Just What Is A P.C. Anyways?
The question often arises – “Just what is a PC”?
Many people would immediately answer that the term “P.C.” Stands for “Personal Computer”. In fact the term P.C. does stand for “Personal Computer”. Many, especially Apple Macintosh users, would define and argue that a personal computer as any small computer system purchased and used by an individual. Indeed one could make a point that many devices used by individuals today without any question or thought such as cellular phones and calculators are indeed dedicated personal computers as well. This is all true yet Cell phone, calculator owners or Apple Macintosh computer users would refer to their electronic device as a P.C.
Calling something a P.C. implies that is something much more specific than just any personal computer or electronic tabulating or communications device. One thing that the term P.C. implies is that the P.C. had its origins in the first I.B.M. (International Business Machines) P.C. that was introduced to the computer market in the year of 1981.
The computer market leader, the behemoth computer company I.B.M. did literally invent the P.C. I.B.M. literally invented the P.C. and set the standards and formats of the P.C. which lie with us even today. However the I.B.M. P.C. did not emerge from I.B.M. like the Ten Commandments from the Lord at Mount Sinai. The P.C. did evolve from precursors. Generally it is accepted that the direct historical origins of the P.C. began with MITS Altair first introduced in 1975 – 11 years earlier. These Altair kits were just that, nothing more than a kit of parts for the electronics enthusiast to assemble themselves. The Altair setup was a kit for hobbyists to assemble. Indeed the product was little more than a set of flashing lights. There was basically nothing in the way of product support. Many of the Altair kits were never even assembled.
The significance of the I.B.M. project was that the computer market leader- the marketing behemoth of the time I.B.M. both set the standards for a small Personal Computer and gave it stamp of approval. Previously IBM’s emphasis was on large mainframe computers. This is where I.B.M. emphasis and most importantly its profit lay. Some would even say the real purpose of the I.B.M. P.C. development project was not to create a Personal Computer product and set standards for the P.C. to come, but rather to prove that this rigid, top down management Style Company could devise a product in less than a year and