Stories about: Legend

There are certain key points that have shaped the way technology is today. We've rounded up the 15 most important milestones and explained why they changed the course of the industry.

If you've been in the IT industry more than eight years, you might remember an old joke about what would happen if Microsoft made cars.

Pity the poor IT managers.

Here's the legend: at a computer trade show in 1981, Bill Gates supposedly uttered this statement, in defense of the just-introduced IBM PC's 640KB usable RAM limit: "640K ought to be enough for anybody."

Some of the most oft-repeated comments attributed to Bill Gates through the years were not uttered by Bill Gates. Take for instance "640K ought to be enough for anybody," which he supposedly said in 1981 to note that the 640K bytes of memory in IBM's PC was a significant breakthrough. Or his alleged comment that if General Motors "had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving [US]$25 cars that got 1,000 miles per gallon."

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates formally entered the computer business in 1975 as a gangly geek and later this month will semi-exit as an industry luminary leaving behind a billion-dollar juggernaut and a legacy of software, personal computing, innovation, and tough and sometimes unfair competition.

Urban legends are strange creatures. Even when they're exposed for what they are -- tall tales seemingly "legitimized" through frequent retelling -- people continue to believe the lie.

Imagine how different the computing world would be if IBM had used proprietary chips in the original PC, rather than off-the-shelf components. The PC clone market would never have happened, and IBM, rather than Microsoft, might have emerged as the leading company of the computer revolution.

Patrick Gelsinger is an electrical engineer. He joined Intel in 1979, worked on the design of the 80286 and 80386 microprocessors, and was the chief architect for the 80486 chip.

This month marks two years of "In Security." Over the past year, some of my more popular columns have dealt with data aggregation and theft, the limits of risk management, getting along with human resources, how to spot and handle rogue security staff, encroachments on personal privacy, and the humor we find in the nonsensical things we hear from security consultants and the consulted. Sometimes it's the laugh of recognition; sometimes it's the laugh right before everyone looks away nervously and changes the subject. In either case, it's worth taking a look back before considering what's next.

There's more to see in Beijing than the Forbidden City and Great Wall, especially if you are a geek or simply interested in China's growing high-technology industry.