Innovations
We all can agree that personal computers have changed the shape of our lives on many facets, but what are the innovations that have changed the face of personal computing? Here is my brief rundown, add to it as you feel with a brief explanation and perhaps a small list of future innovations that you feel would have as great of an impact.
1. the microprocessor ( as chips got smaller over time they got faster and vice versa, allowing computers to move from univerisity labs and gov. agencies into our homes and eventually allowing us to develop the laptop )
2. GUI (made the use of the computer universally easy for everyone, sure you still needed to know code to squeeze out every bit of functionality(you still do) but it allowed the avg user enough to have a comfortable and fun experience)
3. games (what more do I really need to say, probably boosted the sales of pc's more than we'll ever know)
4. the laptop (mobility = productivity)
5. the worldwide web (changed the way we looked at the pc, no longer just a machine to crunch info, process words or play games on now it is a communication device giving us access to the world)
1. the microprocessor ( as chips got smaller over time they got faster and vice versa, allowing computers to move from univerisity labs and gov. agencies into our homes and eventually allowing us to develop the laptop )
2. GUI (made the use of the computer universally easy for everyone, sure you still needed to know code to squeeze out every bit of functionality(you still do) but it allowed the avg user enough to have a comfortable and fun experience)
3. games (what more do I really need to say, probably boosted the sales of pc's more than we'll ever know)
4. the laptop (mobility = productivity)
5. the worldwide web (changed the way we looked at the pc, no longer just a machine to crunch info, process words or play games on now it is a communication device giving us access to the world)
Comments
Without it we'd all be proffessional touchtypists.
Originally posted by LiquidR
but what are the innovations that have changed the face of personal computing?
Originally posted by AppleExec
Laptop Handles, Colors, Size, Flexibility, Opening Side Doors, Glowing Sleep Light Indicators, Toaster Style CD Ejections, and of course 7,500 Songs In Your Pocket!!!
So you think the RDF is run on a personal computer?
Originally posted by Anders
So you think the RDF is run on a personal computer?
Laptop Handles
Yep, the original iBook had one. What other laptops have had handles since then? What's that? None? Oh, right. Heh.
Colors
I believe they went out of style three years ago. But people still call Macs "toy-like" even though they're no longer colored.
Opening Side Doors
This is actually a good point. A lot of PC cases have gotten easier to open now because of many of Apple's innovations in this area. Starting with the 7200/7500 desktop case, and continuing with the 8600/9600/G3 minitower case and later the El Capitan, Apple's really made GOOD cases in the last few years. Before the ones I mentioned, though, they were pretty bad. The pizza boxes were pretty good, but that's about it.
Glowing Sleep Light Indicators
This is another good point. So many people now modify their PCs with LEDs and stuff, and there are tons of peripherals that use pulsing LEDs to look cool. Apple's small innovation here seemed to be one of the earliest uses of LEDs to just make a computer look cool.
Toaster Style CD Ejections
Yup, like the iBook's handle, this was present on a single model of Macintosh, and not on any other computer ever made since then.
and of course 7,500 Songs In Your Pocket!!!
Well, the iPod was definitely an awesome Apple innovation, one of the greatest I'd have to say. Although the original "1,000 Songs In Your Pocket" version was more original than the newest line. Not like the new ones are bad or anything, but they're more of an evolutionary development rather than a revolutionary one like the original.