IBM Personal Computer - Longevity

Longevity

Many IBM PCs have remained in service long after their technology became largely obsolete. In June 2006, IBM PC and XT models were still in use at the majority of U.S. National Weather Service upper-air observing sites, used to process data as it is returned from the ascending radiosonde, attached to a weather balloon, although they have been slowly phased out. Factors that have contributed to the 5150 PC's longevity are its flexible modular design, its open technical standard (making information needed to adapt, modify, and repair it readily available), use of few special nonstandard parts, and rugged high-standard IBM manufacturing, which provided for exceptional long-term reliability and durability. Many newer PCs, by contrast, use proprietary parts and PCs themselves become obsolete quickly. According to Moore's Law the power of a microprocessor doubles every 18 months and it becomes easier to simply dispose of the PC than to upgrade or repair it.

The slot specifications are still used in current PCs as well as the limitation of having 4 active partitions on a hard disk. Many systems still come with PS/2 style Keyboard and mouse connectors, and power supply connectors are based on later standards.