Editing IBM PS/2 (section)

{{Short description|Second generation of personal computers by IBM}}
{{Redirect|PS/2|the video game console|PlayStation 2|the keyboard and mouse connectors introduced with this system|PS/2 port|other uses|PS2 (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox information appliance
| name = Personal System/2
| aka = PS/2
| logo = IBM PS-2 wordmark.svg
| logo_upright = 0.5
| image = Personal System 2 Series of Computers.png
| caption = An assortment of PS/2s in various form factors{{efn|From left to right: a [[IBM PS/2 Server|Server 95]], a [[IBM PS/2 Model 80|Model 80]], a [[IBM PS/2 Model 25|Model 25]], and a [[IBM PS/2 E|PS/2 E]] on top of a Model 56 and a [[IBM PS/2 Model 30 286|Model 30 286]]}}
| developer = [[IBM|International Business Machines Corporation]] (IBM)
| manufacturer = IBM
| type = Personal computers
| releasedate = {{Start date and age|1987|04|02}}
| discontinued = July 1995
| media = {{hlist|3.5-inch [[floppy disk]]s|5.25-inch floppy disks {{small|(optional, external drive)}}}}
| os = {{hlist|[[IBM PC DOS]]|[[OS/2]]|[[Windows 2.0x]]|[[Windows 3.0]]|[[Windows 3.1x]]|[[Windows NT 3.1]]|[[Windows NT 3.5]]}}
| power = 120/240 VAC {{polarity|ac}} {{small|(desktops)}}
| cpu = Various; see [[List of IBM PS/2 models|list of models]]
| graphics = [[VGA]]
| predecessor = [[IBM Personal Computer AT|Personal Computer AT]]
| successor = {{ubl|[[IBM PS/ValuePoint|PS/ValuePoint]] and [[IBM PC Series#PC Series 700|PC Series 700]] {{small|(desktops)}}|[[ThinkPad]] {{small|(portables)}}}}
| related = {{hlist|[[IBM PS/1|PS/1]]|[[Ambra Computer Corporation|Ambra]]}}
}}

The '''Personal System/2''' or '''PS/2''' is [[IBM]]'s second generation<ref>{{cite book | last=Tooley | first=Mike | date=1995 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QX_NCgAAQBAJ | title=PC-based Instrumentation and Control | publisher=Elsevier | page=19 | isbn=9780080938271 | via=Google Books | access-date=2023-03-21 | archive-date=2023-04-25 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425164211/https://books.google.com/books?id=QX_NCgAAQBAJ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Clancy | first=Heather | date=June 2, 1988 | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/06/02/IBM-adds-to-second-generation-of-personal-computers/7134581227200/ | title=IBM adds to second generation of personal computers | publisher=UPI | page=219 | access-date=February 21, 2022 | archive-date=February 21, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221030516/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/06/02/IBM-adds-to-second-generation-of-personal-computers/7134581227200/ | url-status=live }}</ref> of [[personal computer]]s. Released in 1987, it officially replaced the [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]], [[IBM Personal Computer XT|XT]], [[IBM Personal Computer/AT|AT]], and [[IBM PC Convertible|PC Convertible]] in IBM's lineup. Many of the PS/2's innovations, such as the [[16550 UART]] (serial port), 1440 KB 3.5-inch [[floppy disk]] format, 72-pin [[SIMM]]s, [[#Keyboard/mouse|PS/2 port]], and [[#Graphics|VGA video standard]], went on to become standards in the broader PC market.<ref>{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url=http://www.nj7p.org/Computers/IBM%20PC/work/PS2_HI.pdf |title=IBM Personal System/2 Hardware Interface Technical Reference |publisher=IBM |date=May 1988 |id=68X2330 |access-date=2016-11-26 |archive-date=2020-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029050152/http://www.nj7p.org/Computers/IBM%20PC/work/PS2_HI.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mcamafia.de/pdf/pdfref.htm |title=PS/2 Reference Manuals |date=2006-03-04 |website=MCA Mafia |access-date=2016-11-26 |archive-date=2016-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103035051/http://www.mcamafia.de/pdf/pdfref.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The PS/2 line was created by IBM partly in an attempt to recapture control of the PC market by introducing the advanced yet [[Vendor lock-in|proprietary]] [[Micro Channel architecture]] (MCA) on higher-end models. These models were in the strange position of being incompatible with the hardware standards previously established by IBM and adopted in the [[IBM PC compatible]] industry. Most major PC manufacturers balked at IBM's licensing terms for MCA-compatible hardware, particularly the per-machine royalties. The [[OS/2]] operating system was announced at the same time as the PS/2 line and was intended to be the primary operating system for models with [[Intel 80286]] or later processors. However, at the time of the first shipments, only [[IBM PC DOS]] 3.3 was available. OS/2 1.0 (text-mode only) and Microsoft's [[Windows 2.0]] became available several months later. IBM also released [[IBM AIX|AIX]] PS/2, a [[Unix|UNIX]] operating system for PS/2 models with [[Intel 80386|Intel 386]] or later processors.

IBM's initial PS/2 computers were popular with target market corporate buyers, and by September 1988, IBM reported that it had sold 3 million PS/2 machines in the past 18 months. However, the PS/2 was unsuccessful in the consumer market since IBM failed to establish a link in the consumer's mind between the PS/2 MicroChannel architecture and the immature OS/2 1.x operating system (the more capable OS/2 version 2.0 was not released until 1992) to justify the PS/2's price premium, in contrast to rival [[IBM PC compatible]]s that stuck with industry-wide standard hardware while running [[Microsoft Windows]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://techland.time.com/2012/04/02/25-years-of-ibms-os2-the-birth-death-and-afterlife-of-a-legendary-operating-system/2/|title=25 Years of IBM's OS/2: The Strange Days and Surprising Afterlife of a Legendary Operating System|first=Harry|last=McCracken|magazine=Time|date=2 April 2012|via=techland.time.com|access-date=29 September 2015|archive-date=30 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930084010/http://techland.time.com/2012/04/02/25-years-of-ibms-os2-the-birth-death-and-afterlife-of-a-legendary-operating-system/2/|url-status=live}}</ref> Rival manufacturers also teamed up to form the [[Extended Industry Standard Architecture|EISA]] bus standard in opposition to the Micro Channel.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/09/business/ibm-and-rebels-head-for-battle.html | title=I.B.M. And Rebels Head for Battle | work=The New York Times | date=9 February 1989 | last1=Markoff | first1=John }}</ref> In 1992, ''[[Macworld]]'' stated that "IBM lost control of its own market and became a minor player with its own technology."<ref name="borrell199205">{{Cite magazine|last=Borrell|first=Jerry|date=May 1992|title=Opening Pandora's Box|url=https://archive.org/stream/MacWorld_9205_May_1992#page/n21/mode/2up|magazine=Macworld|pages=21–22}}</ref> IBM officially retired the PS/2 line in July 1995.<ref name="discontinued">{{cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=Jai |title=MCA, PS/2 bite the dust; OS/2 to follow? |journal=InfoWorld |date=April 10, 1995 |volume=17 |issue=15 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oToEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3 |access-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109224853/https://books.google.com/books?id=oToEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>