Hardware Model
The term often embraces laptop computers, but it may be used to refer only to floor-mounted towers and desktop cabinets with separate keyboards in contrast to portable laptops.
Platform
The term may refer to only Windows computers, the derivative of the original IBM "PC," or to personal computers in general, which includes Windows PCs, Macs and Linux PCs. See desktop computer.
![]() | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Video: Adobe unveils 'Project Genesis'
- At the Office 2.0 Conference in San Francisco, Matthias Zeller, product manager at Adobe, demonstrates a prototype of the enterprise desktop client called "Project Genesis." The new software allows business users to create custom workspaces by combining and sharing applications, video, Web sites, and office documents. by Larry Dignan
- Blog posts 2008-09-06
- Enterprise password management really isn't a good idea
- Enterprise password management really isn't a good ideaLastpas password manager a new alternative to roboform et. alAs a user of the service, lastpass has been developed to conform to user behavior making web browsing easier, faster and safer. On the security side and control side, Lastpass does all the encryption...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-06
- Microsoft's Seinfeld ads: what's the real agenda?
- Microsoft's Seinfeld ads: what's the real agenda?Wow....What keen insight. What a great article.Oh. Not.Perdue, Ioccoca, Seinfeld 4?If Lee Iococca can do ads for Chrysler and have a positive effective on the brand, then maybe BG is launching a new career in advertising and media and selling the MS...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-06
- Dell Inspiron Mini 9
- We've known for some time that Dell was working on a Netbook-style laptop--the same kind of small, low-power, inexpensive system made popular by Asus and the Eee PC line. And even though there are not many surprises in the new Inspiron Mini 9, it's still an excellent example of the...
- Product reviews 2008-09-05
- The Linux laptop goes to school
- This is not a PC you load with additional hardware, or much additional software. This is more like a cell phone, something you toss in your backpack and use on-the-run. by Dana Blankenhorn
- Blog posts 2008-09-05
- What went wrong with Joost's desktop client?
- What went wrong with Joost's desktop client?That explains it....The client was invisible to the user as a cost-saver, rather the cost savings were apparent to the video distributor. So, how does the client app make itself valuable? Joost had several interesting features besides this P2P media capability, but it also...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-05
- What went wrong with Joost's desktop client?
- The news broke today that Joost, the company which in a lot of ways was on the forefront of rich media, is canning its signature desktop client in favor of a purely web based portal. As a big proponent of desktop applications in general, and especially these hybrid applications which...
- Blog posts 2008-09-05
- Possible AMD Q4/08 desktop processor roadmap surfaces
- Possible AMD Q4/08 desktop processor roadmap surfacesUntil AMD can develop a product...that will perform as well as Intel's offering their roadmap doesn't really matter. They will be struggling in the market day after day. They can only keep market share by pricing wars with Intel. This will prevent them from...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-05
- Mainstream media writes Windows obit
- Mainstream media writes Windows obitMS should have never...killed off XP. Especially when such a huge segment of the market is tired of being forced fed what they do not want.This article makes a good point about users beginning to realize that as long as they can hit the web rather...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-05
- Adobe unveils 'Project Genesis'
- At the Office 2.0 Conference in San Francisco, Matthias Zeller, product manager at Adobe, demonstrates a prototype of the enterprise desktop client called "Project Genesis." The new software allows business users to create custom workspaces by combining and sharing applications, video, Web sites, and office documents.
- Videos 2008-09-05
- EA's 'Spore' aims to create new worlds, businesses
- EA's 'Spore' aims to create new worlds, businessesbesides just PC...besides just PC, Spore is coming for the Mac as well...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-05
- Mainstream media writes Windows obit
- Wow, a tough day for Windows. BusinessWeek reports that HP, the world's biggest PC company, is so troubled by Vista's 'tepid reception' and Apple's resurgence that it is developing its own operating system. Meanwhile a New York Times columnist writes on his blog that Windows is "already...
- Blog posts 2008-09-05
- The Office (2.0): No paper? No problem.
- I think I may have been the only person at this week's Office 2.0 conference using - gasp! - a pen and paper. There was no program "book" when I registered - the agenda was online only. And none of the exhibitors handed out press releases on paper - though...
- Blog posts 2008-09-05
- Possible AMD Q4/08 desktop processor roadmap surfaces
- CHW.net has published what seems to be on the face of it a convincing looking AMD Q4 08 processor roadmap that gives us a glimpse into what AMD has in-store for us over the coming months. by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
- Blog posts 2008-09-05
- Google Chrome vulnerabilities starting to pile up
- Google Chrome vulnerabilities starting to pile upGoogle Chrome vulnerabilities starting to pile upFile this in the "No Surprise" category. The shoddy programming at Google which has been reflected on many of their applications and services should come as no surprise to anyone on Chrome. Google is trying to live...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-05
- Red Hat draws its line in the virtual sand with Qumranet
- Red Hat draws its line in the virtual sand with QumranetKVM is solid and cleanA lot of it is marketing, but the technology is excellent and can dominate the virtual desktop. The issue comes down to VDI already being a cost effective product compared to stand alone desktops and...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-05
- From Chapter Two: The appliance computing culture
- From Chapter Two: The appliance computing cultureOverbroadYou wrote:[The appliance computing culture’s interactive] applications model drives almost everything, from processor and OS evolution to appropriate management structure - and even the conflicts with traditional business systems experts whose internal model of “automatic data processing” is broadly unrelated to the needs and...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-05
- Enterprise password management really isn't a good idea
- Being at a university and working for a government department allows me to understand this concept well. There are shared resources here, there and everywhere, provided by different people and providers, all open to a "certain type" of person - employees or students. By having a single sign-on SSO point...
- Blog posts 2008-09-05
- Seinfeld-Gates TV commercial ... vague, baffling and unfunny, but highly riffable!
- Seinfeld-Gates TV commercial ... vague, baffling and unfunny, but highly riffable!It was OKThe ID made me laugh. Not being a Seinfeld fan, I'll assume there were other jokes that I just didn't get.The Apple ads tell you as much about OSX as this did about Windows, but this ad...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-05
- Microsoft exec rebuts hypervisor security claims
- Microsoft security strategist Steve Riley has answered claims that the company's hypervisor software could be maliciously replaced on PCs without administrators knowing. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA--Senior Microsoft security strategist Steve Riley has used the vendor's TechEd conference in Sydney to rebut claims by a Polish researcher that Microsoft's hypervisor software could...
- News items 2008-09-05
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