Personal computer
hideA personal computer (PC) is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator.
A personal computer may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer or a tablet computer. The most common current operating systems for personal computers are Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, while the most common microprocessors are x86-compatible CPUs, ARM architecture CPUs and PowerPC CPUs. Software applications for personal computers include word processing, spreadsheets, databases, Web browsers and e-mail clients, games, and myriad personal productivity and special-purpose software. Modern personal computers often have high-speed or dial-up connections to the Internet, allowing access to the World Wide Web and a wide range of other resources.
A PC may be used at home, or may be found in an office, often connected to a local area network (LAN). This is in contrast to the batch processing or time-sharing models which allowed large expensive systems to be used by many people, usually at the same time, or large data processing systems which required a full-time staff to operate efficiently.
While early PC owners usually had to write their own programs to do anything useful with the machines, today's users have access to a wide range of commercial and non-commercial software which is provided in ready-to-run form. Since the 1980s, Microsoft and Intel have been dominating much of the personal computer market with the Wintel platform.
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News tagged with personal computer
Dell's profit, stock drop on weak quarterly report
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Some of the computer-industry's biggest players - such as IBM Corp., Intel Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. - have wowed Wall Street this fall with stronger-than-expected profits.
Future bright for Microsoft cloud computing, server president says
Nov 19, 2009 |
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All this week at the Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft has talked about cloud computing, what many consider the next frontier. Bob Muglia, president of the company's Server and Tools business, sat down to talk ...
Observers wary of 'truce' between Intel, AMD
Nov 19, 2009 |
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Can Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, Silicon Valley's version of the long-squabbling Hatfields and McCoys, really get along?
Semiconductor revenue to fall 11 percent: Gartner
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Worldwide semiconductor revenue is expected to decline by more than 11 percent in 2009 over last year, less than previously forecast, market research firm Gartner said Monday.
Program automatically shuts down office PCs when not in use
Nov 06, 2009 |
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NEC Corp. says it has developed the country's first software that automatically controls power consumption by personal computers in accordance with the patterns of its user's PC activity.
Global crisis hitting IT spending: Microsoft chief
Nov 02, 2009 |
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Companies worldwide are slashing spending on information technology because of the global downturn and will have to learn to do more with less, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said Monday.
PCs shed pounds and CD drives, gain touch screens
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Nov 01, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Personal computers are changing - and not just because of the recent launch of Windows 7. Visit an electronics store and you might also find laptops are missing a familiar component. You could experiment ...
PC sales in Asia-Pacific rise to 23.4 million in Q3: report
Oct 20, 2009 |
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Sales of personal computers (PCs) in the Asia-Pacific region rose 17 percent from a year ago to 23.4 million units in the third quarter, an industry monitor said Tuesday.
IBM sees better profit despite tech sales slump
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(AP) -- IBM Corp. is a rare example of a company that has kept boosting profit and jacking up its guidance even as the recession has sapped its sales.
AMD sales better than expected, CPU demand rises
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. lost money in the third quarter but said Thursday that sales were stronger than expected, adding to mounting evidence that consumer spending is fueling a turnaround in ...
Google to launch platform for selling books online
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Google Inc. is launching a new online service that will let readers buy electronic versions of books and read them on such gadgets as cell phones, laptops and possibly e-book devices.
Apple director Levinson leaves Google's board
Oct 12, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Google Inc. said Monday that Arthur Levinson has resigned from the Internet search leader's board, averting a potential showdown with government regulators over his overlapping job as a director for ...
Computer sales show signs of recovery: Gartner
Sep 23, 2009 |
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The global computer market is showing signs of recovery, with sales forecast to decline just 2.0 percent this year, much better than a June prediction of 6.0 percent, the Gartner research group said Wednesday.
Intel CEO: PC sales could rise in 2009
Sep 22, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The worldwide personal-computer market is pulling out of its slump quickly and could defy predictions by growing this year, Intel Corp. CEO Paul Otellini said Tuesday.
Dell eyes tech services with $3.9B deal for Perot
Sep 21, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Dell Inc. plans to buy the technology services company Perot Systems Corp. for about $3.9 billion as it tries to expand beyond the PC business and compete more aggressively with Hewlett-Packard Co. ...
