PC

Contents:

History of PC
What is a PC?
What is the full form of PC?
Characteristics and features of the PC
What is Hardware?
What is software?
What are the different types of PC?
What is the generation of computers?

History of PC

The history of personal computers (PCs) as mass-market consumer electronic devices began in 1977 with the introduction of efficient microcomputers, although some mainframes and minicomputers were implemented much earlier as single-user systems. The PC (Personal Computer) is intended for interactive personal use, unlike the mainframe computer, where end-user requests are filtered through operating staff or time-sharing systems, in which a large processor is shared by multiple people.

After the development of microprocessors, personal computers were so cheap that they eventually became full consumer goods. Early Personal Computer (PC) - commonly referred to as microcomputers, were often sold in limited quantities and electronic kit forms and were mostly of interest to hobbyists (who's a hobby) and technicians.

What is a PC?

A "PC" (personal computer) is a multi-purpose computer whose size, capacity, and cost are possible for personal use. Personal computers are managed directly by the end-user rather than the computer or specialist. Unlike large expensive minicomputers and mainframes, time-sharing cannot be used with many personal computers at the same time.

In other words, A computer that is used by someone to perform their tasks. You can say the computer at your home, where you can play games, watch videos, and read stuff is a PC (Personal Computer). The word originally came from the IBM PC. It is mainly used by end-users (US) rather than specialists or experts.

What is the full form of PC?

PC stands for Personal Computer

Characteristics and features of the PC

Personal Computer features or characteristics:

Speed: You know the computer can run very fast. The calculation takes only a few seconds to complete. You may be surprised to learn that a computer can perform millions (10,00,000) of instructions and more per second. Therefore, we determine the speed of the computer in terms of microseconds (10–6 fraction of a second) or nanoseconds (10 to 10 frames per second). You get an idea of how fast your computer works.
Accuracy: The degree of accuracy of the computer is very high and every calculation is done with the same accuracy. Accuracy Level 7. It is determined based on computer design. Errors in computers are caused by human and faulty (wrong) data.
Attention: Free from computer fatigue, lack of concentration, fatigue, etc. It works for hours with no errors. If millions of calculations are to be made, the computer performs each calculation with the same accuracy. Because of this ability, it regularly attacks humans.
Versatility: That means being able to do something completely different. You can use your computer to prepare a payroll slip. The next moment you can use it for inventory management or to prepare electricity bills.
Power to Remember: The computer has the power to store any information or data. Any information can be stored and remembered for any number you need. It is entirely up to you how much data you want to store on the computer and when or where this data is lost or lost.
No IQ: A computer is a dumb machine and it will not do any work without user instructions. It dictates with tremendous speed and accuracy. It's up to you to decide what you want to do and in what order. Therefore the computer does not make its own decision.
Not feeling: It does not contain feelings or emotions, taste, knowledge, and experience. So even after working for a long time, it is not tiring. It does not distinguish between users.
Storage: The computer has a built-in memory where it can store large amounts of data. You can also store data on a secondary storage device such as a floppy, which can be left outside your computer and moved to other computers.

What is Hardware?

Computer Hardware:

Physical parts of personal computers are called the hardware of computers. Computer hardware is any part of a computer, we can touch these parts. These are the basic electronic devices used to make computers. Examples of computer hardware include:

processors,
memory devices (HardDisk Drive),
monitors,
printers,
microphone,
keyboards,
mouse and
central processing units.

There are three types of Hardware includes:

Input Device
Output Device
System Unit

Input Device: The input device includes input devices of the personal computer such as a keyboard, mouse, microphone, and scanner, etc. these devices help to input data into the computer to process.
Output Device: The output unit includes output devices of the personal computer such as to monitor, printer, and speaker, etc. They could output the processed data from which user input into the system.
System Unit: The system Unit includes a motherboard. All other components are etched onto it. It is made up of silicon. An electronic pathway on the motherboard connects different components of the system unit.

What is software?

Software is a collection of instructions, procedures, and documentation that perform various tasks on a computer system. We can also say that computer software is the programming code implemented in a computer processor. The code can be machine-level code or code written for the operating system.

Examples of software include MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Chrome, Photoshop, MySQL, and so on.

Computer software is further divided into two main groups

System software
Application software

System software: System software refers to the programs that are liable for supervisory and handling the definite actions of the computer hardware. It includes some basic utilities for the operating system and cases, such as disk, file managers, performance managers, user authentication, and network control software.
Application software: Applications software refers to complete tasks identified by the user. Application software may consist of a solo program, such as an image viewer or gathering of programs that work organized to achieve a task such as a word processor, spreadsheet, database, etc.

What are the different types of PC?

There are two types of Personal computers:

Stationary
Portable

1. Stationary
Workstation and desktop computers are includes in stationary types of personal computers category.

Workstation: Workstation is a personal computer intended for technical, calculated, and systematic applications.
Desktop computer: Desktop computer referred to its designed to place on the table in a vertical or horizontal position with external input and output devices such as a keyboard, mouse, scanner, printer, monitor, etc. it is also used to play games as well as office work.

2. Portable

Portable personal computers are those which may be easily replaced from one place to the other.

Laptop: The laptop is one of the common and most useable examples of portable personal computers. You may open the flip of the laptop and can do your work, and after that down the flip and take it away anywhere. It also protects keyboard, screen, and mouse pad during transportation.
Tablet: Tablets are touchscreen display, which can be controlled by stylus pen or finger. It may also offer an external keyboard and mouse as well as some other USB devices to connect. It may be used different types of operating systems such as Windows, Android, and Linux, etc., according to the user demand and needs.
Smartphones: Smartphones are also coming under portable personal computers which are similar to tablets. They are smaller than tablets.
Ultra-Mobile PC: Ultra-Mobile PC (UMP) is a small tablet computer. It was developed by Microsoft, Samsung, and Intel. Current Ultra-Mobile PC typically includes Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Linux operating systems, and low-voltage Intel Atom or VIA C7-M processors.
Pocket PC: Hardware Specification Pocket PC for a Handheld-Size Computer (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA) running Microsoft Windows Mobile Operating System. It may be capable of running alternative operating systems such as NetBSD or Linux. Pocket PCs have many capabilities of desktop PCs. There are many application software available for handhelds that follow the Microsoft Pocket PC specification, many of which are freeware. Microsoft-compliant pocket PCs can also be used with many other add-ons, such as RFID readers, barcode readers, cameras, and GPS receivers.

What is the generation of computers?

There are five generations of computers:

First-generation ➡️ Vacuum Tubes: This generation of computers was used vacuum tubes to perform calculations. Those were expensive because vacuum tubes are so expansive and a small lifetime period. They became hot and burn out. Computers of this generation are very expensive and large and need a special room having air conditioning to cool the room temperature. ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator) and UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was the example of this generation.
Second-Generation ➡️ Transistors: To reduce the size of the computer we need to replace vacuum tubes from transistors. 200 transistors are about the same size as one vacuum tube on a computer. And they can work 40 times faster than a vacuum tube. As compared to the vacuum tube computer to the transistor computer, transistor computers were smaller in size and their performance and working capacity increased several times to the vacuum tubes computers. They also support BASIC and COBOL languages.
Third-Generation ➡️ Integrated Circuits: The major invention of the third generation computers was the development of integrated circuits. And a single integrated circuit may replace thousands of transistors. Now the problem of the size of the computer gone away after the invention of integrated circuits. It also reduces the price of the computer. Now it can use easily in medium and large scale business.
Fourth-Generation ➡️ Microprocessors: In fourth-generation computers, microprocessors replaced the integrated circuits and revolutionized the computer world. Fourth-generation computers used semiconductor memory, which increased the internal storage of computers. Apple Macintosh and IBM PC were the examples of fourth generation computers.
Fifth-Generation ➡️ Present and Beyond: Artificial Intelligence: This generation computer-based computer-based on artificial intelligence which is still in the process of the development stage. Some applications are such as voice recognition that is being used in today's world. The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop tools that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organizing.