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From: daniel@island.UU.NET (Dan Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.society
Subject: Re: "Personal" Computers
Message-ID: <472@hptsug2.HP.COM>
Date: 29 Aug 88 23:28:31 GMT
Sender: taylor@hptsug2.HP.COM
Organization: Island Graphics, Marin County, California
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Approved: taylor@hplabs

Mike Elliot writes:

> As far as I am concerned, a `personal computer' is a computer whose
> resources are too limited to run a multi-user operating system in a
> pleasant way.  By this definition, an IBM AT is a personal computer,
> because even though you can run UNIX or some other multi-user operating
> system on it, it wouldn't be a pleasant experience.  Now the 386
> machines are border-line personal computers.  They're not quite ready
> for multi-user environments, but they're damn close.

A "personal computer" is whatever fits comfortably in, on, or below a
desk, or a computer that you otherwise have all to yourself.  It doesn't
matter so much how powerful it is, and I will explain myself.  When you
call a 386 "border-line", you are damning things by implying "this is a
really fast machine, so it must not be a personal computer".

In ten years, when I am running my "Personal Computer" (perhaps a future
Sun, Mac, or something else we haven't seen yet), I'll have 100-500 Mhz
speed (whatever that means...using todays measurements), a television
running in a window that can be resized or iconified, a window giving me
a set of stereo controls to adjust (FM, equalizer, and so on), Mac
Windows, Unix Windows, and so on and so on.

My point is that it will be sitting on my desk at home or in my office,
and it will be on a lot of desks, and it will be the "Personal Computer"
in the year 2000 or so.

This is all off the cuff, but hopefully my point is clear :-)

DanSmith