-
IBM introduces its Personal Computer (PC)
The IBM PC was the first to be widely adopted by businesses and homes. It was immediately successful and created a standardized design for personal computers. The PC desktops that we have today can be directly traced back to the IBM PC. -
Microsoft Introduces Word
When Microsoft released Word, it was originally called Multi-Tool Word. It's main competitor was WordPerfect, however in 1989 Microsoft Word for Windows was released and it became a global standard for word processing. Today virtually every student and business creates documents using Word. -
Apple releases the Macintosh
The original Macintosh had a 9 inch monitor, came with a keyboard and mouse, had a handle built into the top, and sold for $2,495. It's display was only in black and white and it had a relatively small 128K-byte RAM size, but it was still very popular. This led the way for the other versions of Apple's Macintosh and desktop computers. -
Nintendo releases the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
The NES is an 8-bit home video game console. Nintendo had previously released a version of the NES known as the Famicom, but in 1985 they swooped into North America and revitalized the video game industry. The NES introduced Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda which are two of the most popular video games that are still being played today. -
Pixar is Founded
Pixar was originally part of Lucasfilm and created computer-animated special effects for their films. In 1986 Steve Jobs paid Lucasfilm 10 million dollars to purchase the group, and he renamed it Pixar. Pixar went on to produce the first computer animated short in 1988 (which won an Oscar) and Toy Story the first full-length film completely created by computer-animation in 1995.