Old term for desktops and laptops, and a hint to this puzzle's theme

Usage examples of microcomputers.

Now many installations have several kinds of computers, including microcomputers, workstations, minicomputers, and mainframes.

The A-230 flew on the deadly edge of instability, every control surface monitored by its own bank of microcomputers, all hooked into the snakebrain flight-and-fire assistant with the twin black miloprene cables running front either side of his esophagus-getting off, oh, yes, when the cables snapped home and the airframe resonated through his nerves, his body singing with that identity, that power.