Blog Post #5 (EOTO Presentation)

 Personal Computers

    Before personal computers were introduced, computers were huge, expensive, required a team of engineers and other specialists to keep them running, and were mainly used in the military. One of the most significant inventions that paved the way for the PC was the microprocessor. Microprocessors were small and ran the computer's programs all by themselves. PCs were defined as a machine usable and programmable by one person at a time and able to fit on a desk. It was inexpensive, accessible, simple enough for most people to use, and small enough to be transportable. 

    The first PC was fully assembled and offered for sale on the general market was the Apple I, created by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. In 1976, they created the Apple Company. In the early 1980s, they created the Macintosh that intended to be user-friendly. The Mac uses a mouse to allow users to point and click to execute commands such as opening a file. They also borrowed the idea of the Graphical User Interface—using “icons” on a television monitor to represent files and discs, which the user could move, copy, open, or delete using the mouse. 

    Personal computers changed the way individuals did business, kept family records, did their taxes, entertained, and wrote letters. Soon computers were everywhere, in ATMs, paying for groceries, and the internal system of automobiles. Computer literacy became a requirement for jobs such as, banker, salesmen, librarian, and waiters. Today, the definition of personal computers is a computer that is used by a single operator anywhere. Small enterprises like restaurants, motels, and repair shops also use PCs to link together in networks in larger businesses like chambers of commerce, publishing companies, or schools. Most PCs used at home are for accounting, playing games, or word processing. They have become affordable and anyone can learn to use one. The impact of PCs was largely due to the creation of the Internet. Together, the PC and the internet have made it so that anyone can communicate around the world in real time. With this wide scale communication and affordability of the pc, people and businesses are able to commit fraud, scam, or hack other people.