Computers

Now that we’ve covered components, let’s look at common hardware devices.

Computers

A computer is programmed to perform calculations and operations automatically. The first computers were as large as a room and powered by vacuum tubes – thankfully, things have improved a little since then.

Personal Computers

A personal computer is simply a computer designed for a person to use. The first personal computers were sold in the 1970s, and were extremely limited by today’s standards – most were sold without monitors or storage, and there were hardly any software applications. The Apple II, made by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, was one of the biggest-selling computers during this time.

The first IBM PC was released in 1981 and used an operating system called PC DOS, licensed to IBM by Microsoft. IBM PCs used fairly standard hardware components, and as IBM was only licensing DOS from Microsoft, they couldn’t prevent other computer manufacturers from using similar components and licensing DOS to create “PC Clones” – basically much cheaper versions of the IBM PC.

The competition and lower prices led to huge growth in the PC market, and over time the operating systems upgraded from the text-based DOS to the graphical user interface of Windows, and PC clones came to hold the majority of the personal computer market share.

PC & Macs

Any personal computer may be abbreviated to ‘PC’, but people generally use that term for personal computers that are the natural progression from the early IBM PCs, using standard components like Intel or AMD x86-based processors and running Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

While most of Apple’s computers are personal computers in the sense that individuals use them, Apple has traditionally chosen to use their system architecture designs and refused to license their operating systems to outside manufacturers, making their systems incompatible with Windows computers.

These differences have led to people referring to Windows computers as “PCs”, and Apple’s computers as “Macs” (short for Macintosh, the name of some early Apple computers).