THE PERSONAL COMPUTER PC

Analog computers programmed to solve equations related to continuously varying systems were used mainly in die 1940s. By the mid-1940s, it became clear that digital computers held much more promise for the future. 

Until the early 1980s, large computers were built that served several hard-wired workstations at a company or university. These were called main frame computers. The largest, most powerful, and expensive of these were called supercomputers. 

An extremely important development was the independent discoveries of the solid state integrated circuit concept in 1958 by J. Kilby of Texas Instruments Corp. and R. Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor Corp. This made it possible to produce extremely small and powerful digital data processing units that are the centerpiece of a computer (the processor). For this extremely important development, they shared the prestigious C. D. Draper prize awarded by the National Academy of Engineering. In 2001, Kilby was awarded the Nobel Prize, but this was not shared with Noyce since the Nobel Prize is not awarded posthiunously. 

In 1977 Wozniak and Jobs founded Apple Corp., produced Apple II, and launched the PC revolution. In 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh PC, which was very easy to use (user friendly). 

At first, most users wrote their own software, but eventually software was purchased from highly specialized companies. In 1975 W. Gates and P. Allen founded Microsoft Corp. which has been extremely successful in developing and marketing a variety of computer software. 

---

Personal Computer Controller Because of its high performance at low cost and its unexcelled ease of use, apphcation of the personal computer (PC) as a platform for process controllers is growing. When configured to perform scan, control, alarm, and data acquisition (SCADA) functions and combined with a spreadsheet or database management apphcation, the PC controller can be a low-cost, basic alternative to the DCS or PLC. 

The primary focus of this section is on the description and applications of the recent innovations of newly emerging information services based on the personal computer (PC). 

Consider the personal computer (PC), for example. The initial market was developed by Apple Computer, which first created a functional tool from what had been a hobbyist s toy. But Apple was slow in moving this innovation into the mainstream of business users and left it for IBM to introduce the PC into mass markets in 1981. That innovation began a transition that changed forever the nature of information services enjoyed by customers, whose work lives and personal possibilities were irrevocably altered. Over the next 20 years, the basis of competition for all involved in the computer industry—computer makers, software companies, and microprocessor makers—shifted from advanced technology to lowest cost, and eventually to services, frequently the end point of the commoditization process. 

Electrical outlets should be located along the center of the worktable to accommodate the use of mobile instruments such as pH meters. Two computer workstations are indicated for each laboratory at least one of the personal computers (PC) should be connected to the main server to report information for samples that are being processed and add information to their internal chain of custody dossiers. 

Fig. 1. Schematic of the Langmuir film balance (LFB) connected to the personal computer (PC) a - top view, b - side view.

As use of the personal computer (PC) became widespread, a number of applications were found for controller use. Distributed control systems (DCSs) began to replace the older pneumatic and... 

There are many types of computer (usually referred to as hardware) but the most common type is the personal computer (PC), either in its desktop... 

The personal computer (PC) was introduced in the late 1970s and by the 1990s, the PC became sufficiently powerful to be practical for FEA. Commercial FEA software for PCs was developed and became widely used. FEA is now used in practically all fields of engineering analysis and is the clearly favored technique for many industries, including aerospace, automotive, nuclear, electronics, and defense. Several software vendors offer extremely powerful, general purpose, finite element software which can solve a wide range of problems. 

---