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Avast_Blog_Business Security: Remembering hardware and cyberattacks from the 1980s
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Here's just how much computing has changed in the past 40 years

For younger generations, it is hard to imagine a world without paper-thin iPads and phones that double as cameras and computers. But back in the 1980s, laptops and mobile phones were state-of-the-art technologies reserved only for the wealthy or young, modern businesses. In this article, we invite you on a trip down memory lane to remember the incredible advancements that, just a few decades ago, helped to usher in a new technological era.

Changes in computer hardware

Before major developments in the size and cost of computer hardware in the past few decades, computers were mainly seen as exclusive to universities, big businesses, and government agencies. The 1980s changed this drastically - in ten short years, computers were made accessible to a wider audience and were used for a variety of purposes in homes, schools, and workplaces across the globe.

Microprocessors

The invention of the microprocessor chip in the 1970s helped lead the way for the development of home computers in the 1980s. Before this, in the 1960s, circuit boards and off-line equipment, such as punch cards, were usually required to operate computers, making them extremely expensive and space-consuming.

Microprocessors not only made computers much easier to produce, but they also allowed them to be significantly smaller in size, meaning they became a great deal more affordable and home-friendly. 

Motherboards

Motherboards developed rapidly in the 1980s due to the changes to microprocessors and similar technological developments. In the late 1980s, PC motherboards began to include single Super I/O chips that could support the increasing additions made to computer hardware such as the mouse, floppy disk drives, serial ports, and parallel ports.

Floppy disk drives

Now a distant memory for many, or unheard of even to some, floppy disk drives were once integral to the structure of modern computer hardware. Floppy disks acted as a storage device that allowed software to be uploaded and data to be transferred between computers as well as backed up externally. Originally 8 inches in diameter, the 1980s saw the creation of floppy disk drives that were much smaller, between 2 to 4 inches, made possible by developments in the quality of recording devices.

The first 8-inch floppy disk, invented in the 1960s, had a storage capacity of just 80 kilobytes, however by 1986, IBM had introduced the first 3-1/2 inch floppy disk with 1.44 megabytes of storage space. Whilst meager by today’s standards, this was a huge development that significantly increased the ability of computers in the 1980s.

The introduction of the PC

1975 saw the release of the world's first PC, the Altair 8080, and was soon followed by the Apple I in 1976, and the Apple II in 1977.  However, it wasn’t until the 1980s that PCs were popularized on a large scale thanks to developments in hardware that made them faster, able to store more data, and more user-friendly. Here are the most iconic PCs of the 1980s.

The IBM PC

The IBM PC, released in August 1981, was seen as revolutionary thanks to its speed, memory capacity, and increased functions compared to earlier PCs. With a 16-bit 8088 microprocessor running at 4.77 MHz, the IBM PC was up to five times faster than the Apple II and was able to hold memory cards that could increase its capacity to 256KB, a major step forward compared to the Altair’s feeble 256 bytes. The IBM PC could be hooked up to a home TV and used to play games and process large amounts of text. The keyboard was also connected via a six-foot cable, allowing users more flexibility to move around, and the graphics were very advanced for the time with 16 foreground and background colors. Despite being more accessible for the home, the IBM PC wasn’t cheap, costing $1,565 for the system unit, keyboard, and color/graphics adapter. 

BBC Micro Models A and B

In December 1981, the Acorn Computer company released the first of two microcomputers, the BBC Micro Model A - this was soon followed by Model B in 1982. Since they were fairly expensive microcomputers compared to other options available, with Model A costing around £299 ($585) and Model B around £399 ($767), they were mainly found in educational facilities in the UK throughout the 1980s and 1990s. 
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