Workstations
Advances in computer technology, such as IBM’s personal computer introduced
in 1981, dramatically changed this situation. Now it was possible to
have a powerful computer right in the office and for far less money. What
is more, all its resources and power were under the control of, and totally
available to, its user. As people began to move toward personal computing,
computer manufacturers built more powerful workstations. Soon, these
powerful workstations became small enough to be easily moved, promoting
the idea of “mobile computing.” Today, laptop computers easily allow computer
technology to be available at the point of care (Fig. 2.5) (see Chapter 7
for more discussion).
Stand-alone
By “stand-alone” we mean that all the pieces of a computer that are needed
to gather, process, display, possibly store, and provide an output of the information
are physically connected; moreover, if needed, they can be moved as
a complete unit to another location. This is the usual setup for most home
and small business computer systems. Such a setup is inexpensive and quite
simple to manage. Although it makes sense to use a “stand-alone” computer,
it is often better for a computer to be part of a network.