Chronology of Personal Computers

Copyright © 1995-2024 Ken Polsson
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URL: http://kpolsson.com/comphist/

References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2023 October 25.


1995

October 3
  • Be introduces the BeBox. It features two 66 MHz PowerPC 603 processors, no Level 2 cache, three PCI and four ISA slots, two MIDI ports, four serial ports, one parallel port, two joystick ports, and stereo input/output ports. Prices start at US$1600 for a bare system without memory, disk, keyboard, or monitor. [781.123] [496] [2605.274]
October 10
  • The Microprocessor Forum is held, over two days. [513]
October
  • At the Microprocessor Forum, NexGen announces first details of the Nx686 processor, comparable in performance and features to the Intel Pentium Pro. It integrates new multimedia instructions and a multimedia execution unit into the x86 architecture. On-chip cache sizes are 16 kB for instructions and 32 kB for data. The processor will be manufactured using a 0.35 micron process. [303.67] [496]
  • At the Microprocessor Forum, Cyrix unveils details of the 5gx86 processor, which integrates graphics, memory controller, PCI interface, and more with a 5x86 processor core. (This chip will be release in 1996 as the Media GX processor.) [496]
  • At the Microprocessor Forum, IBM announces sample availability of the 166 MHz PowerPC 604e processor, manufactured using a 0.35 micron CMOS process. On-chip caches are 32 kB each for data and instructions. Clock multiples of 2.5 and 4 are included. [496]
  • Microsoft releases Windows 95 in most Western European countries. [1559]
  • Microsoft releases Microsoft Office v4.2.1 Macintosh Edition. [1132.29]
  • DayStar Digital ships the 4-processor DayStar Genesis MP 528 Macintosh-compatible computer. [1034.59] [1886.70]
  • Connectix begins developing a Pentium PC emulator for operation on a PowerPC-based Macintosh computer. [1029.51]
  • Fortune magazine declares Bill Gates the richest man in the world, at US$15 billion. [909.236]
  • Intel introduces and ships the 120 MHz Mobile Pentium processor, designed for portable computer use. Price is US$681 in 1000 unit quantities. [62] [439.32] [496]
  • Seagate Technology acquires Conner Peripherals for US$1.1 billion. [227] [439.29] [1012.90] (September [324.16])
  • Advanced Micro Devices and NexGen announce a planned merger, in which NexGen would become a subsidiary of Advanced Micro Devices. The cost to Advanced Micro Devices is US$861 million in stock. Advanced Micro Devices cancels its K6 project to concentrate on NexGen's Nx686. [141] [220.3] [265] [348.35] [391.32] [1010.27] [470]
  • IBM celebrates the first anniversary of launching OS/2 Warp, with nearly 4 million copies sold. [142]
  • IBM releases the ThinkPad 760CD, with the industry's first 12.1-inch thin-film transistor display on a laptop. The laptop uses a 120 MHz Pentium processor. [439.32]
  • Motorola announces pricing and general availability of 100- and 120 MHz versions of its PowerPC 603e microprocessor. Prices are US$207 and US$260 each, respectively, in quantities of 1000. [181] [469]

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  • Jim Manzi announces his resignation as CEO of Lotus Development. [217] [389.4] [432.1] [439.12] [464.15]
  • Novell announces its decision to exit from the personal productivity applications business, to focus on networking software. [225] [392.1]
  • Cyrix announces sample availability of its 120 MHz 5x86 processor, available for US$160 each in quantities of 1000. [265] [460] [470] (November [557.135])
  • IBM announces the 5x86C processor, based on Cyrix's design. Pricing in 1000 unit quantities is US$131 (100 MHz), US$109 (75 MHz). [470]
  • IBM ships the 150 MHz PowerPC 604 processor, produced in a 0.35 micron process. Price is US$600 in 1000 unit quantities. [557.135] [572.20] [469]
  • IBM announces general availability of the 120 MHz PowerPC 603e processor. Price is US$309 for 120 MHz, and US$158 for 100 MHz, both in 1000 unit quantities. [469]
  • Microsoft releases the DirectX 1.0 multimedia application programming interface software developers' kit. [470] [408] [158.30] (September [1600.14]) (December [1774.48])
October 18
  • Acclaim releases the Mortal Kombat 3 game for personal computers in the US. [1806]
(month unknown)
  • SGS-Thomson begins shipping a 100 MHz 486DX4 processor, based on Cyrix's design, with an 8 kB cache. The chip is manufactured in a 0.35 micron process. It is available in Cyrix-compatible or Intel-compatible pin-out. Price is US$60 in 1000 unit quantities. [470]
  • Texas Instruments begins shipping limited samples of its 100 MHz 486DX4 processor, based on Cyrix's design, with an 8 kB cache. The chip is manufactured in a 0.42 micron process, pin compatible with the comparable Cyrix processor. Price is US$70 in 1000 unit quantities. [470]
  • SyQuest introduces the EZ135 removable-cartridge drive, for US$239.95. 135 MB cartridges cost about US$20. [918.44]
  • Adobe Systems ships PageMaker 6.0 for the Macintosh. [1448.147]
November 1
  • At the ANA Hotel in San Francisco, Intel formally announces and begins shipping the Pentium Pro processor, at speeds of 150 to 200 MHz. The processor incorporates 5.5 million transistors. Bus speeds of the new Socket 8 interface are 60 MHz (150, 180 MHz processor), and 66 MHz (166, 200 MHz processor). The 150 MHz version is manufactured using a 0.5 micron BiCMOS process; the other processors employ a 0.35 micron process. Prices are US$974 (150 MHz + 256 kB cache), US$1682 (166 MHz + 512 kB cache), US$1075 (180 MHz + 256 kB cache), US$1225 (200 MHz + 256 kB cache), US$1989 (200 MHz + 512 kB cache), [62] [215.24] [216.26] [265] [397.12] [439.12] [470] [518.182] [557.135] [575.147] [829.14] [940.106] [943.180] [947.102] [953.28] [1010.26] [1254.78] [1897.130] (March [900]) (166-200 MHz versions announced in February 1996 [557.136])
November 4
  • Thailand issues a 6-baht postage stamp for the World Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition, depicting a personal computer. [2529.480]
November 13
  • In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Comdex Fall '95 conference is held, over five days. 1950 exhibitors and 207,000 visitors attend. [496] [1466.244]
November 14
  • IBM, Apple Computer, and Motorola release the PowerPC Platform specifications, called the Common Hardware Reference Platform (CHRP). It encompasses support for Macintosh System 7, Windows NT, AIX, Solaris, NetWare, and OS/2. Windows 3.x and Windows 95 are excluded. [283.56] [433.15] [439.12] [1559] [1597.86] [2605.253] (November 1994 [64.31])
November
  • At Fall Comdex, Apple Computer unveils the Newton 2.0 operating system, with ability to synchronize data with Windows and Mac OS applications, screen rotation, and revised handwriting recognition. [2605.198]
  • IBM ships the 120 MHz version of the PowerPC 601 processor. [557.135]
  • Power Computing introduces the PowerWave 604/120 Macintosh-compatible computer. It features a 120 MHz PowerPB 604 processor, three PCI expansion slots, ATI Xclaim GA graphics card, keyboard, mouse, optional ($250) PCI/NuBus dual bus slots, 16 MB RAM, 1 GB hard disk, 4X CD-ROM drive. Price is US$3199. [1424.54] [926.41]
  • Power Computing introduces the PowerWave 604/132 Macintosh-compatible computer. It features a 132 MHz PowerPB 604 processor, three PCI expansion slots, ATI Xclaim GA graphics card, keyboard, mouse, optional ($250) PCI/NuBus dual bus slots, 16 MB RAM, 1 GB hard disk, 4X CD-ROM drive. Price is US$3699. [1424.54] [926.41]
  • Power Computing introduces the PowerWave 604/150 Macintosh-compatible computer. It features a 150 MHz PowerPB 604 processor, three PCI expansion slots, ATI Xclaim GA graphics card, keyboard, mouse, optional ($250) PCI/NuBus dual bus slots, 16 MB RAM, 1 GB hard disk, 4X CD-ROM drive. Price is US$4718. [1424.54] [884.40] [926.41]
  • Creative Labs releases the 3D Blaster graphics accelerator for PCs. Price is US$349. [1208.33]
  • U.S. Robotics begins shipping enhanced Sportster v.34 modems capable of transmitting data at up to 33.6Kbps. [235]
  • NexGen introduces the 93 MHz Nx586-PF100, which integrates a floating-point coprocessor. Price is US$285 in 1000 unit quantities. [469]
  • NexGen announces limited shipments of the 120 MHz Nx586-P120 and 133 MHz Nx586-P133 processors. Both are manufactured using a 0.5 micron process. Prices are US$303 and US$447, respectively, quantities of 1000. [265] [557.135] [469]
  • Advanced Micro Devices begins shipping samples of its 133 MHz Am5x86-P75 processor. The chip is a clock-tripled 486 with 16 kB write-back cache, manufactured in a 0.35 micron process. Price is US$93 each in quantities of 1000. [228.25] [265] [470] (US$74 [141])
  • Mitsumi announces a 128 MB 3.5-inch flexible disk drive system, compatible with 720 kB and 1.44 MB diskettes. [485.7]
November 17
  • IBM, Apple Computer, and Hewlett-Packard dissolve Taligent Inc. [259.5] [398] [399.32] [2605.71]
  • Apple Computer ships a beta test version of its "Copland" operating system to 50 key application developers. [1880.20] [2605.273]
  • Apple Computer abandons release of Dylan programming language due to the success of Java. [2605.197]
November 24
  • Philippe Kahn resigns as chairman of Borland International. [439.12] [1559] (January 1996 [401.32])
November 26
  • The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A TV news anchorman says "don't forget to look for my new column in PC World magazine". [1853]
November 28
  • Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 2.0 Final Release web browser, 32-bit version. It suppoprts secure sockets layer, RSA encryption, inline AVI graphics, background audio, and is available in twelve languages. [721.157] [913] [1559] [1627.5] (April 1996 [553.24])
November (month)
  • Top selling computer game in the USA for the month: Myst. [2159.23]
(month unknown)
  • Hewlett-Packard introduces the HP 340 portable color ink jet printer. Connection is via parallel port or IRDA standard wireless infrared. List price is US$345. [926.55]
  • NEC introduces the NEC MultiSpin 4Xc CD-ROM drive. It can hold seven discs, playing at roughly 600 kbps speed. Price is about US$350. [926.59]
  • SGS-Thomson announces a 120 MHz 486DX4 processor, based on Cyrix's design, with an 8 kB cache. The chip is manufactured in a 0.35 micron process. It is available in an Intel-compatible pin-out. Price is US$72 in 1000 unit quantities. [466]
  • Insignia Solutions releases SoftWindows 2.0 for Power Macintosh. It emulates a 486 processor in software, providing a DOS 6.22 / Windows 3.11 environment, and supporting DOS networking protocols. Price is about US$300. [926.71]
December 4
  • IBM licenses Java from Sun Microsystems for use in hardware and software. [948.103] [1559]
December 6
  • Microsoft agrees to pay royalties to Spyglass of close to US$1 per Web browser shipped for Windows 3.1 and the Macintosh OS. [1700.282]
  • (near midnight) Microsoft and Sun Microsystems agree on terms for Microsoft to license Java for its Web browser software. [1700.284]
December 7
  • Adobe Systems announces it will license the Java programming language from Sun Microsystems, and integrate Java support into Adobe Acrobat tools and Adobe PageMill software. [1559]
  • Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and other executives give a seven-hour briefing speech and workshop in Seattle, Washington, on Microsoft's Internet strategy. Microsoft announces it has licensed Java from Sun Microsystems, and will add extensions to the technology for use with the Microsoft Network. Microsoft announces it has licensed browser technology from Spyglass for Windows 3.1 and the Macintosh, and will also offer Internet Explorer 2.0 on all platforms free of charge. The Microsoft Network will be redesigned as a Web site. [783.190] [947.152] [948.103] [1423.253] [1559] [1700.275] (March 1996 [800.55])
December 13
  • Symantec licenses Java from Sun Microsystems. [948.103]
December
  • The DVD Consortium is formed by Matsushita, Toshiba, Hitachi, JVC, Pioneer, Kodak, Mitsubishi, Philips, Thompson Multimedia, and Sony. [1279.68]
  • The IEEE Standards Board accepts Apple Computer's FireWire design as IEEE 1394-1995 Standard for a High Performance Serial Bus, dubbed IEEE 1394. [834.28] [1272.102] [1776.38]
  • IBM completes work on OS/2 for the PowerPC. [381.11]
December 19
  • Taligent becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM. [259.5] [260.3] [439.3] [1721.29] [2605.71]
December (month)
  • Shipments of IBM OS/2 for the month: 1 million, bringing the installed base to 12.7 million. [295.3] [462.6]
October-December
  • Shipments of personal computers in the US during September to December: 6.7 million. [1559]
Year
  • Personal computer chipset shipments in the US during the year: Intel 1.5 million, Silicon Integrated Systems 10.7 million, VIA Technologies 9.3 million, OPTi 7.9 million, Acer Labs 4.7 million, total 76 million. [1627.33]
  • 37-39 percent of US households have a personal computer. [1129.163] [1559] [1704.11] (27-29 percent [1249.50] [1632.6])
  • Total US households with a personal computer: 37 million. [1633.6]
  • Shipments of smart handheld devices in the US for the year: 1.5 million. World shipments: 2.4 million. [945.232] (1.1 million in US [839.28])
  • Market share of Windows applications in world regions: Western Europe 92%, Eastern Europe 93%, Asia/Pacific 89%, North America 75%. [1559]
  • Market share of Macintosh applications in world regions: Western Europe 3.8%, North America 14%. [1559]
  • Market share of MS-DOS applications in world regions: Western Europe 3.5%, North America 9.5%. [1559]
  • Unit sales of Windows 95 licences to PC vendors to date: 11.4 million. [1215.41]
  • Unit sales of Windows 95 upgrade packages to date: 8.8 million. [755.93] [1215.41]
  • Market share of office software application suites, by unit shipments: Microsoft Office 82%, Lotus SmartSuite 13%, Corel WordPerfect Office 5%. [1008.62] [1009.67]
  • Worldwide shipment of CD-ROM drives for the year: 31 million. [909.236]
  • Shipments of PowerPC systems for the year: nearly 2.5 million. [411]
  • Shipments of personal computers worldwide during the year: IBM 4.7 million, Packard Bell NEC 4.5 million. [1896.D2]
  • Shipments of personal computers in the US for the year: 22.8 million. [453.6]
  • Estimated software industry losses to piracy in the US for the year: US$2.9 billion. [886.51]
  • Estimated worldwide software industry losses to piracy for the year: US$13.1 billion. [886.53]
  • Rates of software piracy for the year: Vietnam 99%, El Salvador 97%, China 96%, eastern Europe 83%, USA 26%. [886.53]
  • Worldwide shipments of notebook portable computers for the year: 8 million. [904.191]
  • Shipments of personal computer operating systems for the year: Windows 95 19 million, Windows 3.11 34 million, OS/2: 4.5 million, Windows NT 2.355 million. [454.14] [458.12] [478.1] (Windows 95 20 million [521.10]) (OS/2 1.722 million [478.1])
  • Worldwide company shipments of personal computers for the year: Compaq Computer 6 million, IBM 4.8 million, Apple Computer 4.7 million. [521.10]
  • Computer animation market share for the year: non-Apple personal computers 66.5%, Unix workstations 14.5%, Apple Macintosh 19%. [832.14]
  • Worldwide personal computer market share for the year: Compaq Computer 10%, IBM 8%, Apple Macintosh 7.8%. [521.10]
  • Shipments of multimedia computers for the year: Apple Computer 4 million. [884.33]
  • Multimedia computer market share: Apple Computer 18.8%. [884.33]
  • Worldwide shipments of multimedia computers for the year: 20 million. [884.33]
  • Shipments of personal computers in the US for the year: Compaq Computer 2,756,000, Packard Bell 2,554,000, Apple Computer 2,504,000, IBM 1,876,000, Gateway 2000 1,143,000, Dell Computer 1,036,000, Hewlett-Packard 1,004,000, Acer America 819,000, Toshiba 779,000, AST Research 536,000. [585.47] [521.10] [630.14]
  • Shipments of IBM personal computers in the US for the year: 1,876,000. [585.47] [521.10]
  • Personal computer market share in the US for the year: Compaq Computer 12.2%, Packard Bell 11.3%, Apple Computer 11.1%, IBM 8.3%, Gateway 2000 5.1%, Dell Computer 4.6%, Hewlett-Packard 4.5%, Acer America 3.6%, Toshiba 3.5%, AST Research 2.4%. [585.47] [521.10] [630.14]
  • Shipments of personal computers worldwide for the year: 60.2 million. [1896.D2]
  • Market share of personal computer shipments worldwide for the year: IBM 7.9%. [1896.D2]
  • Shipments of portable computers in the US for the year: 3.6 million. [453.6] [572.1]
  • Shipments of color ink-jet printers in the US for the year: over 8 million. [515.91]
  • Shipments of color laser printers in the US for the year: 28,600. [515.91]
  • Retail software distribution media for the year: CD-ROM 60%. [453.8]

End of 1995. Next: 1996.

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A list of references to all source material is available.


Last updated: 2023 October 25.
Copyright © 1995-2024 Ken Polsson (email: ken@kpolsson.com).
URL: http://kpolsson.com/comphist/
Link to Ken P's home page.

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