What is the Common Personal Computer?

Vincent Barletta

January 10, 2023

what-is-the-common-personal-computer

If you are looking for a personal computer, several choices are available. They range from the Apple Macintosh to the Commodore PET, LINC, and Xerox Alto X. You can find one to suit your needs, whether you are a business owner, home user, student, or gamer.

Apple Macintosh

The Macintosh is a personal computer developed by Apple Inc. It is based on the Motorola 68000 microprocessor. A graphical user interface (GUI) allows users to select commands, call up files, and choose menu choices.

The graphical interface style of the Macintosh was popular among other manufacturers of PC software. This was because the GUI had advantages over text-based interfaces.

After the introduction of MS-DOS, the popularity of the Macintosh decreased. Microsoft’s Windows became the dominant operating system for personal computers. However, Macintosh was able to maintain its market share.

In 1984, the Macintosh was introduced with a television commercial. The commercial, directed by director Ridley Scott, featured a man dictating to the masses on a giant screen.

Commodore PET

The Commodore PET is one of the first personal computers. Commodore International produced it in 1977. At first, the only way to store data on the PET was to use the cassette drive. But the early users soon found a way to make the whole system run faster.

One of the first home computers, PET, was manufactured in the US. It was sold for $595. It came with a small integrated keyboard and a monochrome monitor. Although PET was marketed as an inexpensive computer, its production was limited. In its first year, only 500 machines were assembled.

The PET was built around the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor. This microprocessor was also used in many of the most popular computers of the day.

Xerox Alto X

The Xerox Alto is the first personal computer to feature a graphical user interface or GUI. As such, it was the forerunner of modern PCs. Many of the characteristics of the Xerox Alto are still used today.

During the early 1970s, Xerox PARC, a research lab based in Palo Alto, California, designed the Alto. This system featured a graphical display, a three-button mouse, and a custom central processing unit. It also was one of the first computers to use Ethernet.

Initially, the Xerox Alto was a desktop machine. However, a model was later developed, which was a portable personal computer.

The original Alto X is a personal computer with a graphical display and a mouse. The screen can accommodate up to 90 characters on a 60-line screen. A user can also select various font sizes and shapes for the characters.

LINC

One of the most exciting discoveries of the mid-1960s was the advent of the LINC. MIT engineers and scientists in Cambridge, Massachusetts, designed and built this computer. It was a compact machine that was the first to be manufactured commercially. Eventually, the LINC was rolled out across the country. The original LINC model, known as LINC-I, was a 12-bit transistorized machine with a small monitor and two magnetic tapes for storage.

Eventually, a more powerful LINC was created and released in the mid-1970s. In the meantime, several other smaller computers were invented. These included the Scelbi-8H minicomputer, which was available in 1974.

Workstation

Workstations are personal computers that have been specifically designed for the needs of engineers, scientists, and other professionals. They typically have large amounts of RAM and storage, fast CPUs, advanced graphics cards, and high-resolution monitors. These machines are often used for video editing and graphics design.

The mid-1980s saw a flurry of production of large, powerful personal workstations. These machines had specialized components, proprietary operating systems, and expensive hardware. Early models cost around $10,000, but prices began to drop by the late 1980s.

Today, workstations are available at a range of prices. Low-cost desktops can be less than a quarter of the cost of a high-end server. Increasingly, vendors offer off-the-shelf components that can be incorporated into a custom workstation.

Gaming computer

A gaming computer is a personal computer devoted to video games. It is generally considered a powerhouse machine, with features such as a high-end CPU, solid-state drive, and a well-built graphics card. Whether playing a single-player game or multiplayer online, your rig can do it all. Besides games, it is often used for multimedia, video editing, and more.

If you want to play a game, you’ll enjoy more than a few gigabytes of RAM. The best gaming laptops will have at least 8GB of memory. But that’s a small price to pay for a gaming-worthy experience.

A good gaming PC has an SSD, and one of the types will keep your game from freezing up at critical junctures. You’ll also need to spend a little money on cooling.