The IBM Personal Computer is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team of engineers and designers at International Business Machines (IBM), directed by William C. Lowe and Philip Don Estridge in Boca Raton, Florida.
Internal view of the IBM PC (from the back), showing components and layout. This PC has been outfitted with aftermarket floppy and hard disk drives, but the motherboard and most of the expansion cards are stock.
Original IBM PC motherboard with 16 KB RAM soldered and 48 KB socketed, for a total of 64 KB onboard
Later IBM PC motherboard with 64 KB RAM soldered and 192 KB socketed, for a total of 256 KB onboard
IBM PC with MDA monitor
A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB). Microcomputers became popular in the 1970s and 1980s with the advent of increasingly powerful microprocessors. The predecessors to these computers, mainframes and minicomputers, were comparatively much larger and more expensive. Many microcomputers are also personal computers. An early use of the term "personal computer" in 1962 predates microprocessor-based designs. (See "Personal Computer: Computers at Companies" reference below). A "microcomputer" used as an embedded control system may have no human-readable input and output devices. "Personal computer" may be used generically or may denote an IBM PC compatible machine.
The Commodore 64 was one of the most popular microcomputers of its era, and is the best-selling model of home computers of all time.
Raspberry Pi, a popular modern-class microcomputer
Three microcomputer systems frequently associated with the first wave of commercially successful 8-bit home computers: The Commodore PET 2001, the Apple II, and the TRS-80 Model 1
A collection of early microcomputers, including a Processor Technology SOL-20 (top shelf, right), an MITS Altair 8800 (second shelf, left), a TV Typewriter (third shelf, center), and an Apple I in the case at far right