ABSTRACT
Before the personal computer could become a machine for ordinary people in offices and homes, it had to become more useful and easier to use. The first goal was achieved by the development of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, and databases. Ease of use was improved by the development of the “graphical user interface,” which provided the now familiar windows, icons, mouse, and menus. Although these ideas were developed in the 1960s and 1970s at Xerox PARC, it was Apple that first exploited them in an affordable product, the Macintosh computer. Microsoft followed with its Windows operating system, which made IBM-compatible computers much easier to use. Domestic users, especially, also wanted content and interaction with the wider world. Content was provided by CD-ROMs that stored large volumes of information, especially encyclopedias. Connection and interaction were provided by bulletin boards, online “videotext” services, and commercial consumer networks such as CompuServe and America On-Line.
