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Re: Computing Editorial (please read)
I wrote:
> >Professional microcomputers (what you might call workstations, nowadays)
> >used 8 bit processors in the 1975-1982 timeframe; with the appearance of
> >machines like the Sun 1 (68000, 1981), they moved on to 16 bits, and the
> >personal computing market followed quickly with the Apple Mac and the
> >IBM AT.
Paul Schlyter wrote:
> How do you define "personal computing" here? It's not "home computing"
> and it's not "professional computing" -- so what is it?
Maybe I was a bit careless in choosing the term "professional
computing". What I intended to refer to were the three classes of
computers that emerged during the late 70s, existed throughout the 80s
and started to merge into the PC continuum in the 90s.
Roughly, they are
- home computers: geared at the home user, relatively inexpensive
(typically 600 EUR or less for a basic setup), can often be used with a
TV to save a monitor. Examples include C64, the ZX Spectrum, the smaller
Amigas and Atari STs.
- personal computers: designed for professional/office use,
Significantly more expensive than home computers (typically in the 1500
to 3000 EUR range), but not always more powerful. Usually have the hard-
and software for serious work the home computers lack. Examples include
several generations of IBM PCs and Apple Macintoshes.
- personal workstations: seriously more expensive (5000 EUR and above)
and more powerful than personal computers, usually running some flavour
of Unix. Aimed at professionals who need serious number crunching and
visualisation power, typically in science, engineering and design.
Examples include almost anything made by Sun during the 1980s, the
MicroVAX and the NeXT.
Regards,
Michael
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