Personal computers are also called microcomputers or home computer. The most compact are called laptops. They are portable and work on built-in batteries.
Personal computers are designed for use at homes, schools, and offices. At home they can be used for home management (balancing the family finances, for example) and for playing computer games, watching films or listening to music. Schoolchildren can use computers for doing their homework and many schools now have computers for independent learning and computer-literacy studies. In the office personal computers may be used for word processing, bookkeeping, storage and handling of necessary information.
Personal computers were made possible by two technical innovations in the field of microelectronics: the integrated circuit, or IC, which was developed in 1959 and the microprocessor that first appeared in 1971. The IC permitted the miniaturization of computer-memory circuits, and the microprocessor reduced the size of a computer's CPU to the size of a single silicon chip.
Because a CPU calculates, performs logical operations, contains operating instructions, and manages data flows, a complete microcomputer as a separate system was designed and developed in 1974.
In 1981, IBM Company offered its own microcomputer model, the IBM PC that became a necessary tool for almost every business. The PC's use of a 18-bit microprocessor initiated the development of faster and more powerful personal computers, and its use of an operating system that was available to all other computer makers led to a standardisation of the industry.
In the mid-1980s, a number of other developments were especially important for the growth of personal computers. One of these was the introduction of a powerful 32-bit CPU capable of running advanced operating systems at high speeds.
Another innovation was the use of conventional operating systems, such as UNIX, OS/2 and Windows, The Apple Macintosh computers were the first to allow the user to select icons — graphic symbols of computer functions — from a display screen instead of typing commands. New voice-controlled systems are now available, and users are able to use the words and syntax of spoken language to operate their personal computers.