The Personal Computer

Personal Computer

Who invented the Personal Computer? The name of the inventors most closely associated with inventing the Personal Computer are Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011) and Steve Wozniak who jointly founded the Apple corporation. When was the Personal Computer invented? The first portable computer was the Altair developed by Ed Roberts in 1975 but Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak developed the first Personal Computer in 1976. Their personal computer revolutionized the world of Computing, Communications and Technology. The invention of the Personal Computer originated in America and is considered a momentous achievement in the field of Computing and Technology.

Definition of the Personal Computer: The Personal Computer (PC) is defined as a small, relatively inexpensive, multi-purpose computer equipped with a microprocessor and designed for use by an individual in an office, at home or at school.

 

Facts about the Personal Computer

 

 Inventions and Inventors Index

 

Fact File about the Invention of the Personal Computer: Invention: Personal Computer *** Date of Invention: 1976 *** Name of Inventors: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (Woz) *** Nationality of Inventors: American *** Historical Period: Technology and Information Age *** Category: Computing and Technology *** Country of Origin: America *** Facts about the Inventors, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, and the invention of the Personal Computer ***

Fact 1: Who invented the Personal Computer? The Personal Computer was invented by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (Woz) in 1976 during the Technology and Information Age of inventions.

Fact 2: Who invented the Personal Computer? Prior to the invention of the Personal Computer in 1976, there were no computers available for home use - people used typewriters.

Fact 3: Who invented the Personal Computer? The development of the modern electronic Computer started when Alan Turing invented the electromechanical Turing Machine during WW2 (1939 - 1945). In 1958 Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce invented the computer chip and the first Internet, called ARPANET, was developed in 1969 by the United States Department of Defense for the U.S. military.

Fact 4: Who invented the Personal Computer? Ray Tomlinson invented Email in 1971 and in the same year the floppy disk was invented by David Noble with IBM. The invention of the Microchip enabled computers to be made that were small enough to get into the average sized room in a house. 

Fact 5: Who invented the Personal Computer? In 1975 designer Ed Roberts developed the first commercial microprocessor based personal computer called the Altair 8800.

Fact 6: Who invented the Personal Computer? Ed Roberts marketed the Altair 8800 to computer geeks through mail order. A group of Altair 8800 enthusiasts founded the Homebrew Computer Club in Silicon Valley, which is where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak became firm friends.

Fact 7: Who invented the Personal Computer? Steve Wozniak was born on August 11, 1950 in San Jose, California and was educated at the University of California. Steve Jobs, was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco, California and attended Reed College, Portland, Oregon.

Fact 8: Who invented the Personal Computer? Steve Wozniak was a technical wizard and had been developing a new type of personal computer after being inspired by the release of the Altair 8800 in 1975. His friend, Steve Jobs, recognized the marketing potential the new design and the two men decided to start their own company on April 1, 1976. They called their business the Apple Computer Company. In the same year Bill Gates and Paul Allen implemented BASIC for the Altair 8080, and founded Microsoft.

Fact 9: Who invented the Personal Computer? Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak raised $1,300 in start-up money by selling Woz's scientific calculator and Steve's Volkswagen bus. They continued working on their personal computer with a 6502 processor that they called the Apple I. Their first order was for 50 Apple computers from Palo Alto’s Byte Shop.

Fact 10: Who invented the Personal Computer? Their first Personal Computer came as a 'kit' requiring the addition of a keyboard, a power supply, and a case for the assembled motherboard. The price of the Apple I was $500.

Fact 11: Who invented the Personal Computer? Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak worked on developing a second generation of the Personal Computer and in 1977 Apple introduced the Apple II, a color computer with 4 kB RAM, a 6502 processor, keyboard, eight expansion slots and floppy drive support.

Fact 12: Who invented the Personal Computer? The price of the Apple II was $1300 and it was marketed as a "complete, ready to use computer" an "extraordinary computer for ordinary people". The floppy disk drive and spreadsheet program made it a an instant hit. There were even some primitive video games, but there was no mouse. A game paddle was supplied consisting of a dial that was turned to move objects back and forth.

Fact 13: Who invented the Personal Computer? These were the early days of computing. The World Wide Web did not exists and neither did Google. Tim Berners-Lee would invent the World Wide Web in 1991 and Larry Page and Sergey Brin would invent the Google search engine in 1998.

Fact 14: Who invented the Personal Computer? Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and the engineers at Apple began work on a high-end business machine called the Lisa (Local Integrated System Architecture) and the Macintosh designed for smaller businesses and home users. The McIntosh was named by Apple Inc. employee Jef Raskin after his favorite fruit, the McIntosh Red apple.

Fact 15: Who invented the Personal Computer? At this time personal computers featured black screens with green text-based commands. The Macintosh was being designed with several revolutionary new features including a 'mouse', an intuitive, graphical user interface with overlapping "windows" and menus and clickable pictures called "icons".

Fact 15: Who invented the Personal Computer? The iMac was unveiled in 1998 and amazed the public. The dull beige cases of other computers were completely eclipsed by the iMac, with its cute, circular shaped mouse and its translucent teal body, stood out. A second iMac generation quickly followed that came in five bright colors - lime, strawberry, blueberry (royal blue), grape (purple), and tangerine.

Fact 16: Who invented the Personal Computer? Apple went public and the Macintosh became a global phenonomen in 1984, just before Steve Job's 30th birthday.

Fact 17: Who invented the Personal Computer? Apple's "1984" Super Bowl XVIII blockbuster television ad caused a sensation as it announced that the Macintosh would be introduced on January 24, 1984. The advert, directed by Ridley Scott,  featured men being freed from the grasp of 'Big Brother' and its Orwellian overtones.

Fact 18: Who invented the Personal Computer? Steve Wozniak retired in 1985 after he and Steve Jobs received the National Technology Award from President Reagan.

Fact 19: Who invented the Personal Computer? The invention of the Personal Computer by Apple was only the beginning. In 2001 Apple introduced a "breakthrough digital device" MP3 player that they called the iPod. In 2007 Apple introduced the iPhone and its revolutionary touch-screen interface. On July 11, 2008 Apple opened the "App Store" and the iPad tablet computer was launched on April 3, 2010.

Fact 20: Who invented the Personal Computer? The invention of the Personal Computer has drastically changed our lives forever in many areas. A personal computer provides a virtual library in every living room, instant news, instant communication and the ability to make financial transactions and shop and purchase items in our own home.

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