Personal computer
The personal computer or PC is a type of microcomputer designed in principle to be used by only one person at a time
Typically, the acronym PC refers more specifically to IBM PC compatible computers
A personal computer is generally of medium size and is used by a single user (although there are operating systems that allow multiple users simultaneously, known as multiuser)
A personal computer is often equipped to fulfill the common tasks of modern computing, allows you to browse the Internet, write texts and perform other office or educational work, such as editing texts and databases
In addition to leisure activities, such as listening to music, watching videos, playing, studying, etc
In mobility we can distinguish between a desktop computer and a laptop computer
History
The first known record of the term Personal Computer appeared in 1964 in New Scientist magazine, in a series of articles called "The World in 1984"
In an article titled "The Banishment of Paper Work," Arthur L. Samuel of IBM's Watson Research Center wrote:
Although it will be entirely possible to get an education at home through personal computer itself, human nature has not changed her, and still be a need for schools with laboratories, classrooms and teachers to motivate students
The first PC was the Programma 101, produced by the Italian company Olivetti between 1962 and 1964. Invented by Italian engineer Pier Giorgio Perotto who was also the inventor of the magnetic card
Programma 101 was also used in 1969 by NASA to send man to the Moon on the Apollo 11 mission; american television channel ABC used it to predict the 1969 political election; U.S. soldiers used it to plan operations in the Vietnam War
In 1968, Hewlett Packard created a pc almost identical to Programma 101, the Hewlett-Packard 9100A, and was convicted of plagiarism, having to pay $900,000 in compensation to Olivetti
The launch of the VisiCalc spreadsheet in the mid-1980s, initially for Apple II and later for IBM PC, he managed to turn the microcomputer into a work tool
The low cost of personal computers caused them to gain great fame among families and workers; were much less multifaceted and powerful than the business computers of the time, and were generally used as entertainment environments, to play video games, by computer fans
In the 1990s, the power of personal computers increased dramatically, erasing the out-of-date border between personal computers and multi-user computers such as business computers
Today, high-end computers are distinguished from personal computers by their increased reliability or ability to multitask and not by the power of their processor
Most personal computers use a hardware architecture compatible with the IBM PC, using x86-compatible processors made by Intel, AMD, or Cyrix
Despite the huge popularity of the PC, several IBM-incompatible micro-computers (also generally called personal computers) are popular for certain specific uses
The main alternative, until recently, was the PowerPC processor computer, with Apple Computer's Mac OS X operating system (although other operating systems can run over that architecture), which is mostly used for graphic design and related themes, also serving perfectly for the home user
It must be said that as of 2006 Apple computers use Intel microprocessors and PowerPC is no longer manufactured. Howspite this, they remain incompatible (supported ones use BIOS and Mac EFI)
PC is in a word best known to consumers of the second generation desktop computers, which were incorporated into the market in 1977 and became common use during the 1980s. They are also known as personal computers
The personal computer became easy to acquire for the general public due to the mass production of the microprocessor based on the silicon chip and as the name suggests, designed to be used at home arlier than in the business world
They were also designed to be immediately useful to non-technical customers, in contrast to the first generation micro-computers that came as kits and often required electronics skills
Use of the term “personal computer” largely died out towards the end of the decade (in the US) or the early 1990s (in Europe)
This was due to the emergence of the IBM compatible personal computer, and the resulting preference for the term “PC” over “personal computer”
Personal computers remarkable
The following list shows the most popular and historically significant personal computers of recent years from the 1960s to the 1990s. Includes its initial year of release as well as its region or country of origin
Los lanzamientos más significativos en los EUA fueron: Olivetti Programma 101 (1965), Apple II (1977), IBM PC (1981), ZX Spectrum (1982), Commodore 64 (1982), y Apple Macintosh (1984)
A pletletor of personal computers emerged during this period, but they could not have a significant impact on the U.S. market or the history of home computing and as such are not mentioned (this includes unsold or unknown machines in the U.S.)
Various models in the line of compatible computers are listed in full, for example Apple II family and TRS-80
- 1977, June: Apple II (USA)
brought color graphics and had eight expansion slots - 1977, August: Tandy Radio Shack (TRS-80) (USA)
first personal computer under $600 - 1977, December: Commodore PET (USA)
first full computer: keyboard/screen/tape - 1979: Atari 400/800 (USA)
first computer with a chipset-specific and chip video programmable - 1979: TI-99/4 (USA)
first personal computer with a 16 bit processor - 1980: Commodore VIC-20
with less than $300 was the first computer in the world to go over the mark of one million units sold) - 1980: TRS-80 color computer
it was developed for Tandy by Don French and Steve Leininger and is also affectionately known as the "Trash-80". It was the designation of several lines of micro-computer systems produced by Tandy Corporation and sold through its Radio Shack warehouses. BASIC Level I occupying 4K ROM, and BASIC Level II occupying 12 KB ROM - 1980: Motorola 6809 Color Computer
introduced over its predecessors the use of two 8 bit accumulators, the 6502 used one, which can be combined into a single 16 bit register. It also had two 16 bit index records (versus the only 8 bit record in the 6502) and two 16 bit stack pointers (compared to one on the 6502), allowing quite advanced routing modes - 1980: Osborne 1
Osborne Computer Company launches first computer "laptop" - 1981, June: Texas Instruments TI-99/4A
based on the less successful TI-99/4, second personal computer with a 16 bit CPU, first to add "sprite" graphics - 1981, August: IBM PC
original version of IBM's PC compatible hardware platform. The original model was named IBM 5150. It was created by a team of 12 engineers and designers under the direction of IBM's Estridge Division of Entry Systems in Boca Raton, Florida - 1981: Sinclair ZX81 (Europe)
the kit cost 49.95 pounds; 69.95 pounds pre-built. It was released as Timex Sinclair 1000 in the U.S. in 1982 - 1981: BBC Micro (Europe)
UK Prime Minister's educational computer for a decade; used advanced BASIC with the built-in 6502 autocode assembler; designed with a range of input/output ports - 1982: Kaypro II
launched by Kaypro as a "laptop" computer, with a folding keyboard that could be stored in a suitcase. It had a good finish, with the box made entirely of metal, which made it very heavy, its screen was 9 inches. They managed to sell more than 10,000 units a month - 1982:Olivetti M20
launched by Olivetti as a "laptop" computer, the first year more than 50,000 units were sold at an initial price of $5,400, it was a model that had two floppy disks. The Italian version was brown, while the export ones were grey, present on almost all Olivetti computers. Designed to compete with the IBM PC in the offices section, focusing on accounting, data file, word processor... Being equipped with RS-232 and IEEE 488 interfaces made it useful for technical and industrial applications - 1982, April: Sinclair ZX Spectrum (Europe)
the best-selling British personal computer; created the British software industry - 1982, Aug: Commodore 64
it was the best-selling computer model of the time: \approx 17 millions of units sold - 1983, June: Coleco Adam
Coleco announced the Adam at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on June 3, 1983, and executives predicted sales of 500,000 units by Christmas 1983. From the time of its launch to the first shipment the price of the computer increased from $525 to $725 - 1983: MSX (Japan)
ASCII and Microsoft reference design, manufactured by several companies: \approx 5 millions of units sold) - 1983: Laser 200
computer VTech-level input directed to be the most economical in the market - 1984, January: Apple Macintosh
inclusión del primer interfaz con el usuario mediante ratón, ordenador personal completamente basado en GUI; primera arquitectura de 16/32-bit - 1984: Amstrad / Schneider CPC and PCW (Europe)
British standard before the IBM PC; German sales matched between C64 and Apple's Macintosh - 1985: Atari ST
first addition of the integrated MIDI interface; plus a 1 MB RAM for less than $1000 - 1985, July: Amiga 1000
launched by Commodore that stands out for its excellent multimedia skills (video/audio), its OS GUI and the first appropriate multitasking OS - 1987: Acer Archimedes (Europe)
based on the Acer microprocessor, uses the 32 bit Advanced RISC Machine (ARM) architecture; being the most power-powered personal computer of its time