Schneider – PC-compatible

Schneider PC1512SD

The Schneider PC1512 was released in 1986 and was the first truly affordable IBM PC-compatible computer on the German market—at a time when IBM PCs were still unaffordable for most households. Developed and manufactured by the British company Amstrad under Alan Sugar, it was distributed in Germany by Schneider. The PC1512 featured an Intel 8086 processor clocked at 8 MHz and was equipped with a single 5.25-inch floppy disk drive (SD = Single Drive). It ran on an MS-DOS-compatible operating system as well as Schneider’s own GEM desktop, which was included with the computer. Although it had some technical quirks—such as a proprietary connector for the mouse and joystick—it made the PC market in Germany accessible to a broad audience and is considered an important pioneer of the home computer era.

Schneider VGA AT System 40

The Schneider VGA AT System 40 is an IBM-compatible PC from the late 1980s based on the Intel 286 architecture that already supported the VGA graphics standard—a noticeable leap in quality at the time compared to the older CGA and EGA cards. The “AT” in the name stands for “Advanced Technology,” IBM’s designation for the 286 generation. With a 40-MB hard drive, the system was generously equipped for its time and was aimed at users who wanted more than just basic word processing or games. Schneider thus positioned itself as an accessible gateway to the increasingly professional PC world of the late 1980s.