Personal computer

A personal computer, often referred to as a PC or simply computer, is a <a href="/facts/Computer/SQe1aK05">computer</a> designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as <a href="/facts/Word_processor/qAR7lagF">word processing</a>, <a href="/facts/Web_browser/2pfyymLs">internet browsing</a>, <a href="/facts/Email/6pD9GLtI">email</a>, <a href="/facts/Multimedia/PtJteq27">multimedia</a> playback, and <a href="/facts/PC_game/AEDr23gA">gaming</a>. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an <a href="/facts/End_user/7IM9qu7N">end user</a>, rather than by a computer expert or <a href="/facts/Technician/FogdL14W">technician</a>. Unlike large, costly <a href="/facts/Minicomputer/g8hvpQxe">minicomputers</a> and <a href="/facts/Mainframe/nrBR6rWa">mainframes</a>, <a href="/facts/Time-sharing/LE5XT9Go">time-sharing</a> by many people at the same time is not used with personal computers. The term <a href="/facts/Home_computer/CDEPVd1T">home computer</a> has also been used, primarily in the late 1970s and 1980s. The advent of personal computers and the concurrent <a href="/facts/Digital_Revolution/II8Y4FEE">Digital Revolution</a> have significantly affected the lives of people.
Institutional or corporate computer owners in the 1960s had to write their own programs to do any useful work with computers. While personal computer users may develop their applications, usually these systems run <a href="/facts/Commercial_software/WLgyRFMh">commercial software</a>, free-of-charge software ("<a href="/facts/Freeware/c8oGA9ju">freeware</a>"), which is most often proprietary, or <a href="/facts/Free_and_open-source_software/1cHtjLCB">free and open-source software</a>, which is provided in ready-to-run, or <a href="/facts/Machine_code/bgdQ1Fxf">binary</a> form. Software for personal computers is typically developed and distributed independently from the hardware or <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating system</a> manufacturers. Many personal computer users no longer need to write their programs to make any use of a personal computer, although end-user programming is still feasible. This contrasts with mobile systems, where software is often available only through a manufacturer-supported channel, and end-user program development may be discouraged by lack of support by the manufacturer.
Since the early 1990s, <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> operating systems (first with <a href="/facts/MS-DOS/fVrrz1uN">MS-DOS</a> and then with <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Windows/bwhAhuSL">Windows</a>) and CPUs based on <a href="/facts/Intel/SMF0gJJX">Intel</a>'s <a href="/facts/X86/Kypq5fgu">x86</a> architecture – collectively called <a href="/facts/Wintel/tlsHpeke">Wintel</a> – have dominated the personal computer market, and today the term PC normally refers to the ubiquitous Wintel platform, or to Windows PCs in general (including those running ARM chips), to the point where software for Windows is marketed as "for PC". Alternatives to Windows occupy a minority share of the market; these include the <a href="/facts/Mac_(computer)/8GhnXTK0">Mac</a> platform from <a href="/facts/Apple_Inc./oTJYta3k">Apple</a> (running the <a href="/facts/MacOS/Y93vVpTm">macOS</a> operating system), and <a href="/facts/Free_and_open-source/1cHtjLCB">free and open-source</a>, <a href="/facts/Unix-like/YAKrAxzd">Unix-like</a> operating systems, such as <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a> (including the Linux-derived <a href="/facts/ChromeOS/zH0B5Xtk">ChromeOS</a>). Other notable platforms until the 1990s were the <a href="/facts/Amiga/60B3A9of">Amiga</a> from <a href="/facts/Commodore_International/SlfXKbCN">Commodore</a>, the <a href="/facts/Atari_ST/9GsYSlaM">Atari ST</a>, and the <a href="/facts/PC-98/b0br6zGu">PC-98</a> from <a href="/facts/NEC/YnlUsMBA">NEC</a>.

Personal computer open-in-new

Personal computer