ABSTRACT
Personal computers, either the desktop or the laptop versions, are probably the kind of microelectronic system most familiar to most people. They are known as microcomputers. There are more complicated systems, such as the workstations used by geologists, for example, to analyse seismic data when prospecting for oil. These come somewhere between microcomputers and the minicomputers used by medium-scale businesses. The most complex systems are the mainframe computers used by the largest businesses such as banks and airlines, or by researchers in highly technological applications such as aircraft design. But the distinctions between types of computers based on size are rapidly becoming out of date. The present day personal computer (PC) has far more power than the mainframes of, say, a decade ago. Also, a number of smaller computers can be networked to work together with the effective power of a super-computer.
