IBM (International Business Machines, organized in 1924) had long been an industry leader in developing and producing computers for business and science, but in August 1981, the company jumped into the consumer business, competing with upstart Apple for a share in the personal computer (PC) business. The PC introduced by IBM used a Microsoft disk-operating system (MS-DOS) and soon captured 75 percent of the market. Observing the company’s enormous success, other firms began producing IBM “clones,” which could use the same software as the IBM PC.