A Brief History of the Personal Computer

What is a Personal Computer? A Personal Computer (PC) is a small, relatively inexpensive computer designed for one user. They are based on microprocessor technology, which enables manufacturers to put a CPU on one chip. Image obtained from: http://www.tutorialspoint.com/computer_fundamentals/images/personal_computer.jpg

Invention of the Microprocessor Before microprocessors were invented, computers needed a separate integrated-circuit chip for each one of their functions. (This was one reason the machines were still so large.) Microprocessors were the size of a thumbnail, and they could do things the integrated-circuit chips could not: They could run the computer’s programs, remember information and manage data all by themselves. The first microprocessor on the market was developed in 1971 by an engineer at Intel named Ted Hoff. Image obtained from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Intel_4004.jpg

1974- The Altair A company called Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) introduced a mail-order build-it-yourself computer kit called the Altair. Compared to earlier microcomputers, the Altair was a huge success: Thousands of people bought the $400 kit It didn’t really do much- it had no keyboard or screen Users would input data by flipping switches Image obtained from: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01611/altair8800_1611416c.jpg

1975- Altair BASIC- Bill Gates and Paul Allen Adapted the BASIC programming language for the Altair This was a huge success for them Took the money they made from this and started the Microsoft Corporation Image obtained from: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ADplHpk33yY/hqdefault.jpg

1976- Apple I- Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak Built the Apple I, which was more sophisticated than the Altair Image obtained from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Apple_I_Computer.jpg/1280px-Apple_I_Computer.jpg Image obtained from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/CHM_Apple_I.JPG

1977- Apple II- Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak In April 1977, Jobs and Wozniak introduced the Apple II, which had a keyboard and a color screen. Also, users could store their data on an external cassette tape. (Apple soon swapped those tapes for floppy disks.) The company encouraged programmers to create applications (apps) for it to make it useful for everyone, including businesses Image obtained from: http://apple2history.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/Apple-II-cassette-TV.png Image obtained from http://www.oldcomputers.net/pics/floppy-drives.jpg

Gary Kildall- The First Operating System In 1976, an early operating system was invented by a computer programmer named Gary Kildall, called the CP/M. This was universally compatible different machines. An operating system is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs

Bill Gates- IBM- MS-DOS Bill Gates created an operating system called MS-DOS for IBM Soon after, his company Microsoft began selling hardware and software to computer manufacturers such as Compaq, IBM, and Dell.

1981- IBM PC The computer company IBM created their first personal computer in 1981, which gained enough popularity to become the personal computer of choice at this time. Image obtained from: https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6130/6036834071_41226996db.jpg

1984- The Macintosh- Apple This was a critical success to invent the field of desktop publishing Had an easy to use picture-icon desktop

Microsoft- Windows 95 Eventually computer manufacturers were taking the lead from Apple in creating user friendly computers. Microsoft updated its version of MS-DOS and launched Windows 95 in 1995, which had an easy-to-use Macintosh-like desktop Microsoft continues to update their Windows operating system and has recently released Windows 10.

Questions to Think About….. The inventions we just saw paved the way for the creation of the computers, laptops, tablets, phones, and other technology that we use today. How does technology impact our day-to-day life? Can you imagine not having all of the technology gadgets that we use today? Which technology tool do you think had the most impact on our current technology today?

Resources Used http://www.explainthatstuff.com/historyofcomputers.html http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/invention-of-the-pc http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/personal_computer.html