(^10) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide
whileAppleComputercontinuedtocarveitsownniche.TheIBMPCAT(seeFigure1-8)and
the Apple Macintosh (see Figure 1-9) represent commercially successful PCs that largely
defined the personal computer in terms of its size, shape, and functions—a standard that has
continued until today. This is the point at which we will begin looking at the technology of
the PC and its hardware.
If you wish to learn more about some of the earliest computers and the pioneers who
developed them, visit the following Web sites:
The Obsolete Computer Museum http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org/
Jones Telecommunications and Multimedia Encyclopedia http://www.
digitalcentury.com/encyclo/update/pc_hd.html
The Mary Butterworth School http://www.marybutterworth.net/historyofpc.html
The PC over the Years
Here is a list of some of the key events that have lead to the personal computer as we
know it today. Each of these events was instrumental in either the development of the
hardware of the PC or its software.Figure 1-7. The Apple computer was the first commercially successful personal computer