The world's first modern computer was the ENIAC which weighed 27 tons and required 1800 square feet of floor space. Because of its size, the idea of a personal computer (PC) was considered impossible. The road to the creation of the PC began to materialize with the creation of the minicomputer. Its creator Gordon Bell has died on May 17th due to watery lung disease at the age of 89.
Gordon Bell was born in 1934 in Missouri, United States. From the beginning he was involved in his father's electrical equipment business before receiving a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
While working at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) he was involved in producing the PDP-8 minicomputer which was the first minicomputer that was successfully sold in large numbers and sold at an affordable price of $18,000 apiece. The PDP-8 is labeled as a minicomputer because it is only 10.5 x 19 x 24 inches in size. Advances in minicomputer technology paved the way for the creation of smaller desktop PCs and now portable computers in your hands now.
In addition to being the creator of the minicomputer, the late Bell was also the founder of The Computer Museum which is now known as the Computer History Museum located in Mountain View, California.