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An assembled Altair 8800 microcomputer (1975)
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The Altair hardly represented a revolutionary invention, but it encouraged computer experts to take the next step. The personal computer industry actually began in 1977, when Apple Computer, Inc., founded by Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak, introduced the Apple II. (See Figure 2) It was one of the first pre-assembled, mass-produced personal computers. Its monitor supported relatively high-quality color graphics. The computer had its own keyboard, power supply, a floppy-disk drive and eight slots for peripheral devices, which gave users wide possibilities for add-on devices and software programs. The machine used 8-bit microprocessors (which process information in groups of 8 binary digits at a time) and had rather limited memory capacity.
Figure 2
The original Apple II Computer
The Apple II initially was used mainly for running video games. Its popularity considerably increased when Daniel Bricklin wrote a program called VisiCalc – the first electronic spreadsheet (computerized accounting program). Other types of application software were soon developed for PCs. Because personal computers were much less expensive than mainframes, they could be bought by individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, as well as by primary and secondary schools. The era of personal computing began in earnest2.
Part II
The IBM Corporation, the world's dominant computer maker, entered the new market in 1981, when it introduced the IBM Personal Computer. The IBM PC was only slightly faster than other desktop machines, but it had about 10 times their memory capacity. The IBM PC had one or two floppy disk drives and a color monitor. Intel Corporation's 16-bit 8088 microprocessor was selected as the CPU for the computer, and for software IBM turned to Microsoft Corporation. Until then, the small software company had concentrated mostly on computer languages, but Bill Gates and Paul Allen found it impossible to miss this opportunity. They bought a small operating system from another company and turned it into PC-DOS (or MS-DOS, or just DOS, for disk operating system). The IBM PC became the world's most popular personal computer, and both its microprocessor and its operating system became industry standards.
In 1982, a firm called Compaq Computer Corp. introduced a portable computer that was compatible with the IBM PC. These first portables resembled sewing machines when they were closed and weighed about 13 kg – at that time a true lightweight. Compatibility with the IBM PC meant that any software or peripherals, such as printers, developed for use with the IBM PC could also work on the Compaq portable. The machine was immediately in demand.
Compaq was not only successful but showed other firms how to compete with IBM. Quickly thereafter, many computer firms began offering IBM PC clones3. Rival machines that used Intel microprocessors and MS-DOS became known as “IBM compatibles” if they tried to compete with IBM on the basis of greater computing power or memory and “IBM clones” if they competed simply on the basis of low price.
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In 1983, Apple introduced Lisa, the first personal computer with a graphical user interface. The Lisa's GUI made computers easy and fun to use and eliminated the need to type in complex commands. The Lisa was followed by the famous Macintosh PC, which was developed in 1984 and proved extremely successful. (See Figure 3)It was based on the 68000 microprocessor manufactured by Motorola. The Macintosh was particularly useful for desktop publishing because it could lay out text and graphics on the display screen, as they would appear on the printed page.
Figure 3
Apple Macintosh Computer
The Macintosh's GUI style was widely adapted by other hardware and software manufactures. In 1985, the Microsoft Corporation introduced Microsoft Windows – a graphical user interface that gave MS-DOS–based computers many of the same capabilities of the Macintosh. Windows became the dominant operating environment for personal computers.
Part III
These advances in software and operating systems were matched by4 the development of microprocessors that contained increasing numbers of circuits. It resulted in increases in the processing speed and power of personal computers. The memory capacity of PCs had increased from 64 kilobytes (64,000 characters) in the late 1970s to 100 megabytes (100 million characters) by the early '90s.
By 1990, some PCs had become small enough to be completely portable. They included laptop computers, which could rest in one's lap; notebook computers, which were about the size of a notebook; and pocket, or palm-sized, computers, which could be held in one's hand. At the high end of the PC market5, multimedia personal computers equipped with CD-ROM players and digital sound systems allowed users to manipulate animated images and sound (in addition to text and still images) that were stored on high-capacity CD-ROMs. Personal computers were increasingly interconnected with each other and with larger computers in networks to collect, send and receive information electronically. The applications of personal computers continued to multiply as the machines became more powerful and sophisticated, and their software more versatile. By 2000, about 45 percent of all households in the developed countries owned a personal computer.
Notes: 1computer kit – конструктор (компьютер, продаваемый в виде комплекта деталей и узлов);
2in earnest – всерьез;
3clone – клон, двойник, копия (семейство компьютеров, полностью совместимое с каким- либо иным семейством, но произведённым другой фирмой);
4to match by – зд: происходить одновременно с;
5high end of the market – элитный рынок (рынок товаров для состоятельных интеллигентных потребителей с уровнем дохода и образования выше среднего).
EXERCISES
Ex. 16. Search the text for the English equivalents to the following phrases:
1. разработанный специально для личного пользования;
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2. устройство считывания (ввода) с перфоленты;
3. передняя панель устройства;
4. человек, увлекающийся вычислительной техникой;
5. коммерческое (промышленное) применение;
6. плата центрального процессора;
7. чуть больше стоимости микропроцессора;
8. инженер-электротехник;
9. предварительно собранный ПК массового производства;
10. довольно ограниченный объём памяти;
11. бухгалтерская компьютерная программа;
12. упустить такую возможность;
13. машина сразу же стала пользоваться спросом;
14. большая вычислительная мощность;
15. необходимость набирать (на клавиатуре) сложные команды;
16. выводить текстовую и графическую информацию на экран дисплея;
17. доминирующая операционная среда для ПК;
18. увеличение скорости обработки (информации) и мощности ПК;
19. компакт диски большой ёмкости.
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