IT's Story for Computer Beginners

Desktop, laptop, netbook computer, and PC are all names for computers. Why do computers have so many different names?

Back when standard computers were so big that they could fill a room, desktop computers were known as minicomputers. The word “mini” was not a particularly accurate descriptor, but given the size of the other computers available at the time, people accepted it.

IBM 5100 (Photograph by Sandstein under CC BY-SA 3.0 (uploaded 2 September 2011)

Desktop computers became popular during the mid-1970s. In 1975, IBM introduced a “portable” computer. Nowadays, we tend to only use the word “portable” to refer to small-sized computers such as smartphones, but at the time, people would describe a large and heavy computer as “portable” because they could literally carry it.

In the 1980s, desktop computers started to be found in nearly every household. The IBM Personal Computer 5150 and the Apple Macintosh were popular at the time.

IBM PC 5150 Apple Macintosh

Photograph by Ruben de Rijcke under CC BY-SA 3.0 (uploaded 24 February 2010)
Photograph by w:User:Grm wnr CC BY-SA 2.5 IT (uploaded 4 Jan 2006)

In the mid-2000s, the computer paradigm shifted from desktops to laptops. A laptop computer is a small, lightweight computer that can be placed on your lap when in use. In the 2010s, a variety of laptop computers were introduced, which were designed to accommodate different user preferences.

For example, the Netbook was associated with low performance and a low price, the Ultrabook was very thin, while the Desknote featured a large screen and offered high performance. You don’t have to memorize all these different names, although it is important to recognize that the computers’ names were chosen to fit their specific features.

Today, with computers being considered home appliances, the modifier “smart” has begun to be included in their names. For instance, if a computer is included in a mobile phone, it is known as a smartphone.

In addition, the inclusion of a computer in a TV results in it being known as a smart TV. In this way, the computer has changed from being a “calculator” to being “smart.”