The man who invented Ctrl-Alt-Delete

Last Thursday, IBM completed a century. No matter how you look is a huge amount of time for a company that is dedicated to digital technology. Very few exceed this mark, with Siemens, was founded on October 12, 1847, another veteran of the industry.
There are companies much more stale, of course, as the German truck maker MAN, the oldest of the companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, born in 1758. Of course by then not even have electricity. It was more than 40 years for the battery by Alessandro Volta.
In fact, the age of IBM (or partners) is significant because it sells tea or insurance. Is a business that has been shaken from its roots with the advent of computing power to the general public, historical instance of the Big Blue was the main protagonist.
It makes sense that companies that build cars and ships still exist today. The challenges they faced were many, but not insurmountable. Neither Ford (which has 108 years) and MAN have found that the overnight, two college students had developed a thousand times faster car, a million times cheaper and a billion times smaller.
IBM continues to exist is, in many ways also a consequence of their immense power and a remarkable ability to adapt. This company made many important things in your story, but we still hits close to home, changed the global stage and started the computer revolution, was the model 5150, ie, PC, filed in New York on August 12, 1981 .
I spoke by phone this week with David Bradley, one of the twelve men who participated in the design of the original PC. He was 31 then and was going to make a small decision then not only affect billions of human beings, but happen to everyday language. I have, I guess, this question hundreds of times, but it is inevitable.
- Is it true that you invented the Ctrl-Alt-Delete?
Yes, I invented Ctrl-Alt-Delete, but in fact was one of the many problems that I had to solve. I do not think you have spent more than ten minutes per subject.
- Why did he create this shortcut, did not reach the reset button?
-As I recall, was to accelerate the process of restarting the computer, and this was aimed primarily at developers.
'So you had nothing to do with the risk of damaging the power supply, as has been said.
No, had nothing to do with the source, is another story. On the one hand, the architecture of the motherboard was the reset button on the back of the computer, so it was uncomfortable to use. And the truth, it also brought complications when they put him in the forehead was common involuntarily tighten the keyboard, reboot and lose all the work.
'If I will have gone with my first two PC ...
'Actually, the combination of keys was used to provide the programmer the restart.And to do well quickly. By then, following IBM's standards, every restart I had to check the status of all memory, and it took a long time. So when programmed Ctrl-Alt-Delete did too so that the team believed that the report had been verified.
On the origins of the PC
Stories abound about how was the first of the computers that are now the standard for personal computing. Now I have the other side of the line to a man who was there. We spoke then of his memories of those days. Several myths evaporate in the next few minutes. One of the first is one that says that the PC was first team Big Blue to bring a microprocessor manufactured by third parties in this case Intel.
-The IBM / PC was not the first of our computers use an Intel chip. The System/23, which was announced a month before the PC used the Intel 8085.
The model is called Datamaster and bearing the number 5322 (http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/pc/pc_9.html).
In fact, the company had been since 1973, reducing the size of portable computers and trying them. For example, the Model 5100, the Portable Computer, 1975, weighed almost 23 kilos, and maximum internal storage was 64 kilobytes. It is certainly not portable by today's standards, when we in the pocket computers with 500,000 times more memory, but 36 years ago this was quite an achievement.Prices are from another planet too. The Portable Computer was hard to values ​​today, $ 80,000.
-IBM was in the way of developing the PC-Bradley continues. And we also knew we had to do to remain competitive. In the mid 70's with the Apple II VisiCalc, a spreadsheet-began to appear in the accounting department of corporations, in many cases doing the same as our mainframes. So the PC, as the Datamaster were, from the strategic point of view, looking to compete with those early personal computers.
Bradley participated in the design of the first PC programming the Basic Input Output System (BIOS), the basic software that characterizes the personal computer. It's the first thing that runs when we press the power button and one of its functions is to detect, verify and prepare the hardware for the next stage, the operating system loads. If the BIOS can be replicated, then it is possible to create a clone of the computer. The universalization of the PC was mainly due to the rapid multiplication of clones, that Apple carefully avoided. But soon the clones far outweighed sales of IBM.
'What was never clear whether deliberately allowed the BIOS was copied, thus giving rise to clones, or was something unwanted.
-Our BIOS had fewer restrictions than, for example, computers from Apple. Ours had no other limit than the normal copyright, so if someone produced a copy of the BIOS compatible and functional, but without violating the copyright, ie without copying the code, everything was alright.
- Why not restricted as much as Apple?
-The reason is simple: we wanted developers peripherals (hardware) and software.The clones we looked more like something flattering at first, but were not the goal.
'I have understood that IBM did not expect to sell as many PCs as finally dispatched.What do you remember that?
She was not in finance, but I have a copy of a presentation prepared by the finance people and marketing which specified that the sales projection for 5 years of the Model 5150 was slightly more than 241,000 computers.
- That would be the total of the first 5 years?
'In effect, the total for five years. But I have a report it is stated that by 1987 had sold 3 million units, adding all the versions (PC, PC Jr., XT, AT).
That adds half-million computers per year 250,000 per semester.
That's right. And in a particular month, in December 1984, adding all the variations, totaled 270,000 PCs sold.
- What failed in both the projection?
Well, generally in the computer business projections are wrong (laughs).
- Did not you see that begin to deal with non-traditional audiences for IBM, the general public?
-Maybe. In fact, the only previous experience in this regard was the Selectric electric typewriter, which was directed mainly secretaries. But you must remember that at first IBM PC was a huge success not by the home user, but for the corporate employee, who saw in it a complete solution for accounting issues.
-With Lotus 1-2-3.
'Exactly. He was also expensive equipment to the general public's pocket.
-It reminds me of the first Gutenberg books, which cost 30 salaries, big money, but at least they could afford, if one had the capital, could afford. I remember when we bought the first home PC was a major outlay, but at least it had become possible.And not only served to corporate tasks, but for the Flight Simulator ...
'That's true. However, the first applications were especially for productivity. The Flight Simulator was to succeed later. I remember in late 1982 or early 1983, Steve Ballmer (now CEO of Microsoft) gave me the first Flight Simulator. At that time we were visiting Microsoft weekly to review the progress of DOS 2.0, we'd need for the second generation of PC, the XT, which was announced in March 1983. The system manager, Joe Sarubbi, Bill Gates wanted to look at each week in the eye and ask, "When will it be finished DOS 2.0?" I got along with him to record the technical details.
- What about the tablets? Are they going to do away with the PC?
No, the PC will not disappear in the short or medium term. The tablets go much better than what we saw ten years ago, when the first in this format, but I personally do not like the idea of ​​having everything in the cloud, to access my data need to be connected. Well, this is possibly due to the experience of people my age with dial-up.People 20 or 30 years probably will not feel the itch.
- Is there not also a watershed between the tablet as a device to consume content and the PC as a team to produce?
'If, indeed, that happens too, the PC is unbeatable for production.
- Do you have children?
-A daughter, who works as an electronics engineer at IBM. My wife says that the only way to stay in the family and not be an engineer Bradley is marrying a Bradley, which is the case, because my daughter is, my father was, my grandfather was, I have nephews engineers ...
He's in the genes, it seems. You retired in 2004, what would you do in your spare time?
-Travel.
Well, of course, we all like to travel ... Something more everyday?
Well, I am passionate about photography. My wife takes better pictures, but I spend a lot of time sorting and editing with Photoshop.
- Which computer is at home today?
-Oh ... I bought an HP for 3 years or so, when he missed the record of my previous machine. Of course, since then I have increased memory and replaced the drive for the larger one. I'm not playing with the computer, I need something very powerful.