Personal computer

In 1975 the Altair 8800 sells as a kit and starts a hobbyist market. In 1976 Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs sell the Apple I. In 1977 the Apple II, the Commodore PET, and the TRS-80 are machines a person can buy assembled. The card uses 1976 as the middle of that birth.

The contribution is one computer per person, not one computer per university or company. Software becomes an industry of individuals. Spreadsheets and word processors, in the next few years, are why offices buy the machines. The internet later assumes millions of these endpoints.

A personal computer is a microprocessor, memory, a keyboard, and a screen. It adds no new physics. It adds a price and a size that fit a desk. That is a manufacturing achievement on top of the 4004's idea.

IBM's PC in 1981 is what standardizes the office machine. 1976 is the start, not the standard.