Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
History of Computer
The History of Computers
| Computer History Year/Enter | Computer History Inventors/Inventions | Computer History Description of Event |
| Konrad Zuse - Z1 Computer | First freely programmable computer. | |
| John Atanasoff & Clifford Berry ABC Computer | Who was first in the computing biz is not always as easy as ABC. | |
| Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper Harvard Mark I Computer | The Harvard Mark 1 computer. | |
| John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly ENIAC 1 Computer | 20,000 vacuum tubes later... | |
| Frederic Williams & Tom Kilburn Manchester Baby Computer & The Williams Tube | Baby and the Williams Tube turn on the memories. | |
| John Bardeen, Walter Brattain & Wiliam Shockley The Transistor | No, a transistor is not a computer, but this invention greatly affected the history of computers. | |
| John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly UNIVAC Computer | First commercial computer & able to pick presidential winners. | |
| International Business Machines IBM 701 EDPM Computer | IBM enters into 'The History of Computers'. | |
| John Backus & IBM FORTRAN Computer Programming Language | The first successful high level programming language. | |
| Stanford Research Institute, Bank of America, and General Electric ERMA and MICR | The first bank industry computer - also MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) for reading checks. | |
| Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce The Integrated Circuit | Otherwise known as 'The Chip' | |
| Steve Russell & MIT Spacewar Computer Game | The first computer game invented. | |
| Douglas Engelbart Computer Mouse & Windows | Nicknamed the mouse because the tail came out the end. | |
| ARPAnet | The original Internet. | |
| Intel 1103 Computer Memory | The world's first available dynamic RAM chip. | |
| Faggin, Hoff & Mazor Intel 4004 Computer Microprocessor | The first microprocessor. | |
| Alan Shugart &IBM The "Floppy" Disk | Nicknamed the "Floppy" for its flexibility. | |
| Robert Metcalfe & Xerox The Ethernet Computer Networking | Networking. | |
| Scelbi & Mark-8 Altair & IBM 5100 Computers | The first consumer computers. | |
| Apple I, II & TRS-80 & Commodore Pet Computers | More first consumer computers. | |
| Dan Bricklin & Bob Frankston VisiCalc Spreadsheet Software | Any product that pays for itself in two weeks is a surefire winner. | |
| Seymour Rubenstein & Rob Barnaby WordStar Software | Word Processors. | |
| IBM The IBM PC - Home Computer | From an "Acorn" grows a personal computer revolution | |
| Microsoft MS-DOS Computer Operating System | From "Quick And Dirty" comes the operating system of the century. | |
| Apple Lisa Computer | The first home computer with a GUI, graphical user interface. | |
| Apple Macintosh Computer | The more affordable home computer with a GUI. | |
| Microsoft Windows | Microsoft begins the friendly war with Apple. | |
| SERIES | TO BE | CONTINUED |
The History of the Computer
Prehistoric man did not have the Internet, but it appears that he needed a way to count and make calculations. The limitations of the human body’s ten fingers and ten toes apparently caused early man to construct a tool to help with those calculations. Scientists now know that humankind invented an early form of computers. Their clue was a bone carved with prime numbers found in 8,500 BC.The abacus was the next leap forward in computing between 1000 BC and 500 BD. This apparatus used a series of moveable beads or rocks. The positions changed to enter a number and again to perform mathematical operations. Leonardo DaVinci was credited with the invention of the world’s first mechanical calculator in 1500. In 1642, Blaise Pascal’s adding machine upstaged DaVinci’s marvel and moved computing forward again.
In 19th century England, Charles Babbage, a mathematician, proposed the construction of a machine that he called the Babbage Difference Engine. It would not only calculate numbers, it would also be capable of printing mathematical tables. The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA (near San Diego) built a working replica from the original drawings. Visitors can see in the device in operation there. Unable to construct the actual device, he earned quite a few detractors among England’s literate citizens. However, Babbage made a place for himself in history as the father of computing. Not satisfied with the machines limitations, he drafted plans for the Babbage Analytical Engine. He intended for this computing device to use punch cards as the control mechanism for calculations. This feature would make it possible for his computer to use previously performed calculations in new ones.
Babbage’s idea caught the attention of Ada Byron Lovelace who had an undying passion for math. She also saw possibilities that the Analytical Machine could produce graphics and music. She helped Babbage move his project from idea to reality by documenting how the device would calculate Bernoulli numbers. She later received recognition for writing the world’s first computer program. The United States Department of Defense named a computer language in her honor in 1979.
The computers that followed built on each previous success and improved it. In 1943, the first programmable computer Turing COLOSSUS appeared. It was pressed into service to decipher World War II coded messages from Germany. ENIAC, the brain, was the first electronic computer, in 1946. In 1951, the U.S. Census Bureau became the first government agency to buy a computer, UNIVAC .
The Apple expanded the use of computers to consumers in 1977. The IBM PC for consumers followed closely in 1981, although IBM mainframes were in use by government and corporations.
- 8,500 BC Bone carved with prime numbers found
- 1000 BC to 500 BC Abacus invented
- 1642 Blaise Pascal’s invented adding machine, France
- 1822 Charles Babbage drafted Babbage Difference Engine, England
- 1835 Babbage Analytical Engine proposed, England
- 1843 Ada Byron Lovelace computer program to calculate Bernoulli numbers, England
- 1943 Turing COLOSSUS the first programmable computer, England
- 1946 ENIAC first electronic computer, U.S.A.
- 1951 UNIVAC first computer used by U.S. government, U.S.A.
- 1969 ARPANET Department of Defense lays groundwork for Internet, U.S.A.
- 1968 Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce found in Intel, U.S.A.
- 1977 Apple computers for consumers sold, U.S.A.
- 1981 IBM personal computers sold, U.S.A.
- 1991 World Wide Web consumer Internet access, CERN, Tim Berners-Lee Switzerland/France
- 2000 Y 2K Bug programming errors discovered
- Current Technologies include word processing, games, email, maps, and streaming
Friday, March 11, 2011
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