TURBOchannel is an open computer bus developed by DEC by during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although it is open for any vendor to implement in their own systems, it was mostly used in Digital's own systems such as the MIPS -based DECstation and DECsystem systems, in the VAXstation 4000 , and in the Alpha -based DEC 3000 AXP . Digital abandoned the use of TURBOchannel in favor of the EISA and PCI buses in late 1994, with the introduction of their AlphaStation and AlphaServer systems.
92-485: TURBOchannel was developed in the late 1980s by Digital and was continuously revised through the early 1990s by the TURBOchannel Industry Group, an industry group set up by Digital to develop promote the bus. TURBOchannel has been an open bus from the beginning, the specification was publicly available at an initial purchase cost for the reproduction of material for third-party implementation, as were
184-442: 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
276-401: 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
368-511: 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
460-553: 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
552-469: 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
644-835: 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
736-410: 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
828-557: 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
920-510: 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
1012-415: 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
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#17327868125681104-432: 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
1196-487: 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
1288-408: 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
1380-540: 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
1472-465: 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
1564-494: A mass market for an alternative to the Wintel computing platform. The upstart platforms did not offer enough performance improvement from the incumbent PC and there were major cost disadvantages of such systems due to the low volume production. When the initiative started, RISC based systems (running at 100-200 MHz at the time) had substantial performance advantages over Intel 80486 chips (running at approximately 60 MHz at
1656-460: A memory port to each option slot. TURBOchannel option modules uses a 96-pin DIN connector (specifically DIN 41612 ) and option modules mounted inline with the system module. Each option module can be a single-, double-, or triple-width. Although double and triple width options use more than one TURBOchannel connector, this does not mean that bandwidth is doubled or tripled, as the slots are still sharing
1748-739: 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
1840-529: A modified version of the ARC firmware (which it called ARCS ) in its systems. All SGI computers which run IRIX 6.1 or later (such as the Indy , Octane , etc. ) boot from an ARCS console (which uses the same drive naming conventions as Windows, accordingly). In addition, most of the various RISC-based computers designed to run Windows NT used versions of the ARC boot console to boot NT. Among these computers were: It
1932-481: 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
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#17327868125682024-406: 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
2116-717: A roadmap that could dissuade its customers from adopting RISC architectures. The main product of the ACE group is the Advanced RISC Computing specification, or ARC . It was initially based on MIPS-based computer hardware and firmware environment. Although ACE went defunct, and no computer was ever manufactured which fully complied with the ARC standard, the ARC system still exerts a widespread legacy in that all Microsoft Windows NT -based operating systems (such as Windows XP ) used ARC conventions for naming boot devices before Windows Vista . Further, SGI used
2208-615: 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
2300-451: A single bus. Double- and triple-width option modules are used to mechanically accommodate larger option modules and for supplying more power. The mechanical specification for option modules is also flexible. There are few limitations for attaching daughterboards such SIMM modules (used in graphics options) and components can be mounted on both sides of the option module, with components on the bottom being restricted only in height to ensure that
2392-417: A strategy to co-develop low-cost workstation systems targeting a price range of "about $ 8,000 or $ 7,000 for a really usable system". At the time it was widely believed that RISC-based systems would maintain a price/performance advantage over the ad hoc Wintel systems. However, it was also widely believed that Windows NT would quickly displace many other operating systems through the combined effects of
2484-655: 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,
2576-406: 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,
2668-601: 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
2760-422: A wide selection of software and the ease of building Wintel machines that supported it. ACE was formed to provide an alternative platform to Wintel, providing a viable alternative with the same advantages in terms of software support, and greater advantages in terms of performance. The environment standardized on two hardware platforms: a personal computer platform based on the Intel 80386 and 80486 processors, and
2852-613: A workstation platform based on the ARC specification. To be supported by both hardware platforms were two operating systems : SCO UNIX with Open Desktop and what would become Windows NT (originally named OS/2 3.0). Other members of the consortium included Acer , Control Data Corporation , Kubota , NEC Corporation , NKK , Olivetti , Prime Computer , Pyramid Technology , Siemens , Silicon Graphics , Sony , Sumitomo , Tandem Computers , Wang Laboratories , and Zenith Data Systems . Besides these large companies, several startup companies built ACE-compliant systems as well. Each of
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2944-538: Is MIPS machine code , a remnant of the bus' original use in MIPS-based systems. Because of this, later systems that use this bus such as the Alpha -based DEC 3000 AXP use an emulator contained in its system firmware to properly initialize them. The TURBOchannel is a synchronous, asymmetrical I/O channel. It is asymmetrical in the sense that option modules (Digital terminology for expansion card) can communicate with
3036-542: 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
3128-495: 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,
3220-466: 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 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
3312-501: Is no performance loss associated with the use of a TcE box, however TcE boxes support only one option module, regardless of how many slots are used in the extender box. Advanced Computing Environment The Advanced Computing Environment ( ACE ) was defined by an industry consortium in the early 1990s to be the next generation commodity computing platform, the successor to personal computers based on Intel 's 32-bit instruction set architecture . The effort found little support in
3404-400: Is often available only through a manufacturer-supported channel, and end-user program development may be discouraged by lack of support by 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
3496-442: Is typically used for tasks such as word processing , internet browsing , email , multimedia playback, and gaming . Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user , rather than by a computer expert or technician . Unlike large, costly minicomputers and mainframes , time-sharing by many people at the same time is not used with personal computers. The term home computer has also been used, primarily in
3588-591: Is used to address registers and memory on the option. The maximum amount specified is 16 GB, although each implementation can have an amount anywhere below this amount. Digital's own systems use anywhere from 4 MB (for early DECstation 5000s) to 128 MB in high-end DEC 3000 AXP models. The TURBOchannel bus uses a 32-bit data and address multiplexed bus for transferring data and addresses. Every TURBOchannel option slot has its own set of seven point-to-point control lines and five lines for universal control and arbitration. The point-to-point control lines are connected directly to
3680-489: Is used to reduce the number of slots required inside a system for double and triple width options. The TURBOchannel Extender box contains a PCB with two or three TURBOchannel slots and a power supply for supplying the required power to the slots. A TURBOchannel option module installed in the host and accompanying external cable extend the necessary data, addressing and control lines to the TURBOchannel extender box. There
3772-536: 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
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3864-590: 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,
3956-656: 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
4048-624: The IBM Personal Computer incorporated the designation into its model name, the term originally described personal computers of any brand. In some contexts, PC 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
4140-520: The MIPS architecture , was a significant focus of the initiative, the "key force" behind it was said to be Compaq recognising that it needed to pursue a strategy with MIPS in order to compete in the emerging personal workstation market. A week prior to the ACE announcement, Compaq had entered into a relationship with Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) involving an investment in SGI, the payment of advance royalties, and
4232-405: 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
4324-460: 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
4416-418: The workstation leader, Sun Microsystems , to respond to gains by Hewlett-Packard and IBM, and to proliferate its own technologies. Compaq, Microsoft and SCO were perceived to be using it as a defensive strategy to prevent "Sun taking over the desktop and replacing Intel-architecture PCs with RISC, Unix SparcStations" with the consequent loss of opportunities for those companies. By joining the initiative, SCO
4508-661: 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
4600-463: The "20 to 30 percent premium" of MIPS-based systems less attractive to vendors such as Compaq and their customers. Although ACE originally supported the x86 architecture, customers were reportedly confused by an incoherent message around the different hardware and software options encompassed by the initiative. Consequently, an increased emphasis on the MIPS architecture "as an informal recognition of what
4692-555: 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
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#17327868125684784-543: The Pentium, and increasing availability of Unix software for the Intel architecture. This was followed in short order by SCO announcing that they were suspending all work on moving their version of Unix to the MIPS platform. Canion's departure from Compaq had precipitated the dissolution of a technology development agreement between Compaq and SGI in early 1992 that had been established for the co-development of MIPS-based computers, although Compaq denied that this would result in
4876-499: The TURBOchannel Extender (TcE) box. Because some options such as 3D graphics accelerators may require more power and board space than a single slot can provide, they are often double- or triple-width option modules. As such option modules consume additional space and slots inside a system, their presence may limit the number or even prevent the installation of other TURBOchannel option modules. A TURBOchannel Extender box
4968-422: The TURBOchannel interface. The TURBOchannel interface was not defined in the TURBOchannel specification, although Digital introduced three possible schemes and an example ASIC. The three possible schemes were divided into a low-cost, a mid-range and high performance system implementations. The system can either time-multiplex multiple option slots in order to use a single memory port to share its bandwidth or dedicate
5060-549: 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
5152-473: 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
5244-477: 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
5336-577: 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
5428-673: The common people] and help with our income-tax and book-keeping calculations. But this 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
5520-458: The companies involved had their own reasons for joining the ACE effort. MIPS wanted to reverse the fragmentation seen with existing MIPS-based systems that had limited wider adoption of the architecture. Various semiconductor companies, particularly "giants" such as Toshiba and NEC, were perceived as embracing the initiative to establish themselves and to take market share from Intel. DEC used the initiative as an attempt to take market share away from
5612-450: The company withdrawing from the ACE consortium, which happened only months later. There were other potential conflicts and difficulties for the consortium. In early 1992, SGI had announced its intention to acquire MIPS Computer Systems, leading vendors such as Control Data ("the largest OEM customer of both MIPS and SGI") to consider switching to other architectures over concerns about this pending acquisition and SGI's resulting control over
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#17327868125685704-479: 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
5796-556: 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
5888-489: The initiative was a competitive threat to Intel, forcing the company "to take greater steps to accommodate its customers". Indeed, one reported motivation for Compaq's involvement in ACE was to "light a fire under Intel" and get the company to produce a roadmap that was competitive enough for Compaq's customers. Intel's response was to accelerate the delivery of the Pentium and to pursue parallel development of three generations of future products ( P5 , P6 and P7), thus providing
5980-451: The introduction of SVR4 complicated the position of DEC and SCO whose involvement focused on SCO Open Desktop built on the OSF/1 kernel. However, the availability of SVR4 was regarded as a way of satisfying end-user demand, particularly by Compaq. Even so, the ACE initiative (and consortium) began to fall apart little more than a year after it started, as it became apparent that there was not
6072-519: 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
6164-549: 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
6256-432: The late 1970s and 1980s. The advent of personal computers and the concurrent Digital Revolution have significantly affected the lives of people. Institutional or corporate computer owners in 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
6348-505: The market and dissolved due to infighting within the group and a lack of sales. The consortium was announced on the 9th of April 1991 by Compaq , Microsoft , MIPS Computer Systems , Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), and the Santa Cruz Operation (SCO). Although the consortium's definition of the Advanced RISC Computing (ARC) specification, indicating the details of an "open and scalable" hardware platform based on
6440-544: The means to provide portability between the MIPS and Intel architectures. Since SVR4 favoured big-endian operation, this subgroup of members was known as the Apache group, reportedly conceived as a pun on "Big Indian". At that early stage, a different group known as the Gibraltar group, consisting primarily of DEC and SCO, sought to define interoperability with DEC's Ultrix operating system. The Apache group later adopted
6532-402: The mechanical specifications, for both implementation in both systems and in options. TURBOchannel was selected by the failed ACE ( Advanced Computing Environment ) for use as the industry standard bus in ARC ( Advanced RISC Computing ) compliant machines. Digital initially expected TURBOchannel to gain widespeard industry acceptance due to its status as an ARC standard, although ultimately Digital
6624-455: 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
6716-405: The name MIPS ABI after the demise of the ACE initiative. The emerging rift within the ACE consortium was averted when it was decided to add support for SVR4 alongside OSF/1, thus placating the group which, by then, included Siemens, Sony, NEC, Prime Computer, Olivetti, Tandem and Pyramid among its members. Although concerns persisted about the domination of the initiative by the founding members,
6808-514: The option module could fit in the system module while maintaining enough airflow for cooling. An airflow of 150 LFMs is required above the option module and an airflow of 50 LFMs is required below the option module. Each slot has 44 signal pins, of which 32 are used for data and addressing. The TURBOchannel slot supplies +5 and +12V power rails and provides a maximum of 26 watts of power. The following table shows how many amperes are supplied by each power rail. The TURBOchannel bus can be "extended" by
6900-533: The organization has really been doing all along" was envisaged, focusing more on ARC as a way of delivering MIPS-based hardware. In April 1992, the ACE Executive Advisory Board refocused the initiative on systems software availability for the ARC platform. Intel was never itself a member of ACE, with its processor architecture having been introduced to the effort by Compaq. Since MIPS had been seeking to gain market share at Intel's expense,
6992-503: 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
7084-491: The protocol was to be backwards compatible, but Digital later canceled the intended update and TURBOchannel itself towards the end of 1994 once it became clear that PCI had become dominant. TURBOchannel is a 32-bit address and data multiplexed bus, clocked at frequencies between 12.5 and 25 MHz, with a maximum theoretical usable bandwidth of 90 MB/s. The bus differs from others at the time by having point to point control lines. The firmware contained within TURBOchannel cards
7176-498: 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
7268-468: The system module (Digital terminology for motherboard) and not with other option modules. A simple protocol is used to make TURBOchannel efficient. The TURBOchannel bus does not permit bus mastering, if a TURBOchannel connected device wishes to communicate with another, it must first transfer this information to the memory so the other device can read it. The TURBOchannel protocol specifies that each option has its own physical address space. This address space
7360-418: 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
7452-567: The target platform. DEC had released their Alpha processor and were less interested in promoting a competing architecture, indicating continued low-end support for MIPS, but exhibiting a lack of commitment to future products, notably in relation to the MIPS R4000 line of processors and support for OSF/1 on the company's DECstation products. Meanwhile, the accelerated delivery and anticipated performance improvements of Intel's upcoming Pentium processor, combined with more competitive pricing, made
7544-415: The time), but the Pentium promised to reduce such advantages. Compaq was the first company to leave the consortium, stating that with the departure of CEO Rod Canion , one of the primary backers behind the formation of ACE, they were shifting priorities away from higher-end systems. Other factors included Compaq's ongoing restructuring amidst disappointing financial results, the accelerated introduction of
7636-572: The ubiquitous Wintel platform. Alternatives to Windows occupy a minority share of the market; these include the Mac platform from Apple (running 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
7728-424: Was able to broaden its portfolio to RISC platforms alongside its existing Intel platform products, and Microsoft needed vendor support for its "Portable OS/2", later Windows NT, strategy. Even prior to the announcement of the initiative, a number of companies headed by Compaq and including Siemens, Sony, Silicon Graphics, Unisys and Control Data Corporation favoured the adoption of Unix System V Release 4 ( SVR4 ) as
7820-526: Was also involved in promoting TURBOchannel implementation and sales. The TRI/ADD Program was discontinued on 15 December 1992, except for in Japan. In the early 1990s, Digital expected the TURBOchannel bus to face serious competition from other buses from other vendors such as HP, Sun and IBM, and therefore it announced that it intended to update the existing TURBOchannel specification to permit it to transfer up to 200 MB/s, using similar hardware. This upgrade to
7912-508: Was also predicted that Intel IA-32 -based computers would adopt the ARC console, although only SGI ever marketed such IA-32-based machines with ARC firmware (namely, the SGI Visual Workstation series, which went on sale in 1999). Products complying (to some degree) with the ARC standard include: Personal computer A personal computer , often referred to as a PC , is a computer designed for individual use. It
8004-508: 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
8096-705: 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
8188-401: 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
8280-453: 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
8372-500: 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
8464-597: Was the only major user of the TURBOchannel in their own DEC 3000 AXP , DECstation 5000 Series , DECsystem and VAXstation 4000 systems. While no third parties implemented TURBOchannel in systems, they did implement numerous TURBOchannel option modules for Digital's systems. Although the main developer and promoter of TURBOchannel was the TURBOchannel Industry Group, Digital's TRI/ADD Program, an initiative to provide technical and marketing support to third parties implementing peripherals based on open interfaces such as FutureBus+, SCSI, VME and TURBOchannel for Digital's systems,
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