A legacy-free PC is a type of

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tech ...

that lacks a floppy and/or

optical disc drive In computing, an optical disc drive is a disc drive that uses laser light or electromagnetic waves within or near the visible light spectrum as part of the process of reading or writing data to or from optical discs. Some drives can only r ...

legacy port In computing, a legacy port is a computer port or connector that is considered by some to be fully or partially superseded. The replacement ports usually provide most of the functionality of the legacy ports with higher speeds, more compact desig ...

s, and an

Industry Standard Architecture Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) is the 16-bit internal bus of IBM PC/AT and similar computers based on the Intel 80286 and its immediate successors during the 1980s. The bus was (largely) backward compatible with the 8-bit bus of the 80 ...

(ISA) bus (or sometimes, any internal expansion bus at all). According to

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...

, "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; legacy floppy disk controller (FDC); and PS/2, serial, parallel, and game ports." The legacy ports are usually replaced with

Universal Serial Bus Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply ( interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broa ...

(USB) ports. A USB adapter may be used if an older device must be connected to a PC lacking these ports. According to the 2001 edition of Microsoft's

PC System Design Guide The PC System Design Guide (also known as the PC-97, PC-98, PC-99, or PC 2001 specification) is a series of hardware design requirements and recommendations for IBM PC compatible personal computers, compiled by Microsoft and Intel Corporation dur ...

, a legacy-free PC must be able to boot from a USB device. Removing older, usually bulkier ports and devices allows a legacy-free PC to be much more compact than earlier systems and many fall into the

nettop A nettop (or miniature PC, Mini PC or Smart Micro PC) is a small-sized, inexpensive, low-power, legacy-free desktop computer designed for basic tasks such as web browsing, accessing web-based applications, document processing, and audio/vide ...

or all-in-one form factor.

Netbook Netbook was a commonly used term that identified a product class of small and inexpensive laptops which were sold from 2007 to around 2013. These machines were designed primarily as cost-effective tools for consumers to access the Inte ...

s and

ultrabook Ultrabook is a marketing term, originated and trademarked by Intel, for a category of high-end laptop computers. They were originally marketed as featuring ultra thin form factor and light weight design without compromising battery life or per ...

s could also be considered a portable form of a legacy-free PC. Legacy-free PCs can be more difficult to upgrade than a traditional beige box PC, and are more typically expected to be replaced completely when they become obsolete. Many legacy-free PCs include modern devices that may be used to replace ones omitted, such as a memory card reader replacing 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 offer some uses (e.g. implementation of ''n''-key rollover) not offered by USB. With those parts becoming increasingly rare on newer computers as of the late 2010s and early 2020s, the term "legacy-free PC" itself have also become increasingly rare.

History

Late 1980s

In 1987, IBM released the

IBM PS/2 The Personal System/2 or PS/2 is IBM's second generation of personal computers. Released in 1987, it officially replaced the IBM PC, XT, AT, and PC Convertible in IBM's lineup. Many of the PS/2's innovations, such as the 16550 UART (serial p ...

line with new internal architecture; the

BIOS In computing, BIOS (, ; Basic Input/Output System, also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, BIOS ROM or PC BIOS) is firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the ...

and the new

PS/2 port The PS/2 port is a 6-pin mini-DIN connector used for connecting keyboards and mice to a PC compatible computer system. Its name comes from the IBM Personal System/2 series of personal computers, with which it was introduced in 1987. The PS/2 m ...

and VGA port was introduced, but this line was heavily criticized for a relatively high-closed proprietary architecture and low compatibility with PC-cloned hardware. The first known as legacy-free notebook computer, released in 1988, was the

NEC UltraLite The NEC UltraLite was an MS-DOS-based laptop in a "notebook" size. It was introduced in October 1988 alongside the heavier and more-capable ProSpeed. PC Magazine featured the UltraLite on its cover in November 1988

laptop, which omitted integrated floppy and with limited internal storage, also can be described as Legacy-free machine.

1990s

In 1998, Apple's

iMac G3 The iMac G3, originally released as the iMac, is a series of Macintosh personal computers sold by Apple Computer from 1998 to 2003. The iMac was the first major new product release for Apple under Steve Jobs, Apple's interim CEO and cofounde ...

was introduced as the first widely known example of a legacy-free PC, and drew much criticism for its lack of legacy peripherals such as a floppy drive and

Apple Desktop Bus Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) is a proprietary bit-serial peripheral bus connecting low-speed devices to computers. It was introduced on the Apple IIGS in 1986 as a way to support low-cost devices like keyboards and mice, allowing them to be connec ...

(ADB) connector; However, its success popularized USB ports. Compaq released the iPaq desktop in 1999. From November 1999 to July 2000, Dell's

WebPC The WebPC was a short-lived personal computer designed by Dell Computer for the consumer market. The computer was designed to make it easy for home users to connect to the Internet. A small form factor machine, the WebPC was an early system in a ...

was an early less-successful

Wintel Wintel (portmanteau of Windows and Intel) is the partnership of Microsoft Windows and Intel producing personal computers using Intel x86-compatible processors running Microsoft Windows. Background By the early 1980s, the chaos and incompatib ...

legacy-free PC.

2000s

More legacy-free PCs were introduced around 2000 after the prevalence of USB and

broadband internet In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...

made many of the older ports and devices obsolete. They largely took the form of low-end, consumer systems with the motivation of making computers less expensive, easier to use, and more stable and manageable. The Dell Studio Hybrid, Asus Eee Box and MSI Wind PC are examples of later, more-successful Intel-based legacy-free PCs. Apple introduced the Apple Modem on October 12, 2005 and removed the internal 56K modem on new computers. The

MacBook Air The MacBook Air is a line of ultrabook computers developed and manufactured by Apple Inc. It consists of a full-size keyboard, a machined aluminum case, and, in the more modern versions, a thin light structure. The Air was originally positi ...

, introduced on January 29, 2008, also omits a built-in SuperDrive and wired

Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in ...

connectivity 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 their

LGA 775 LGA 775 (land grid array 775), also known as Socket T, is an Intel desktop CPU socket. Unlike PGA CPU sockets, such as its predecessor Socket 478, LGA 775 has no socket holes; instead, it has 775 protruding pins which touch contact points on th ...

CPU socket in 2004, replacing their previous CPUs and sockets with PGA packaging.

2010s

Northbridge, southbridge, and FSB have been replaced by more integrated architectures starting from early 2010s. The relaunched MacBook in 2015 dropped features such as the

MagSafe MagSafe is a series of proprietary magnetically attached power connectors developed by Apple Inc. for Mac laptops. MagSafe was introduced on January 10, 2006, in conjunction with the MacBook Pro, the first Intel-based Mac laptop, at the M ...

charging port and the

Secure Digital Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between Sa ...

(SD) memory card reader. It only kept two types of ports: a 3.5 mm audio jack and a USB 3.1 Type-C port. This configuration later found its way in the MacBook Pro in 2016, the only difference being that two or four

Thunderbolt 3 Thunderbolt is the brand name of a hardware interface for the connection of external peripherals to a computer. It has been developed by Intel, in collaboration with Apple. It was initially marketed under the name Light Peak, and first sold as ...

ports were included instead of just one. In addition, all MacBook Pro except for the entry-level model replaced the function keys with a Touch Bar. These changes led to criticism because many users used the features that Apple had removed, yet this approach have been copied to various degree by some other laptop vendors. However, the 2021 MacBook Pro models one again include function keys and do not feature a Touch Bar, seemingly in response to the aforementioned poor reception. The legacy

was replaced by the

Unified Extensible Firmware Interface UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is a set of specifications written by the UEFI Forum. They define the architecture of the platform firmware used for booting and its interface for interaction with the operating system. Examples ...

PCI PCI may refer to: Business and economics * Payment card industry, businesses associated with debit, credit, and other payment cards ** Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, a set of security requirements for credit card processors * Prov ...

has fallen out of favor, as it has been superseded by

PCIe PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), officially abbreviated as PCIe or PCI-e, is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard, designed to replace the older PCI, PCI-X and AGP bus standards. It is the common m ...

References