A term used to describe microcomputers in general, and also used by the firm of IBM in its range of microcomputers. However, with microcomputers becoming increasingly powerful and widely used in industry and commerce, the initial significance of the term has begun to wane.
A personal computer (PC) is usually a microcomputer whose price, size, and capabilities make it suitable for personal usage. The term was popularized by Apple Computer with the Apple II in the late-1970s and early-1980s, and afterwards by IBM with the IBM PC.
History
Mainframes and large 'minicomputers'
Before the advent of the microprocessor in the mid 1970s, computers were generally large costly systems owned by universities, institutions and large companies. To make efficient use of computer time, end users often did not directly interact with the machine but instead would prepare tasks for the computer on off-line equipment such as card punches.
A more interactive form of computer use developed commercially by the middle 1960's. In a time-sharing system, multiple computer terminals let many people share the use of one mainframe computer processor.
A different model of computer use was foreshadowed by the way in which early, pre-commercial, experimental computers were used, where one user had exclusive use of a processor. Some of the first computers that might be called "personal" were early minicomputers such as the LINC and PDP-8, and later on VAX and larger minicomputers from Data General, Prime, and others. The minicomputer Xerox Alto (1973) was a landmark step in the development of personal computers, because of its graphical user interface, bit-mapped high resolution screen, large internal and external memory storage, mouse, and special software. The minicomputer era was an intermediary step from mainframes to personal computer usage.
Computers at home
One early use of the term "personal computer" appeared in a November 3, 1962 New York Times article reporting John W. Mauchly stated, "There is no reason to suppose the average boy or girl cannot be master of a personal computer."
The ancestors of the modern personal computer did not use microprocessors, which explained their size and high cost.
A programmable terminal called the Datapoint 2200 is the earliest known device that bears any significant resemblance to the modern personal computer.
Development of the single-chip microprocessor was an enormous catalyst to the popularization of cheap, easy to use, and truly personal computers. The Altair 8800, introduced in a Popular Electronics magazine article in 1975, at the time set a new low price point for a computer, bringing computer ownership to an admittedly select market in the 1970s. It was arguably this computer that spawned the development of both Apple Computer as well as Microsoft, spawning the Altair BASIC programming language interpreter, Microsoft's first product. They were generally used by computer enthusiasts for learning to program, running simple office/productivity applications, electronics interfacing, and general hobbyist pursuits. By the late 1990's, the "home computer" was becoming a less common label in favor of "personal computer."
Back to business
It was the launch of the VisiCalc spreadsheet, initially for the Apple II (and later for the Atari 8-bit family, Commodore PET, and IBM PC) that turned the microcomputer into a business tool. This was followed by the August 12, 1981 release of the IBM PC which would revolutionize the computer market. Good word processor programs would also appear for many home computers, in particular the introduction of Microsoft Word for the Apple Macintosh in 1985 (While earlier versions of Word had been created for the PC, it became popular initially through the Macintosh.).
In the January 3, 1983 issue of Time magazine, the personal computer was named the "Person of the Year" for 1982.
Today
During the 1990s, the power of personal computers increased radically, blurring the formerly sharp distinction between personal computers and multi-user computers, such as mainframes. Today higher-end computers often distinguish themselves from personal computers by greater reliability or greater ability to multitask, rather than by brute CPU ability.
In today's common usage, personal computer and PC usually indicate an IBM PC compatible. Due to this association, some manufacturers of personal computers that are not IBM PCs avoid explicitly using the terms to describe their products.
Uses
Personal computers are normally operated by one user at a time to perform such general purpose tasks as word processing, internet browsing, internet faxing, e-mail and other digital messaging, multimedia playback, video game play, computer programming, etc. The user of a modern personal computer may have significant knowledge of the operating environment and application programs, but is not necessarily interested in programming nor even able to write programs for the computer. Therefore, most software written primarily for personal computers tends to be designed with simplicity of use, or " user-friendliness" in mind. However, the software industry continuously provide a wide range of new products for use in personal computers, targeted at both the expert and the non-expert user.
Configuration
Personal computers can be categorized by size and portability:
Desktop computers Laptop or notebooks Personal digital assistants (PDAs) Portable computers Tablet computers Wearable computersMost personal computers are standardized to the point that purchased software is expected to run with little or no customization for the particular computer. This upgradeability is, however, not indefinite due to rapid changes in the personal computer industry.
The hardware capabilities of personal computers can sometimes be extended by the addition of expansion cards connected via an expansion bus. Some standard peripheral buses often used for adding expansion cards in personal computers as of 2005 are PCI, AGP (a high-speed PCI bus dedicated to graphics adapters), and PCI Express. Most personal computers as of 2005 have multiple physical PCI expansion slots.
Motherboard
The motherboard (or mainboard) is the primary circuit board for a personal microcomputer. Motherboards usually contain one or more CPUs, supporting circuitry and ICs for CPU operation, main memory, and facilities for initial setup of the computer immediately after being powered on (often called boot firmware or a BIOS). In many portable and embedded personal computers, the motherboard houses nearly all of the PC's core components.
Central processing unit
The central processing unit, or CPU, is the part of the computer that executes software programs, including the operating system.
Main memory
A PC's main memory place (or primary storage) is fast storage space that is directly accessible by the CPU, used to store the currently executing program and immediate data.
Mass storage
Mass storage stores programs and data without consuming power. Although semiconductor flash memory has dropped in cost, the prevailing form of mass storage in personal computers is still the electromechanical hard disk.
Graphics – video card
The graphics card - otherwise called a graphics adapter, video adapter, or video card - processes and renders the graphics output from the computer to the VDU or computer monitor and is an essential part of the modern computer.
At the introduction of the IBM PC, many personal computers used text-only display adapters and had no graphics capability.
Laptop computers
A laptop computer or simply laptop (also notebook computer or notebook) is a small personal computer designed for mobility.
Non IBM-compatible personal computers
Though many personal computers are IBM PC compatible using either Microsoft Windows or closed and open-source Unix-likes such as Linux, a number of other personal computer types are also popular. Note that in many regions, in popular usage the term "PC" (though simply short for "personal computer") has become synonymous with "IBM PC compatible".
Further PC and PW (Personal Workstation) types through time:
Acorn Archimedes & RiscPC Amiga (previously produced by Commodore, now under license from Amiga Inc.) Atari ST BeOS BeBox MicroBee NEC PC-9800 (At one time, in Japan.) NeXT workstations Pegasos SGI workstations like the SGI Indigo and SGI Onyx Sun SPARCstationThe term "personal computer" is often avoided by advocates of the above computer systems, because of the association with the "PC" in "IBM PC".
IBM-compatible is a historical term since IBM no longer manufactures personal computers. It is still a short-hand way of designating, especially during the period 1981–1997, a computer generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT and AT. Pragmatically, the operational definition of "compatible personal computer" is now "capable of running the current edition of Microsoft Windows".
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