personal computer

Some of the types of peripheral device that may be connected to a computer include printers, scanners, and modems.

The three types of communications port in a microcomputer. The USB port transmits data at a faster rate than a serial or parallel port.

Another name for microcomputer. The term is also used, more specifically, to mean the IBM Personal Computer and computers compatible with it.

The first IBM PC was introduced in the USA in 1981; it had 64 kilobytes of random access memory (RAM) and one floppy-disk drive. It was followed in 1983 by the XT (with a hard-disk drive) and in 1984 by the AT (based on a more powerful microprocessor). Many manufacturers have copied the basic design, which is now regarded as a standard for business microcomputers.

In 2005, about 67% of US homes had personal computers. The largest PC maker was Dell, which had a 20% share of the worldwide PC market and a greater proportion of the US market.

Computers designed to function like an IBM PC were originally known as IBM-compatible computers, but are now more usually called Windows PCs. The power of personal computers has increased year by year, as has their ability to handle sophisticated tasks, such as desktop video editing. The original XT's speed was clocked as 0.25 MIPS (millions of instructions per second), while Pentium-based PCs run in excess of 100 MIPS.