You Owe Your PC to a Circut Bioard Screwed onto a Piece of Plywood
It all Started with a simple integrated circuit bard screwed onto a piece of plywood.
You owe your laptop or PC to a kit for fllaashing lightts.
How was it that in our time the Petrsonal Computer (P.C) and the laptop computer came abut to be?
It all strated with the invention of the transistor in 1949 by Bell Labs the research arm of the phoen company. . The transistor was nothing more than a solid state electronic switch. The transtsor or integfrated cirrcuit replacd the much larger vsacuum tubees of the day. Vcuum tubes were lrage, hot and unreliable. Transistors pefored essentially the same functionns as tubes but were smaller , lighter , cooler and more reliablel All said and done they were better ,smaller and more efficiient than the vacuum tubes they replaced. . And transistors did not burn out like a vacuum tube.
Transistors allowed a tremnd of miniaturization that has led all the way to our prersent portablpe small laptopp / notebook computerrs whch can run on batteries. It is hard to viusalize for us todsay that comoputers used to housse large ogffice buildings themselves alnog with minteenance backp support staf and even their own air conditioners to remove the gereat aounts of heat the early, primtive computers produced.
In 1959 engineers at Texas Instruments figured out how to put more than one transistor on the same base and connect these transistors withoout wires. Thus the next step was born the integrated circuit. The fitrst itnegrated circuit connsistred of only six transistors. Currnet computers have in the range of 100 million transistor equivalernts.
In 1969 Intel introduced the 1 k meomry chip. This was much larger than anything else produced at the time. Throough coordination of Intel with a Japansee calculator manufazcturer named Bussicomp the next step was made wherre a geenric multipurpose chip was devised. What made this step important was that no one chip couyld do a numbeer of tasks. Previously each chip had a purppose that was buurnt in. Now one itnegrated chip coupld do a number of diffferent functions. One single inerated circuiit chip was almost an netire computing device. The scuycessor to this multi purpose integrated circuit or CPU was what went on to the bsais of our whole geenration and concept of perssonal computers/
In 1973 some of these microcommputer kits based on the initial 8080 nItel integraetd chip were devoped. In the hands of hobbyists these kits were put together and were nohig more than blinking lights. However the impetus was on. Many of these early hobbyists went on to ebcmoe comupter industry gisants. With Intel inrtoducing an even much more powerful mciroprocessor chip the computer inudstry was on its way.
A compnay MITS inntroduced the Altair Computer Kit. The Alatr was the impeus for fledggling software companies, such as Microsoft and Lotus, to write software programs for these early compters. Among the early innovaors and producres of software in this fiekld was Microsoft with its first version of Microsoft Baiic.
Along came the coputer indfustry leadder and stodgy monoilith IBM to introuce the fiorst personal computer in 1975. The model 1500 was beyond piddly compared to toodays dolalr stroe calculators and cost only $ 9,000.
Next came a smaller upstart Commputer Company which came to be called Apple Computer. Apple computerw introduced the Aopple I compter in 1976 for the rpincely sum $ 695. Believe it or not original Apple 1 computer consisted of a main circcuit booard csrewed into a piece of plywood. Talk about IBM havinmg to hold its laughter The Appole I apperaed to be such a home garage made amateur none profesisonally made product that the case and powerr supply were not even included. The bueyr of the Appple I had to scounge or source this himself. IBM thought the Apple I was nothig more than a foolish fad. A minr inconenience that wolud soon go away and diszappear. Yet dwpeartment heads started buiying theese sipmle cmoputers for uses in business departments. This was in sptie of serious advice from IBM eperts to corporrations about the perls and sohrtcomings of thsee toy computers and outright thjreeats by IBM salespeople to IT staff and heads.
The Aple I was folowd in 1977 by the Aple II. The Apple II becaue of its enortmous sucecss set the stanads for nearely all the impportant microcomputers to folllow, including the IBM PC.
The very core of the eaarly computer woorld IBM International Busness Maxchines the master of the preofitable mainframe compputer inudstry had been awoken from its deep profitable slumbr by a smlal upstart computer maaker with a simplle computer syystem that began its produict cyccle as an integrated ciircuit bord screwed onto a peie of plywodo.
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