art with Ctrl-Alt-Delete, the 9-line reset routine you wrote when you were working on the IBM PC Bios. To kick it off, let's watch . This was from an event, 10 years ago at the Computer History Museum, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the PC.
Did you ever make up with Bill Gates? What did you think when MS made Ctrl-Alt-Del the log-on command?
Why no reset button? The Apple II had one...
How was the 5150 project kicked off? What was your job on the project?
The team was a carve-out from IBM. Tell us more about this, why it was necessary, and what it was like to work on it.
Let's talk about a few technical decisions: The CPU chosen, and the operating system.
Were the lessons from the 5150 applied to other projects at IBM?
Do developers have it easy or tough now?
What do you think of computing today?
Discussion points: Michael Miller
Let's first discuss Bradley's interview.
The PC was not a technical tour de force, was it? Why did it take hold, more so than, say, the Apple II or the Commodore Pet or the TRS-80?
How is it that IBM managed to make the PC such a success? You wrote, Bill Lowe went to IBM's Corporate Management Committee in July 1980 to propose the project, and said, "The only way we can get into the personal computer business is to go out and buy part of a computer company, or buy both the CPU (central processing unit) and software from people like Apple or Atari--because we can't do this within the culture of IBM." Doesn't sound like an auspicious beginning.
IBM's relationship with Microsoft was key for both companies. But eventually they diverged. Remember OS/2? What happened there? What happened after?
You said in a column you just wrote, of the PC DOS licensing deal, IBM apparently was expecting Microsoft to ask for more money upfront or at least as for a per-copy royalty, but instead Microsoft wanted the ability to sell DOS to other companies. Why was that important?
What happened to CP/M? At the time, it was the first OS that was compatible with computers from multiple vendors.
Discuss the Compaq. Did IBM lose control or give it away? Let's talk about the Thinkpad. How could IBM sell the PC business to Lenovo? Are we in a?
Discuss consumer forces in IT: It's been said the PC project was launched since IT managers (IBM customers) noticed people using personal computers for work. How does this affect business computing? How does business computing affect consumers?
Your job now is to evaluate emerging technologies. What areas are most exciting to you as opportunities for new businesses?
Byte's review of the 5150
Microsoft: The IBM PC is 30 Years Old - And We're (All) Just Getting Started
Rafe's Google+ followers reminisce
Don Estridge, father of the PC
Dave Bradley Describes Some of the Tech Specs of Original IBM PC (video)