Why IBM left the PC business in 2006

Why IBM left the PC business in 2006

19 years ago this week, on December 8, 2006, IBM sold its PC business to Lenovo, ending a 25-year run. IBM did retain its server business, but ultimately sold that to Lenovo as well at a later date. In this blog post, we explore why IBM left the PC business.

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VA Linux: The biggest dotcom IPO

VA Linux: The biggest dotcom IPO

One of the more curious dotcom era startups was VA Linux. In a way, it makes sense, because so much of the dotcom boom was powered by Linux, so we’d expect a Linux company to do well in those times. But VA Linux operated on a business model that doesn’t really exist anymore. Its December 9, 1999 IPO set a record for its time.

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Atari’s earnings miss in December 1982

Atari’s earnings miss in December 1982

Atari’s biggest year was 1982, when it earned $320 million on $2 billion in sales. But it ended on a very sour note. On December 8, 1982, its parent company, Warner Bros, announced it expected a dramatic slump in fourth quarter per-share earnings largely because of disappointing sales of Atari’s video game cartridges. The news of Atari’s earning miss sent Warner’s stock price reeling, losing $16.75 per share the day after the announcement.

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The death star that blew up IBM’s hard drive business

The death star that blew up IBM’s hard drive business

On December 6, 2002, IBM departed the hard drive business with a whimper. IBM Deskstar drives were among the best drives in the industry. Licensing Deskstar technology from IBM in 1999 saved Western Digital. But we don’t call IBM hard drives Deskstars anymore. We call them death stars. It was all because of one misstep IBM made right around the turn of the century.

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Apple IIGS discontinued December 1992

Apple IIGS discontinued December 1992

The Apple IIGS, released September 15, 1986 and discontinued December 4, 1992, was the last computer in the Apple II line. It’s machine that retro computer enthusiasts love to argue about. That’s appropriate, because the critics disagreed about the machine even when it was new.

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Playstation audiophile CD player

Playstation audiophile CD player

You may have heard rumors of a Playstation audiophile CD player. That’s a bit of an exaggeration. But early models of the Sony Playstation do happen to be a much-better-than-average CD player. And to some extent, that propped up the value of original Playstations before this 30-year-old console, released in Japan December 3, 1994 and in North America on September 9, 1995, became collectible again.

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Fairchild Channel F: First of its kind

Fairchild Channel F: First of its kind

Fairchild isn’t the first name that comes to mind when it comes to video games. Consumer electronics wasn’t really their thing, and that might explain why they lost interest after only 3 years. But it’s easy to forget just how much of a disruptive force in the technology industry Fairchild was. In this blog post, we’ll explore Fairchild’s brief foray into video game consoles in the 1970s and its lasting influence that we’re still feeling today.

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Pong introduced November 29, 1972

Pong introduced November 29, 1972

Pong is 53 years young this week, introduced November 29, 1972. Pong was the first commercially successful video game. It was the product that put Atari on the map.

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Tandy 2000: Released Nov 28, 1983

Tandy 2000: Released Nov 28, 1983

In November 1983, Tandy introduced the Tandy 2000, a forward-looking PC that tried to be better than IBM. The problem was the Tandy 2000 was IBM-like, but fell too far short of being fully IBM compatible.

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Microsoft trademark registered November 1976

Microsoft trademark registered November 1976

On November 26, 1976, Microsoft registered its name as a trademark. At the time, Microsoft was still headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It didn’t move to the Seattle area until 1979.

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