personal computer

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personal computer A general-purpose single-user microcomputer designed to be operated by one person at a time (see also PC). Personal computers range from cheap domestic or hobby machines with limited memory and program storage and an ordinary TV as the display device, to extremely sophisticated machines with powerful processors, large-capacity disk storage, high-resolution color-graphics systems, high-speed network interfaces, and many other options. In scientific, engineering, and business environments the personal computer has superseded the terminal connected to a time-sharing system, especially since communication ports and network connections allow transfers of data between the personal computer and other computers as well as client/server computing. The development of the personal computer is a consequence of the continually increasing ratio of computing power to cost, coupled with decreasing weight, size, and power consumption.

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