
Computer System Components 3
ers got smaller and smaller to the size of today’s home computer, which packs more
computing power than the big-name machines of yesteryears. The trend in being able
to pack more and more electronic circuitry in a small space was clearly foreseen by Intel
cofounder Gordon Moore in 1965, who predicted that the capacity to pack will double
every two years; his prediction is known as Moore’s Law.
The first portable computer, Osborne I, was built in 1981; it weighed 24 pounds. In the
same year, IBM introduced its personal computer (PC), and it was soon followed by
personal computers from other manufacturers. For the f ...