http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24725678

It's also amazing that a Thai person contributed to the amazing popularity of the IBM PC and IBM PC compatible computers.... Probably the world of IBM compatible computers would have not taken off without the help of Van Suwannukul, who created the Hercules Graphics Card.

Khun Van Suwannukul created the Hercules graphics card so he could write his doctoral thesis in Thai language, something now-a-day hard to understand... but in the early days of the IBM PC computer characters where encoded in ROM on the display adapter and the standard IBM MDA display adapter could only display standard ASCI.

The Hercules name was selected because Khun Suwannukul was living in Hercules, California and he needed a name to register his product so at the patent office the Hercules Graphic Card was born...

Doesn't seem so long ago.

Working as a computer tech in a then new concept computer store, we received one of the very first IBM 5150 PCs shipped out from IBM. We plugged it all together and and I flicked the switch ...white smoke poured out of the case. We called IBM, they didn't even want us opening the case to replace anything but instead had us express ship the box back to them. Hmm.

Yea, even loved the Hercules Graphics Card when it came out.

I thought the PC industry was going to die several times over the intervening years, but it just sidestepped or integrated and kept going.

Though the current PC sales decline does seem bleak and Windows 8 ...well, is Windows 8. Oh, and Microsoft can die a painful and fitful death. I've never forgiven them for what they did to Gary Kildall of CP/M (even though he flaked off at the time). So now, because of that, I have to type command code out of order!

Thank you, William C Lowe, it's because of you that I have been gainfully employed in the industry for more than 34 years.

I was beta tester for Lotus 123 because I had Hercules card and they wanted graphics tested. Great products both, gave kickstart to the PC.

It's also amazing that a Thai person contributed to the amazing popularity of the IBM PC and IBM PC compatible computers.... Probably the world of IBM compatible computers would have not taken off without the help of Van Suwannukul, who created the Hercules Graphics Card.

Khun Van Suwannukul created the Hercules graphics card so he could write his doctoral thesis in Thai language, something now-a-day hard to understand... but in the early days of the IBM PC computer characters where encoded in ROM on the display adapter and the standard IBM MDA display adapter could only display standard ASCI.

The Hercules name was selected because Khun Suwannukul was living in Hercules, California and he needed a name to register his product so at the patent office the Hercules Graphic Card was born...

Yep. I brought this up a year or so ago in one of those silly "have Thais ever invented anything" threads.

But I think the studying and living in California, not Thailand, was most helpful, if not critical.

The first IBM PCs were built in a Honeywell facility in Boca Raton, FL. For many years, PCs were considered a cancer to the main frames.