r second and offered pipelined functional units. This machine is considered the first vector processor. Then came IBM’s 360/91, which was compatible to the CDC 660, except that it processed data twice as fast. It also offered pipelined instruction stream and separate floating point and integer functional units. IBM’s next design was the 360/195, which derived its processing ability from a very fast cache memory. Then came the first two parallel computers—the SOLOMON, developed by Westinghouse Corp., and the ILLIAC IV. , developed by Burroughs, the Dept. of Defense and the University of Ill.The introduction of the microcomputers and workstations were great alternatives to the time-sharing mainframe computers that companies were using. One of the fist personal computes to be revealed was the Altair 8800. Developed by Popular Electronic Magazine and brought to the market place in 1975. The unit cost about $380 and did not include a keyboard or monitor. It was typically for those who were electronically inclined because it lacked an operating system and software. Most of those who did purchase the system took full advantage of their technical insight and eventually began opening their own computer businesses. Two such individuals were Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the founders of Apple Computer. They started their business after constructing a cheaper, but more efficient edition of the Altair 8800. Their invention was the Apple II. They also produced an Apple I, which was created in Wozniak’s garage and didn’t receive as much publicity as their later creation.In 1975, IBM debuted their Model 60, a personal computer that had all the amenities except for an operating system. The demand for software was increasing, and a company by the name of Microsoft saw the opportunity to satisfy that demand. They soon met with IBM’s management and officially signed a contract that made them IBM’s s...
