Personal Computer

From WikiKnowledge

A personal computer (PC) is a computer designed for personal use. A personal computer is small enough to fit in a home or office, but has sufficient capabilities for everyday usage. The first personal computer that shared the characteristics of modern computers was the Apple II, which appeared in 1977.

[edit] History

The predecessors of the personal computers were giant machines, often taking up a whole room to perform simple tasks. Because of the slow computers, jobs for it were prepared off line using card punches or similar items. They would then be fed into the machine, and the results would be collected hours, or even days, later. These early computers were generally owned by large companies who had the resources to host them.

Eventually, as computers progressed, a more efficient way of using these computers was developed. There would be a mainframe computer, that did the actual processing, with several "computer terminals." Each terminal would accept user input, then send that data to the mainframe for processing. This allowed smaller businesses and scientists to make better use of the giant machines.

Soon, computer developers began to research smaller, faster, and more cost-effective ways of making computers. CTC (now Datapoint) and Intel found a way to make a one chip microprocessor, paving the way for smaller and cheaper computers to be built. However, it was the Altair 8800 developed in 1975 that sparked the actual personal computers. The Apple 1 was released in 1976, and is sometimes credited as being the first completely assembled personal computer. But the Apple II that was released one year later was the first personal computer to remotely resemble the personal computers today.