personal computer
computer intended for personal use; microcomputer | ||||
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Personal Computer definition was found in categories: Computer & Internet(3) Language, Idioms & Slang(2) Science & Technology(1) Encyclopedia(1)
Personal Computer Definition from Computer & Internet Dictionaries & Glossaries
| FOLDOC |
personal computer
<computer> (PC) A general-purpose single-user microcomputer designed to be operated by one person at a time.
This term and the concept has been successfully hijacked by IBM due to the huge market share of the IBM PC, despite its many obvious weaknesses when compared to other equally valid claimants to the term, e.g. the Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Atari, Macintosh.
(1994-11-02)
<computer> (PC) A general-purpose single-user microcomputer designed to be operated by one person at a time.
This term and the concept has been successfully hijacked by IBM due to the huge market share of the IBM PC, despite its many obvious weaknesses when compared to other equally valid claimants to the term, e.g. the Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Atari, Macintosh.
(1994-11-02)
| A Glossary of Internet & PC Terminology |
PC
PC - The Personal Computer - what this Glossary is all about. Quite Simply a computer designed to be used by one person at a time.
PC - The Personal Computer - what this Glossary is all about. Quite Simply a computer designed to be used by one person at a time.
| Jensen's Technology Glossary |
PC
A Personal Computer that is compatible with the IBM desktop computers. PCs that are not manufactured by IBM Corporation are typically referred to as "clones." Generally, programs written on any PC will play on another PC. Most PC users now run under Microsoft DOS or Microsoft Windows operating systems. Newer and more advanced processors include OS/2 from IBM and Windows 2000 from Microsoft Corporation. Programs written on a Mac operating system will not usually run on a PC. Differences between Mac and PC computers have led to constant frustrations for authors since there is no single standard for authoring materials that can be used across the computer market. This is especially frustrating for authors of CD-ROM learning and entertainment materials. PC computers using the early Intel 8088 processor were called XT models. The XT's gave way to the AT models containing the 80286 or higher level Intel processors. Now the model names usually contain the processor specifications such as Intel 386, 486, and Pentium designations. The top-rated PCs at the end of 1994 are Dell Dimension (Rank 1), Micron PCI (Rank 2), Gateway P% (Rank 3), and IBM ValuPoint (Rank 4) according to PC Computing, December 1994, p. 126. Two pages later, that same magazine ranks the best-buys in portables as TravelMate 4000M from Texas Instruments (Rank 1), Latitude XP from Dell (Rank 2), and ThinkPad755C from IBM (Rank 3). (See also Bus , Amiga , Mac , SGI , SUN , and PowerPC )
A Personal Computer that is compatible with the IBM desktop computers. PCs that are not manufactured by IBM Corporation are typically referred to as "clones." Generally, programs written on any PC will play on another PC. Most PC users now run under Microsoft DOS or Microsoft Windows operating systems. Newer and more advanced processors include OS/2 from IBM and Windows 2000 from Microsoft Corporation. Programs written on a Mac operating system will not usually run on a PC. Differences between Mac and PC computers have led to constant frustrations for authors since there is no single standard for authoring materials that can be used across the computer market. This is especially frustrating for authors of CD-ROM learning and entertainment materials. PC computers using the early Intel 8088 processor were called XT models. The XT's gave way to the AT models containing the 80286 or higher level Intel processors. Now the model names usually contain the processor specifications such as Intel 386, 486, and Pentium designations. The top-rated PCs at the end of 1994 are Dell Dimension (Rank 1), Micron PCI (Rank 2), Gateway P% (Rank 3), and IBM ValuPoint (Rank 4) according to PC Computing, December 1994, p. 126. Two pages later, that same magazine ranks the best-buys in portables as TravelMate 4000M from Texas Instruments (Rank 1), Latitude XP from Dell (Rank 2), and ThinkPad755C from IBM (Rank 3). (See also Bus , Amiga , Mac , SGI , SUN , and PowerPC )
Personal Computer Definition from Language, Idioms & Slang Dictionaries & Glossaries
| WordNet 2.0 |
personal computer
Noun
1. a small digital computer based on a microprocessor and designed to be used by one person at a time
(synonym) PC, microcomputer
(hypernym) digital computer
(hyponym) desktop computer
(part-meronym) microprocessor
Noun
1. a small digital computer based on a microprocessor and designed to be used by one person at a time
(synonym) PC, microcomputer
(hypernym) digital computer
(hyponym) desktop computer
(part-meronym) microprocessor
| hEnglish - advanced version |
personal computer
personal computer
personal credit line n : the maximum credit that a customer is allowed [syn: credit line , line of credit, bank line, line, personal line of credit ]
personal computer
personal credit line n : the maximum credit that a customer is allowed [syn: credit line , line of credit, bank line, line, personal line of credit ]
Personal Computer Definition from Science & Technology Dictionaries & Glossaries
| EIA Energy Glossary |
Personal computer
A microcomputer for producing written, programmed, or coded material; playing games; or doing calculations. Laptop and notebook computers are excluded for the purposes of EIA surveys.
A microcomputer for producing written, programmed, or coded material; playing games; or doing calculations. Laptop and notebook computers are excluded for the purposes of EIA surveys.
Personal Computer Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries
| Wikipedia English - The Free Encyclopedia |
Personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a computer whose original sales price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals.
It is unknown who coined the phrase with the intent of a small affordable computing device but John W. Mauchly described such a device in a November 3, 1962 New York Times article entitled "Pocket Computer may replace Shopping List". Six years later a manufacturer took a risk at referring to their product this way when Hewlett Packard advertised their "Powerful Computing Genie" as "The New Hewlett Packard 9100A personal computer". This advertisement was too extreme for the target audience and replaced with a much drier ad for the HP 9100A programmable calculator. During the next 7 years the phrase had gained usage so when Byte magazine, published its first edition it referred to its readers as being in the "personal computing field" while Creative Computing defined the personal computer as a "non-(time)shared system containing sufficient processing power and storage capabilities to satisfy the needs of an individual user." Two years later when the 1977 Trinity of preassembled small computers hit the markets, the Apple II and the PET 2001 were advertised as 'personal computers' while the TRS-80 was a microcomputer used for household tasks including "personal financial management". By 1979 over half a million microcomputers were sold and the youth of the day had a new concept of the personal computer. The Personal Computer was also the first non-human abstract to be the Time Magazine Person of the Year.
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