Totally gratuitous pics of old IBMs (in honor of Model 5150's 30th birthday)

Thirty years ago today, the IBM PC was born. Happy birthday, Model 5150, the computer that supported only 40 characters, 16 colors, 160KB floppies and a joystick port.

History is made

The product that spoiled all the fun. Not many people realized it at the time, but the debut of the IBM PC doomed the typewriter's fate. The first personal computer to win wide acceptance in the business world, the IBM PC was soon joined by a proliferating number of clone-making computer rivals. Of course, we know how the rest of the story turned out. Any company in its right mind soon stopped ordering typewriters as their budgets for IT ballooned. For the truly ink-stained wretches among us - and there still are a few of us out there who remember having changed typewriter ribbons - the typewriter's demise offers another reminder how rapidly technology has revolutionized the modern office.

Microsoft + IBM

Totally gratuitous pics of old IBMs (in honor of Model 5150's 30th birthday) — Microsoft

IBM turned to a young company, Microsoft, and its co-founders Paul Allen and Bill Gates. This photo was shot shortly after Microsoft signed the contract with IBM to write software for their line of personal computers. The image was featured in the Seattle Business Journal's October 19, 1981 article, "Building on success, Microsoft owners shoot for $100 million target."

Model 5150 ad

An advertisement for the IBM 5150 noted: "IBM believes that the age of the personal computer has arrived."

Model 5150 hard at work

A marketing photo of the IBM 5150 illustrated how the company wanted to push the new personal computer into the workplace.

The computer age

IBM, the company that launched the computer age and developed the world's first supercomputer, is turned 100 years old in June 2011.

The floppy

Remember the floppy disk? The thin and flexible magnetic storage unit were also invented by IBM.

The PC revolution

One of the original marketing photos for the IBM 5150, the landmark personal computer that ushered in the PC revolution