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Proprietary hardware iscomputer hardware whoseinterface is controlled by theproprietor, often underpatent ortrade-secret protection.[1]
Historically, most early computer hardware was designed as proprietary until the 1980s, whenIBM PC changed this paradigm. Earlier, in the 1970s, many vendors tried to challenge IBM's monopoly in themainframe computer market byreverse engineering and producing hardware components electrically compatible with expensive equipment and (usually) able to run the same software. Those vendors were nicknamedplug compatible manufacturers (PCMs).
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