Transcript The IBM PCjr: A Glorious Failure

The IBM PCjr:
A Glorious Failure
A Presentation by Matthew Kapun
Mrs. Noel
IST 110
11/6/02
The Story:
In 1984, after the
business success of the
PC, IBM decided to
build a new platform that
would be more useful in
the home environment.
Thus was born – the
IBM PCjr.
IBM tried to enter this home market through the following means:
 Use of cartridges to store data (no more delicate floppies)
 A wireless keyboard so the user is not inhibited by wires
 Better sound and graphics capabilities
The Good…
 The PCjr was compatible with the software that was available for
the PC.
 The audio and graphics were superior to that found on a PC.
Audio from PC (click here):
Audio from PCjr (click here):
 Because of the use of cartridges, the programs contained on the
cartridges can start without the use of entering commands.
The Bad…
 Because of the style of the keyboard, touch-typing was impossible.
 The cartridges were only able to hold only 64K of information.
 The system did not use the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus
for expansion. It used proprietary “sidecar” cartridges for expansion.
 The base unit only shipped with 128K of RAM. Since the video used
16K of the system RAM and DOS using 24K, the only RAM available for
programs was 88K.
…and the Beautiful (!)
The capability of the graphics subsystem was far superior to that found on
the IBM PC. While the PC used standard CGA graphics that can only
support 320 x 200 x 4 (horizontal res. x vertical res. x colors), the PCjr can
support a mode of 320 x 200 x 16. The difference is clearly seen by the
screenshots below.
PC graphics (320 x 200 x 4)
PCjr graphics (320 x 200 x 16)
The End
The PCjr has a legacy
that lives on through today.
Even though it boasted
some superior features over
its predecessor, and even
spawning a clone of itself,
the Tandy 1000, it is still
seen as a glorious failure.
The PCjr’s faults far
outweighed its advantages.
This curiosity of the
evolutionary chain of PCs is
a lasting testament to what
can happen to a technology
when it is strays from nonproprietary design and the
technology of its forebears.
References
Information was obtained through the following web sites:
The Computer Closet: http://www.geocities.com/~compcloset/IBMPCjr.htm
The Oldskool Shrine:
http://www.oldskool.org/shrines/pcjr_tandy/
The Oldskook Carny:
http://www.oldskool.org/shrines/carny/
Atari Magazine:
http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v10n3/74_IBM_PCjr.php
Pictures were obtained through the following web sites:
The Oldskool Shrine: http://www.oldskool.org/shrines/pcjr_tandy/
PCjr Pictures:
http://mail.magnaspeed.net/~mbbrutman/PCjr/pcjr_pictures.html
Obsolete Computer Museum:
http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org/ibmpcjr/
Audio was obtained through the follwing web site:
The Oldskool Shrine: http://www.oldskool.org/shrines/pcjr_tandy/