Computer firm <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4780963.stm">IBM made technological history</A> on 12 August 1981 with the announcement of a personal computer--the IBM 5150. Costing $1,565, the 5150 had just 16K of memory--scarcely more than a couple of modest emails worth. The machine was not the first attempt to popularise computing but it soon came to define the global standard. It altered the way business was done forever and sparked a revolution in home computing.