WHAT’S A WORKSTATION (third)
A workstation welded wire mesh also differs from shared minicomputers or mainframes in graphics capablity. Workstations cram all types of pictures, symbols, and text from more than one application into individual “windows” on an oversized, high-resolution screen. But the price/performance ratio welded wire mesh may be one of the biggest differences between workstations and shared processing systems. Workstations first became practical with the emergence of powerful 32-bit microprecessors in the early 1980s. Because workstations are actually relatively small modular computing elements, they use common low-cost microprocessors and other circuitry. Mainframe and minicomputers, which operate much faster to serve all their users at once, must use exotic and far more expensive semiconductor technology and cooling welded wire mesh schemes.
On the low end, the distinction between personal computers and wordstations has begun to fade as Apple, IBM, Compaq, and others have introduced models that rival low-end workstations in power and graphics capability. The boundary will continue to erode to the point where, someday, most desktop computers will have enough power-including graphics and networking capabilities-to be called workstations. When that day comes, only the simplest of desktop computers will be called “personal computers”.