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103-456: The Apple IIc is a personal computer introduced by Apple Inc. shortly after the launch of the original Macintosh in 1984. It is essentially a compact and portable version of the Apple IIe . The IIc has a built-in floppy disk drive and a keyboard, and was often sold with its matching monitor. The c in the name stands for compact , referring to the fact it is a complete Apple II setup in

206-413: A 5.25-inch floppy disk — something standard at that time, Wozniak utilized group-coded recording (GCR), and with 5-and-3 encoding he managed to squeeze as many as 13 sectors on each track using the same mechanics and the same storage medium. In a later revision, this number was bumped up to 16 sectors per track with 6-and-2 encoding . The floppy drive controller board, the "Disk II interface,"

309-442: A TV set or an appropriately sized computer display , and is often used as a digital photo viewer, music and video player, TV receiver, and digital video recorder. HTPCs are also referred to as media center systems or media servers . The goal is to combine many or all components of a home theater setup into one box. HTPCs can also connect to services providing on-demand movies and TV shows. HTPCs can be purchased pre-configured with

412-602: A graphical user interface completely out of text, similar in concept to IBM code page 437 or PETSCII 's box-drawing characters . A year later, the Apple IIe would benefit from these improvements in the form of a four-chip upgrade called the Enhanced IIe . The equivalent of five expansion cards were built-in and integrated into the Apple IIc motherboard: An Extended 80-Column Text Card , two Super Serial Cards ,

515-401: A kit form and in limited volumes, and were of interest mostly to hobbyists and technicians. Minimal programming was done with toggle switches to enter instructions, and output was provided by front panel lamps. Practical use required adding peripherals such as keyboards, computer displays , disk drives , and printers . Micral N was the earliest commercial, non-kit microcomputer based on

618-511: A multitasking operating system . Eventually, due to the influence of the IBM PC on the personal computer market , personal computers and home computers lost any technical distinction. Business computers acquired color graphics capability and sound, and home computers and game systems users used the same processors and operating systems as office workers. Mass-market computers had graphics capabilities and memory comparable to dedicated workstations of

721-553: A portable computer prototype called SCAMP (Special Computer APL Machine Portable) based on the IBM PALM processor with a Philips compact cassette drive, small CRT , and full function keyboard. SCAMP emulated an IBM 1130 minicomputer in order to run APL/1130. In 1973, APL was generally available only on mainframe computers, and most desktop sized microcomputers such as the Wang 2200 or HP 9800 offered only BASIC . Because SCAMP

824-469: A touchscreen display, which can be controlled using either a stylus pen or finger. Some tablets may use a hybrid or convertible design, offering a keyboard that can either be removed as an attachment, or a screen that can be rotated and folded directly over top the keyboard. Some tablets may use desktop-PC operating system such as Windows or Linux, or may run an operating system designed primarily for tablets. Many tablet computers have USB ports, to which

927-458: A "Keyboard" switch to select between QWERTY and Dvorak layout—or between US and national layout on non-American machines. The keyboard itself was built into the front half of the case, much like a notebook computer, and early models had a rubber mat placed beneath the keycaps which acted as a liquid spill guard. Although Apple predicted that it would sell 100,000 IIc computers per month, it sold an average of 100,000 per year over four years; even

1030-586: A 3.5-inch floppy diskette was placed next to the existing 5.25-inch diskette icon above the floppy drive port indicating the machine had been upgraded. Introduced in September 1986 simultaneously with the Apple II GS , this model introduced a new motherboard, new keyboard and new color scheme. The original Apple IIc had no expansion options and required third-party cards (e. Legend Industries) to perform various hardware tricks. This could be done by removing

1133-835: A 4096-color palette, stereo sound, Motorola 68000 CPU, 256 KB RAM, and 880 KB 3.5-inch disk drive, for US$ 1,295. IBM's first PC was introduced on 12 August 1981 setting what became a mass market standard for PC architecture. In 1982 The Computer was named Machine of the Year by Time magazine. Somewhat larger and more expensive systems were aimed at office and small business use. These often featured 80-column text displays but might not have had graphics or sound capabilities. These microprocessor-based systems were still less costly than time-shared mainframes or minicomputers. Workstations were characterized by high-performance processors and graphics displays, with large-capacity local disk storage, networking capability, and running under

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1236-461: A 74LS161 TTL logic chip. It was later found that this method's timing was 3% slower than the minimum requirement specified and caused some third-party (i.e. non-Apple) modems and printers, which operated at 1200 bits per second ( baud ) or faster, to function improperly. Slower serial devices operating at 300 baud or less were unaffected, as well as some faster devices which could tolerate the deviation. The solution to ensure all devices were compatible

1339-405: A Mouse Card, and a Disk II floppy drive controller card. This meant the Apple IIc had 128 KB RAM , 80-column text, and Double-Hi-Resolution graphics built-in and available right out of the box, unlike its older sibling, the Apple IIe. It also meant less of a need for slots, as the most popular peripheral add-on cards were already built-in, ready for devices to be plugged into the rear ports of

1442-510: A Z-80 CPU for Apple CP/M software capability. For those wishing to use the Apple IIc as a standard desktop machine, Apple sold the Monitor IIc, a 9 in (23 cm) monochrome CRT display with an elevated stand. The Color Monitor IIc, a 14 in (36 cm) color composite monitor, followed in 1985. A mouse was another popular add-on, especially since it required no interface card, unlike earlier Apples, and simply plugged directly into

1545-410: A computer that could fit on a desk was remarkably small, leading to the desktop nomenclature. More recently, the phrase usually indicates a particular style of computer case . Desktop computers come in a variety of styles ranging from large vertical tower cases to small models which can be tucked behind or rest directly beneath (and support) LCD monitors . While the term desktop often refers to

1648-557: A computer with a vertically aligned computer tower case , these varieties often rest on the ground or underneath desks. Despite this seeming contradiction, the term desktop does typically refer to these vertical tower cases as well as the horizontally aligned models which are designed to literally rest on top of desks and are therefore more appropriate to the desktop term, although both types qualify for this desktop label in most practical situations aside from certain physical arrangement differences. Both styles of these computer cases hold

1751-510: A desk, including a keyboard, a small one-line display, and printer. The Wang 2200 microcomputer of 1973 had a full-size cathode ray tube (CRT) and cassette tape storage. These were generally expensive specialized computers sold for business or scientific uses. 1974 saw the introduction of what is considered by many to be the first true personal computer, the Altair 8800 created by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) . Based on

1854-415: A few years before. Even local area networking, originally a way to allow business computers to share expensive mass storage and peripherals, became a standard feature of personal computers used at home. An increasingly important set of uses for personal computers relied on the ability of the computer to communicate with other computer systems, allowing interchange of information. Experimental public access to

1957-432: A graphics card installed. For this reason, desktop computers are usually preferred over laptops for gaming purposes. Unlike desktop computers, only minor internal upgrades (such as memory and hard disk drive) are feasible owing to the limited space and power available. Laptops have the same input and output ports as desktops, for connecting to external displays, mice, cameras, storage devices and keyboards. Laptops are also

2060-658: A hardware specification called Handheld PC was later released by Microsoft that run the Windows CE operating system. Integrated Woz Machine The Integrated Woz Machine (or IWM for short) is a single-chip version of the floppy disk controller for the Apple II . It was also employed in Macintosh computers. When developing a floppy drive for the Apple II, Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak felt that

2163-487: A hinged second panel containing a flat display screen. Closing the laptop protects the screen and keyboard during transportation. Laptops generally have a rechargeable battery , enhancing their portability. To save power, weight and space, laptop graphics chips are in many cases integrated into the CPU or chipset and use system RAM, resulting in reduced graphics performance when compared to desktop machines, that more typically have

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2266-408: A keyboard or mouse can be connected. Smartphones are often similar to tablet computers , the difference being that smartphones always have cellular integration. They are generally smaller than tablets, and may not have a slate form factor. The ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) is a small tablet computer . It was developed by Microsoft , Intel and Samsung , among others. Current UMPCs typically feature

2369-540: A larger screen or use with video projectors. IBM PC-compatible suitcase format computers became available soon after the introduction of the PC, with the Compaq Portable being a leading example of the type. Later models included a hard drive to give roughly equivalent performance to contemporary desktop computers. The development of thin plasma display and LCD screens permitted a somewhat smaller form factor, called

2472-465: A little more expensive compared to desktops, as the miniaturized components for laptops themselves are expensive. Notebook computers such as the TRS-80 Model 100 and Epson HX-20 had roughly the plan dimensions of a sheet of typing paper ( ANSI A or ISO A4 ). These machines had a keyboard with slightly reduced dimensions compared to a desktop system, and a fixed LCD display screen coplanar with

2575-739: A microprocessor, the Intel 8008 . It was built starting in 1972, and a few hundred units were sold. This had been preceded by the Datapoint 2200 in 1970, for which the Intel 8008 had been commissioned, though not accepted for use. The CPU design implemented in the Datapoint 2200 became the basis for x86 architecture used in the original IBM PC and its descendants. In 1973, the IBM Los Gatos Scientific Center developed

2678-461: A modern look designed by Hartmut Esslinger which became the standard for Apple equipment and computers for nearly a decade. The Apple IIc introduced a unique off-white coloring known as "Fog", chosen to enhance the Snow White design style. The IIc and some peripherals were the only Apple products to use the "Fog" coloring. While relatively light-weight and compact in design, the Apple IIc was not

2781-481: A new naming scheme: devices without an integrated phone are called Windows Mobile Classic instead of Pocket PC, while devices with an integrated phone and a touch screen are called Windows Mobile Professional. Palmtop PCs were miniature pocket-sized computers running DOS that first came about in the late 1980s, typically in a clamshell form factor with a keyboard. Non-x86 based devices were often called palmtop computers, examples being Psion Series 3 . In later years

2884-508: A portable solution, not attaching in a secure or permanent manner and not able to fold-over face down. Instead, it sat atop the machine and connected via ribbon cable to a somewhat bulky rear port connector. Its main shortcoming was that it suffered from a very poor contrast and no backlighting, making it very difficult to view without a strong external light source. The display itself had an odd aspect ratio as well, making graphics look vertically squashed. A third-party company would later introduce

2987-406: A preview of features that would later become staples of personal computers: e-mail , hypertext , word processing , video conferencing , and the mouse . The demonstration required technical support staff and a mainframe time-sharing computer that were far too costly for individual business use at the time. Early personal computers‍—‌generally called microcomputers‍—‌were often sold in

3090-615: A shared mainframe computer system was demonstrated as early as 1973 in the Community Memory project, but bulletin board systems and online service providers became more commonly available after 1978. Commercial Internet service providers emerged in the late 1980s, giving public access to the rapidly growing network. In 1991, the World Wide Web was made available for public use. The combination of powerful personal computers with high-resolution graphics and sound, with

3193-412: A smaller notebook-sized housing. It is compatible with a wide range of Apple II software and peripherals. The Apple IIc has rear peripheral expansion ports integrated onto the main logic board instead of the expansion slots and direct motherboard access of earlier Apple II models. Apple intended the Apple IIc to require less technical expertise to use. The Apple IIc weighs 7.5 lb (3.4 kg). It

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3296-655: A television already in the home as the computer display, with low-detail blocky graphics and a limited color range, and text about 40 characters wide by 25 characters tall. Sinclair Research , a UK company, produced the ZX Series‍—;‌the ZX80 (1980), ZX81 (1981), and the ZX Spectrum ; the latter was introduced in 1982, and totaled 8 million unit sold. Following came the Commodore 64 , totaled 17 million units sold,

3399-406: A time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems . Workstations are used for tasks such as computer-aided design , drafting and modeling, computation-intensive scientific and engineering calculations, image processing, architectural modeling, and computer graphics for animation and motion picture visual effects. Before the widespread use of PCs,

3502-529: A true portable in design as it lacked a built-in battery and display. Codenames for the machine while under development included Lollie, ET, Yoda, Teddy, VLC, IIb, IIp. Technically the Apple IIc was an Apple IIe in a smaller case, more portable and easier to use but also less expandable. The IIc used the CMOS-based 65C02 microprocessor which added 27 new instructions to the 6502 , but was incompatible with programs that used deprecated illegal opcodes of

3605-424: A video signal (Apple produced an LCD and an RF-modulator for this port; the latter shipped with early IIc computers). A port connector tied into an internal 12 V power converter for attaching batteries; this is where the infamous external power supply (dubbed "brick on a leash" by users) that was included plugged in. The same composite video port found on earlier Apple II models remained present; however, gone were

3708-491: A way to expand memory—something Apple did not themselves support until the Memory Expansion IIc model was introduced. Some companies devised a method for squeezing in an entire CPU accelerator product, by means of placing all the specialized circuitry (i.e. cache and logic) into one tall chip that outright replaced the 40-pin 65C02 microprocessor, speeding up the machine from 4–10 MHz. Notable examples are

3811-601: A wide range of users, not just experienced electronics hobbyists who had the soldering skills to assemble a computer kit. The Apple I as delivered was still technically a kit computer, as it did not have a power supply, case, or keyboard when it was delivered to the Byte Shop. The first successfully mass-marketed personal computer to be announced was the Commodore PET after being revealed in January 1977. However, it

3914-589: A work-alike LCD screen called the C-Vue , which looked and functioned very much like Apple's product, albeit with a reportedly slight improvement in viewability. Consequently, both sold poorly and had a very short market life span, making these displays fairly uncommon (and as a result, extremely rare today). Third parties also offered external rechargeable battery units for the Apple IIc (e.g. Prairie Power Portable System available from Roger Coats) with up to eight hours per charge or longer. Although they aided in making

4017-542: Is a desktop computer that generally comprises a high-performance video card , processor and RAM, to improve the speed and responsiveness of demanding video games . An all-in-one computer (also known as single-unit PCs) is a desktop computer that combines the monitor and processor within a single unit. A separate keyboard and mouse are standard input devices, with some monitors including touchscreen capability. The processor and other working components are typically reduced in size relative to standard desktops, located behind

4120-495: Is a portable computer that provides the full capabilities of a desktop computer . Such computers are currently large laptops. This class of computers usually includes more powerful components and a larger display than generally found in smaller portable computers, and may have limited battery capacity or no battery. Netbooks , also called mini notebooks or subnotebooks , were a subgroup of laptops suited for general computing tasks and accessing web-based applications . Initially,

4223-585: Is speculation and there is no sign of it so far. In the history of computing , early experimental machines could be operated by a single attendant. For example, ENIAC which became operational in 1946 could be run by a single, albeit highly trained, person. This mode pre-dated the batch programming, or time-sharing modes with multiple users connected through terminals to mainframe computers. Computers intended for laboratory, instrumentation, or engineering purposes were built, and could be operated by one person in an interactive fashion. Examples include such systems as

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4326-478: Is used to contrast with Mac, an Apple Macintosh computer. Since none of these Apple products were mainframes or time-sharing systems, they were all personal computers but not PC (brand) computers. In 1995, a CBS segment on the growing popularity of PC reported: "For many newcomers PC stands for Pain and Confusion." The "brain" [computer] may one day come down to our level [of the common people] and help with our income-tax and book-keeping calculations. But this

4429-536: The Apple I computer circuit board, which was fully prepared and contained about 30 chips. The Apple I computer differed from the other kit-style hobby computers of era. At the request of Paul Terrell , owner of the Byte Shop , Jobs and Wozniak were given their first purchase order, for 50 Apple I computers, only if the computers were assembled and tested and not a kit computer. Terrell wanted to have computers to sell to

4532-577: The Apple Lisa 2/10, and all Mac models up to the Macintosh II. Later, an extended version, known as SWIM (Sander-Wozniak Integrated Machine), was introduced. This new version added the capability of reading and writing FM - and MFM -formatted (PC-formatted) floppy disks. In later Mac models, more and more peripheral components were added to the SWIM, until Apple finally phased out floppy drives from

4635-646: The Apple UniDisk 3.5 -inch (800 KB) floppy drive and Smartport-based hardisks, in addition to an external 5.25-inch floppy drive. A new self-test diagnostic was provided for testing built-in RAM and other signs of logic faults. The Mini-Assembler, absent since the days of the Apple II Plus , made a return, and new Monitor "Step" and "Trace" commands were added as well. The upgraded ROM added rudimentary support for an external AppleTalk networking device which

4738-590: The Bendix G15 and LGP-30 of 1956, and the Soviet MIR series of computers developed from 1965 to 1969. By the early 1970s, people in academic or research institutions had the opportunity for single-person use of a computer system in interactive mode for extended durations, although these systems would still have been too expensive to be owned by a single person. The personal computer was made possible by major advances in semiconductor technology. In 1959,

4841-656: The Galaksija (1983) introduced in Yugoslavia and the Amstrad CPC series (464–6128). In the same year, the NEC PC-98 was introduced, which was a very popular personal computer that sold in more than 18 million units. Another famous personal computer, the revolutionary Amiga 1000 , was unveiled by Commodore on 23 July 1985. The Amiga 1000 featured a multitasking, windowing operating system, color graphics with

4944-481: The XON/XOFF protocol, unlike all later firmware revisions to come. There was no self-test diagnostic present in this ROM; holding down the solid-Apple key during cold boot merely cycled unusual patterns on screen which served no useful purpose or indication of the machine's health. The original Apple IIc motherboard (manufactured between April and November 1984) derived the timing for its two serial ports through

5047-606: The Zip Chip and Rocket Chip . Although the IIc lacked a SCSI or IDE interface, external hard drives were produced by third parties that connected through the floppy SmartPort as an innovative alternative connection method (e.g. ProApp , Chinook ). While these specialized hard drives were relatively slow due to the nature of how data was transferred through this interface (designed primarily for floppy drives) they did allow for true mass storage. The CDrive however did mount internally and

5150-405: The lunchbox computer. The screen formed one side of the enclosure, with a detachable keyboard and one or two half-height floppy disk drives, mounted facing the ends of the computer. Some variations included a battery, allowing operation away from AC outlets. A laptop computer is designed for portability with clamshell design, where the keyboard and computer components are on one panel, with

5253-607: The macOS operating system), and free and open-source , Unix-like operating systems, such as Linux . Other notable platforms until the 1990s were the Amiga from Commodore , and the PC-98 from NEC . The term PC is an initialism for personal computer. While the IBM Personal Computer incorporated the designation into its model name, the term originally described personal computers of any brand. In some contexts, PC

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5356-460: The silicon integrated circuit (IC) chip was developed by Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor , and the metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) transistor was developed by Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs . The MOS integrated circuit was commercialized by RCA in 1964, and then the silicon-gate MOS integrated circuit was developed by Federico Faggin at Fairchild in 1968. Faggin later used silicon-gate MOS technology to develop

5459-661: The "1977 trinity". Mass-market, ready-assembled computers had arrived, and allowed a wider range of people to use computers, focusing more on software applications and less on development of the processor hardware. In 1977 the Heath company introduced personal computer kits known as Heathkits , starting with the Heathkit H8 , followed by the Heathkit H89 in late 1979. With the purchase of the Heathkit H8 you would obtain

5562-444: The 1960s had to write their own programs to do any useful work with computers. While personal computer users may develop their applications, usually these systems run commercial software , free-of-charge software (" freeware "), which is most often proprietary, or free and open-source software , which is provided in ready-to-run , or binary form. Software for personal computers is typically developed and distributed independently from

5665-530: The 6502. (Apple stated that the Apple IIc was compatible with 90–95% of the 10,000 software packages available for the Apple II.) The new ROM firmware allowed Applesoft BASIC to recognize lowercase characters and work better with an 80-column display, and fixed several bugs from the IIe ROM. In terms of video, the text display added 32 unique character symbols called " MouseText " which, when placed side by side, could display simple icons, windows and menus to create

5768-555: The 8-bit Intel 8080 Microprocessor, the Altair is widely recognized as the spark that ignited the microcomputer revolution as the first commercially successful personal computer. The computer bus designed for the Altair was to become a de facto standard in the form of the S-100 bus , and the first programming language for the machine was Microsoft's founding product, Altair BASIC . In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak sold

5871-561: The Apple IIc; it would be superseded that September by the Apple IIc Plus (identified as ROM version '5'). Like the Apple IIe before it, the Apple IIc keyboard differed depending on what region of the world it was sold in. Sometimes the differences were very minor, such as extra local language characters and symbols printed on certain keycaps (e.g. French accented characters on the Canadian IIc such as "à", "é", "ç", etc., or

5974-623: The British Pound "£" symbol on the UK IIc) while other times the layout and shape of keys greatly differed (e.g. European IIcs). In order to access the local character set, the "Keyboard" switch above the keyboard was depressed, which would instantly switch text video from the US character set to the local set. The DVORAK keyboard layout was not available on international IIcs—the feature had been intended to switch between international keyboards;

6077-480: The CPU and MMU chips and inserting a special board into these sockets, which then used bank switching to expand memory up to 1 Megabyte ( RAM ). This was similar to the function of the slots in the original Apple II, II+ as well as the auxiliary slot in the Apple IIe. The new motherboard added a 34-pin socket for plugging in memory cards directly, which allowed for the addressing of up to 1  megabyte (MB) of memory using Slinky-type memory cards. The onboard chip count

6180-458: The DVORAK layout was merely added to give the switch a function on US IIcs. In some countries these localized IIcs also supported 50 Hz PAL video and the different 220/240-volt power of that region by means of a different external power supply — this was a very simple change, since the IIc had an internal 12-volt power converter. The international versions replaced any English legends printed on

6283-668: The IIc, and IBM fans will buy the PCjr. I believe the Apple II will live forever", with the IIc as the "final transmutation" of the Apple II because it was about as small as a computer with a full-sized keyboard and 5 1/4" drive could be. The magazine said in December 1984 that the IIe and IIc were the best home computers with prices above $ 500, with the IIc better for those using word processing and business software. * Only available on ROM 3 motherboard and higher; original IIc: NONE The Apple IIc

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6386-549: The Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Linux operating system , and low-voltage Intel Atom or VIA C7-M processors. A pocket PC is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer ( personal digital assistant , PDA) that runs the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system . It may have the capability to run an alternative operating system like NetBSD or Linux . Pocket PCs have many of

6489-473: The ability to be programmed in both APL and BASIC for engineers, analysts, statisticians, and other business problem-solvers. In the late 1960s such a machine would have been nearly as large as two desks and would have weighed about half a ton. Another desktop portable APL machine, the MCM/70 , was demonstrated in 1973 and shipped in 1974. It used the Intel 8008 processor. A seminal step in personal computing

6592-496: The back of the machine ( MousePaint , a clone of MacPaint , shipped with the IIc's mouse). An external 5.25-inch floppy drive, matching the style of the IIc, was also made available. Later, 3.5-inch floppy storage became an option with the "intelligent" UniDisk 3.5 which contained its own miniature computer inside (CPU, RAM, firmware) to overcome the issue of using a high-speed floppy drive on a 1 MHz machine. Personal computer Institutional or corporate computer owners in

6695-522: The cables. It had enough room to squeeze in one of the above-mentioned LCD display units. The case was grey in color with a stitched-on Apple logo in the upper right corner. While the Apple IIc had many built-in features to offer, many users wanted to extend the machine's capabilities beyond what Apple provided. It proved difficult since the IIc was a closed system that initially was designed with no expansion capabilities in mind; however, many companies figured out ingenious ways of squeezing enhancements inside

6798-477: The capabilities of desktop PCs . Numerous applications are available for handhelds adhering to the Microsoft Pocket PC specification, many of which are freeware . Microsoft-compliant Pocket PCs can also be used with many other add-ons like GPS receivers , barcode readers, RFID readers and cameras. In 2007, with the release of Windows Mobile 6, Microsoft dropped the name Pocket PC in favor of

6901-512: The case (specifically the "keyboard" toggle switch, "Power" and "Disk Use" drive-activity labels) with graphical icons that could be universally understood. At the time of the Apple IIc's release, Apple announced an optional black and white (1-bit) LCD screen designed specifically for the machine called the Apple Flat Panel Display . While it was welcomed as a means of making the IIc more portable, it did not integrate well as

7004-412: The cassette ports and internal DIP-16 game port. The Apple IIc had a built-in 5.25-inch floppy drive (140 KB) along the right side of the case—the first Apple II model to include such a feature. Along the left side of the case was a dial to control the volume of the internal speaker, along with a 1 ⁄ 8 -inch monaural audio jack for headphones or an external speaker. A fold-out carrying handle

7107-577: The chassis and CPU card to assemble yourself, additional hardware such as the H8-1 memory board that contained 4k of RAM could also be purchased in order to run software. The Heathkit H11 model was released in 1978 and was one of the first 16-bit personal computers; however, due to its high retail cost of $ 1,295 was discontinued in 1982. During the early 1980s, home computers were further developed for household use, with software for personal productivity, programming and games. They typically could be used with

7210-478: The command PRINT PEEK ( 64447 ) which returns the value indicating the particular ROM version. The initial ROM, installed in machines produced during the first year and a half of production, was 16 KB in size. The only device which could be connected to the disk port was (one) external 5.25-inch floppy drive; software could be booted from this external drive by typing the command PR#7 . The serial port did not mask incoming linefeed characters or support

7313-417: The cosmetic changes). In January 1988, a new ROM firmware update was issued to address bugs in the new memory-expandable IIc. Changes included better detection of installed RAM chips, correction of a problem when using the serial modem port in terminal mode, and a bug fix for keyboard buffering. The ROM upgrade was available free of charge only to owners of the memory expansion IIc. This was the final change to

7416-431: The end of 1984. While essentially an Apple IIe computer in a smaller case, it was not a successor, but rather a portable version to complement it. One Apple II machine would be sold for users who required the expandability of slots, and another for those wanting the simplicity of a plug and play machine with portability in mind. The machine introduced Apple's Snow White design language , notable for its case styling and

7519-496: The existing models available on the market were too complicated, expensive and inefficient. Rather than use the existing floppy drives from Shugart Associates , Wozniak decided to use the drive mechanism – but develop his own electronics separately for the both drive and the controller. Wozniak successfully came up with a working floppy drive with a greatly reduced number of electronic components. Instead of storing 8–10 sectors (each holding 256 bytes of data) per track on

7622-479: The first single-chip microprocessor , the Intel 4004 , in 1971. The first microcomputers , based on microprocessors, were developed during the early 1970s. Widespread commercial availability of microprocessors, from the mid-1970s onwards, made computers cheap enough for small businesses and individuals to own. In what was later to be called the Mother of All Demos , SRI researcher Douglas Engelbart in 1968 gave

7725-577: The first year, most of the sales including the matching monitor. While noting its lack of an internal modem and inability to use expansion cards such as the popular Z-80 SoftCard , BYTE in May 1984 described the Apple IIc as a "head-to-head [competitor] with the IBM PCjr" for novice computer users. Creative Computing agreed, stating in July 1984 that "This war will have no clear winner. Apple fans will buy

7828-399: The hardware or operating system manufacturers. Many personal computer users no longer need to write their programs to make any use of a personal computer, although end-user programming is still feasible. This contrasts with mobile systems, where software is often available only through a manufacturer-supported channel, and end-user program development may be discouraged by lack of support by

7931-556: The infrastructure provided by the Internet, and the standardization of access methods of the Web browsers , established the foundation for a significant fraction of modern life, from bus time tables through unlimited distribution of free videos through to online user-edited encyclopedias. A workstation is a high-end personal computer designed for technical, mathematical, or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at

8034-519: The introduction of the IBM PC, portable computers consisting of a processor, display, disk drives and keyboard, in a suit-case style portable housing, allowed users to bring a computer home from the office or to take notes at a classroom. Examples include the Osborne 1 and Kaypro ; and the Commodore SX-64 . These machines were AC-powered and included a small CRT display screen. The form factor

8137-549: The keyboard. These displays were usually small, with 8 to 16 lines of text, sometimes only 40 columns line length. However, these machines could operate for extended times on disposable or rechargeable batteries. Although they did not usually include internal disk drives, this form factor often included a modem for telephone communication and often had provisions for external cassette or disk storage. Later, clamshell format laptop computers with similar small plan dimensions were also called notebooks . A desktop replacement computer

8240-437: The machine more of a true portable, they were nonetheless bulky and heavy, and added more pieces that would have to be carried. Adapter cables were sold as well that allowed the Apple IIc to plug into an automobile's DC power cigarette lighter. To help transport the Apple IIc and its accessory pieces around, Apple sold a nylon carrying case with shoulder strap that had a compartment for the computer, its external power supply, and

8343-620: The machine were its expansion ports, mostly for providing access to its built-in cards. The standard DE-9 joystick connector doubled as a mouse interface, compatible with the same mice used by the Lisa and early Macintosh computers. Two serial ports were provided primarily to support a printer and modem, and a floppy port connector supported a single external 5.25-inch drive (and later "intelligent" devices such as 3.5-inch drives and hard disks). A Video Expansion port provided rudimentary signals for add-on adapters but, alone, could not directly generate

8446-408: The machine. The built-in cards were mapped to phantom slots so software from slot-based Apple II models would know where to find them (i.e. mouse to virtual slot 4, serial cards to slot 1 and 2, floppy to slot 6, and so on). The entire Apple Disk II Card, used for controlling floppy drives, had been shrunk down into a single chip called the "IWM" which stood for Integrated Woz Machine . In the rear of

8549-458: The manufacturer. Since the early 1990s, Microsoft operating systems (first with MS-DOS and then with Windows ) and Intel hardware – collectively called Wintel – have dominated the personal computer market, and today the term PC normally refers to the ubiquitous Wintel platform. Alternatives to Windows occupy a minority share of the market; these include the Mac platform from Apple (running

8652-455: The monitor, and configured similarly to laptops. A nettop computer was introduced by Intel in February 2008, characterized by low cost and lean functionality. These were intended to be used with an Internet connection to run Web browsers and Internet applications. A Home theater PC (HTPC) combines the functions of a personal computer and a digital video recorder . It is connected to

8755-503: The primary defining characteristic of netbooks was the lack of an optical disc drive, smaller size, and lower performance than full-size laptops. By mid-2009 netbooks had been offered to users "free of charge", with an extended service contract purchase of a cellular data plan. Ultrabooks and Chromebooks have since filled the gap left by Netbooks. Unlike the generic Netbook name, Ultrabook and Chromebook are technically both specifications by Intel and Google respectively. A tablet uses

8858-498: The required hardware and software needed to add television programming to the PC, or can be assembled from components. Keyboard computers are computers inside of keyboards, generally still designed to be connected to an external computer monitor or television . Examples include the Atari ST , Amstrad CPC , BBC Micro , Commodore 64 , MSX , Raspberry Pi 400 , and the ZX Spectrum . The potential utility of portable computers

8961-415: The same time, the color of the keyboard, floppy drive latch, and power supply cords changed from beige to light grey, which matched the new Platinum color scheme of the Apple II GS . The case style, however, remained Snow White . Owners of the previous IIc model were entitled to a free motherboard upgrade if they purchased one of Apple's IIc memory expansion boards (they did not receive the new keyboard or

9064-418: The systems hardware components such as the motherboard , processor chip and other internal operating parts. Desktop computers have an external monitor with a display screen and an external keyboard, which are plugged into ports on the back of the computer case. Desktop computers are popular for home and business computing applications as they leave space on the desk for multiple monitors . A gaming computer

9167-469: The tiny case. Real-time clocks, memory expansion, and coprocessors were popular, and some companies even managed to combine all three into a single add-on board. Typically, in order to add these options, key chips on the motherboard were pulled and moved onto the expansion board offering the new features, and the board was then placed into the empty sockets. While sometimes a tight squeeze, this trickery worked quite well, and most importantly of all offered users

9270-530: The unsuccessful PCjr outsold it during each computer's first year on the market. The IIe was much more popular than the IIc because of its greater expandability, with the latter not outselling the former until late 1984, but Apple almost stopped production of the IIe because of the IIc's expected popularity, causing a shortage of the former and glut of the latter. However, according to Paul Kunkel in AppleDesign , Apple sold more than 400,000 Apple IIc computers in

9373-425: Was also used to prop up the back end of the machine when in use. This was required to provide good air circulation and make typing comfortable. The keyboard layout mirrored that of the Apple IIe; however, the "Reset" key had been moved above the "Esc" key. Two toggle switches were also located in the same area: an "80/40"-column switch for (specially written) software to detect which text video mode to start up in, and

9476-508: Was apparent early on. Alan Kay described the Dynabook in 1972, but no hardware was developed. The Xerox NoteTaker was produced in a very small experimental batch around 1978. In 1975, the IBM 5100 could be fit into a transport case, making it a portable computer, but it weighed about 50 pounds. Such early portable computers were termed luggables by journalists owing to their heft. Before

9579-650: Was back-ordered and not available until later that year. Three months later (April), the Apple II (usually referred to as the Apple) was announced with the first units being shipped 10 June 1977, and the TRS-80 from Tandy Corporation / Tandy Radio Shack following in August 1977, which sold over 100,000 units during its lifetime. Together, especially in the North American market, these 3 machines were referred to as

9682-557: Was built with 8 chips , one of which is the PROM , containing tables for the encoder and decoder, the state machine, and some code. To make it easier to place the controller on the main board, Wendell Sander integrated all these components into one single chip—the IWM. The IWM is essentially a disk controller on one IC. It was employed in the Apple IIc , and later Apple IIGS ,

9785-489: Was in production from April 1984 to August 1988, and during this time accrued some minor changes. These modifications included three new ROM updates, a bug-fix correction to the original motherboard, a newly revised motherboard, and a slight cosmetic change to the external appearance of the machine. The ROM revision for a specific Apple IIc is determined by entering the Applesoft BASIC programming language and typing in

9888-401: Was intended to allow these systems to be taken on board an airplane as carry-on baggage, though their high power demand meant that they could not be used in flight. The integrated CRT display made for a relatively heavy package, but these machines were more portable than their contemporary desktop equals. Some models had standard or optional connections to drive an external video monitor, allowing

9991-451: Was reduced from 16 memory chips (64K×1) to four (64K×4). The new firmware removed the code for the cancelled AppleTalk networking device and replaced it with support for memory cards. Bumping out the non-supported AppleTalk functionality, memory now lived in virtual slot 4, and mouse support moved to slot 7. The new keyboard no longer had the rubber anti-spill mat and offered generally more tactile and responsive keys that felt more "clicky". At

10094-500: Was succeeded by the Apple IIc Plus in 1988. The Apple IIc was released on April 24, 1984, during an Apple-held event called Apple II Forever . With that motto, Apple proclaimed the new machine was proof of the company's long-term commitment to the Apple II and its users, despite the recent introduction of the Macintosh . The IIc was also seen as the company's response to the new IBM PCjr , and Apple hoped to sell 400,000 by

10197-453: Was the 1973 Xerox Alto , developed at Xerox 's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) . It had a graphical user interface ( GUI ) which later served as inspiration for Apple's Macintosh , and Microsoft's Windows operating system. The Alto was a demonstration project, not commercialized, as the parts were too expensive to be affordable. Also in 1973 Hewlett Packard introduced fully BASIC programmable microcomputers that fit entirely on top of

10300-500: Was the first to emulate APL/1130 performance on a portable, single user computer, PC Magazine in 1983 designated SCAMP a "revolutionary concept" and "the world's first personal computer". This seminal, single user portable computer now resides in the Smithsonian Institution , Washington, D.C.. Successful demonstrations of the 1973 SCAMP prototype led to the IBM 5100 portable microcomputer launched in 1975 with

10403-647: Was to replace the TTL chip with a 1.8432 MHz crystal oscillator (next to capacitor C19) during manufacture. Apple would swap affected motherboards for users who could prove they had an incompatible serial device (e.g. a third-party 1200-baud modem which presented problems; not all did). This update, introduced in November 1985, came in the form of an upgrade to the ROM firmware which doubled in size from 16 KB to 32 KB. The new ROM supported "intelligent" devices such as

10506-501: Was very fast due to its direct connection to the CPU. Other innovations that used existing expansion ports led to add-on speech and music synthesis products by means of external devices that plugged into the IIc's serial ports. Three popular such devices were the Mockingboard-D , Cricket and Echo IIc . Applied Engineering offered an ever increasing and improved line of "Z-Ram" internal memory expansion boards, which also included

10609-415: Was yet to be developed. When attempting to boot virtual slot 7, users would encounter the message "APPLETALK OFFLINE". The IIc, however, had no built-in networking capabilities, and no external device was ever released. The upgrade consisted of a single chip swap (and a trivial motherboard modification), which Apple provided free only to persons who purchased a UniDisk 3.5 drive. A small sticker with an icon of

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