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Minicomputers (colloquially, minis) are a class of multi-user computers that lie in the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the smallest mainframe computers and the largest single-user systems (microcomputers or personal computers).
A human computer, with microscope and calculator, 1952. It was not until the mid-20th century that the word acquired its modern definition; according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the word computer was in a different sense, in a 1613 book called The Yong Mans Gleanings by the English writer Richard Brathwait: "I haue [] read the truest computer of Times, and the best ...
Computer software can be put into categories based on common function, type, or field of use. There are three broad classifications: Application software is the general designation of computer programs for performing tasks.
Data General Nova, serial number 1, on display at the Computer History Museum. The term "minicomputer" developed in the 1960s [6] to describe the smaller computers that became possible with the use of transistors and core memory technologies, minimal instructions sets and less expensive peripherals such as the ubiquitous Teletype Model 33 ASR.
Apple II computer. Prior to the widespread use of microprocessors, a computer that could fit on a desk was considered remarkably small; the type of computers most commonly used were minicomputers, which, despite the name, were rather large and were "mini" only compared to the so-called "big iron".
IBM 704 mainframe at NACA in 1957. From 1952 into the late 1960s, IBM manufactured and marketed several large computer models, known as the IBM 700/7000 series.The first-generation 700s were based on vacuum tubes, while the later, second-generation 7000s used transistors.
Sharp PC-E500S pocket computer. A pocket computer is a class of handheld computer characterized by very short displays (typically accommodating only one or a handful of lines of text) and calculator-style alphanumeric keypads.
The K-202 was packaged in a metal box similar to other minicomputers in overall size, and capable of being fit into a 19-inch rack, which was common for other systems.Like most computers of the era, the front panel included a number of switches and lamps that could be used to directly set or read the values stored in main memory.