Many developments took place in the computer industry before work truly began on the machines that became known as personal computers. For example, in conjunction with Harvard University, IBM created the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, the first large-scale device that could process lengthy calculations, in 1944. More than eight feet tall, the five-ton machine, known as Mark I, housed nearly 500 miles of wire and 765,000 parts. Some industry experts consider Mark I the world's first computer. In 1951, Ken Olsen, who went on to found Digital Equipment Corp., and Jay Forrester developed the first real-time computer, the Whirlwind, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). That year, the U.S. Bureau of Census began using the UNIVAC I computer to hold data. In 1952, IBM launched a computer designed for scientific calculations, the IBM 701. The vacuum tubes used in the 701 were smaller and easier to replace than the switches used in earlier machines. Remington-Rand developed the world's first high-speed printer for the UNIVAC in 1953. IBM employee John Backus created the FORTRAN programming language the following year. Japan developed its first computers when NEC Corp. created NEC-1101 and NEC-1102 in the mid-1950s. The IBM 705 machine, launched at roughly the same time, was one of the world's first general purpose business computers. Its success helped to oust Remington-Rand, maker of the UNIVAC, from its first place spot in the new computer market.
Digital Equipment Corp. released the PDP-1, the world's first minicomputer, in 1960. Four years later, IBM introduced the System/360, which used software and peripheral equipment compatible with each of the firm's computer models. This interchangeability was a new concept in the computer industry. Firms like Digital Equipment and IBM continued developing computer technology throughout the 1960s. In 1966, analysis and measurements instrument maker Hewlett-Packard Co. developed its first computer, the HP 2116A. Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce left Fairchild Semiconductor to established Intel Corp., which would become another major computer technology innovator, in 1968.
The development of the first personal computers resulted from the convergence of several types of technology. One of the earliest breakthroughs came in 1969 when Intel developed a four-bit central processing unit (CPU) that was able to follow instructions to perform simple data processing functions. Five years earlier, Dartmouth College mathematics professor Thomas Kurtz, and John G. Kemeny, chairman of the mathematics department there, had developed the BASIC (Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) computer programming language to allow their students to write programs that could be tested on the GE-225, a computer system developed by General Electric Corp. Because Kemeny and Kurtz did not copyright or patent BASIC, other individuals were free to use it as they saw fit.
One of the best known players in PC history, Bill Gates used BASIC to make his first major mark on the PC industry in February of 1975. The 19-year-old Harvard University student worked with 21-one-year-old Honeywell employee Paul Allen to create a new version of BASIC to run the Altair 8800, considered one of the world's first personal computers. The Altair had been developed the previous year and was powered by the Intel 8088, which was the world's first general purpose microprocessor. A few months later, Gates and Allen established Microsoft Corp. The Altair 8800 was released, with 1KB of memory, to the general public for $375. By 1977, Microsoft had become the largest U.S. distributor of microcomputer languages.
In 1976, computer programmers Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer Corp. to market their new Apple I computer, which was essentially a computer circuit board with no keyboard, case, sound, or graphics. The following year, Apple released the Apple II, the first PC to offer color graphics capacity. The Apple II also included a keyboard, power supply, case, and 4KB of memory. Sales at Apple reached $1 million that year, fueled by the popularity of the new machine, and Apple became one of the fastest growing companies in the United States. Apple's employees replaced their typewriters with PCs in 1979.
Throughout the 1970s, IBM continued to develop new computer systems, including the 370, its most powerful computer system to date, and the 5120, its least expensive computer system to date. The firm also created the Displaywriter word processing system and started offering 24-hour telephone assistance to customers having technical problems.
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