The innovation I have decided to look at through the lens of the Diffusion Theory is the development of the Personal computer.
The history of the Personal Computer, or PC, starts with two men in their garage in 1939. David Packard and Bill Hewlett built the HP 200A Audio Oscillator. It was a low-distortion audio oscillator used for testing sound equipment. This was the first semblance of a real computer.
The Altair was the first-ever personal computer invented in 1974. It was made by a small company called MITS. This was the beginning of the early adapters stage in the innovation timeline as there were not many people buying the computer for themselves. Many people who bought the computer were computer hobbyists/enthusiasts.
1997 is when the personal computer business skyrocketed. There were 3 PC's mass-produced this year, Apple Computer, Inc.’s Apple II, the Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80, and the Commodore Business Machines Personal Electronic Transactor (PET). These personal computers were much less expensive to buy than mainframe computers so they were perfect for the everyday person. They could be purchased by individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, and primary and secondary schools.
During the early 1980s, there was further development of computers for household use, with software for personal productivity, programming, and games. The US saw a rise in home computer and personal computer sales. There were an estimated 621,000 home computers in American households in 1982. This was the early majority time period for personal computers.
The personal computer quickly made itself a household name. Time magazine called 1982 “The Year of the Computer” as the industry grew up. Anyone purchasing a personalized computer after 1995 would have been in the late adopters status with 51% of households having a home or personal computer.
Now it is pretty common that almost every person has a PC of their own. Many students in high schools are given computers to take home for their assignments, and many college students rely on their own computers during covid for classes and homework.
https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/
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