PC

abbreviation (Science and Technology) Short for personal computer, a microcomputer designed for personal office or home use by a single user at any given time; specifically, such a computer designed and marketed by International Business Machines Corporation and known as the IBM PC. Etymology: The initial letters of Personal Computer. History and Usage: From 1982 until it was replaced by the PS2 series at the end of the eighties, the IBM PC was the acknowledged standard among 16-bit microcomputers, with the result that the abbreviation was very often used to refer to this particular model. Other computer manufacturers quickly set about copying the PC; such a model became known as a PC clone (sometimes simply a clone) or a PC-compatible (also used as an adjective). By the end of the decade, though, with IBM marketing the PS2, PC alone was regularly used again for any personal computer. A personal computer with a hard disc might be described as a PC XT (after the appropriate IBM model) and one with 'advanced technology' (using a more advanced chip) as a PC AT, on the same principle. BGL Technology's LaserLeader line of plotter/printer splits the responsibilities for the front-end work and graphics processing between an embedded PC AT and a graphics processor. UnixWorld Sept. 1989, p. 137 Choose a PC which has...a colour EGA (enhanced graphics adaptor) monitor which will be able to display the games and educational software, and has a resolution high enough for your word processing. Which? May 1990, p. 271