History of Computers

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History ofComputers
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Definition of Computer

• One who computes
• A device for making calculations
• A programmable electronic device that stores,
  retrieves, and processes information
• What was the first calculator or computer
  using the definition a device for making
  calculations

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Mechanical Calculators Part 1

• An abacus is a calculation tool, often
  constructed as a wooden frame with beads sliding
  on wires. It was in use centuries before the
  adoption of the written Hindu-Arabic numeral
  system and is still widely used by merchants and
  clerks in China and elsewhere.
• The origins of the abacus are disputed, as many
  different cultures have been known to have used
  similar tools. It is known to have existed in
  Babylonia and in China, with invention to have
  taken place between 2400 BC and 300 BC.

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Mechanical Calculators Part 2
The Antikythera Mechanism is from ancient Greece
(B.C.) X-ray examination shows 30 miniaturized
differential gears. The device was possibly used
for calculating the position of the Sun, moon,
and planets.
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Mechanical Calculators Part 3
Curta handheld mechanical calculator from
1948.

• Diagram of the Charles Babbage difference
  engine from 1819.

Blaise Pascals mechanical calculator from
1642.
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Mechanical Calculators Part 4

• The slide rule was invented by William Oughtred
  in 1625. The slide rule is based on Napier's
  ideas about logarithms - it has logarithmic
  scales that can be slid past each other to allow
  approximations to multiplication to be carried
  out quickly and easily.
• Slide rules were in continual use by scientists
  and mathematicians right up until to the
  introduction of the first handheld calculator by
  Hewlett Packard in 1972.

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First Vacuum Tube Computer - 1942

• The ENIAC was developed during the war to
  calculate ballistic tables.
• It contained 17,468 vacuum tubes, covered 1800
  square feet of floor space, weighed 30 tons,
  consumed 160 kilowatts of electrical power.
• In one second, the ENIAC could perform 5,000
  additions, 357 multiplications or 38 divisions.

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Transistors replaced Tubes
IBM 650 Business Computer

• Transistors, like vacuum tubes, provide
  amplification and switching. They can be used in
  radios, televisions, and also computers.
  Computers were made with transistors from 1954 -
  1959.

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The Integrated Circuit was invented in 1959
In 1959, the integrated circuit was invented
which allowed many transistors to be placed on a
single semiconductor material (silicon). From
1960 1963, almost all integrated circuits
produced were purchased by NASA for the Apollo
program. Beginning in the 1970s integrated
circuit technology was used to create the brains
of computers. These are known as
microprocessors or Central Processing Units (CPU).
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Intel began making CPUs for home computers
1993 Intel Pentium 1997 Intel Pentium II 1999
Intel Pentium III
1971 Intel 4004
1974 Intel 8080 1979 Intel 8088
2000Intel Pentium 4
1982 Intel 80286
2006Intel Core 2
1985 Intel 80386 1989 Intel 80486
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Industrial Revolution 1700 - 1900
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The Industrial Revolution was a period in the
late 18th and early 19th centuries when major
changes in agriculture, manufacturing, and
transportation had a profound effect on
socioeconomic and cultural conditions in Britain
and subsequently spread throughout Europe and
North America. The industrial revolution began an
era of per-capita economic growth in capitalist
economies.

• What were the effects of the technological
  advances?
• What happened to the price of the products?
• What about all the people put out of work by the
  machines? How do you protect yourself from
  losing your job to a machine or computer?

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Information Age

• Vast improvements in communication
• Computers are EVERYWHERE
• Instant access to all information from anywhere

1877Bell Telephone
2007Apple iPhone
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Where do we find computers today?
Entertainment
RFID
Car Computer
Navigation
POS
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Whats Next in Computing?
Ditch the laptop and smart phone, your brain may
directly interface to future computers for
instantaneous access to all knowledge and
infinite memory.
Nanotechnology will provide a new level of
miniaturization. This device is half the width
of a human hair.
Humanoid robots may be common in the home in 10
20 years.
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Can we really predict where we will be in the
future?

• In a 1954 Popular Science Magazine, this was a
  prediction of what a home computer might be like
  in 50 years (2004).

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Are you scared of technology?