17 May
2005
17 May
'05
3:52 p.m.
At 02:53 PM 5/17/05 -0700, Fred wrote:
There have been MANY attempts to draw the lines
separating those divisions
that were created by marketing. They have included lines based on
performance, CPU configuration, capacity, RAM configuration, price, etc.
One "obsolete" definition from my time period was:
A "Microcomputer" is one that you can pick up and carry.
A "Minicomputer" requires a hand truck.
A "Mainframe" requires a fork lift and a union moving crew.
Now they've all taken a step down.
A microcomputer is something you wear (cell phone, PDA, calculator watch,
etc)
A minicomputer can be carried comfortably in one hand (Palmtop up to laptop)
A mainframe occupies the space of a large book!
Joe