A desktop (a.k.a. desktop machine) is a multi-tasking computer system which is designed to sit on top of the desk of the user. It differs from the first personal computers in both size and sophistication. Desktop can also refer to an element of a graphical user interface, which is a virtual surface on which icons or windows can be arranged.
Today's technology is producing desktop computers which are multi- tasking, multi-media machines. They contrast greatly to the first personal computers, which were bulky and limited in function. Features now available for the desktop computer are graphical user interfaces, speakers, Internet connectability, CD ROM, sound boards, microphones, and enough RAM to run sophisticated multi-media tasks.
Although not the first computer corporation to design the graphical user interface, Apple Computer revolutionized the look and feel of desktop computers by employing a graphics/text interface to the Apple II in 1977. The Apple II was also the first computer to have a color display. A graphical user interface allows users to manipulate activities on the computer by use of a mouse or some other external pointer. This is in contrast to systems that require the user to type commands into the keyboard. The PC program DOS utilized this method of user input, called "command line interface."
Many PC users now have access to a graphical user interface. The PC platform Windows provides many of the same features previously found only on Macintosh computers. In addition, graphical user interface software exists for UNIX machines as well.