PC Components, Features, and System Design - Upgrading and Repairing PCs - page 16

Chapter 2. PC Components, Features, and System
Design
What Is a PC?
When I begin one of my Upgrading and Repairing PCs seminars, I like to ask the question, “What
exactly is a PC?” Most people immediately answer that PC stands for personal computer , which is
true. Many continue by defining a personal computer as any small computer system purchased and
used by an individual, which is also true. However, although it is true that all PCs are personal
computers, not all personal computers are PCs. For example, all of Apple's pre-2006 Motorola/IBM
processor-based Macintosh systems, older 8080/Z-80 processor-based CP/M machines, and even
my old Apple ][+ system are considered personal computers, but most people wouldn't call them
PCs, least of all the Mac users! For the true definition of what a PC is, we must look deeper.
Calling something a PC implies that it is something much more specific than just any personal
computer. One thing it implies is a familial relation to the original IBM PC from 1981. In fact, I'll go
so far as to say that IBM literally invented the type of computer we call a PC today; that is, IBM
designed and created the first one, and IBM's definition set all the standards that made the PC
distinctive from other personal computers. Note that I'm not saying that IBM invented the personal
computer; many recognize the historical origins of the personal computer in the MITS Altair,
introduced in 1975, even though other small computers were available prior. Clearly, IBM did not
invent the personal computer; however, it did invent the type of personal computer that today we call
the PC. Some people might take this definition a step further and define a PC as any personal
computer that is “IBM compatible.” In fact, many years back, PCs were called either IBM
compatibles or IBM clones , paying homage to the origins of the PC at IBM.
Some Personal Computer Trivia
Although the 1975 MITS Altair is often credited as the first personal computer, according to
the Blinkenlights Archaeological Institute ( www.blinkenlights.com ) , the first personal
computer was the Simon, created by Edmund C. Berkeley and described in his 1949 book,
Giant Brains, or Machines That Think . The plans for Simon were available for purchase by
Berkeley Enterprises as well as published in a series of 13 articles in Radio Electronics
magazine from 1950 to 1951.
The term personal computer may have first appeared in a November 3, 1962 New York Times
article quoting John W. Mauchly (co-creator of ENIAC). The article was reporting on
Mauchly's vision of future computing, and he was quoted as saying, “There is no reason to
suppose the average boy or girl cannot be master of a personal computer.”
The first machine advertised as a “personal computer” was the Hewlett-Packard 9100A, a 40-
pound programmable desktop electronic calculator released in 1968. Advertisements for the
$4,900 system called it “the new Hewlett-Packard 9100A personal computer.” The end of the
ad stated, “If you are still skeptical, or of faint heart, ask for a demonstration. It will affirm,
assure (and only slightly delay) your entry into the solid-state of personal computing power.”
(See www.vintagecalculators.com .)