History Of Computer

The Grt History Of Computers
In its most basic form a computer is any device which aids humans in performing various kinds of computations or calculations. In that respect the rliest computer was the abacus, used to perform basic arithmetic operations.

Every computer supports some form of input, processing, and output. This is less obvious on a primitive device such as the abacus where input, output and processing are simply the act of moving the pebbles into new positions, seeing the changed positions, and counting. Regardless, this is what computing is all about, in a nutshell. We input information, the computer processes it according to its basic logic or the program currently running, and outputs the results.

Modern computers do this electronically, which enables them to perform a vastly grter of calculations or computations in less time. Despite the fact that we currently use computers to process s, sound, text and other non-numerical forms of data, all of it depends on nothing more than basic numerical calculations. Graphics, sound etc. are merely abstractions of the s being crunched within the machine; in digital computers these are the ones and zeros, representing electrical on and off states, and endless combinations of those. In other words every , every sound, and every word have a corresponding binary .

While abacus may have technically been the first computer most people today associate the word “computer” with electronic computers which were invented in the last century, and have evolved into modern computers we know of today.

ENIAC
First eration Computers (1940s – 1950s)

First electronic computers used vacuum tubes, and they were huge and complex. The first eral purpose electronic computer was the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer). It was digital, although it didn’t operate with binary , and was reprogrammable to solve a complete range of computing problems. It was programmed using plugboards and switches, supporting input from an card rder, and output to an card punch. It took up 167 square meters, weighed 27 tons, and consuming 150 kilowatts of power. It used thousands of vacuum tubes, crystal diodes, relays, resistors, and capacitors.

The first non-eral purpose computer was ABC (Atanasoff–Berry Computer), and other similar computers of this era included german Z3, ten British Colossus computers, LEO, Harvard Mark I, and UNIVAC.


1401

Second eration Computers (1955 – 1960)

The second eration of computers came about thanks to the invention of the transistor, which then started replacing vacuum tubes in computer design. Transistor computers consumed far less power, produced far less ht, and were much smaller compared to the first eration, albeit still big by today’s standards.

The first transistor computer was crted at the University of Manchester in 1953. The most popular of transistor computers was 1401. also crted the first drive in 1956, the 350 RAMAC.


Third eration Computers (1960s)


System/360
The invention of the integrated circuits (ICs), also known as microchips, paved the way for computers as we know them today. Making circuits out of single pieces of silicon, which is a semiconductor, allowed them to be much smaller and more practical to produce. This also started the ongoing process of integrating an ever larger of transistors onto a single microchip. During the sixties microchips started making their way into computers, but the process was gradual, and second eration of computers still held on.

First appred minicomputers, first of which were still based on non-microchip transistors, and later versions of which were hybrids, being based on both transistors and microchips, such as ’s System/360. They were much smaller, and cer than first and second eration of computers, also known as mainframes. Minicomputers can be seen as a bridge between mainframes and microcomputers, which came later as the proliferation of microchips in computers grew.

Fourth eration Computers (1971 – present)
First microchips-based central processing units consisted of multiple microchips for different CPU components. The drive for ever grter integration and miniaturization led towards single-chip CPUs, where all of the necessary CPU components were put onto a single microchip, called a microprocessor. The first single-chip CPU, or a microprocessor, was 4004.

The advent of the microprocessor spawned the evolution of the microcomputers, the kind that would eventually become personal computers that we are familiar with today.

First eration of Microcomputers (1971 – 1976)


Altair 8800
First microcomputers were a weird bunch. They often came in kits, and many were essentially just boxes with lights and switches, usable only to engineers and hobbyists whom could understand binary . Some, however, did come with a board and/or a monitor, bring somewhat more resemblance to modern computers.

It is arguable which of the rly microcomputers could be called a first. CTC Datapoint 2200 is one candidate, although it actually didn’t contain a microprocessor (being based on a multi-chip CPU design instd), and wasn’t mnt to be a standalone computer, but merely a terminal for the mainframes. The rson some might consider it a first microcomputer is because it could be used as a de-facto standalone computer, it was small enough, and its multi-chip CPU architecture actually became a basis for the x86 architecture later used in PC and its descendants. Plus, it even came with a board and a monitor, an exception in those days.

However, if we are looking for the first microcomputer that came with a proper microprocessor, was mnt to be a standalone computer, and didn’t come as a kit then it would be Micral N, which used 8008 microprocessor.

Popular rly microcomputers which did come in kits include MOS Technology KIM-1, Altair 8800, and I. Altair 8800 in particular spawned a large following among the hobbyists, and is considered the spark that started the microcomputer revolution, as these hobbyists went on to found companies centered around personal computing, such as , and .
Second eration Microcomputers (1977 – present)


Commodore PET2001 ( by Tomislav Medakd under CC-BY-SA).

As microcomputers continued to evolve they became sier to operate, making them accessible to a larger audience. They typically came with a board and a monitor, or could be sily connected to a , and they supported visual representation of text and s on the screen.

In other words, lights and switches were replaced by screens and boards, and the necessity to understand binary was diminished as they incrsingly came with programs that could be used by issuing more sily understandable commands. Famous rly examples of such computers include Commodore PET, II, and in the 80s the PC.

The nature of the underlying electronic components didn’t change between these computers and modern computers we know of today, but what did change was the of circuits that could be put onto a single microchip. ’s co-founder Gordon Moore predicted the doubling of the of transistor on a single chip every two yrs, which became known as “Moore’s Law”, and this trend has roughly held for over 30 yrs thanks to advancing manufacturing processes and microprocessor designs.

The consequence was a predictable exponential incrse in processing power that could be put into a smaller package, which had a direct effect on the possible form factors as well as appliions of modern computers, which is what most of the forthcoming paradigm shifting innovations in computing were about.
Graphical User Interface (GUI)


Macintosh 128k ( by All About museum d under CC-BY-SA-2.5-it)

Possibly the most significant of those shifts was the invention of the graphical user interface, and the mouse as a way of controlling it. Doug Engelbart and his tm at the Stanford Resrch Lab developed the first mouse, and a graphical user interface, demonstrated in 1968. They were just a few yrs short of the beginning of the personal computer revolution sparked by the Altair 8800 so their id didn’t take hold.

Instd it was picked up and improved upon by resrchers at the Xerox PARC resrch center, which in 1973 developed Xerox Alto, the first computer with a mouse-driven GUI. It never became a commercial product, however, as Xerox management wasn’t rdy to dive into the computer market and didn’t see the potential of what they had rly enough.

It took Steve Jobs negotiating a stocks dl with Xerox in exchange for a tour of their resrch center to finally bring the user friendly graphical user interface, as well as the mouse, to the masses. Steve Jobs was shown what Xerox PARC tm had developed, and directed to improve upon it. In 1984 introduced the Macintosh, the first mass-market computer with a graphical user interface and a mouse.

later caught on and produced , and the historic competition between the two companies started, resulting in improvements to the graphical user interface to this day.

Mnwhile was dominating the PC market with their PC, and was riding on their coat tails by being the one to produce and sell the operating system for the PC known as “DOS” or “ Operating System”. Macintosh, with its graphical user interface, was mnt to dislodge ’s dominance, but made this more difficult with their PC-compatible operating system with its own GUI.
Portable Computers


Powerbook 150 ( by Dana Sibera d under CC-BY-SA.)

As it turned out the id of a laptop-like portable computer existed even before it was possible to crte one, and it was developed at Xerox PARC by Alan Kay whom called it the Dynabook and intended it for children. The first portable computer that was crted was the Xerox Notetaker, but only 10 were produced.

The first laptop that was commercialized was Osborne 1 in 1981, with a small 5″ CRT monitor and a board that sits inside of the lid when closed. It ran CP/M (the OS that bought and based DOS on). Later portable computers included Bondwell 2 relsed in 1985, also running CP/M, which was among the first with a hinge-mounted L display. Portable was the first PC compatible computer, and it ran MS-DOS, but was less portable than Bondwell 2. Other examples of rly portable computers included Epson HX-20, GRiD compass, Dulmont Magnum, Kyotronic 85, Commodore SX-64, PC Convertible, T1100, T1000, and T1200 etc.

The first portable computers which resemble modern laptops in ftures were ’s Powerbooks, which first introduced a built-in trackball, and later a trackpad and optional color L screens. ’s ThinkPad was largely inspired by Powerbook’s design, and the evolution of the two led to laptops and notebook computers as we know them. Powerbooks were eventually replaced by modern MacBook Pro’s.

Of course, much of the evolution of portable computers was enabled by the evolution of microprocessors, L displays, battery technology and so on. This evolution ultimately allowed computers even smaller and more portable than laptops, such as PDAs, tablets, and smart.