
Soon after, long-established computer companies like IBM and Texas Instruments jumped into the PC market, and new brands like Commodore and Atari jumped into the game. The Apple II, from inventors Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, proved that there was a demand for computers in homes and schools.

While the Altair 8800 was the first real personal computer, it was the release of the Apple II a couple of years later that signaled the start of the PC as a sought-after home appliance. Thus, the era of the personal computer began. Popular Electronics ran a story about the kit in its January 1975 issue, and to the surprise of just about everyone, the kits became an instant hit. Roberts called his computer the Altair 8800 and sold the unassembled kits for $395. PCs trace their history back to the 1970s when a man named Ed Roberts began to sell computer kits based on a microprocessor chip designed by Intel.

has certain common internal components described in this article, like a CPU and RAM.runs an operating system to interface between the user and the microprocessor.designed for use by one person at a time.
