Throwback Thursday: IBM

General

BGR’s Throwback Thursday segment is typically reserved for extinct tech, but this week we make an exception. On June 16th, 1911 — one hundred years ago today — Charles Ranlett Flint merged three companies to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company. Headquartered in New York City, CTR manufactured and sold scales, card-punch machines, meat slicers and a variety of other products that have long since been replaced by several generations of improved offerings. CTR changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation, or IBM, on February 14th, 1924, to better align its name with its wide range of products. IBM would hit its stride building tabulating devices, and it was at the forefront of developing the PCs we now take for granted. Now, 100 years later with a market capitalization of just under $200 billion, IBM remains a leader in the technology space, producing software and hardware that will shape the future of computing. Happy 100th, IBM, and here’s to 100 more.

BGR’s Throwback Thursday is a weekly series covering our (and your) favorite gadgets, games, and software of yesterday and yesteryear.

14 Comments
  • Anonymous

    For just a brief moment, as I was scrolling down, I thought today’s Throwback Thursday was RIM. Made sense, too. At least, until I saw the image. That set me straight.

    • Anonymous

      Ha, same here.

      Maybe in another couple of years.

    • Tedley

      This site had become SOOOOOOOO predictable.  

      • Hugh

        Yes, because everyone saw this week’s Throwback Thuraday being IBM…

      • tedley

        OK.  I’ll spell it out.  This site has become so predictable because of all the RIM bashing.  Good grief man!  This wasn’t even a RIM post and what was the first comment????   And NO, I actually own an iPhone.

  • Anonymous

    ….and the holocaust.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_BN3LUVEV7BTS2NZOHAN3LV6DZE Chelsea Sampson

    I paid $32.67 for a XBOX 360 and my mom got a 17 inch Toshiba laptop for $94.83 being delivered to our house tomorrow by FedEX. I will never again pay expensive retail prices at stores. I even sold a 46 inch HDTV to my boss for $650 and it only cost me $52.78 to get. Here is the website we using to get all this stuff, BidsGet. com

    • sirpaul

      Nobody cares about how your mom got a 17 inch “toshiba” (call it what you like – we all know what you really mean by “toshiba”, haha) delivered to her…And why is she the one paying?

    • sirpaul

      Oh shit she was telling the truth! I went on BidsGet dot com and bought a house worth $497,334 for only $97.60! Then I sold it to my neighbor for $450, 500! I will never buy houses from a retail store again!

  • Anonymous

    HAL

  • Anonymous

    I remember when I was 9 or 10 during the early 90′s we have our first IBM pc with Windows. used to play lots of great games back then I miss MS DOS. didn’t know they were that old.

  • Anonymous

    FORTRAN 4 EVER!!!

  • drew dogg

    Wow, I had no idea they’ve been around so long. I truly enjoy throwback Thursdays. Great article zach.

  • userofphones

    I worked for IBM in the 80s and 90s, and am proud that experience. I had almost nothing to do with computers, but it was a great job for a while.

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