Intel that is now a huge computer company invented the first personal computer in 1974.  A personal computer is a computer, which can be used by one person at a time.  It is not like those huge manufacturing computers.  It is more like an average computer in a regular household.  Personal computers were so popular, because many people, unlike mainframes that were very expensive, could afford them.  They were invented when large-scale integration made it possible to make a somewhat powerful microprocessor on a single chip.  The name PC is short for personal computer.  (Britannica Inc.)

            It wasn’t until 1977 three year later that the personal computer industry started.  When this happened it started to get competitive.  This happened when Apple released Apple II.  Apple II was the first preassembled personal computer.  Later that year, Radio Shack and Commodore Business Machines also came out with personal computers.  Apple II skyrocketed when it became VisiCalc’s host.  VisiCalc is a spreadsheet.  Soon other different types of hardware were released into stores.  In 1983 Apple came out with a computer entitled Lisa, which had a GUI or a graphical user interface on it.  A GUI is a display format that was good for selecting commands, calling up programs, starting files, and doing other routine operations.  Lisa’s GUI was later made into a computer.  This was the first real personal computer, because it had a mouse and keyboard.  The GUI came out in 1984.  It was called Macintosh.  This was mainly used for desktop publishing, because it could lie out things on the screen as it would on the final printed page.  (Britannica Inc.)

            IBM, which is supposedly the world’s most popular computer, did not release its first personal computer until 1981.  They called it the IBM PC.  This computer was only a little bit faster than competing PCs.  It had almost 10 times the memory as other computers.  The IBM PC was a host for 1-2-3, which was a very popular spreadsheet.  IBM PC soon became the worlds most popular PC.  (Britannica Inc.)

            Many people liked the GUI that Macintosh had, and so did other companies.  In 1985 Microsoft released Windows.  This also had a GUI that gave many of the same things that Macintosh did.  Many other companies released computers with a GUI like Macintosh, but they kept increasing in speed, memory, etc.  In the late 1970s computers had about 64 kilobytes, but in the early 1990s they had about 100 megabytes.  A megabyte is the stage that comes after kilobytes.  PCs have changed a lot then in just a few years, but they still change about just as much.  (Britanica)

            In 1990 personal computers had become small enough to be portable.  They had laptops that could be fit into someone’s lap, notebooks, which were about the size of a notebook, and palm-sized computers that can be fit in the palm of a hand.  PCs soon had CD players, and sound systems.  By 1997 about 40% of all households owned at least one PC.  (Ibid.)

            Types of computer systems now include PCs, the Macintosh, Mainframes, and set-top boxes.  A mainframe is a computer that can be used to store large amounts of information and support many users at the same time.  This allows people to have networks.  A terminal, which is like a regular PC, is used to store at take out information stored in the mainframe.  A set top box is a box that connects to a television.  These allow using a telephone line or cable connection to browse the Internet and exchange electronic mail also known as email all on a television.  (IDG books Worldwide. 8)

            A regular computer consists of a monitor, a computer case, speakers, a printer, a modem, a keyboard, and a mouse.  A monitor is the screen that displays text and images that are made by the computer.  A computer case contains the major parts of a computer system.  Speakers are devises that play sound which are made by the computer.  Modems are devices that allow computers to communicate through phone lines (or going on the Internet).  These can be found in or outside of a computer case.  A keyboard is the device that lets you type information and instructions into a computer.  A mouse is a handheld device that lets you select and move items on the screen.  A printer is something that makes a paper copy of something you made on the screen.  (9)

            Inside of the computer case also known, as a hard drive is a power supply, a hard drive, a port, an expansion card, an expansion slot, a system board, a CD/DVD-ROM drive, a floppy drive, a drive bay, a central processing unit (CPU), and Random Access Memory (RAM).  The power supply is the part that changes regular electricity into electricity a computer can read.  The hard drive is the main part that stores information.  A port is a connector where you plug in a device like a printer or scanner.  The expansion card is the part that lets you add new features to a computer.  An expansion slot is the space you use to plug in an expansion card.  The system board is the main circuit board in a computer.  All electrical things plug into this.  The CD/DVD-ROM drive reads information stored on compact discs (CDs), and digital versatile disks (DVDs).  A floppy drive is something that stores and receives information held on a floppy disk.  The drive bay is the space inside the computer case that a hard drive/floppy drive/CD/DVD-ROM drive sits.  A CPU is the main chip in a computer that processes instructions, controls calculations, and controls the flow of information through a computer.  RAM is the part that temporarily stores information until the computer is restarted or shut down.  There are also other types of computer cases like an all in one case that is everything build into the monitor, a portable that is on the bottom of a laptop, and a tower case, which is like a regular one.  (10-11)

            There are actually many different mouse types.  In order to use a mouse easily, a mouse pad would help.  They have many mouse pads including some that have armrests.  A good mouse pad idea is putting a personal picture on it.  Different mouse types are the wheeled mouse, the wireless mouse, a programmable mouse, an optical sensor mouse, a touchpad, the trackball, and a pointing stick.  The wheeled mouse has a wheel between both mouse buttons.  This allows you to scroll up and down, or zoom in and out.  A wireless mouse is a mouse without cords that is good for limited desk space.  You plug in a different appliance, and put it somewhere that doesn’t require much space like under a desk.  The mouse sends signals to that appliance like a remote control would send signals to the television.  A programmable mouse is a mouse that has buttons you can program to do different things.  These have three buttons.  An optical sensor mouse detects movements of the mouse through a red laser on the bottom of the mouse as apposed to a rubber ball.  This type of mouse is one of four that does not require a mouse pad.  A touchpad is a surface that is sensitive to pressure and motion.  If you move your finger across it, the arrow on the screen will move the same way.  A trackball is an upside-down mouse that stays in one spot on a desk.  Instead of moving the mouse, you move the ball on top of it.  Pointing sticks resemble a pencil eraser, and are put in the keyboard.  The arrow on the screen moves the same way that you press the pointing stick.  (10-11)

            Keyboards are very important when using a computer.  A keyboard actually does many more things than what meets the eye.  Basic keys are the letters, the escape key, caps lock and shift keys, the spacebar, backspace, the enter key, the arrow keys, the delete key, and sometimes the numeric keypad.  The escape key allows you to quit programs that you are doing.  Caps lock and shift keys are used to make upper and lower case letters.  The letter keys are obviously used to type in different letters.  Space bar is used to add in a blank space.  The enter key is used to carry out a task, and move onto a new line if you are typing something.  The arrow keys are used to move the cursor around the screen.  The backspace key is used to remove the character left of the screen.  Delete keys are used to remove the character left of the cursor.  The delete key is used to remove the character right of the cursor.  The numeric keys are used to type in numbers in the form of a calculator.  When the num. lock light is on you can’t use these as numbers, but to simply move the cursor around the screen.  Status lights show what locks are on and off.  Other non-obvious keys are the ctrl and alt keys, the windows key, the application keys, and the function keys.  Ctrl and Alt keys can be used with a combination of other keys to perform specific tasks.  The windows key is used to quickly show the start menu.  The application key is used to quickly display the shortcut menu.  Last but not least are the function keys.  These are used to quickly perform different tasks.  (26-27)

            Pages per minute measure printer speed.  A page that has a picture on it will take longer than a page with text.  Printer resolution is like the quality of the printer.  The sharper the resolution, the better.  Printer resolution is measured in dpi or dots per inch.  A printer with 600 dpi is okay, but one with 1200 is good.  (28-29)

            The most popular printer is the ink-jet.  Ink-jet printers have a print head that sprays ink through a small nozzle onto the paper.  Most ink-jet printers have a printer speed of 2-10 PPM.  The ink is stored in cartridges, which you have to replace once it runs out.  Another option is to fill the cartridge with ink.  Using the ink that the printer requires will give better results.  Most ink-jet ink cartridges expire.  Paper that the ink-jet printer uses is usually 8 1/2” by 11”.  These printers also accept smaller paper, envelopes, labels, transparencies, and sometimes-larger paper.  Printing quality improves when more expensive coated paper is used.  Color ink-jet printers are very popular, because they have great quality, and are cheap.  These spray cyan, magenta, and yellow colors onto a page to produce other colors.  (30-31)

            A laser printer is also a popular printer.  These are like photocopiers that produce high quality images on the page.  Most laser printers print from 4-16 PPM.  Each laser printer has a CPU (central processing unit).  This gives instructions and manages the flow of information in the printer.  The faster the CPU speed the faster the PPM.  The resolution on most laser printers is 600-2400 dpi.  Laser printers store all pages that will be printed in memory before printing it.  Laser printers usually have 2-8MB (megabytes).  Memory is good for images that have high resolution, for larger paper size, and more complex images.  Most laser printers print the same kind of paper as an ink-jet, but you can check the printer’s documentation to find the size and weight of the paper that the printer can use.  Instead of ink cartridges, laser printers have toners.  These come in cartridges.  When the toner runs out, you buy a new one.  These cost nearly twice as much as an ink-jet ink cartridge.  Color laser printers cost much more than black and white, but makes great quality printouts.  (32-33)

            Other types of printers are a dot-matrix printer, a LED printer, a color photo printer, and a multifunction printer.  A dot-matrix printer makes low-quality images.  A print head containing small pins hits an inked ribbon.  This is good if a printer needs to print more than one of the same images.  A LED printer or light emitting diode printer is kind of like a laser printer by using many small lights.  These make images that can be compared to a laser printer’s quality, but are less expensive.  A color photo printer is made to make photographic-quality images.  This type of printer requires special types of paper, and sometimes only accepts photo size paper which is usually 4”x6”.  A multifunction printer can do more than one thing.  This usually works as a printer, a fax machine, a scanner, a photocopier, and a phone.  (34)

            A monitor is the screen that comes with a computer.  This works well with a video card.  A cable joins the monitor and video card, so that they will work.  A video card is a circuit board that plugs into an expansion slot inside of the computer.  These translate instructions from the computer, so that the monitor can understand it.  Video cards are also known as video adapters, graphics adapter, and a graphic card.  Some computers don’t need video cards, because they have something like it already built in.  The size of the monitor is measured diagonally across the screen.  Most monitor sizes are 14”, 15”, 17”, and 21”.  Bigger monitors are more expensive, but are good with graphics, or bigger spreadsheets.  Flat-panel or flat-screen monitors use liquid crystal display (LCD).  This is the kind that gets blurry if you touch the screen.  These are more expensive, but are lighter, take up less space, and use less electricity.  Dot pitch is the distance between pixels on the screen.  Smaller dot pitch is better, because you can see the picture much better.  A pixel is the smallest element on the screen.  Dot pitch determines the sharpness of images on the screen.  This is measured in mm (millimeters.  Most good monitors have a dot pitch of .28 mm or less.  (Raskin, Robin, and Ellison, Carol. 36-37)

            A scanner is a device that reads images and text onto a computer.  Most scanners come with photo editing software that allows you to edit the things you scan.  Some scanners also have software that allows you to scan a text image into Microsoft word so that you can edit the text.  This software is called Optical Character Recognition or OCR.  There are three different types of scanners.  A flatbed scanner is the most popular.  These mostly scan 8 1/2”x11”, but can scan bigger images.  A sheet-fed scanner can only scan one sheet of paper at a time.  In order to scan it, it would have to be ripped out of the book.  These are less expensive than flatbed scanners, and more compact, but they give lower quality images.  Another type of scanner is a handheld scanner.  These usually have a scanning width of 4”, and are good for copying small images like signatures, logos, and small pictures.  Smaller handheld scanners that resemble highlighters are also available.  These are good for scanning lines of text.  (Readers Digest. 56-57)

            Color depth of a scanner is measured in bits and tells how many different colors a scanner is able to scan.  The higher the color depth, the better the quality.  Most scanners right now have a 36-bit color depth.  Scanning mode is the type of scan you want you image to be.  There’s line art, grayscale, and color.  Line art is used with black and white, and can be colored on.  Grayscale is like black and white photography, and uses black, white, and gray.  Color uses red, blue, and green, which make other colors.  This is normal colored.  Resolution of a scanner is the amount of detail in a scanned image.  This is measured in dpi.  Most common scanner resolutions are from 600-2400 dpi.  (58-59)

            A modem allows computers to exchange information through phone lines.  Modems translate information into information a phone line can read.  Then the modem translates the information it gets back into information the computer can read.  In order to use a modem, a phone line is required.  You can use the same phone line as the one your phone is using, or use a new one.  If the same one the phone is using is being used by a modem, the phone will not work until the modem is turned off.  Once the modem is on, you are on the Internet.  Most modems allow you to send and receive faxes.  When a fax is sent, it can either be sent to a fax machine, or another computer.  Modems also have voice capabilities that allow you to make phone calls.  (IDG books Worldwide. 44-45)

            There are two different types of modems.  There is an internal modem, and an external modem.  An internal modem is a circuit board that plugs into an expansion slot in the computer.  These are less expensive, but are harder to set up.  An external modem is a small box that connects to the back of a computer.  These take up more room, but are preassembled, and can be used with more than one computer.  (44-45)

            Laptops or notebooks are small lightweight computers that are portable.  Laptops have a built in screen, keyboard, and mouse.  This doesn’t require any cords, unless you want to charge it, use electricity while using it, or connect to the Internet.  If it is a good laptop, it won’t need a cord to connect to the Internet.  Laptops are good for traveling, or if you use it at work and choose you want to finish your work at home instead of staying late.  Laptops are usually good for presentations, and can be plugged in to bigger screens.  Laptops require batteries so that you can charge it.  Batteries or electrical outlets supply the power for each laptop.  The two main types of batteries for laptops in general are nickel metal hydride (NIMH), and lithium-ion, which is a more expensive battery, because it lasts longer and is lighter.  Other laptops have smart batteries that help laptops save more power.  Most batteries run out of electricity after a few hours.  The screen on laptops has LCD like a flat-screen.  LCD screens take up less energy that makes the battery last longer, and are lighter which makes it easier to carry.  Most laptops also have backlights, which is the light behind the screen.  This helps you see in darker areas.  The only bad part is that it takes up more batteries.  Most laptops measure from 12”-15”.  Two different types of screens for laptops are a passive matrix, which is less expensive, but is not as bright in color.  These are better for office tasks.  This isn’t good for presentations, because you can’t see it from certain angles, but is good for private work.  An active matrix is the other type of screen.  This has better colors, and is more costly.  This is also called a thin-film transistor (TFT).  These are better for presentations, because you can see the screen from many different angles.  Laptops usually have pointing sticks, trackballs, or touch pads.  The keyboard comes built in, but if there are problems you can plug in your own mouse or keyboard.  In order to go on the Internet without a phone jack, a built in modem is needed.  If it doesn’t come with a modem, Internet access is available.  If you want to give presentations with a laptop a soundcard and built in speakers would help.  Laptops have most of the other features that regular computers have, but have less memory.  (144-153)

            A handheld computer is a portable computer that can fit in a pocket.  These are also called PDA’s or personal digital assistants.  Instead of a mouse, these use something called a stylus, which is an electric pen without ink.  The screen is sensitive to pressure, so once the stylus points to something on the screen, it selects it.  In order to type information into a handheld, they need keyboards.  Collapsible keyboards are good for this, because they are able to fold up and fit into your pocket, and unfold and be the size of a regular keyboard.  If you would like to exchange email, you will need a wireless modem.  Now cell phones and pagers work as handhelds.  (154-155)