Alegacy-free PCis a type ofpersonal computerthat lacks afloppyoroptical disc drive,legacy ports,and anIndustry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus (or sometimes, any internal expansion bus at all). According toMicrosoft,"The basic goal for these requirements is that the operating system, devices, and end users cannot detect the presence of the following: ISA slots or devices; legacyfloppy disk controller(FDC); andPS/2,serial,parallel,andgame ports."[1]The legacy ports are usually replaced withUniversal Serial Bus(USB) ports. A USB adapter may be used if an older device must be connected to a PC lacking these ports.[2]According to the 2001 edition of Microsoft'sPC System Design Guide,a legacy-free PC must be able to boot from a USB device.[3]
Removing older, usually bulkier ports and devices allows a legacy-free PC to be much more compact than earlier systems[4]and many fall into thenettoporall-in-oneform factor.Netbooksandultrabookscould also be considered a portable form of a legacy-free PC. Legacy-free PCs can be more difficult to upgrade than a traditionalbeige boxPC, and are more typically expected to be replaced completely when they become obsolete.[5]Many legacy-free PCs include modern devices that may be used to replace ones omitted, such as amemory card readerreplacing the floppy drive.
As the first decade of the 21st century progressed, the legacy-free PC went mainstream, with legacy ports removed from commonly available computer systems in all form factors. However, the PS/2 keyboard connector still retains some use, as it can offersome uses(e.g. implementation ofn-key rollover) not offered by USB.[6]
With those parts becoming increasingly rare on newer computers as of the late 2010s and early 2020s, the term "legacy-free PC" itself has also become increasingly rare.
History
editLate 1980s
editIn 1987,IBMreleased theIBM PS/2line with newinternal architecture;[7]theBIOSand the newPS/2 portandVGAport was introduced, but this line was heavily criticized for a relatively high-closed proprietary architecture and low compatibility with PC-cloned hardware.[8]
1990s
editIn 1998, Apple'siMac G3was introduced as the first widely known example of a legacy-free PC,[9][10][11]and drew much criticism for its lack of legacy peripherals such as a floppy drive andApple Desktop Bus(ADB) connector;[12]However, its success popularized USB ports.
Compaq released theiPaq desktopin 1999.
From November 1999 to July 2000, Dell'sWebPCwas an early less-successfulWintellegacy-free PC.
2000s
edit
More legacy-free PCs were introduced around 2000 after the prevalence ofUSBandbroadband internetmade many of the older ports and devices obsolete.[13]They largely took the form of low-end, consumer systems[2]with the motivation of making computers less expensive, easier to use, and more stable and manageable. TheDell StudioHybrid,Asus Eee BoxandMSI Wind PCare examples of later, more-successful Intel-based legacy-free PCs.
Apple introduced theApple Modemon October 12, 2005 and removed the internal 56K modem on new computers. TheMacBook Air,introduced on January 29, 2008, also omits a built-inSuperDriveand wiredEthernetconnectivity that was available on all other Mac computers sold at the time. The SuperDrive would later be removed from all Macs by the end of 2016, and wired Ethernet would later be removed from all MacBook models. These removals were followed by other PC manufacturers who ship lightweight laptops.
Intel introduced theirLGA 775CPU socket in 2004, replacing their previous CPUs and sockets withPGApackaging.
2010s
editNorthbridge,southbridge,andFSBhave been replaced by more integrated architectures starting from early 2010s.
The relaunchedMacBookin 2015 dropped features such as theMagSafecharging port and theSecure Digital(SD)memory card reader.It only kept two types of ports: a3.5 mm audio jackand aUSB 3.1Type-Cport. This configuration later found its way in theMacBook Proin 2016, the only difference being that two or fourThunderbolt 3ports were included instead of just one. In addition, all MacBook Pro except for the entry-level model replaced thefunction keyswith a Touch Bar. These changes led to criticism because many users used the features that Apple had removed, yet this approach has been copied to various degree by some other laptop vendors. However, the 2021 MacBook Pro models once again include function keys and do not feature a Touch Bar, seemingly in response to the aforementioned poor reception.
The legacyBIOSwas replaced by theUnified Extensible Firmware Interface.PCIhas fallen out of favor, as it has been superseded byPCIe.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Microsoft.com".Microsoft.
- ^abScott Mueller (2003).Upgrading and Repairing PCs.Que Publishing. p.956.ISBN978-0-7897-2974-3.
- ^"What does" Legacy "mean in the world of computers?".Archived fromthe originalon 2018-09-26.Retrieved2011-01-04.
- ^InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. (21 August 2000).InfoWorld: The Desktop Revolution.InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. p. 40.ISSN0199-6649.
- ^InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. (21 August 2000).InfoWorld: The Desktop Revolution.InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. p. 39.ISSN0199-6649.
- ^"PS/2 Or USB? - Five Mechanical-Switch Keyboards: Only The Best For Your Hands".13 June 2011.
- ^BYTE editorial staff (June 1987)."The IBM PS/2 Computers".BYTE.p. 100.Retrieved5 November2013.
- ^"The IBM PS/2: 25 Years of PC History".PCWorld.2012-07-09.Retrieved2021-05-30.
- ^"Compaq hopes to follow the iMac".Archived fromthe originalon 2006-10-22.
- ^"The PC Follows iMac's Lead".Archived fromthe originalon May 26, 2000.
- ^Hearst Magazines (February 2001).Popular Mechanics: Making Connections.Hearst Magazines. p.59.ISSN0032-4558.
- ^"Eight ways the iMac changed computing".
- ^IDG Network World Inc (28 February 2000).Network World: New Breed of Legacy-free PCs is Easy to Love.IDG Network World Inc. p. 51.ISSN0887-7661.