Compaq Computer Corporation was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced some of the first IBM PC compatible computers, being the second company after Columbia Data Products to legally reverse engineer the BIOS of the IBM Personal Computer. It rose to become the largest supplier of PC systems during the 1990s before being overtaken by Dell in 2001. Struggling to keep up in the price wars against Dell, as well as with a risky acquisition of DEC, Compaq was acquired for US$25 billion by HP in 2002. The Compaq brand remained in use by HP for lower-end systems until 2013 when it was discontinued. Since 2013, the brand is currently licensed to third parties for use on electronics in Brazil and India.
A motherboard is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expandable systems. It holds and allows communication between many of the crucial electronic components of a system, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and memory, and provides connectors for other peripherals. Unlike a backplane, a motherboard usually contains significant sub-systems, such as the central processor, the chipset's input/output and memory controllers, interface connectors, and other components integrated for general use.
IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones. The term "IBM PC compatible" is now a historical description only, since IBM no longer sells personal computers after it sold its personal computer division in 2005 to Chinese technology company Lenovo. The designation "PC", as used in much of personal computer history, has not meant "personal computer" generally, but rather an x86 computer capable of running the same software that a contemporary IBM PC could. The term was initially in contrast to the variety of home computer systems available in the early 1980s, such as the Apple II, TRS-80, and Commodore 64. Later, the term was primarily used in contrast to Apple's Macintosh computers.
Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies.
Packard Bell Electronics, Inc. was an American computer company independently active from 1986 to 1996, now a Dutch-registered computer manufacturing brand and subsidiary of Acer Inc. The company was founded in 1986, after Israeli-American investors bought the trademark rights to the Packard Bell Corporation from Teledyne. The investors wanted to name their newly formed personal computer manufacturing company producing discount computers in the North American markets.
Seagate Technology Holdings plc is an American data storage company. It was incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology and commenced business in 1979. Since 2010, the company has been incorporated in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Fremont, California, United States.
Acer Inc. is a Taiwanese multinational company that produces computer hardware and electronics, headquartered in Xizhi, New Taipei City. Its products include desktop PCs, laptop PCs, tablets, servers, storage devices, virtual reality devices, displays, smartphones and peripherals, as well as gaming PCs and accessories under its Predator brand. As of 2024, Acer is the world's sixth-largest personal computer vendor by unit sales.
Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. is a Taiwanese multinational information technology corporation headquartered in New Taipei City, Taiwan. It designs, develops and provides computer hardware, related products and services, including laptops, desktops, motherboards, graphics cards, all-in-one PCs, servers, industrial computers, PC peripherals, car infotainment products, among other products.
Dixons Retail plc was one of the largest consumer electronics retailers in Europe, which merged with Carphone Warehouse in 2014 to create Dixons Carphone. In the United Kingdom, the company operated Currys, Currys Digital, PC World, Dixons Travel and its service brand Knowhow.
Evesham Technology was a computer manufacturing and retail company based in Evesham, Worcestershire, England. It began operations in 1983 and closed in 2008 following financial difficulties. It was a significant contributor to the United Kingdom's domestic computer and digital television market. Its assets grew to include a factory and warehouse complex, and a chain of 19 retail stores in towns and cities throughout the UK, with around 300 employees. The company was founded in 1983 by Richard Austin and Robert (Bob) Hitchcock as Evesham Micros, to be briefly known as Evesham.com and finally as Evesham Technology. Austin continued as chairman and controlling shareholder until the company and its much reduced, short-lived successor, Geemore Technology Ltd, went into liquidation.
Apricot Computers was a British electronic company that produced desktop personal computers in the mid-1980s.
Corsair Gaming, Inc. is an American computer peripherals and hardware company based in Milpitas, California. Previously Corsair Components and Corsair Memory, it was incorporated in California in January 1994 as Corsair Microsystems and reincorporated in Delaware in 2007. It designs and sells a range of computer products, including high-speed DRAM modules, power supplies (PSUs), USB flash drives (UFDs), CPU/GPU and case cooling, gaming peripherals, computer cases, solid-state drives (SSDs), and speakers.
Granville Technology Group Ltd was a British computer retailer and manufacturer based in Simonstone, near Burnley, Lancashire, marketing its products under the brand names Time, Tiny, Colossus, Omega and MJN.
Intel vPro technology is an umbrella marketing term used by Intel for a large collection of computer hardware technologies, including VT-x, VT-d, Trusted Execution Technology (TXT), and Intel Active Management Technology (AMT). When the vPro brand was launched, it was identified primarily with AMT, thus some journalists still consider AMT to be the essence of vPro.
Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) is hardware and firmware for remote out-of-band management of select business computers, running on the Intel Management Engine, a microprocessor subsystem not exposed to the user, intended for monitoring, maintenance, updating, and repairing systems. Out-of-band (OOB) or hardware-based management is different from software-based management and software management agents.
A personal computer, often referred to as a PC, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as word processing, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and gaming. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or technician. Unlike large, costly minicomputers and mainframes, time-sharing by many people at the same time is not used with personal computers. The term home computer has also been used, primarily in the late 1970s and 1980s. The advent of personal computers and the concurrent Digital Revolution have significantly affected the lives of people in all countries.
RM plc is a British company that specialises in providing information technology products and services to educational organisations and establishments. Its key market is UK education including schools, colleges, universities, government education departments and educational agencies.
Commodore USA, LLC was a computer company based in Pompano Beach, Florida, with additional facilities in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Commodore USA, LLC was founded in April 2010. The company's goal was to sell a new line of PCs using the classic Commodore and Amiga name brands of personal computers, having licensed the Commodore brand from Commodore Licensing BV on August 25, 2010 and the Amiga brand from Amiga, Inc. on August 31, 2010.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. is a Taiwanese multinational computer, phone hardware and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan. Its products include desktop computers, laptops, netbooks, mobile phones, networking equipment, monitors, Wi-Fi routers, projectors, motherboards, graphics cards, optical storage, multimedia products, peripherals, wearables, servers, workstations and tablet PCs. The company is also an original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
Advanced Logic Research, Inc. (ALR), was an American computer company founded in 1984 in Irvine, California by Gene Lu. The company marketed IBM PC compatibles across that standard's evolution until 1997 when it was acquired by Gateway 2000.
