A personal computer is a computer designed for use by one person at a time, as opposed to the large shared machines of early computing. Some histories point to late 1950s machines built for individual users, such as IBM's 610 Auto-Point, as early forerunners, but the personal computer as people know it emerged in the 1970s, when microprocessors made small and affordable machines possible. The Altair 8800 of 1975 inspired a wave of hobbyists, and the Apple II, Commodore PET and TRS-80 reached ordinary buyers in 1977. The IBM Personal Computer of 1981 set an industry standard, and PCs went on to reshape offices, schools, homes and communication.
Before and after
- 8 November 1956Discovery of Comet Arend–Roland
- from 5 December 1956 to 29 March 1961Treason Trial
- 20 December 1956Montgomery bus boycott
- 1957Founding of Kleť Observatory
- 1957Personal computer
- 1957Founding of FIBA Europe
- from 1957 to 1961Sputnik programme
- 1957Construction of Central Stadium Yekaterinburg
- 1957Founding of European Economic and Social Committee
More in Science & technology
- 1945Invention of computer
- 1964Discovery of rutherfordium
- 29 October 1969Invention of Internet
- July 2000Discovery of livermorium
- 15 January 2001Wikipedia
- 20 October 2004Creation of Ubuntu
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.