic
