The "Personal Computer"?

The "Personal Computer" has really evolved over the decades.   There was a time when a "computer" took up a huge amount of real estate.   I'm not talking about 2 square feet on your desk, but a whole room.  In the 1940's, they used vacuum tubes that would need to be replaced fairly frequently.   Transistors replaced vacuum tubes in 1959, which were better conductors, smaller, and cheaper.  In 1965, transistors shifted to integrated circuits, which further allowed for miniaturization, by allowing far more to be packed into a smaller place.  Each year, twice as many circuits could be placed in the same area as the year before.   Then, in 1971, the microprocessor, as we know it, was born.   The microprocessor was able do the work of what had been done by a more sizable computer.

If we look back, again, a little more - mostly in the sci-fi genre - we see the presence of "computers of the future".    Batman's Bat Cave had the Bat Computer (this could drive someone batty!) which Batman or Robin would ask a question, and receive an answer on a printed sheet of paper after some processing.    Aboard the Starship Enterprise, Spock, most often, would interact with the computer through speech.  Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey depicted a computer, Hal, is able to interact vocally, while controlling all aspects of the ship before achieving self-awareness. 

Computers started working their way into the home during the 1970's,  In the early days, it really was a "do it yourself" thing.   There were no bulletin boards or chat rooms, few "experts" to check with when you were stumped.   Plus, on the consumer end, they were a bit pricey.   The market availability would grow, and the computer presence would increase during the 1980's.

During this time period, we saw an increase in the media presence, 1983's Wargames involved the misadventures of Matthew Broderick, his PC & modem, and the DoD.   The TV series Whiz Kids focused on the adventures of some then-high tech kids.   While still a bit "elitist", the presence was becoming more noticable.    Apple's "1984" commercial was one of the most well-liked at the time, and has still been culturally significant nearly three decades later.  This campaign helped to keep them "relevant" in the "personal computer" market. 

Computers were coming down in size, and more importantly coming down in price.   The applications that were ever increasing for the home user - word processing, spreadsheets, charts, databases, and even games - helped to make them a sought after item.  At the time, I was more interested in the games, but liked checking out the other stuff too. 

The Internet helped, for sure.   Originally created as ARPANET as a means of keeping connected, preserving information - and the chain of command - in the event of a catastrophic event - nuclear attack, primarily feared in that age.   Over time, bulletin boards were established, and home users could connect to others over great distances.   As technology improved, so did the speed and bandwidth data connections could handle. 

In the 1990's, Intel would release the first "Pentium" branded processor.   The speeds of the computers were increasing, the sizes of the hard drives were increasing, the speed of data connections was increasing, and the applications kept improving.   In Feb 1999, the Pentium III was released.  Major competitor AMD was also busy during these years, as well.    A competitive war developed between the two.  In March of 2000, AMD just edged Intel to the 1GHz mark.  Over past twelve years, we have now seen the two and three gigahertz marks topped, as well as some cases of 4GHz (without overclocking) We have seen, like circuit boards more being packed into less real estate.   Dual core processors have given way to quad core and beyond.  AMD's Phenom II and Intel's i7 have featured six cores, while AMD's new Bulldozer line boasts the first consumer line eight core processor.    The architecture is getting smaller and smaller, with Intel currently at 22nm with their Ivy Bridge processors, intended to drop to 14nm in 2014 (codename Broadwell), 10nm in 2016 (Skymont) and 5nm projected through their tick-tock model by 2021!

We've seen through the years the computer shrinking from the size of a large room, to the size of a gift box.   While some have taken up sizable real estate on desktops, the portable computer has also evolved.   Quite likely, the first "portable computer" was the IBM 5100 in 1975.  While it sure doesn't look like something you'd tote around these days, its portability, at the time, was nice.   The "laptop", as we know it, originated somewhere between 1979 and 1981, with several machines that could lay claim to the title of "first"  Over time, these, too, would develop into more and more useful machines.   CPU speeds, RAM types/speeds, hard drive capacity, screen size, graphics capacity, etc have helped tomake the modern "notebook computer" a very versatile tool to have.  

While notebooks will always lag behind "desktops" as far as capabilities, they sure can sure come in handy when portability is a priority.   Otherwise, they are very useful if one's needs don't necessitate - say a full tower with an 4GHz 8 core CPU, 12TB hard drive space, dual blu-ray  burners, 32GB RAM, and a pair of 2GB graphics cards.  Modern laptops start at some fairly economical models that can do barely more than the bare minimum (without taxing both the resources and the user's patience), up to some pretty nice gaming rigs (Alienware is famous for these).  There are also an assortment of netbooks - smaller portables, lacking in CDRom (or similar) drive, and intended mainly for light work or browsing.   While these are all wifi enabled, some even take advantage of cellular technology, making them useful anywhere there's a compatible cell tower.

Another nice development has been that of the tablet.   While early ones were either "news readers", ebooks, or PDA's, these have since evolved into some of the hottest wish-list items on the market.   Apple's iPad series, derivatives of Google's Android tablet, and now Microsoft's Windows Surface have taken the portable market by storm.   The iPad has the current lion's share of the market, though it comes with the highest price tag on startup, and accessories.   Android based devices can start as low as $49.99 for "economy grade models", and higher prices for the higher end models.  The Windows Surface looks to have a similar price point to the iPad, but with double the storage space.  As with Apple, both Android and Surface will have specific accessories; although some, like the micro USB data cable are universal.   Surface also currently boasts the only tablet to include (or have available) a full office suite (as of the time of this writing).   This last bit may help attract business users to the Surface, especially since it's the "new kid on the block". 

We can also look at the advances in "smartphones".   Windows Phones, iPhones, Android phones, Blackberry phones... The capacities of these devices has grown far beyond calling someone.  Now, they rival, or exceed those of some full tablets. 

Does the term "Personal Computer" still mean the same thing?   With tablets and notebooks, they seem to give a new meaning to the term, while the desktop, still often referred to as a PC, may still be "personal" but is not as portable.   One thing is for certain.  Our options certainly continue to change to satisfy our changing needs and desires.

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