A history of personal computers

A personal computer (PC) is usually a microcomputer whose price, size, and capabilities make it suitable for personal usage. The term was popularized by IBM marketing.

Time share "terminals" to central computers were sometimes used before the advent of the PC. (A smart terminal — televideo ASCII character mode terminal made around 1982.)

Before their advent in the late 1970s to the early 1980s, the only computers one might have used if one were privileged were "computer-terminal based" architectures owned by large institutions. In these, the technology was called "computer time share systems", and used minicomputers and main frame computers. These central computer systems frequently required large rooms — roughly, a handball-court-sized room could hold two to three small minicomputers and its associated peripherals, each housed in cabinets much the size of three refrigerators side by side (with blinking lights and tape drives). In that era, mainframe computers occupied whole floors; a big hard disk was a mere 10–20 Megabytes mounted on a cabinet the size of a small chest-type freezer. Earlier PCs were generally called desktop computers, and the slower Pentium-based personal computer of the late 1990s could easily outperform the advanced minicomputers of that era. 

Since the terms "personal computer" and "PC" have been introduced to vernacular language, their meanings and scope have changed somewhat. The first generations of personal microcomputers were usually sold as kits or merely instructions, and required a somewhat skilled person to assemble and operate them. These were usually called microcomputers, but personal computer was also used. Later generations were sometimes interchangeably called by the names

"home computer" and "personal computer." By the mid-1980s, "home computer" was becoming a less common label in favor of "personal computer." These computers were pre-assembled and required little to no technical knowledge to operate. In today's common usage, personal computer and PC usually indicate an IBM PC compatible. Because of this association, some manufacturers of personal computers that are not IBM PCs avoid explicitly using the terms to describe their products. Mostly, the term PC is used to describe personal computers that use Microsoft Windows operating systems.

A four-megabyte RAM card measuring about 22 by 15 inches; made for the VAX 8600 minicomputer (circa 1986). Dual in-line package (DIP) Integrated circuits populate nearly the whole board; the RAM chips are in the majority located in the rectangular areas to the left and right. One early use of "personal computer" appeared in a 3 November 1962, New York Times article reporting John W. Mauchly's vision of future computing as detailed at a recent meeting of the American Institute of Industrial Engineers. Mauchly stated, "There is no reason to suppose the average boy or girl cannot be master of a personal computer." [1] Some of the first computers that might be called "personal" were early minicomputers such as the LINC and PDP-8. By today's standards they were very large (about the size of a refrigerator) and cost prohibitive (typically tens of thousands of US dollars), and thus were rarely purchased by an individual. However, they were much smaller, less expensive, and generally simpler to operate than many of the mainframe computers of the time. Therefore, they were accessible for individual laboratories and research projects. Minicomputers largely freed these organizations from the batch processing and bureaucracy of a commercial or university computing center.

In addition, minicomputers were relatively interactive and soon had their own operating systems. Eventually, the minicomputer included VAX and larger minicomputers from Data General, Prime, and others. The minicomputer era largely was a precursor to personal computer usage and an intermediary step from mainframes. 

Development of the single-chip microprocessor was an enormous catalyst to the popularization of cheap, easy to use, and truly personal computers. Arguably the first true "personal computer" was the Altair 8800, which brought affordable computing to an admittedly select market in the 1970s. However, 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. The first generation of microcomputers (computers based on a microprocessor) that appeared in the mid-1970s, due to the success of the Steve Wozniak-designed Apple Computer release, the Apple II, were usually known as home computers. These were less capable and in some ways less versatile than large business computers of the day. They were generally used by computer enthusiasts for learning to program, running simple office/productivity applications, electronics interfacing, and general hobbyist pursuits. 

8-bit family, Commodore PET, and IBM PC) that became the "killer app" that turned the microcomputer into a business tool. This was followed by the August 1981 release of the IBM PC which would revolutionize the computer market. The Lotus 1-2-3, a combined spreadsheet (partly based on VisiCalc), presentation graphics, and simple database application, would become the PC's own killer app. 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 "Machine of the Year" or its Person of the Year for 1982. During the 1990s, the power of personal computers increased radically, blurring the formerly sharp distinction between personal computers and multiuser 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. 

Uses 

Personal computers are normally operated by one user at a time to perform such general purpose tasks as word processing, internet browsing, e-mail and other digital messaging, multimedia playback, video game play, computer programming, etc. Other more specific functions usually performed with the help of a PC include working, teleworking, learning, researching, printing, online banking, online shopping and dealing online with public sector institutions and services. 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.