Editing Microcomputer (section)

== Origins ==
The term ''microcomputer'' came into popular use after the introduction of the [[minicomputer]], although [[Isaac Asimov]] used the term in his short story "[[The Dying Night]]" as early as 1956 (published in ''[[The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction|The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction]]'' in July that year).<ref>{{cite journal|last=Asimov|first=Isaac|title=The Dying Night|journal=The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction|date=July 1956}}</ref> Most notably, the microcomputer replaced the many separate components that made up the minicomputer's CPU with one integrated microprocessor [[integrated circuit|chip]].

In 1973, the French [[Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique]] (INRA) was looking for a computer able to measure agricultural [[hygrometry]]. To answer this request, a team of French engineers of the computer technology company R2E, led by its Head of Development, [[François Gernelle]], created the first available microprocessor-based microcomputer, the [[Micral]] N. The same year the company filed their patents with the term "Micro-ordinateur", a literal equivalent of "Microcomputer", to designate a solid state machine designed with a microprocessor.

In the US the earliest models such as the [[Altair 8800]] were often sold as kits to be assembled by the user, and came with as little as 256 [[byte]]s of [[random-access memory|RAM]], and no [[input/output]] devices other than indicator lights and switches, useful as a [[proof of concept]] to demonstrate what such a simple device could do.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ceruzzi|first=Paul|title=Computing: a concise history|year=2012|publisher=MIT Press|location=Cambridge, MA|isbn=9780262517676|page=105}}</ref> 
As microprocessors and [[semiconductor memory]] became less expensive, microcomputers grew cheaper and easier to use.
* Increasingly inexpensive logic chips such as the [[7400 series]] allowed cheap dedicated circuitry for improved [[user interface]]s such as [[Keyboard (computing)|keyboard]] input, instead of simply a row of switches to toggle bits one at a time.
* Use of [[audio cassette]]s for inexpensive [[data storage]] replaced manual re-entry of a program every time the device was powered on.
* Large cheap arrays of silicon [[logic gates]] in the form of [[read-only memory]] and [[EPROM]]s allowed utility programs and self-[[booting]] [[kernel (operating system)|kernel]]s to be stored within microcomputers. These [[stored program]]s could automatically load further more complex software from external storage devices without user intervention, to form an inexpensive [[turnkey system]] that does not require a computer expert to understand or to use the device.
* [[Random-access memory]] became cheap enough to afford dedicating approximately 1–2 kilobytes of memory to a [[video display controller]] [[frame buffer]], for a 40x25 or 80x25 text display or blocky color graphics on a common household [[television]]. This replaced the slow, complex, and expensive [[teletypewriter]] that was previously common as an interface to minicomputers and mainframes.
All these improvements in cost and usability resulted in an explosion in their popularity during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
A large number of computer makers packaged microcomputers for use in small business  applications. By 1979, many companies such as [[Cromemco]], [[Processor Technology]], [[IMSAI]], [[North Star Computers]], [[SWTPC|Southwest Technical Products Corporation]], [[Ohio Scientific]], [[Altos Computer Systems]], [[Morrow Designs]] and others produced systems designed for resourceful end users or consulting firms to deliver business systems such as accounting, database management and word processing to small businesses. This allowed businesses unable to afford leasing of a minicomputer or [[time-sharing]] service the opportunity to automate business functions, without (usually) hiring a full-time staff to operate the computers. A representative system of this era would have used an [[S100 bus]], an [[8-bit computing|8-bit]] processor such as an [[Intel 8080]] or [[Zilog Z80]], and either [[CP/M]] or [[MP/M]] operating system.
The increasing availability and power of [[desktop computer]]s for personal use attracted the attention of more software developers.  As the industry matured, the market for [[personal computer]]s standardized around [[IBM PC compatible]]s running [[DOS]], and later [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]. Modern desktop computers, [[video game console]]s, [[laptop]]s, [[tablet computer|tablet PC]]s, and many types of [[handheld device]]s, including [[mobile phone]]s, pocket [[calculator]]s, and industrial [[embedded system]]s, may all be considered examples of microcomputers according to the definition given above.