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Microcomputer revolution
The microcomputer revolution (or personal computer revolution or digital revolution) is a phrase used to describe the rapid advances of microprocessor-based computers from esoteric hobby projects to a commonplace fixture of homes in industrial societies during the 1970s and 1980s. Prior to 1977, the only contact most of the population had with computers was through utility bills, bank and payroll services, or computer-generated junk mail. Within a decade, computers became common consumer goods.
The advent of affordable personal computers has had lasting impact on education, business, music, games, social interaction, and entertainment.
==Microprocessor and cost reduction==
The minicomputer ancestors of the modern personal computer used early integrated circuit (microchip) technology, which reduced size and cost, but they contained no microprocessor. This meant that they were still large and difficult to manufacture just like their mainframe predecessors. After the "computer-on-a-chip" was commercialized, the cost to manufacture a computer system dropped dramatically. The arithmetic, logic, and control functions that previously occupied several costly circuit boards were now available in one integrated circuit, making it possible to produce them in high volume. Concurrently, advances in the development of solid state memory eliminated the bulky, costly, and power-hungry magnetic core memory used in prior generations of computers.
After the 1971 introduction of the Intel 4004, microprocessor costs declined rapidly. In 1974 the American electronics magazine ''Radio-Electronics'' described the Mark-8 computer kit, based on the Intel 8008 processor. In January of the following year, ''Popular Electronics'' magazine published an article describing a kit based on the Intel 8080, a somewhat more powerful and easier to use processor. The Altair 8800 sold remarkably well even though initial memory size was limited to a few hundred bytes and there was no software available. However, the Altair kit was much less costly than an Intel development system of the time and so was purchased by hobbyists who formed users' groups, notably the Homebrew Computer Club, and companies interested in developing microprocessor control for their own products. Expansion memory boards and peripherals were soon listed by the original manufacturer, and later by plug compatible manufacturers. The very first Microsoft product was a 4 kilobyte paper tape BASIC interpreter, which allowed users to develop programs in a higher-level language. The alternative was to hand-assemble machine code that could be directly loaded into the microcomputer's memory using a front panel of toggle switches, pushbuttons and LED displays. While the hardware front panel emulated those used by early mainframe and minicomputers, after a very short time interaction through a terminal was the preferred human/machine interface, and front panels became extinct.
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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