<P> In the history of computing there were many examples of computers designed to be used by one person, as opposed to terminals connected to mainframe computers . It took a while for computers to be developed that meet the modern definition of a "personal computers", one that is designed for one person, is easy to use, and is cheap enough for an individual to buy . </P> <P> Using the narrow definition of "operated by one person", the first personal computer was the ENIAC which became operational in 1946 . It did not meet further definitions of affordable or easy to use . </P> <P> An example of an early single - user computer was the LGP - 30, created in 1956 by Stan Frankel and used for science and engineering as well as basic data processing . It came with a retail price of $46,000 ‍--‌equivalent to about $414,000 today . </P> <P> Introduced at the 1965 New York Worlds Fair, the Programma 101 was a printing programmable calculator described in advertisements as a "desktop computer". It was manufactured by the Italian company Olivetti and invented by the Italian engineer Pier Giorgio Perotto, inventor of the magnetic card system for program storage . </P>

When was the first personal computer made available