Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

366 personal computerConway, Damian. Perl Best Practices. Sebastapol, Calif.: O’Reilly,2005.Lee, James. Beginning Perl. 2nd ed. Berkeley, Calif.: Apress, 2004.Schwartz, Randall L., Tom Phoenix, and Brian D. Foy. LearningPerl. 4th ed. Sebastapol, Calif.: O’Reilly, 2005.Wall, Larry, Tom Christiansen, and Jon Orwant. ProgrammingPerl. 3rd ed. Sebastapol, Calif.: O’Reilly, 2000.personal computer (PC)The development of the “computer chip” (see microprocessor)and the increasing use of integrated circuit technologymade it possible by the mid-1970s to begin to think aboutdesigning small computers as office machines or consumerdevices that could be individually owned or used. In abouta decade the personal computer, or PC, would become wellestablished in many businesses and a growing number ofhomes. After another decade, it became almost as ubiquitousas TV sets and microwaves. Parallel developmentsin hardware, software, operating systems, and accessorydevices made this revolution possible.The first commercial “personal computer” was the MITSAltair, a microcomputer kit built around an Intel 8080microprocessor. Building the kit required considerableskill with electronics assembly, but enthusiasts (includinga young Bill Gates) were soon writing software and designingadd-on modules for the kit (see Gates, William). Avariety of publications, notably Byte magazine, as well asthe Homebrew Computer Club gave hobbyists a forum forsharing ideas.By the late 1970s, personal computing was starting tobecome accessible to the general public. The Altair enthusiastshad moved on to more powerful systems that offeredsuch amenities as floppy disk drives and an operating system(CP/M, developed by Gary Kildall). Meanwhile, lesstechnically experienced people could also begin to experimentwith personal computing, thanks to the complete,ready-to-run PCs being offered by Radio Shack (TRS-80),Commodore (Pet), and in particular, the Apple II.In order to make serious inroads into the businessworld, however, the PC needed useful, reliable software.WordStar and later WordPerfect made it possible to replaceexpensive special-purpose word processing machines (suchas those made by Wang) with the more versatile PC. One ofthe biggest spurs to business use of PCs, however, was anentirely new category of software—the spreadsheet. DanBricklin’s VisiCalc (see spreadsheet) would make the PCattractive to accountants and corporate planners.The watershed year in personal computing was 1981because it brought the computer giant IBM into the PCarena (see IBM pc). The IBM PC had a somewhat morepowerful processor and could hold more memory than theApple II, but its main advantage was that it was backedby IBM’s decades-long reputation in office machines. Businesseswere used to buying IBM products, and conversely,many corporate buyers believed that if IBM was offeringdesktop computers, then PCs must be useful businessmachines.IBM (like Apple) had adopted the idea of open architecture—theability for third companies to make plug-in cardsto add functions to the machine. Thus, the IBM PC becamethe platform for a burgeoning hardware industry. Further, itturned out that other companies could reverse-engineer theinternal code that ran the system hardware (see bios) withoutinfringing IBM’s legal rights. This meant that companiescould make “clones” or IBM-compatible machines that couldrun the same software as the genuine IBM PC. The first clonemanufacturers (such as Compaq) sometimes improved uponIBM such as by offering better graphics or faster processors.However, by the late 1980s the trend was toward companiescompeting through lower prices for roughly equivalentperformance. Facing a declining market share, IBM triedto introduce a new architecture, called microchannel, thatprovided a mainframelike bus architecture for more efficientinput/output control. However, whatever technical advantagesthe new system (called PS/2) might have, the marketvoted against it by continuing to buy the ever more powerfulclones built on the original IBM architecture.Lower prices and more attractive options led to a growingnumber of users, which in turn encouraged greaterinvestment in software development. By the mid-1980s,Lotus (headed by Mitch Kapor) dominated the spreadsheetmarket with its Lotus 1-2-3, while WordPerfect dominatedin word processing.However, Microsoft, whose MS-DOS (or PC-DOS) hadbecome the standard operating system for IBM-compatiblePCs, introduced a new operating environment with agraphical user interface (see Microsoft Windows). By themid-1990s, Windows had largely supplanted DOS. Microsoftalso committed resources and exploited its intimateknowledge of the operating system to achieve dominance inoffice software through MS Word, MS Excel (spreadsheet),and MS Access (database).At the margins Apple’s Macintosh (introduced in 1984and steadily refined) has retained a significant following,particularly in education, publishing, and graphic artsapplications (see Macintosh). Although Windows nowprovides a similar user interface, Mac enthusiasts believetheir machine is still easier to use (and more stylish), andoften see it as a badge for those who “think different.”PC TrendsWhen graphical Web browsing made the Internet widelyaccessible in the mid-1990s, the demand for PCs increasedaccordingly. The desire for e-mail, Web browsing, and helpwith children’s homework led many families to purchasetheir first PCs. By 2000, about two-thirds of Americanchildren had access to computers at home, and virtuallyall schools had at least some PCs in the classroom. Usingsophisticated manufacturing and order processing systems,companies such as Dell and Gateway sell PCs directly toconsumers and businesses, largely displacing the neighborhoodcomputer store. These efficiencies (and lower pricesfor memory, processors, and other hardware) have broughtthe cost for a basic home PC down to less than $500, whilethe capabilities available for those willing to spend $1,500or so continued to increase. PC users now expect to be ableto play CD- and DVD-based multimedia while hearing goodquality sound.