personal computer


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personal computer

a small inexpensive computer used in word processing, playing computer games, etc.
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

personal computer

[′pər·sən·əl kəm′pyüd·ər]
(computer science)
A computer for home or personal use.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

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.
This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)
References in periodicals archive ?
In June, a large volume of classified technical data on seven nuclear power plants were found to have been leaked and posted on the Internet via the Winny software installed in the personal computer of an employee at a plant-maintenance company.
Personal computer sales in the first quarter of 2002 declined 2.7% from the same period last year; server sales fell 10.4%, according to Gartner Dataquest.
Wozniak was awarded the prestigious Heinz Award for Technology, The Economy and Employment for "single-handedly designing the first personal computer and for then redirecting his lifelong passion for mathematics and electronics toward lighting the fires of excitement for education in grade school students and their teachers." Making significant investments of both his time and resources in education, Wozniak "adopted" the Los Gatos School District, providing students and teachers with hands-on teaching, as well as donations of state-of-the-art technology equipment.
Worldwide personal computer production continued its downward slide in the third quarter as the September 11 attacks exacerbated already weak demand for personal computers.
The Common Access Card will also have an embedded chip that will be necessary to log on to your personal computer.
When the first personal computer was stitched together in somebody's garage, the "potential supply" was negligible -- there were no manufacturing facilities.
"The personal computer will soon supplant much of the dedicated and expensive equipment used in many publishing operations, including typesetters, page make-up terminals, and outside mailing services." This is the prediction of James Cavuoto, editor-publisher of Micro-Publishing Report, whose first issue is just off the press.
In 1980, Seagate Technology became the first company to introduce and manufacture disk drives for the personal computer industry.

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