The Evolution Of The Personal Computer

Do you remember the personal computers you used when you were young? How different are those from the ones you’re using right now? Obviously, the answer is: TOO DIFFERENT!

Personal computers have evolved so much from when I first started using computers. I remember always being in front of our computer, trying to learn everything by myself without the help of the internet (either the internet was still non-existent at that time or it hasn’t reached me yet) and just reading everything on the Help section of the programs I was using.

And now we have various forms of personal computers in our hands — from desktop computers to laptop computers to tablets to e-readers to smartphones! And with just a few clicks, we can get information on almost anything we can think of!

Here’s an interesting infographic on the evolution of the personal computer and the networking industry.

Infographic: An Ever Expanding Network - The Evolution of the Personal Computer and the Networking Industry
Presented By CSI Now
Larger Image here

And we know it will continue developing and evolving! I wonder where technology will take in, say, 10 years!

Comments

The Evolution Of The Personal Computer — 40 Comments

  1. I remember how big and bulky the original computers were and they were too expensive too. Now they can be so small and some are cheaper.

  2. Yes, it is very hard to keep up with computer technology! You buy a computer and by the next year it is already way out of date! Crazy how far it has come, and a little scary!

  3. I am old enough to remember needing to write pages and pages of code to make a computer make a song. It was boring, and a pain and I never thought the whole computer thing would amount to much (in the very early 80s) I also remember when the memory on a computer was less than smart phones now!

  4. Computer technology is always changing, and the specs on computers and the amount of power of these new computers are huge. What about those ugly big bulky monitors. They were awful. Now there is nice widescreen monitors that make using the computer so much more enjoyable.

  5. Things change so quickly. It’s really hard to keep up with all of the new stuff.

  6. It’s fun telling our kids “how much easier” they have it with computers and explaining that we actually had to “cut and paste” for our papers and rewrite BY HAND each and every draft of a paper. =)

  7. It really is amazing how fast the computer has evolved. When I was a kid there were no computers for personal use. I feel if there were I would have been a much smarter effective student. Kids today don’t know how lucky they are to have all of the information at their finger tips. It will just be interesting to see what is ahead. Let’s hope the FCC doesn’t screw it up with their net neutrality giving all of the power of the internet to corporations.

  8. I got my first computer in 2001 and my elementary aged children had to show me how to use it. I really didn’t know much about them before then. And ditto to what Trish said regarding Net Neutrality. It’s scary when corporations hold all of the power over the internet.

  9. The evolution of computers and how we use them is very interesting when you really think about it.

  10. When I was in University (1974) we had to punch holes in cards and then enter the (deck)into a huge computer in the sciences department…I was in Commerce

  11. Technology moves so fast now. I had a computer in the early 90s and its archaic now. It had a green screen with typewriter like letters. The tower was like 20 pounds and so was the monitor! Crazy.

  12. I remember being so exited about a game where a cat chased a mouse in a pac man style game… you could hardly tell the difference between the mouse, cat and cheese! Now the graphics are so good they are scary!

  13. My first computer cost $1200 and it did not even have a hard drive….only floppies. Of course this was around 1987

  14. I remember the personal computer that I used when I was young, I remember playing the Oregon Trail when I was in elementary school. Yes the computer has come a long long way. Thank you for sharing this great infographic.

  15. I remember us having the first apple computer for our son who was severely handicapped. It had a touch window that came on and off. So much has changed for sure. Pretty soon the computers will be running things which they are doing with so many things. I hope they don’t completely take over. We have lost books in reading, English and writing skills and much more things too.

  16. It is amazing how far computers have come along!! Everything back then was so big and bulky and now everything today is so small and compact. I love my desktop computer though even though it is old as the hills. LOL

  17. My first computer was a “portable” one that weighed a whopping 20 pounds. My colleagues and I were amazed with it, including the 6″ mono screen. I won’t tell you how many years ago that was!

  18. Computers at home were unheard of when I was younger. When doing school projects or research, we used big, heavy encyclopedias, and went to the library. It was a big ordeal. Now, you can do so much at home.

    • That’s so true, Melisa! I remember doing a high school term paper using a typewriter, an encyclopedia and some newspaper clippings. Internet citations on bibliographies were still non-existent that time!
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      • It’s funny though, all my (adult) son wanted for his birthday was an old Underwood typewriter! So I located it. Then I tried to explain to him that there was a type of paper that you could erase the typewriter mistakes right on the paper. It was difficult to locate, but I found this too! $20.00 for a small pkg! I told him that when he finishes a paper, he can scan it into his computer, erase it, and re-use the paper. Haha!

  19. Computers~it all began when my daughter was in high school.
    I remember her going to a friends house to type her report,and
    her friend(x-now) pushed a wrong button and it was GONE.I so
    remember the tears.We bought our first computer and it was a Gateway
    and she set the whole thing up herself~she is now the computer techie.

  20. Its amazing how far computers have come. Our first one was a Comador64 and you couldn’t do anything with it.

  21. Amazing how far technology has brought us. Computers for the average person were not in existence when I was in grade school. Now, no more text books for my kids everything is online, SMART boards or on their smart phones (which the middle school high suggests that everyone have their own.) Can’t image what the future holds.

  22. I started using the computer only a few years ago. I didn’t want one at all. Now, I spend too much time on it. There’s still so much I don’t know and have to have my husband do for me. I do good to point and click!

  23. It amazes me how computers have evolved. I remember typing two pages of text on a Commodore 64 to make a ball bounce across the screen. Of course that was a “few” years ago.

  24. I think it is wonderful! I remember having to ask my parents what something was or meant and had to look in the encyclopedia. Now we just look it up on the internet.

  25. I am So Glad that we have made Advances in Technology with the Computer! I hated how long it used to take to get Online and do you Remember that Annoying Modem Sound it used to make when you were Logging On! That Static & Beeping Noise it made; well the Noise is Hard to Describe but you Probablly Know what I am Talking about! I Remember when I would Log on to AOL and My Computer would Greet Me with “You’ve Got Mail” and How Excited I Would Get! I am Really Glad things Run Much Smoother Online these Days &Much Faster! Great Blog; It Really Brings Back Memories!

  26. I started electronics as a hobby in 1975 and using computers about that time also at the local college. I got my 1st computer for Christmas in 1977. It was an Elf II that I had to solder together and initially had 256 bytes of memory, 2 digit hexadecimal LED display and 17 key hexadecimal keypad. Later I got an Apple ][+, then Macintosh SE and then a 80286 DOS machine. I started using the Internet about 1985 or so before the World Wide Web existed. Computers and the Internet have really changed a HUGE amount since then. I still have the Elf II and the Apple ][+ and the Mac SE too.
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  27. My first computer was huge and cost so much and now you can get one for so cheap.

  28. I bought my first computer, an IBM, in 96, & paid $2200. I got a laptop for less than $300 last year. In 96 my daughters were 21 & 18 & both in college; today the older one is head of her dept , Web Development, at the community college, & the younger one is a software engineer. My oldest granddaughter & oldest grandson are both web designers, & my youngest granddaughter (9)knows her way around the web better than I do! My my, we do love our computers!

  29. Thanks so much on the information on The Evolution of the Personal Computer. You are definitely right! I still have an old Macintosh that they came out with a million years ago! LOL I remember, when I was a kid, that we needed to go to the library to get information on reports that we were doing for school. We had encyclopedias to look through and all that stuff! Nowadays I really don’t think our kids even know what a library is for or what it even is! When we had reports and projects, we worked hard on them. Nowadays It’s a definite MUST to have a computer in the home! I know that there are certain kinds of homework that comes home with the kids that they have to do the work on the computer! We had classes in writing and spelling and nowadays, the teachers want everything typed! But, technology took over and now we have everything! We never had cell phones or iPads or anything of the sort and we turned out just fine. Almost every single kid I see walking to and from school, have cell phones up at their ears or are playing or texting while they are walking home. It’s just blows my mind how far we have come with the computers and all the technology we have at our fingertips these days. In ten years I have no idea where we will be! Things so far, per your graph, have progressed rather quickly over the years. They keep improving on something that just came out a month ago! It just blows my mind! Thanks so much for sharing all of this information with us! Just makes you wonder! Thanks again, Michele 🙂
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  30. This is so true. It seems like we hear of something new every day. It is definitely hard to keep up. Thank you for sharing this interesting information