Does size really matter? When you think about the evolution of the personal computer, size is significant, but not in the way you’d think. The first personal computers were gargantuan behemoths when compared to the sleek little computers we see today. Ironically, as computers got smarter, faster and more available to the general populace, they got physically smaller…and smaller. Yet at the same time, the amount of information these ever-tinier computers contain and process grows ever larger.
Let’s take a look at where it all started. Early computers were large, boxy and incredibly expensive. The earliest versions had large rooms all to themselves and were mostly used by universities and large corporations for research. Yet hints of how computers could serve people, on a personal level, began to emerge in the 1960s, as computers became more interactive and researchers built on earlier developments to improve their possibilities.
In 1968, a researcher revealed an early version of the personal computer’s possible uses, with a demonstration of activities that resembled e-mail, word processing, the use of the computer mouse and even video conferencing. Looking back, it is stunning to realize the computer’s capabilities at even that early time in its development.
By the early 1970s, the costs of computers began to decline, as the microchip and the microprocessor revolutionized the development of the PC. Suddenly, circuits that had taken up large amounts of space could be now be contained on a small chip. The revolution was truly on its way, and quickly accelerated, as systems and information became more and more sleek, fast and small. Very small.
Today’s computers come in a mind-boggling array of designs and sizes, many of which can easily slide into a pocket. Yes, they’re so much smarter, yet so much smaller. The history of advanced computer technology has a logic all its own, a logic that involves a gargantuan behemoth somehow evolving into a sleek and beautiful little personal computing system.