Microcomputer

"Microcomputing" redirects here. For the hobbyist magazine, see Kilobaud Microcomputing.
For a small computer on an integrated circuit, see microcontroller.
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.[1]
Raspberry Pi, a popular modern-class microcomputer

A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor.[2] The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB).[3] 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 (though indeed present-day mainframes such as the IBM System z machines use one or more custom microprocessors as their CPUs). Many microcomputers (when equipped with a keyboard and screen for input and output) are also personal computers (in the generic sense). 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 abbreviation "micro" was common during the 1970s and 1980s,[4] but has since fallen out of common usage.

  1. ^ Kahney, Leander (2003-09-09). "Grandiose Price for a Modest PC". Wired. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  2. ^ "Microcomputer". dictionary.com.
  3. ^ A.O., Williman; Jelinek, H.J. (June 1976). "Special Tutorial: Introduction to LSI Microprocessor Developments". Computer. 9 (Computer). IEEE: 37. doi:10.1109/C-M.1976.218612. S2CID 11184882.
  4. ^ Proof of "micro" as a once-common term:
    (i) Direct reference: Graham Kibble-White, "Stand by for a Data-Blast", Off the Telly. Article written December 2005, retrieved 2006-12-15.
    (ii) Usage in the titles of Christopher Evans' books "The Mighty Micro" (ISBN 0-340-25975-2) and "The Making of the Micro" (ISBN 0-575-02913-7). Other books include Usborne's "Understanding the Micro" (ISBN 0-86020-637-8), a children's guide to microcomputers.