Talk:Microcomputer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This page should be fleshed out and rewritten with more stuff on the actual microcomputers, and maybe divided into tentative "generations" for consumer computers, a la:

1. gen.: hobbyist micros, like MITS Altair, IMSAI 8080 &c
2. gen.: home computers (a. 8-bit, b. 16-bit); 16-bit PCs?
3. gen.: ubiquitous 32-bit PC clones

In addition to consumer computers we mustn't forget workstations and industrial computers. Also, some coverage of microcomputers as the vital building blocks of embedded systems should naturally fit in here.

Wernher 21:45 21 Sep 2003 (CET DST)

The image of a Mac Book as a compact computer is misleading in this day and age. A picture of an OQO or other UMPC would be more appropriate. -psych787

Contents 1 Terminology 2 removed nonsense 3 Contradiction in definition section: Supposed origin of name "microcomputer" 4 References

[edit] Terminology

In the UK, at least, micro remained a very popular term well into the 1980s: the BBC Micro being a good example. Loganberry (Talk) 00:39, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

I was the one that included the "micro" abbreviation in the first place, and I believe that what you say is pretty much what I wrote in the article anyway.

It's clear that use of the term has declined massively since the mid-1980s. The BBC Micro came out in 1981, and although it saw usage well into the 1990s, it (and more significantly, its abbreviated name) date back to the early eighties. I have not seen that much generic or "new" use of the term "micro" after that, and it's pretty much extinct nowadays (except when referring back to machines of that era.) Fourohfour 19:33, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

You're right. I'm not sure why I wrote that, to be honest, since looking at it again there isn't anything I could take issue with. Brain fade on my part, I suppose. Loganberry (Talk) 13:36, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] removed nonsense

removed two bits of nonsense from the introduction, (definition):

1. (sometimes shortened to micro)

2. in parentheses: (µP)

I've never heard the term "micro" for a microcomputer, and if you'd like to put it in, then please site any mainstream source using this abbreviation. Same goes for 2. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 84.2.135.123 (talk • contribs) .

Regarding (1); how about

this famous book

which inspired the BBC to create the "BBC Microcomputer", commonly referred to as the

BBC Micro

that's the

BBC Micro

in case you missed it. Or what about

Understanding the Micro, a book I had when I was a kid.

And here's another random search. The Dragon 32 was a micro produced during the 1980s. It didn't have "micro" in its name, but still turns up plenty of instances of that usage in my quick search.

Yeah, it *was* used a lot during the 1980s. Not so much now, but the article makes that clear. So I've reinstated it.

I don't know about the second name, but going by your blatant ignorance of the first, I wouldn't trust what *you* have and haven't heard of to have any special significance.

PS.... I think you meant "cite". Fourohfour 18:37, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

This has since been "formally" included in the article via a footnote. Fourohfour 12:45, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Contradiction in definition section: Supposed origin of name "microcomputer"

Regarding this paragraph, notably the bolded first section:-

The word Microcomputer traces back to the "Big Iron" revolution. It described the first computers that were "personal-scale". They were small enough to fit on a desk (rather than a server room) and cheap enough to be owned by an individual (instead of shared within a corporation, or school). The advent of PCs that could run applications like "VisiCalc" put microcomputers into the workplace, and started displacing the Mini- and Mainframes of the day. Now, personal-scale computing is so common that the "Micro-" part can be left off. Clusters of microcomputers are even stealing the large scale jobs from Mainframes.

Can someone confirm the accuracy of this definition of the word's origin? It seems to conflict with the meaning given in the opening paragraph.

Fourohfour 17:47, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

What's the contradiction? The microprocessor was named after the microcomputer, after all ...--QEDquid 01:31, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

The article states in the intro that "a microcomputer (sometimes shortened to micro[1]) is most often taken to mean a computer with a microprocessor (µP) as its CPU"; this is circular. Fourohfour 18:29, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

A microcomputer is a computer based on a microprocessor. There were desktop minicomputers like the DataPoint that were never called microcomputers, because they weren't based on microprocessors. On the other hand, the earliest microcomputers looked a lot like minicomputers, but most people called them micros. Some of the minicomputer vendors built micro versions of their CPUs, like the MicroNova and the MicroVAX, they didn't try to call them minicomputers, for the most part they wanted to clearly distinguish between these micro versions and their 'real' computers. Since around the late 90's even "mainframes" are built from microprocessors, and so are technically microcomputers. Today, every computer made is technically a microcomputer. The manufacturers don't want you to think about the fact that the microprocessors in your superexpensive proprietary gigacomputer are pretty much the same as those used in certain video game consoles, so they try to make them look more like the old minis and superminis. 74s181 00:53, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

BTW, I'm pretty sure that the microprocessor was not named after the microcomputer. The name 'microprocessor' comes from 'microchip' and 'central processing unit' or 'central processor'. 74s181 00:53, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for your input; although, with respect, I'm not sure that your changes to the article were to correct errors so much as simply normal edits. I could argue that the Intel 8080 (as in the Altair) *is* simply a close descendant of the 4004 (the "first" microprocessor, which *was* designed for a calculator), but I'll leave that unless I come across any Intel 4004-based machines. Fourohfour 17:26, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] References

Regarding the use of {{ref}} and <ref />; please note that both are used, to keep footnotes and citations separate. If you disagree with this style, please discuss here first. Thank you. Fourohfour 14:00, 23 November 2006 (UTC)