http://oldcomputers.net/ibm5150.html
http://www.landley.net/history/mirror/timelines/2241419.html
“2. IBM PC 5150 — The smartest move IBM made in developing its entry in the growing personal computer market in 1981 was using off-the-shelf parts that were interchangeable. That was also its undoing. The IBM PC became a standard not because of the IBM brand, but because the design was easily copied and sold for less. Its original price tag was $3,000 for a base model with a single 5 1/4-inch floppy drive and 64 kilobytes of memory, and its Intel 8088 chip chugged along at 4.77 MHz. Still, the design of most of today’s Windows-based PCs is little changed.”
http://blog.wired.com/wiredphotos6/2006/12/9_ibm_5150_pers.html
On Aug. 12, 1981, IBM launched the 5150 and changed home and office life forever. The system packed a 4.77-MHz Intel 8088 processor and up to 256 KB of memory, weighed 25 pounds with “diskette” drive, and sold for $3,000.
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On top of that, my father still has the sales receipt for his original PC (long since consigned to the scrap heap). He paid a heck of a lot more than $3K for his - but the base price was listed there as, surprise, $3K.
Thank you for playing. You lose. Again.
Perhaps you should try recovering some of the bad sectors of your memory.
in that era, please consign me to the tandy trs-80 heap. my trash 80 was fun for a while. perhaps alzheimers is settling in. perhaps not. but, you win! you are the man! now please! i have to go and rearrange my sock drawer now. the whites just dont look right with the argyles (you know how it is i’m sure). tell stevie that he’s doing wonders with the market share. tata! =)