Uses of a Microcomputer

"Microcomputer" is the term coined in the 1970s for a personal computer. Until that point, computers had been bulky room-sized electronics; even the smallest models were the size of large cars. The microcomputer has many uses, especially in the home, in business and in the medical field.

Families use microcomputers for education; software can hold thousands of book volumes worth of information. Also, the first portable video games were built for the microcomputers. The home microcomputers paved the way for the invention of laptops.

Businesses took a huge leap forward in bookkeeping, inventory and communication when microcomputers were made readily available. An owner could have years of information at the tap of a button instead of going through multiple cabinets of documents and receipts. Information also can be saved to disks and shared among branches of a business, making the business able to trade inventory and update sales figures much faster than before.

The first microcomputer (dubbed the "Sac State 8008") was built specifically for storing medical records. Before microcomputers were available, medical records were stored in paper form. Microcomputers make it possible to download patients' medical histories.