Unit 4: Emerging Technologies A History of Personal Computing by Mrs. Ogletree
EVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGY Technology has been constantly changing
COMPUTER HISTORY Computers have been around for a very, very, very, long time! Computers were first known as humans that would perform calculations. The Worlds first computers! Photo: http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/computers/comp2.htm
ABACUS 4 th Century B.C. The abacus, a simple counting aid, may have been invented in Babylonia (now Iraq) in the fourth century B.C. This device allows users to make computations using a system of sliding beads arranged on a rack.
BLAISE PASCAL (1623-1662) In 1642, the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal invented a calculating device that would come to be called the "Adding Machine".
First Functional Computer Designed for Navigational Calculation for ships. Very Impractical to use! Charles Babbage (1791 1871) Differential Engine
Charles Babbage Born in 1791, Charles Babbage was an English mathematician and professor. In 1822, he persuaded the British government to finance his design to build a machine that would calculate tables for logarithms. With Charles Babbage's creation of the "Analytical Engine", (1833) computers took the form of a general purpose machine.
HOWARD AIKEN (1900-1973) Aiken thought he could create a modern and functioning model of Babbage's Analytical Engine. He succeeded in securing a grant of 1 million dollars for his proposed Automatic Sequence Calculator; the Mark I for short. From IBM. In 1944, the Mark I was "switched" on. Aiken's colossal machine spanned 51 feet in length and 8 feet in height. 500 meters of wiring were required to connect each component.
HOWARD AIKEN (1900-1973) The Mark I did transform Babbage's dream into reality and did succeed in putting IBM's name on the forefront of the burgeoning computer industry. From 1944 on, modern computers would forever be associated with digital intelligence.
The ENIAC 1943 Short for Electrical Numerical Integrator and Calculator, was developed by the US Government to fill the increasing need for computer capacity to calculate trajectory tables and other essential data.
ENIAC It could perform nuclear physics calculations (in two hours) which it would have taken 100 engineers a year to do by hand. The system's program could be changed by physically rewiring a panel.
The UNIVAC Inspired by the ENIAC Was used by the US census to calculate population data
Grace Murray Hopper (1906-1992) Invented the first Computer Language COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language)
DeBugging! Grace Murray Hopper found the first computer bug while working in a temporary World War I building at Harvard University on the Mark I computer where a moth had been beaten to death in the jaws of a relay. She glued it into the logbook of the computer and thereafter when the machine stops, the phrase that is commonly used is "debugging" the computer.
TRANSISTOR 1948 In the laboratories of Bell Telephone, John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley discovered the "transfer resistor"; later labeled the transistor. Advantages of the transistors: increased reliability 1/13 size of vacuum tubes consumed 1/20 of the electricity of vacuum tubes were a fraction of the cost
TRANSISTOR 1948 The birth of this tiny device had such a huge impact on and extensive implications for modern computers. In 1956, the transistor won its creators the Noble Peace Prize for their invention.
BASIC was well Basic Developed in 1964 by 2 grad students at Dartmouth First mainstream computer language 10 print"hello World!" 20 goto 10 Hello World
ALTAIR 1975 The invention of the transistor made computers smaller, cheaper and more reliable. Therefore, the stage was set for the entrance of the computer into the domestic realm (home use). In 1975, the age of personal computers commenced.
ALTAIR 1975 Under the leadership of Ed Roberts the Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Company (MITS) wanted to design a computer 'kit' for the home hobbyist.
ALTAIR 1975 What did the Altair do? Nothing! It gave computers enthusiasts something to do!
MICROSOFT 1974 In 1974 Bill Gates and Paul Allen developed Basic code that could be used to install programs on the Altair Remember BASIC already had been developed Gates and Allen revolutionized a way for the Altair to read BASIC programs from a tape code format
APPLE I 1976 Ed Roberts Altair inspired computer enthusiasts to experiment with creating their own computers Steve Wozniac and Steve Jobs began to develop the Apple I and started a company called Apple Computer Co. in 1976
APPLE I The Apple I was created in Steve Jobs Garage First one was built with a wooden case Sold for $600
APPLE II Steve Jobs decided to take the Apple to the market in 1977 Jobs and Steve Wozniac recreated the Apple for consumers with a new case Selling price base model: $598 (did not include a monitor or keyboard)
IBM (PC) 1981 On August 12, 1981 IBM announced its own personal computer. Using the 16 bit Intel 8088 microprocessor, allowed for increased speed and huge amounts of memory. Unlike the Altair that was sold as unassembled computer kits, IBM sold its "ready-made" machine through retailers and by qualified salespeople.
MACINTOSH (1984) Created by Apple Introduced in January 1984 it was an immediate success. The GUI (Graphical User Interface) made the system easy to use.
FROM THE APPLE TO THE PC As you can see from this point on personal computers would flourish By 2001 computers were in 51% of homes The computer revolution has occurred
Last thoughts Think about all the ways the computers have bettered our world What are some disadvantages of the digital age? Look around you and think about all of the things in the classroom and in your house that run on computers. (I bet there are more things than you think!)
BIBLIOGRAPHY Information was gathered from the following sites: http://www.pbs.org/nerds/timeline/micro.html (Triumph Of The Nerds) http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/computers/comp 2.htm (The Early History of Computers) http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/?year=1948 (Computer History Timeline)
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