The history of personal computers as mass consumer consumer electronics devices began with the microcomputer revolution of the 1980s. The 1981 launch of IBM Personal Computer created the terms Personal Computer and PC . A personal computer is a computer intended for the use of an interactive individual, as opposed to a mainframe computer in which end user requests are filtered through an operations staff, or a time division system in which one large processor is shared by many individuals. After the development of microprocessors, individual personal computers are cheap enough to eventually become affordable consumer goods. Early personal computers - commonly called microcomputers - are sold often in electronic and limited-number form kits, and attract mostly to fans and technicians.
Video History of personal computers
Etimologi
The initial use of the term "personal computer" appears in a Nov. 3, 1962, New York Times article that reports the vision of John W. Mauchly's future of computing as detailed at a recent meeting at the Institute of Industrial Engineers. Mauchly stated, "There is no reason to assume an average boy or girl can not be a master of a personal computer ".
In 1968, a manufacturer took the risk of referring to their product in this way, when Hewlett-Packard advertised their "Powerful Computing Genie" as "Hewlett-Packard 9100A personal computer". This ad is considered too extreme for a target audience and replaced with a much drier ad for the HP 9100A programmable calculator.
Over the next seven years, the phrase has gained enough recognition that Byte magazine refers to its readers in its first edition as "in the field of personal computing ", and Creative Computing defines a personal computer as "a non-time sharing system that contains processing power and sufficient storage capabilities to meet the needs of individual users." In 1977, three newly assembled small computers reached markets where Byte would refer to as "Trinity 1977" from personal computing. Apple II and PET 2001 are advertised as personal computers , while TRS-80 is described as a microcomputer used for household tasks including financial management " personal ". In 1979, more than half a million microcomputers were sold and teenagers that day had a new concept of personal computers.
Maps History of personal computers
Overview
The history of personal computers as mass consumer electronic device devices began effectively in 1977 with the introduction of microcomputers, although some mainframes and minicomputers have been applied as single user systems much earlier. A personal computer is a computer intended for individual interactive use, compared to a mainframe computer in which end user demand is filtered through an operations staff, or a time division system in which a large processor is shared by many individuals. After the development of microprocessors, individual personal computers are cheap enough to eventually become affordable consumer goods. Early personal computers - commonly called microcomputers - are sold often in the form of electronic kits and in limited numbers, and are of particular interest to fans and technicians.
Mainframes, minicomputers and microcomputers
Computer terminals are used to divide access time to a central computer. Before the introduction of microprocessors in the early 1970s, computers were generally large, expensive systems owned by large corporations, universities, government agencies, and similar-sized institutions. End users generally do not directly interact with machines, but instead will set up tasks for computers on off-line equipment, such as card blows. A number of tasks for the computer will be collected and processed in batch mode. After the job is done, the user can collect the results. In some cases, it can take hours or days between sending a job to a computing center and receiving output.
A more interactive form of commercially developed computer use in the mid-1960s. In time-sharing systems, multiple computer terminals allow many people to share the use of a single mainframe computer processor. It's common in business applications and in science and engineering.
A different model of computer use is overshadowed by the manner in which the initial, pre-commercial, experimental computer is used, where one user has an exclusive use of the processor. In places like Carnegie Mellon University and MIT, students with access to the first few computers experimented with applications that today would be typical of personal computers; for example, computer-assisted compilation is overshadowed by T-square, a program written in 1961, and an ancestor of today's computer games found in Spacewar! in 1962. Some of the first computers that might be called "personal" were early mini computers such as LINC and PDP-8, and then the larger VAX and minicomputers of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), Data General, Prime Computer, and others.. By today's standards, they are very large (the size of a refrigerator) and costly (usually tens of thousands of dollars). However, they are much smaller, cheaper, and generally easier to operate than many mainframe computers at the time. Therefore, they are accessible to individual laboratories and research projects. Minicomputers largely relieve this organization from batch processing and bureaucracy to commercial or university computing centers.
In addition, minikomputers are relatively interactive and soon have their own operating system. Xerox Alto (1973) mini computer is an important step in the development of personal computers because of its graphical user interface, high-resolution bit-mapped screen, large internal and external memory storage, mouse, and special software.
In 1945, Vannevar Bush published an essay entitled "As We May Think" in which he outlined possible solutions to the problem of storing and retrieving the ever-expanding information. In 1968, SRI researcher Douglas Engelbart gave what came to be called The Mother of All Demos, where he offered a preview of the things that have been the subject of everyday work life in the 21st century: e-mail, hypertext, word processor , video conferencing, and mouse. This demo is the culmination of research at the Engelbart Augmentation Research Laboratory, which concentrates on the application of computer technology to facilitate creative human thinking.
Microprocessor and cost reduction
The paternal ancestors of modern personal computers use an early integrated circuit technology (microchip), which reduces size and cost, but does not contain microprocessors. This means that they are still large and difficult to create like their mainframe predecessors. After "computer-on-a-chip" is commercialized, the cost of making computer systems has dropped dramatically. The arithmetic, logic, and control functions previously used by some expensive circuit boards are now available in one integrated circuit, making it possible to produce them in high volume. Simultaneously, advances in the development of solid state memory eliminate the large, expensive, and power-hungry magnetic core memory used on previous generations of computers.
Some researchers in places like SRI and Xerox PARC are working on computers that can be used by one person and that can be connected to a fast and versatile network: not a home computer, but a personal computer.
After the introduction of Intel 4004 in 1974, the cost of microprocessors decreased rapidly. In 1974, the American Electronics magazine Radio-Electronics described the Mark-8 computer kit, based on an Intel 8008 processor. In January of the following year, the magazine Popular Electronics published an article explaining a kit based on the Intel 8080, a somewhat more powerful and easier to use processor. The Altair 8800 sells very well even though the initial memory size is limited to a few hundred bytes and no software is available. However, the Altair kit was much cheaper than Intel's development system at the time and was purchased by companies interested in developing microprocessor controls for their own products. Memory boards of expansion and peripherals are immediately listed by the original manufacturer, and then by the manufacturer compatible with the plug. The first Microsoft product is a 4 kilobyte BASIC paper tape interpreter, which allows users to develop programs in higher level languages. The alternative is to assemble machine code that can be directly loaded into the microcomputer memory using the front panel toggle switch, pushbuttons and LED displays. While hardware front panels mimic those used by early mainframes and minicomputers, after a very short time I/O through the terminals are preferred human/machine interfaces, and the front panel becomes extinct.
Beginning of the personal computer industry
The "brain" [computer] may one day come down to our level [the common people] and help with the calculation of income tax and bookkeeping. But this is speculation and there is no sign so far.
Simon
Simon is a project developed by Edmund Berkeley and presented in thirteen series of articles published in Radio-Electronics magazine from October 1950. Although there are machines that are much more advanced at the time that. Its development, Simon represents the first experience of building a simple digital automated computer, for educational purposes. In fact, the ALU has only 2 bits, and the total memory is 12 bits (2 bits x6). In 1950, it sold for US $ 600.
IBM 610
The IBM 610 was designed between 1948 and 1957 by John Lentz at Watson Lab at Columbia University as Personal Automatic Computer (PAC) and was announced by IBM as the 610 Auto-Point in 1957. Although it was blamed for its speed, the IBM 610 handled floating-point arithmetic in natural. With a price tag of $ 55,000, only 180 units were produced.
LINC
Designed in 1962, LINC is an early laboratory computer designed specifically for interactive use with laboratory instruments. Some early LINC compilers were collected from part kits by end users.
Olivetti Programma 101
First produced in 1965, Programma 101 is a programmable calculator that is described in advertisements as a "desktop computer". It was designed and produced by Italian company Olivetti with Pier Giorgio Perotto as the main developer. Olivetti Programma 101 was presented at the 1965 New York World Exhibition after 2 years of work (1962-1964). More than 44,000 units sold worldwide; in the US the launch cost is $ 3,200. It is targeted to offices and scientific entities for their daily work because of the high computing capability in space and small cost; also NASA is among the first owners. Built without an integrated circuit or microprocessor, using only transistors, resistors and condensers to process it, Programma 101 has features found in modern personal computers, such as memory, keyboards, printing units, magnetic card readers, control units and arithmetic. HP then copied the Programma 101 architecture for its HP9100 series.
MIR
Soviet MIR computer series developed from 1965 to 1969 in a group led by Victor Glushkov. It is designed as a small-scale computer for use in engineering and scientific applications and contains hardware implementations of high-level programming languages. Another innovative feature at the time was a user interface that incorporated a keyboard with a monitor and a light pen to correct text and draw on the screen.
Datapoint 2200
Released in June 1970, a programmable terminal called Datapoint 2200 is the earliest known device that has a significant resemblance to a modern personal computer, with screen, keyboard, and program storage. It was made by CTC (now known as Datapoint) and is a complete system in small cases with estimates of IBM Selectric's typewriter. CPU systems are built from a variety of discrete components, although the company has commissioned Intel to develop a single chip processing unit; there was a downfall between CTC and Intel, and the chip developed by Intel was not used. Intel soon released a modified version of the chip as the Intel 8008, the world's first 8-bit microprocessor. The requirements and requirements of Datapoint 2200 therefore determine the properties of 8008, where all the consecutive processors are used in IBM compatible PCs. In addition, the Datapoint 2200 multi-chip CPU design and the final design of the Intel 8008 are so similar that they are compatible with software; Therefore, Datapoint 2200, from a practical perspective, functions as if it were indeed endorsed by 8008, making it a de facto microcomputer.
Kenbak-1
The Kenbak-1, released in early 1971, was considered by the Computer History Museum to be the world's first personal computer. It was designed and coined by John Blankenbaker of Kenbak Corporation in 1970, and was first sold in early 1971. Unlike modern personal computers, Kenbak-1 was built from an integrated small-scale circuit, and did not use a microprocessor. The first system sold for US $ 750. Only about 40 machines ever made and sold. In 1973, Kenbak-1 production stopped when Kenbak Corporation folded.
With only 256 bytes of memory, an 8-bit word size, and input and output limited to lights and switches, Kenbak-1 is most useful for learning programming principles but is not capable of running application programs.
Micral N
The French company R2E was formed by two former Intertechnique company engineers to sell their Intel 8008 based microcomputer design. The system was developed at the National Institute de la Recherche agronomique to automate hygrometric measurements. The system runs at 500 kHz and includes 16 kB of memory, and sells for 8500 francs, about $ 1300US.
A bus, called Pluribus, is introduced which allows connections of up to 14 boards. Board for digital I/O, analog I/O, memory, floppy disk available from R2E. The Micral operating system was originally called Sysmic, and later renamed the Prolog.
R2E was absorbed by Groupe Bull in 1978. Although Groupe Bull resumed production of Micral computers, it was not interested in the personal computer market, and Micral computers were largely confined to highway toll gates (where they remained operational until 1992) and similar niche markets.
Xerox Alto and Star
Xerox Alto, developed at Xerox PARC in 1973, was the first computer to use the mouse, desktop metaphor, and graphical user interface (GUI), a concept first introduced by Douglas Engelbart while at International. That is the first example of what is currently recognized as a complete personal computer.
In 1981, Xerox Corporation introduced the Xerox Star workstation, officially known as the "Star Information System 8010". Based on its predecessor, Xerox Alto, it is the first commercial system that incorporates various technologies that today have become commonplace in personal computers, including a bit-bited view, a windows-based graphical user interface, icons, folders, mice, Ethernet networks, file servers, print server and e-mail. It also includes a programming language system called Smalltalk.
While its use is limited to engineers at Xerox PARC, Alto has a feature next year of its time. Both Xerox Alto and Xerox Star will inspire Apple Lisa and Apple Macintosh.
IBM SCAMP
In 1972-1973 a team led by Dr. Paul Friedl at IBM's Los Gatos Scientific Center developed a prototype portable computer called SCAMP (PC Portable Special Machine Engine) based on IBM PALM processor with Philips compact cassette drive, small CRT and full function keyboard. SCAMP imitated the IBM 1130 minicomputer to run APL \ 1130. In 1973 APL was generally only available on mainframe computers, and most desktop-sized microcomputers like the Wang 2200 or HP 9800 offered only BASIC. Because it was the first to emulate APL \ 1130's performance on a portable, single-user computer, PC Magazine in 1983 that named SCAMP the "revolutionary concept" and "the world's first personal computer". The prototype is at the Smithsonian Institution.
IBM 5100
IBM 5100 is a desktop computer that was introduced in September 1975, six years before the IBM PC. It was the evolution of SCAMP (Computer Special Machines APL Portable) demonstrated by IBM in 1973. In January 1978 IBM announced IBM 5110, his bigger cousin. The 5100 was withdrawn in March 1982.
When the PC was introduced in 1981, it was initially designated as the IBM 5150, incorporating it into the "5100" series, although its architecture was not directly derived from IBM 5100.
Altair 8800
The development of single-chip microprocessors is the gateway to popularizing computers that are inexpensive, easy to use, and completely personal. It is only a matter of time before one such design is able to reach a sweet spot in terms of price and performance, and the machine is generally regarded as the Altair 8800, from MITS, a small company that manufactures electronic devices for fans.
Altair was introduced in the Popular Electronics magazine article in the January 1975 issue. In accordance with the previous MITS project, Altair was sold in kit form, though a relatively complex composed of four circuit boards and many parts. Priced at only $ 400, Altair tapped into the pent-up demand and shocked its creator when it generated thousands of orders in its first month. Unable to meet demand, MITS sells the design after about 10,000 kits have been shipped.
The introduction of Altair spawned an entire industry based on the basic layout and internal design. New companies like Cromemco started to provide additional tools, while Microsoft was set up to provide BASIC interpreters for the system. As soon as a number of "clone" designs, identified by the IMSAI 8080, appear on the market. This led to various systems based on the S-100 bus being introduced to the Altair, a machine that generally improves performance, quality and ease of use.
Altair, and early clones, are relatively difficult to use. The machines do not contain the operating system in the ROM, so starting the required machine language program to manually enter through the front panel switches, one location at a time. The program is usually a small driver for the attached paper ribbon reader, which will then be used for reading in other "real" programs. Then the system adds bootstrapping code to improve this process, and the machine becomes almost universally associated with the CP/M operating system, which is loaded from the floppy disk.
Altair created a new industry of microcomputers and computer kits, with many others following, such as the wave of small business computers in the late 1970s based on Intel 8080 chips, Zilog Z80 and Intel 8085 microprocessors. Most run the CP/M-80 operating system developed by Gary Kildall at Digital Research. CP/M-80 is the first popular microcomputer operating system used by many different hardware vendors, and many software packages are written for it, such as WordStar and dBase II.
Homebrew Computer Club
Although Altair spawned an entire business, another side effect it has is that the microprocessor has reduced the cost and complexity of building a microcomputer that anyone can create. Many such fans met and traded records at the Homebrew Computer Club (HCC) meeting in Silicon Valley. Although the HCC is relatively short-lived, its influence on the development of modern PCs is enormous.
Group members complain that microcomputers will never become commonplace if they still have to be built, from parts like the original Altair, or even in terms of assembling various add-ons that turn machines into useful systems. What they feel is needed is a one-piece system. From this desire came the Sol-20 computer, which puts the entire S-100 system - QWERTY keyboard, CPU, display card, memory and port - into an interesting box. The system is packed with cassette tape interfaces for monochrome storage and monitors 12 "Complete with BASIC copies, the system sells for US $ 2,100. About 10,000 Sol-20 systems are sold.
Although Sol-20 is the first all-in-one system we'll recognize today, the basic concept is already rippling through other members of the group, and interested external companies.
Other machines in the
Other important 1977 engines in the fan community at the time included Exidy Sorcerer, NorthStar Horizon, Cromemco Z-2, and Heathkit H8.
1977 and the appearance of "Trinity"
In 1976, there were several companies competing to introduce the first truly successful commercial computer. Three machines, the Apple II, PET 2001 and TRS-80 were all released in 1977, becoming the most popular by the end of 1978. Byte magazines later referred to them as "1977 Trinity". Also in 1977, Sord Computer Corporation released Sord M200 Smart Home Computer in Japan.
Apple II
Steve Wozniak (known as "Woz"), regular visitor to the Homebrew Computer Club meeting, designing a single board computer Apple I and first demonstrating it there. With hand-held specifications and orders for 100 machines costing $ 500 each from Byte Shop, Woz and his friend Steve Jobs founded Apple Computer.
About 200 machines were sold before the company announced Apple II as a complete computer. It has color graphics, a full QWERTY keyboard, and an internal slot for expansion, mounted in a high-quality plastic box. Monitor and I/O devices are sold separately. The original Apple II operating system is just a built-in BASIC interpreter in the ROM. Apple DOS added to support disk drives; the last version is "Apple DOS 3.3".
Higher prices and lack of BASIC floating point, along with the lack of retail distribution sites, caused it to lag behind in sales behind other Trinity machines until 1979, when it surpassed PET. It was again pushed to 4th place when Atari introduced the popular Atari 8-bit system.
Despite the slow initial sales, Apple II's lifetime is about eight years longer than other machines, and therefore garnered the highest total sales. In 1985, 2.1 million have been sold and more than 4 million Apple II shipped at the end of its production in 1993.
PET
Chuck Peddle designed the Commodore PET (short for Personal Electronic Transactor) around his MOS 6502 processor. This is basically a one-board computer with a simple TTL-based CRT driver that drives a small, built-in monochrome monitor with graphics of 40ÃÆ'â € "25 characters. Processor cards, keyboards, monitors, and cassette drives are all mounted in a metal box. In 1982, Byte refers to the PET design as "the world's first personal computer".
PET is delivered in two models; 2001-4 with 4 kB RAM, or 2001-8 with 8 kB. This machine also includes a built-in Datassette for data storage located on the front of the casing, leaving little room for the keyboard. The year 2001 was announced in June 1977 and the first 100 units were shipped in mid-October 1977. But they remained re-ordered for months, and for ease of delivery they eventually canceled the 4kB version early next year.
Although the engine is quite successful, there are often complaints about a keyboard like a calculator, often referred to as the "Chiclet Keyboard" because of its key resemblance to popular gum. This is discussed in the 2001 version of "dash N" and "dash B", which places the cassette outside the casing, and includes a much larger keyboard with full non-click stroke motion. Internally newer and simpler motherboards are used, along with up to 8, 16, or 32 KB memory enhancements, known as 2001-N-8 , 2001-N-16 or 2001-N-32 , respectively.
PET was the most successful of the 1977 Trinity engines, with under 1 million sales.
TRS-80
Tandy Corporation (Radio Shack) introduced the TRS-80, which is retroactively known as Model I as an enhanced model introduced. Model I combines the motherboard and keyboard into one unit with separate monitors and power supplies. Although PET and Apple II offer certain highly advanced features, Tandy 3000 Radio Shack outlets ensure that it will have a wide distribution that Apple and Commodore can not touch.
Model I uses Zilog Z80 processor clocked at 1.77 MHz (further models shipped with Z80A processor). The basic model was originally shipped with 4 kB of RAM, and then 16 kB, on the main computer. The expansion unit allows for RAM expansion for a total of 48K. Other powerful features are full stroke QWERTY keyboard, small size, well written Microsoft floating-point BASIC and inclusion of monitors and tape decks for about half the cost of Apple II. Finally, a 5.25-inch floppy drive was made available by Tandy and several third-party manufacturers. The extended unit allows up to four floppy drives to be connected, providing slots for RS-232 and parallel port options for the printer.
Model I can not comply with FCC regulations on radio interference due to plastic cases and exterior cables. Apple solved the problem with interior metallic foil but the solution will not work for Tandy with Model I. Because Model II and Model III are already in production Tandy decided to stop making Model I. Radio Shack has sold 1.5 million My Models with a cancellation in 1981.
Home computer
Byte in January 1980 announced in an editorial that "the era of an existing personal computer has arrived". The magazine states that "the desired contemporary personal computer has 64 K of memory, about 500 K bytes of on-line mass storage, any competent, competent, high- and low-end video terminal, printer, and high-level language". The author reports that when he needed to buy a computer like that he quickly did it at a local $ 6,000 cash store, and quoted it as an example of "what is the state of the art today... as mass production. Earlier that year Radio Shack, Commodore, and Apple produced most of the one and a half million microcomputers available. As component prices continue to fall, many companies enter the computer business. This led to the explosion of cheap machines known as home computers that sold millions of units before the market exploded in a price war in the early 1980s.
Atari 400/800
Atari was a famous brand in the late 1970s, both because of their hit arcade games like Pong, as well as the highly successful Atari VCS game console. Realizing that VCS will have a limited lifetime in the market before technically competent competitors come in, Atari decides they will become that competitor, and start working on the new console design that is much more advanced.
While this design is being developed, the Trinity machine hit the market with considerable fanfare. Atari Management decided to turn their work into a home computer system. Their knowledge of the home market through VCS produces an almost indestructible machine and is just as easy to use as a gaming machine - just plug the cartridge and go. The new machines were first introduced as 400 and 800 in 1978, but production problems meant widespread sales did not begin until next year.
At that time, the machines offered what was then much higher than the contemporary design and a number of graphic and sound features that other microcomputers could not have. They became very popular as a result, quickly diminishing the Trinity machine in sales. Despite a promising start with around 600,000 sold in 1981, the price war loomed leaving Atari in a bad position. They can not compete effectively with the Commodore, and only about 2 million machines are produced at the end of their production.
Sinclair
Sinclair Research Ltd is a British consumer electronics company founded by Sir Clive Sinclair in Cambridge. It was founded in 1973 as Ablesdeal Ltd and renamed "Westminster Mail Order Ltd" and later "Sinclair Instrument Ltd." in 1975. The Company remained inactive until 1976, when it was activated with the aim of resuming Sinclair's commercial work from the previous company, Sinclair Radionics; it adopted the name Sinclair Research in 1981. In 1980, Clive Sinclair entered the home computer market with ZX80 at Ã, £ 99.95, at the time of the cheapest personal computer for sale in the UK. In 1982, ZX Spectrum was released, then became the UK's best-selling computer, competing aggressively against Commodore and British Amstrad. At the peak of its success, and largely inspired by Japan's Fifth Generation Computer program, the company set up a research center "MetaLab" at Milton Hall (near Cambridge), to pursue artificial intelligence, integration of wafer scale, formal verification and other advanced projects. The combination of the Sinclair QL computer failure and the TV80 caused financial difficulties in 1985, and a year later Sinclair sold the rights to their computer and brand name products to Amstrad. Sinclair Research Ltd exists today as a one-man company, continuing to market the latest findings of Sir Clive Sinclair.
- ZX80
The ZX80 home computer was launched in February 1980 at Ã, Â £ 79.95 in kit form and Ã, Â £ 99.95 ready-made. In November of the same year Science of Cambridge changed its name to Sinclair Computers Ltd.
- ZX81
The ZX81 (known as TS 1000 in the United States) is priced at Ã, Â £ 49.95 in kit form and Ã, Â £ 69.95 ready-made, by mail order.
- ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum was launched on April 23, 1982, with price £, £ 125 for the 16 KB RAM version and £ 175 for the 48 KB version.
- Sinclair QL
QL Sinclair was announced in January 1984, at a price of £ 399. Marketed as a more sophisticated 32-bit microcomputer for professional users, it uses the Motorola 68008 processor. Production is delayed by several months, due to unfinished hardware and software developments at launch QL.
- ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum is a ZX Spectrum 48K which was relaunched in October 1984.
- ZX Spectrum 128
The ZX Spectrum 128, with expandable RAM of up to 128 kB, sound chips and other enhancements, was launched in Spain in September 1985 and Britain in January 1986, at a price of Ã, £ 179.95.
TI-99
Texas Instruments (TI), at the time of the world's largest chipmaker, decided to enter the home computer market with Texas Instruments TI-99/4A. Announced long before its arrival, most industry observers expect the machine to wipe out all the competition - on paper its performance is untouched, and IT has huge cash back up and development capability.
When released in late 1979, IT took a somewhat slower approach to introducing it, initially focusing on schools. Contrary to previous predictions, the limitations of TI-99 meant it was not the gigantic killer everyone expected, and some of its design features were highly controversial. A total of 2.8 million units were shipped before TI-99/4A was suspended in March 1984.
VIC-20 and Commodore 64
Realizing that PET can not easily compete with color machines like the Apple II and Atari, Commodore introduced the VIC-20 to tackle the home market. Limitations due to the small 4 kB memory and relatively limited display compared to the machines were offset by low prices and continued to decline. Millions of VIC-20s sold.
The best-selling personal computer of all time was released by Commodore International in 1982: Commodore 64 (C64) sold over 17 million units before the end. The C64 name comes from 64kb of RAM and also comes with a mounted side mount ROM slot. It uses a 6510 microprocessor CPU; MOS Technology, Inc. then owned by Commodore.
BBC Micro
The BBC became interested in running the computer literacy series, and sent a tender for a standard small computer to be used with the show. After checking out some entrants, they chose what became known as Acorn Proton and made a number of minor changes to produce BBC Micro. The micro was relatively expensive, limiting its commercial appeal, but with extensive marketing, BBC support and various programs, the system eventually sold over 1.5 million units. Acorn was saved from obscurity, and proceeded to develop the ARM processor ( Acorn RISC Machine ) to drive the advanced design. ARM is widely used today, providing a wide range of products like the iPhone.
Commodore/Atari price war and crash
In 1982, TI 99/4A and Atari 400 were both $ 349, Computer Color Radio Shack sold for $ 379, and Commodore had reduced the VIC-20 price to $ 199 and the Commodore 64 to $ 499. TI had forced the Commodore from the market of the calculator by lowering the price of its own brand calculator to less than the cost of the chipset it sells to third parties to create the same design. Commodore CEO Jack Tramiel vowed that this would not happen again, and bought MOS Technology to ensure chip supplies. With its supply guaranteed, and good control over component prices, Tramiel launched the war against TI soon after the introduction of the Commodore 64.
Now vertically integrated, the Commodore lowered the retail price from 64 to $ 300 in the June 1983 Consumer Electronics Show, and the store sold for $ 199. At one point the company sold as many computers as the rest of the industry combined. Commodore - which even stops selling prices - can make a profit when it sells 64 for a retail price of $ 200 due to vertical integration. Competitors also reduce prices; the price of Atari 800 in July was $ 165, and by the time IT was ready in 1983 to introduce a 99/2 computer - designed for sale for $ 99 - TI-99/4A sold for $ 99 in June. The 99/4A had sold for $ 400 in the fall of 1982, causing losses to IT hundreds of millions of dollars. A Goods Service executive stated "I have pioneered 30 years and I have never seen any category of goods get this kind of self-destruction pattern". Such low prices might damage the reputation of the home computer; one of the retail executives said about 99/4A, '"When they went to $ 99, people started asking' What's wrong with that? '" Founder Count !! stated in 1986 that "our market is down from 300 percent growth per year to 20 percent".
While Tramiel's target is TI, everyone in the home computer market is hurt by the process; many companies go bust or out of business. In the end, Commodore's own finances were paralyzed by the massive expansion of building demands required to deliver the machines, and Tramiel was forced from the company.
Japanese computer
From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, the Japanese personal computer market was largely dominated by domestic computer products. PC-88 and PC-98 NEC are market leaders, although with some competition from Sharp X1 and X68000, FM-7 and FM Towns, and MSX and MSX2, the latter also gained some popularity in Europe. The main difference between Western and Japanese systems at the time was a higher display resolution (640x400) to accommodate Japanese text. Japanese computers also use sound FM FM synthesis boards since the early 1980s that produce higher quality sound. Japanese computers are widely used to produce video games, although only a small portion of Japanese PC games are released abroad. Japan's most successful personal computer is NEC's PC-98, which sold over 18 million units in 1999.
IBM PC
The IBM PC was the first PC to justify its widespread use. IBM responded to the success of Apple II with the IBM PC, released in August 1981. Like the Apple II and S-100 systems, the system is based on an open card-based architecture, allowing third parties to develop it. It uses an Intel 8088 CPU running at 4.77 MHz, containing 29,000 transistors. The first model uses audio cassettes for external storage, although there is an expensive floppy disk option. The cassette option was never popular and was deleted on PC XT 1983. XT added a 10MB hard drive instead of one of two floppies and increased the number of expansion slots from 5 to 8. While the original PC design can only accommodate up to 64k on the main board, capable of holding up to 640KB of RAM, with the rest on the card. Then the design revision raises the limit to 256K on the main board.
IBM PC is usually equipped with PC DOS, operating system based on Gary Kildall's CP/M-80 operating system. In 1980, IBM approached Digital Research, the Kildall company, for the CP/M version for the upcoming IBM PC. Kildall's wife and business partner, Dorothy McEwen, met with an IBM representative who could not negotiate a standard non-disclosure agreement with her. IBM turned to Bill Gates, who already provided ROM BASIC interpreters for PCs. Gates offers to provide 86-DOS, developed by Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products. IBM rebranding as PC DOS, while Microsoft sells variations and improvements as MS-DOS.
The impact of Apple II and the IBM PC is fully demonstrated when Time calls the home computer "Machine of the Year", or People of the Year for 1982 (January 3, 1983, "Mobile Moving In"). This is the first time in magazine's history that inanimate objects are given this award.
IBM PC clone
The original PC design was followed up in 1983 by IBM PC XT, which is a gradually enhanced design; it removes support for cassettes, has more card slots, and is available with a 10MB hard drive. Although mandatory initially, the hard drive is then created option and two XT floppy disks are sold. While the 640K architecture memory limit is the same, the newer versions are easier to develop.
Although PC and XT include BASIC language versions in read-only memory, most are purchased with disk drives and run with the operating system; three operating systems were initially announced with PC. One is CP/M-86 from Digital Research, second is IBM's DOS PC, and the third is UCSD p-System (from University of California at San Diego). PC DOS is a version of IBM's branded operating system from Microsoft, formerly best known for supplying BASIC language systems to computer hardware companies. When sold by Microsoft, a DOS PC is called MS-DOS. UCSD p-System OS is built around the Pascal programming language and is not marketed to the same niche as IBM customers. Both p-System and CP/M-86 are commercial successes.
Because MS-DOS is available as a separate product, some companies are trying to make computers available that can run MS-DOS and programs. These early machines, including ACT Apricot, DEC Rainbow 100, Hewlett-Packard HP-150, Seequa Chameleon and many others were not very successful, as they required a customized version of MS-DOS, and could not run programs specifically designed for devices hard IBM. (See an earlier non-IBM-PC-compatible PC list.) The first truly IBM-compatible PC machine came from Compaq, though others soon followed.
Since the IBM PC is based on a relatively standard integrated circuit, and the basic design of the card slot is not patented, the main part of the hardware is actually the BIOS software embedded in read-only memory. This critical element gets reversed engineering, and it opens the floodgates into the market for an IBM PC impersonator, dubbed the "PC clone". At that time IBM had decided to enter the personal computer market in response to Apple's early success, IBM was the computer industry giant and was expected to destroy Apple's market share. But because of the shortcuts IBM uses to quickly enter the market, they finally release products that are easily copied by other manufacturers using shelves, non-ownership components. So in the long run, IBM's biggest role in the evolution of personal computers is to set a de facto standard for hardware architectures among different manufacturers. IBM's price is reduced by the point where IBM is no longer a significant force in development, leaving only the PC standards they have set. Appearing as the dominant force of this battle among hardware manufacturers vying for market share is Microsoft's software company that provides operating systems and utilities for all PCs across the board, whether original IBM machines or PCs clone.
In 1984, IBM introduced the IBM Personal Computer/AT (more commonly called PC/AT or AT) built around the Intel 80286 microprocessor. The chip is much faster, and can handle up to 16MB of RAM but only in modes that largely undermine compatibility with 8086 and 8088 previously. In particular, the MS-DOS operating system can not take advantage of this capability.
Buses on PC/AT are named Industrial Architecture (ISA). Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) was released in 1992, and was supposed to replace ISA.
VESA Local Bus (VLB) and Extended ISA were also replaced by PCI, but the majority of 486 systems (post 1992) then featured VESA Local Bus video cards. VLB is important to offer a cheaper high-speed interface for consumer systems, because only in 1994 was PCI that was generally available outside the server market.
PCI was later replaced by PCI-E (see below).
Apple's Lisa and Macintosh
In 1983 Apple Computer introduced the first mass-marketed microcomputer with a graphical user interface, Lisa. Lisa runs on a Motorola 68000 microprocessor and comes with 1 megabyte of RAM, a 12-inch (300 mm) black-and-white monitor, a 5 inch inch floppy disk disk and a 5 megabyte Profile hard disk. Lisa's slow, high-priced operating speed (US $ 10,000), however, caused her commercial failure.
Based on his experience with Lisa, Apple launched the Macintosh in 1984, with commercials during the Super Bowl. Macintosh is the first mass-powered mobility driven computer with a graphical user interface or 'WIMP' (Windows, Icon, Menu, and Bookmarks). Based on the Motorola 68000 microprocessor, the Macintosh includes many Lisa features at a price of US $ 2,495. The Macintosh was introduced with 128 kb of RAM and later that year a 512 kb RAM model became available. To reduce costs compared to Lisa, the younger Macintosh has a simplified motherboard design, no internal hard drive, and a 3.5 "floppy drive. Applications included with Macintosh include MacPaint, a bit-mapped graphics program, and MacWrite, which shows the processor said WYSIWYG.
Although it did not work after it was released, the Macintosh is a successful personal computer for years to come. This was primarily due to the introduction of desktop publishing in 1985 through Apple's partnership with Adobe. This partnership introduces LaserWriter and Aldus PageMaker printers (now Adobe PageMaker) to personal computer users. During the absence of Steve Jobs from Apple, a number of different Macintosh models, including Macintosh Plus and Macintosh II, were released to a huge success rate. The entire range of Macintosh computers was IBM's primary competition until the early 1990s.
GUI spread
In the Commodore world, GEOS is available on Commodore 64 and Commodore 128. Then, a version is available for PCs running DOS. It can be used with a mouse or joystick as a pointing device, and comes with a series of GUI apps. The Commodore product line in the future, the Amiga platform, runs the GUI operating system by default. Amiga lays out a blueprint for future personal computer development with innovative graphics and sound capabilities. Byte calls it "the first multimedia computer... so far ahead of time that almost no one can fully articulate what it is all about."
In 1985, the Atari ST, also based on the Motorola 68000 microprocessor, was introduced with the first color GUI in Atari TOS. This can be modified to mimic Macintosh using a third-party GCR Spectre tool.
In 1987, Acorn launched various high-performance home computers in Europe and Australasia in Archimedes. Based on their own 32-bit ARM RISC processor, the system is shipped with a GUI OS called Arthur. In 1989, Arthur was replaced by a multi-task GUI-based operating system called RISC OS. By default, the mouse that is used on this computer has three buttons.
PC clones dominate
The transition from IBM-driven PC-compatible markets to one particularly driven by a wider market began to become apparent in 1986 and 1987; in 1986, the Intel 80386 32-bit microprocessor was released, and the first compatible 386-based PC was the Compaq Deskpro 386. The IBM response came almost a year later with the initial launch of the IBM/2 Personal Computer System series, which has a closed architecture and is a significant departure of the "default PC" that appears. These models were largely unsuccessful, and the Clone style PC machine surpassed the sale of all other machines for the remainder of this period. Towards the end of the 1980s PC XT clones began to take over the home computer market segment of specialized manufacturers such as Commodore International and the previously dominated Atari. This system is usually sold just under the $ 1000 magic price point (usually $ 999) and is sold by mail order rather than the traditional dealer network. This price is achieved using the older 8/16 bit technology, such as the 8088 CPU, not the latest 32-bit Intel CPU. This CPU is usually made by third parties like Cyrix or AMD. Dell started as one of these manufacturers, with its original name PC Limited.
1990s and 2000s
NeXT
In 1990, the NeXTstation workstation computers went on sale, for "interpersonal" computing as Steve Jobs described. NeXTstation is meant to be a new computer for the 1990s, and a less expensive version of NeXT Computer. Despite its pioneering use of object-oriented programming concepts, NeXTstation was rather a commercial failure, and NeXT shut down hardware operations in 1993.
CD-ROM
In the early 1990s, CD-ROMs became the industry standard, and by the mid-1990s a single computer was built on almost all desktop computers, and by the late 1990s, on laptops as well. Although introduced in 1982, CD ROMs were mostly used for audio during the 1980s, and then for computer data such as operating systems and applications into the 1990s. Another popular use of CD ROMs in the 1990s was multimedia, as many desktop computers began to come with built-in stereo speakers capable of playing CD-quality music and sound with Sound Blaster sound cards on PCs.
ThinkPad
IBM introduced a successful ThinkPad circuit in COMDEX 1992 using series designers 300, 500 and 700 (allegedly analogous to the range of BMW cars and used to show the market), 300 series to "budget", 500 "midrange" series and "high end". This stipulation continued until the late 1990s when IBM introduced the "T" series instead of the 600/700 series, and the setting of the 3, 5 and 7 series models were discontinued for A (3 & 7) & amp; X (5) series. The A series was later replaced by the series R.
Dell
In the mid-1990s, the Amiga, Commodore and Atari systems were no longer in the market, driven by IBM's powerful PC clone competition and low prices. Other previous rivalries such as Sinclair and Amstrad are no longer in the computer market. With less competition than ever, Dell rose to high profits and succeeded, introducing a low cost system targeted at consumers and business markets using a direct sales model. Dell surpassed Compaq as the world's largest computer manufacturer, and held that position until October 2006.
Power Power Macintosh, PowerPC
In 1994, Apple introduced the PowerBook Macintosh series of high-end professional desktop computers for desktop publishing and graphic designers. These new computers use the new Motorola PowerPC processor as part of the AIM alliance, to replace the previous Motorola 68k architecture used for the Macintosh line. During the 1990s, the Macintosh remained with a low market share, but as a top choice for creative professionals, especially those in the graphics and publishing industry.
PC Risc
Also in 1994, Acorn Computers launched the Risc PC series of high-end desktop computers. The Risc PC (codenamed Medusa) is the next generation ARM-based OS RISC OS computer, which replaces Acorn Archimedes.
BeBox
In 1995, Be Inc. released the BeBox computer, which uses a dual PowerPC 603 processor running at 66 MHz, and then 133 MHz with Be operating system. BeBox largely failed, with less than 2,000 units produced between October 1995 and January 1997, when production ceased.
IBM IBM clones, Apple returns to profitability
Due to the growth of IBM clone sales in the 90s, they became the industry standard for business and home use. This growth coupled with the introduction of Microsoft Windows 3.0 operating environment in 1990, and followed by Windows 3.1 in 1992 and Windows 95 operating system in 1995. Macintosh was sent to a period of decline by this development coupled with Apple's own inability to come up with the successor to the operating system Macintosh, and in 1996 Apple was almost bankrupt. In December 1996 Apple bought NeXT and in what has been described as a "reverse takeover", Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997. NeXT's purchase and return of Jobs brought Apple back to profitability, first with the release of Mac OS 8, a major new version from operating system to Macintosh computer, and then with PowerMac G3 and iMac computers for professional and home markets. IMac is famous for its transparent blue transparent casing in ergonomic shape, as well as removing legacy devices such as floppy drives and serial ports that support Ethernet and USB connectivity. IMAC sold several million units and the next model used a different form factor to remain manufactured in August 2017. In 2001 Mac OS X, Mac OS X's long-awaited "next generation" OS was finally introduced by Apple, celebrating its comeback.
Writable CD, MP3, P2P file sharing
ROM in CD-ROM stands for Read Only Memory. In the late 1990s CD-R and later, a rewritable CD-RW drive was included in place of standard CD ROM drives. It gives the user a personal computer the ability to copy and "burn" a standard Audio CD that can be played on the CD player. As computer hardware gets stronger and MP3 formats become scattered, "tearing" CDs into small files that are compressed on a computer hard drive becomes popular. Peer to peer file sharing networks such as Napster, Kazaa and Gnutella appear to be used almost exclusively to share music files and become a major computer activity for many individuals.
USB USB, DVD player
Since the late 1990s, many personal computers began shipping that included a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port for easy plug and play connectivity to devices such as digital cameras, video cameras, personal digital assistants, printers, scanners, USB flash drives, and device other devices. At the beginning of the 21st century, all computer shipments to the consumer market include at least two USB ports. Also during the late 1990s, DVD players began to appear on desktop computers and upscale laptops, usually more expensive, and eventually on consumer computers in the first decade of the 21st century.
Hewlett-Packard
In 2002, Hewlett-Packard (HP) bought Compaq. Compaq itself had purchased Tandem Computers in 1997 (which had been started by former HP employees), and Digital Equipment Corporation in 1998. Following this strategy HP became a leading player on desktops, laptops and servers for many different markets. The purchase made HP the world's largest personal computer manufacturer, until Dell later surpassed HP.
64 bit
In 2003, AMD sent a 64-bit microprocessor line for desktop computers, Opteron and Athlon 64. Also in 2003, IBM released 64-bit PowerPC 970 for Apple's high-end Power Mac G5 system. Intel, in 2004, reacted to AMD's success with 64-bit processors, releasing the latest version of its Xeon and Pentium 4 line. The 64-bit processor was first common in high-end systems, servers and workstations, and then gradually replaced the 32-bit processor in consumer desktop and laptop systems since about 2005.
Lenovo
In 2004, IBM announced the sale of its proposed PC business to Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group, partly owned by the Chinese government, with cash of US $ 650 million and US $ 600 million in Lenovo shares. The agreement was approved by the Foreign Investment Committee in the United States in March 2005, and was completed in May 2005. IBM will own a 19% stake in Lenovo, which will move its headquarters to New York State and appoint an IBM executive as Exclusive Supreme Officer. The Company will retain the right to use certain IBM brand names for an initial period of five years. As a result of the purchase, Lenovo inherited a line of products featuring ThinkPad, a line of laptops that has become one of IBM's most successful products.
Wi-Fi, LCD monitor, flash memory
In the early 21st century, Wi-Fi began to become increasingly popular as many consumers began installing their own wireless home network. Many laptops and desktop computers are currently sold pre-installed with wireless cards and antennas. Also in the early 21st century, LCD monitors became the most popular technology for computer monitors, with the production of CRT being slowed. LCD monitors are typically sharper, brighter, and more economical than CRT monitors. The first decade of the 21st century also saw the emergence of multi-core processors (see next section) and flash memory. Having limited use of high-end industries due to cost, this technology is now prime and available to consumers. In 2008 the MacBook Air and Asus Eee PC were released, laptops that discard optical drives and hard drives completely rely on flash memory for storage.
Local area network
The late 1970s invention of local area networks (LANs), especially Ethernet, enabled PCs to communicate with each other (peer-to-peer) and with shared printers.
As the microcomputer revolution continues, a stronger version of the same technology is used to produce a microprocessor-based server that can also be connected to a LAN. This is facilitated by the development of server operating systems to run on Intel architecture, including several versions of both Unix and Microsoft Windows.
Multiprocessing
In May 2005, AMD and Intel released their first dual-core 64-bit processor, the Pentium D and Athlon 64 X2. Multi-core processors can be programmed and grounded on using the symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) technique known since the 60's (see the SMP article for details).
Apple switched to Intel in 2006, thus gaining multiprocessing.
In 2013, the Xeon Phi extension card was released with 57 x86 cores, priced at $ 1,695, equivalent to about 30 dollars per core.
ARM
In 2005, the ARM Cortex-A8 was released, the first Cortex design adopted on a large scale for use in consumer devices. The ARM core is then used in Raspberry Pi, a very cheap mini computer.
PCI-E
PCI Express was released in 2003. It became the most commonly used bus on desktop computers compatible with PCs.
Inexpensive 3D graphics
An inexpensive 3D accelerator hike replaces the low-end Silicon Graphics (SGI) products, which went bankrupt in 2009.
Silicon Graphics is a huge 3D business that has generated annual revenue of $ 5.4 million to $ 3.7 billion from 1984 to 1997.
The addition of 3D graphics capabilities to PCs, and the ability of Linux-based and BSD-based PCs to take on multiple tasks from larger SGI servers, eating the SGI core market.
Three former SGI employees have established 3dfx in 1994. Their Voodoo Graphics extension cards rely on PCI to provide cheap 3D graphics for PCs. By the end of 1996, the cost of EDO DRAM dropped significantly. A card consists of a DAC, frame buffer processor and texture mapping unit, along with 4 MB of EDO DRAM. RAM and graphics processors are operated at 50 MHz. It only provides 3D acceleration and therefore the computer also needs a traditional video controller for conventional 2D software.
NVIDIA bought 3dfx in 2000. In 2000, NVIDIA increased 96% revenue.
SGI has created OpenGL. Specification control was given to the Khronos Group in 2006.
SDRAM
In 1993, Samsung introduced the KM48SL2000 synchronous DRAM, and in 2000, SDRAM has replaced almost all other types of DRAMs in modern computers, due to their greater performance. For more information, see Random-access dynamic sync memory memory # SDRAM History.
Dual-level data synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM) was introduced in 2000.
Compared to its predecessors in PC-clones, SDR (single SDR) data, DDR SDRAM interfaces make the higher transfer rate possible by tighter control of time from electrical data and clock signals.
ACPI
Released in December 1996, ACPI replaces Advanced Power Management (APM), MultiProcessor Specifications, and Plug and Play BIOS (PnP) Specifications.
Internally, ACPI advertises available components and functions to the operating system kernel using the instruction list ("method") provided through the system firmware (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) or BIOS), which is parsed by the kernel. ACPI then executes the desired operation (such as hardware component initialization) using a minimal embedded virtual machine.
The first generation ACPI device had a problem. The first Windows 98 issue disables ACPI by default except on the system whitelist.
2010s
Semiconductor fabrication
In 2011, Intel announced the commercialization of Tri-gate transistors. The Tri-Gate design is a variant of the FinFET 3D structure. FinFET was developed in the 1990s by Chenming Hu and his colleagues at UC Berkeley.
Through-silicon via is used in High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), DDR-SDRAM router. HBM was released in 2013.
In 2016 and 2017, Intel, TSMC and Samsung began releasing 10 nanometer chips. On
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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