IBM PCjr - Legacy

Legacy

Tandy Corporation produced a clone of the PCjr, the Tandy 1000. Since the PCjr was discontinued soon after the new computer was released in November 1984, Tandy had to hastily change its marketing strategy. However, the machine and its many successors ultimately proved much more enduring than the PCjr itself, partly because the Tandy 1000 was sold in ubiquitous Radio Shack stores and partly because it was less costly, easier to expand, and almost-entirely compatible with the IBM PC. Ironically, the enhanced graphics and sound standards the PCjr pioneered ultimately became known as "Tandy-compatible", with the extended graphics modes eventually coined "TGA" (Tandy Graphics Adapter) graphics.

King's Quest, a popular adventure game series, was originally developed for the PCjr, as IBM had commissioned Sierra On-Line for a game that would take advantage of the PCjr's expanded graphics and sound capabilities for the product's launch.

IBM returned to the home market in 1990 with its much more successful IBM PS/1 line. Unlike the PCjr's radical departure from the IBM PC, the PS/1 line concentrated on IBM brand-name compatibility and affordability.

"PCjr magazine" ran articles written by many of the legends of the computer industry from back in their early days. This comprises a collection of entry level PC articles, from such people as Peter Norton, that could be considered mentionable.

Several upgrades for the PCjr were designed by IBM/Teledyne but never reached the store shelves before the IBM PCjr was canceled. These included a wireless joystick and various memory/drive upgrades.

PC Enterprises became the last of the major third party vendors to supply full service, parts, and add-ons, extending the functional life of the PCjr to about 10 years, often buying out inventory and rights for PCjr support.

IBM's later attempt to build a computer targeted at home users, the PS/2 Model 30 was also unsuccessful due to its similar use of nonstandard technologies that were less capable than alternatives already available from IBM's competitors.