Desktop personal computers have become so ubiquitous that they have tended to eclipse other types of computers in the public consciousness. This is true of a laboratory PCR, spectrometer, x-ray or MRI instrument. The computers that run these instruments are based on architectures that differ from the personal computer in that they emphasize signal processing, rather than word processing. Originally, the desktop computer architecture was constructed to communicate, store and process language as represented by typed alphanumeric characters. As graphical user interfaces and graphics design became important on the desktop, the numerical processing power of the personal computer was improved to support the geometric calculations needed for computer graphics.
Signal processing requires special performance by special architectures.
There has been a vigorous competition among computer manufacturers to produce processor architectures to meet these needs, and a small number emerged successfully in the marketplace. The leading manufacturers are Texas Instruments and Motorola, who dominate the telecommunications and control applications. To some extent, there is competition for applications between general-purpose computers and dedicated embedded processors, both of which may be manufactured in very large numbers to meet demand. Often, the choice of which processor is most appropriate for a given job comes down to which is easiest to program and support. In the absence of a universal programming language for embedded processors, this factor will tend to drive toward the general-purpose, ubiquitous desktop computer for all applications.