In its more general usage, a personal computer (PC) is a microcomputer 1 one person at a time. Prior to the PC, computers were designed for (and only affordable by companies who attached terminals for 2users to a single large computer whose resources were shared among all users. The advent of the era of the personal computer 3by Time magazine in 1982, when they broke with tradition by choosing the PC as their "Man of the Year." By the late 1980s, technology 4 made it feasible to build a small computer that an individual could own and use. The term "PC" has been traditionally used for use by an "IBM-compatible" personal computer in contradistinction to an Apple Macintosh back to the early years of 5. computer. The distinction is both technical and cultural and 6. personal computers, when IBM and Apple were the two major competitors. Originally, the "IBM- compatible" PC was one with an Intel microprocessor architecture and 7. DOS or Windows that was written to use that microprocessor. The Apple Macintosh uses Motorola mieroprocessor 8and a proprietary operating system. The "IBM- compatible" PC was associated with business and use, while the "Mac," known for its more intuitive user interface, was associated with 9.and desktop publishing. Although the such distinctions have become less 10. in recent years, people often still categorize a personal computer as either a PC or a Mac. According to Michael Dell, there were 240 million PCs sold worldwide in 2005.
