IBM在1981年8月12日于纽约Waldorf Astoria酒店推出了个人电脑（PC），这款由Don Estridge领导的Project Chess团队开发的产品标志着这家大型计算机制造商正式进入个人计算领域 [1]。
该PC采用Intel 8088 16位处理器 [1]，可访问1MB内存，其中应用程序可用640KB [1]。IBM采取了开放式架构策略，使用第三方部件，并搭载由微软提供的PC-DOS操作系统 [1]。
IBM对这款新产品寄予厚望，设定了前三年销售100万台的目标 [1]。这个目标很快得到了验证——到1983年春，IBM PC的销量已经匹配Apple和Tandy，成为了个人电脑市场的标准 [1]。这一成功促进了大量配件和软件生态系统的建立 [1]。
IBM PC的操作系统权利来自于一笔重要交易。Bill Gates在1981年7月与Seattle Computer Products所有者达成协议，以5万美元加上永续许可费的代价获得了86-DOS的全部权利 [1]。相比之下，Digital Research的CP/M-86版本价格为240美元，是包含在PC中的PC-DOS的6倍 [1]，这使得PC-DOS成为更具竞争力的选择。
IBM PC的成功催生了大量克隆产品。到1983年3月，市场上已出现20多个IBM PC克隆产品 [1]。之后，IBM继续推出了XT（1983年）和AT（1984年）等升级版本，均销售良好 [1]。
遗憾的是，这一项目的领导者Don Estridge在1985年德克萨斯州达拉斯的飞机坠毁事故中丧生 [1]。
IBM unveiled its Personal Computer on August 12, 1981, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York [1]. The system was developed by a team called Project Chess, led by Don Estridge [1].
The IBM PC was built around Intel's 8088 16-bit processor and featured an open architecture using third-party components [1]. It shipped with Microsoft's PC-DOS operating system and could access up to 1 megabyte of memory, with 640 kilobytes available to applications [1]. The company set an initial three-year sales target of one million units [1].
Bill Gates had secured the rights to 86-DOS from Seattle Computer Products' owner in July 1981 for $50,000 plus ongoing licensing fees, establishing the foundation for PC-DOS [1]. Meanwhile, Digital Research's alternative CP/M-86 was priced at $240, six times more expensive than PC-DOS, which came included with the IBM PC [1].
The IBM PC quickly became the market standard. By spring 1983, its sales had matched those of Apple and Tandy, fulfilling the three-year sales target [1]. The machine spawned a robust ecosystem of compatible products and software. Within a few years, more than 20 IBM PC clones had appeared by March 1983, and IBM expanded the line with the XT in 1983 and the AT in 1984, both selling well [1].
Don Estridge, the leader of the development team, died in a plane crash near Dallas, Texas, in 1985 [1].