History Of Computer

 

The computer as we know it today had its beginning with a 19th century English mathematics professor name Charles Babbage.
He designed the Analytical Engine and it was this design that the basic framework of the computers of today are based on.

Generally speaking, computers can be classified into three generations. Each generation lasted for a certain period of time,and each gave us either a new and improved computer or an improvement to the existing computer.

First generation: 1937 – 1946 -  In 1937 the first electronic digital computer was built by Dr. John V. Atanasoff and Clifford Berry. It was called the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC). In 1943 an electronic computer name the Colossus was built for the military. Other developments continued until in 1946 the first general– purpose digital computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was built. It is said that this computer weighed 30 tons, and had 18,000 vacuum tubes which was used for processing. When this computer was turned on for the first time lights dim in sections of Philadelphia. Computers of this generation could only perform single task, and they had no operating system.
 
Second generation: 1947 – 1962 -  This generation of computers used transistors instead of vacuum tubes which were more reliable. In 1951 the first computer for commercial use was introduced to the public; the Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC 1). In 1953 the International Business Machine (IBM) 650 and 700 series computers made their mark in the computer world. During this generation of computers over 100 computer programming languages were developed, computers had memory and operating systems. Storage media such as tape and disk were in use also were printers for output.

Third generation: 1963 - present -  The invention of integrated circuit brought us the third generation of computers. With this invention computers became smaller, more powerful more reliable and they are able to run many different programs at the same time. In1980 Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-Dos) was born and in 1981 IBM introduced the personal computer (PC) for home and office use. Three years later Apple gave us the Macintosh computer with its icon driven interface and the 90s gave us Windows operating system.
 
The Industrial Revolution made work so much faster that people needed machines to help them keep track. Adding machines and cash registers helped them. Modern wars also required arms, ammunition and plans that were more precise than ever. Governments needed efficient and safe machines to store and process information. The computer was the answer.

Some questions may interest you to know a bit about it-

Question: What were the very first computers like?

Answer: The first mechanical computer was invented by Wilhelm Schickard in 1623. It was a calculating machine that could add and subtract six digit numbers. Charles Babbage is known as the father of computing. He designed the Difference Engine, which could calculate tables. In 1833, he invented the Analytical Machine, which could add in three seconds and multiply and divide in two to three minutes. Konrad Zuse, a German engineer, is called the inventor of the modern computer. He built automatic calculators that had memories and could show him the results of previous calculations. In 1936, he made Z1, a machine with a control, a memory, and a calculator. It was the first binary computer, which means it used the numbers 0 and 1 to carry out its calculations. Today’s computers are all binary – everything is finally translated to 0 and 1 for them. In 1941 Zuse also made Z3, the world’s first electronic, fully programmable digital computer.

Question: What was the 4004?

Answer: In 1971, scientists in Intel made the first single chip microprocessor. It was called Intel 4004. This put the central processing unit, memory, input and output controls on to one small chip. The development of personal computers became easier due to the chip. The first personal computer was sold in March 1974. The number of PCs multiplied many times in the 1990s with the development of the Internet.

Question: What is called mouse?

Answer: The mouse makes it easy to select the item that we want to use on screen. It was named the mouse because the thin wire that connects it to the computer looks like the tail of a mouse.

Question: Who invented the floppy disk?

Answer: A team of IBM engineers led by Alan Shugart invented the floppy disk in 1971.

Question: Who was Grace Hopper?

Answer: Grace Murray Hopper, nicknamed Amazing Grace, worked on the Harvard Mark I computer. She coined the term ‘bug’ for a computer fault, because a moth had led to a fault in the Mark I. She was also the first person to debug a computer.

Question: What was the first computer game?

Answer: The first computer game, called Spacewar, was invented in 1962. It was a two-player game. Each player controlled a spaceship and fired at each other.

Question: What is the internet?

Answer: The Internet is a worldwide network that is accessible to all computers with an Internet connection. This network allows computers from all over the world to communicate with one another, so that users have access to a bank of information. Now people can communicate with each other through e-mail on the Internet. They can also chat, share music, play with others, show photographs and write diaries for anyone in the world with Internet access to read. The Internet has created a ‘global community’ that was unimaginable just a few years ago.

We know, As a result of the various improvements to the development of the computer we have seen the computer being used in all areas of life. It is a very useful tool that will continue to experience new development as time passes.