PS/2

PS/2

(1) See PS2 for Sony's PlayStation 2.

(2) A personal computer series from IBM, introduced in 1987 and superseding the original PC line. It introduced four advances: a smaller mouse and keyboard connector (see PS/2 connector), the 3.5" floppy disk, VGA graphics and the Micro Channel bus.

The Micro Channel bus had limited success outside of IBM, but the 3.5" floppy was extremely popular up to the late 1990s. The mouse and keyboard connectors later switched to USB, and the 640x480 resolution of VGA has since become the lowest setting for PC display systems.

The PS/2 was the last IBM PC desktop series with radical changes, but IBM did introduce several innovations on its ThinkPad laptops, which were highly praised (see ThinkPad).

PS/2 Model 50

The 286-based Model 50 was one of IBM's early PS/2 models. The Micro Channel bus, VGA graphics and 3.5" floppy disk were welcomed additions at that time. (Image courtesy of International Business Machines Corporation. Unauthorized use not permitted.)

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(computer)

PS/2 - IBM's second generation of personal computers. The PS/2 series introduced three advances over the PC series: 3.5" 1.44 megabyte microfloppy disks, VGA and 8514 graphics display standards, and the Micro Channel bus architecture. The 3.5" disks and VGA can be easily installed on other PCs and will become the standard for new compatible computers. The Micro Channel bus allows for multiprocessing and less aggravation, but cannot be retrofitted to older PCs. PS/2 models 25 and 30 are ISA, other models have Micro Channel and ESDI.