Computer md

The History of The Personal Computer

By CaharaMurray

  • XEROX: Birth of the GUI

    XEROX: Birth of the GUI
    History of the Graphic User InterfaceIn 1972, a few years before Apple launched its first PC, photocopier manufacturer XEROX was designing a personal computer of its own. Named the Alto, the computer included a word processor, based on the What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) principle, that incorporated a file management system. The Alto was never sold commerically but inspired the company to produce spinoffs like the Star Office System.

  • The Altair 8800

    The Altair 8800
    The Altair 8800 was created in 1975! It only had 256 bytes of memory, no keyboard or monitor, codes data through a front switch machine, and lights indicated results of a program.
    The first step to revolutionizing the world, wow! For more on the Altair 8800!

  • Apple I

    Apple I
    Apple I was hand-made by a small town Steve Wozniak out his garage. With the help of his good friend Steve Jobs, the one to initiate the idea of selling the coomouter, Apple Computer Company was built. Apple Computer Company was born!

  • Apple 2

    Apple 2
    A year after the creation of the Apple Computer Company, Apple introduced the Apple 2. This included a color monitor, sound, and game paddles. It's buggest invention was that the operating system was stored in read only memory or ROM. The friendly features of the Apple 2 encouraged less technologically oriented computer enthusiasts to write their own programs! More about the Apple 2!

  • The Commodore PET

    The Commodore PET
    Around the time Apple was experiencing success with its computers, others competitors entered the market. Among them was Commodore, with the Commodore PET, which was aimed at the business market and did well in Europe. It was feautred in Popular Science Magazine. For more on the Commodore PET!

  • TRS-80

    TRS-80
    Learn more about the TRS-80!The TRS-80 was also in competition with Apple and Commodore and was created by Radio Shak. It featured a monochrome display, 4KB of RAM, a circuitry uder keyboard, and was wildly popular with consumers. 10,000 sold in its FIRST month, wow! Learn more about the TRS-80!

  • Osbourne

    Osbourne
    The Osbourne was the first "portable" computer, it weighed 25 lbs, had a 5-inch screen, worked on 64 Kilobytes of RAM, two floppy disk drives, and was preinstalled with spreadsheet and word processing software. Check out more on the Osbourne!

  • IBMs influence over the PC

    IBMs influence over the PC
    [' >TIME makes Computer "Machine of the YEAR"](<a href='http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19830103,00.html)By 1980, IBM primarily made mainframe computers which it sold to large corporations, and hadn't taken the personal computer seriously. In 1981, however, IBM released its first personal computer, the IBM PC. Because many companies were familiar with IBM mainframes, they adopted the IBM PC. The term PC became the term used to describe all personal computers. IBM marketed its PC through retail outlets such as Sears to reach the home market, and it quicky dominated the market.

  • The Lisa

    The Lisa
    In 1983, Apple introduced theLisa, the first successful personal computer brought to market using a GUI (graphic user interface). Legend has it that Jobs had seen the Alto during a visit to the XEROX in 1979 and had been influenced by its GUI. He therefore incorporated a similar user interface into the Lisa, providing features such as windows, drop down menus, icons, a file system, and a point and click mouse. More on The Lisa!

  • The Macintosh

    The Macintosh
    The MacintoshIn 1984, Apple introduced the Macintosh. The Mac was everything the Lisa was and then some, and at about a third the cost. The Mac was also the first personal computer to utilize 3.5 inch floppy disks with a hard cover, which were smaller and sturdier than the previous 5.25 inch flopies.