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The history of the development of computers
The history of the development of computers
Uses of computers in daily live
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Computer Application Essay Each of computer generation can be characterized by the development of computer technology which has changed the way computers operate. As a result, a device becomes smaller, cheaper, more powerful, efficient and reliable. There are several reasons of origin of the computer and a brief history of it evolutions are outlined below. Generally, the evolutions of computer generations can be divided into five generations, which in every each of generation have their own characteristic that can be differentiated as well. The word 'computer' comes from the word of compute which means to calculate. Computers were developed from calculators as the need increased for scientific calculations and more complex. Charles Babbage is known as the father of computers because of his immense contribution to the programming of the world. His idea was then developed into a programmable computer which could print and calculate logarithmic tables with huge precision. However, there were also some weakness such as practical problems and the progression was slow. The first generation has been invented in the year of 1940 to 1956 which known as vacuum tubes. During the World War, the U.S military had a high demand of fast computers which could perform weather predictions in minutes and extremely complex calculations. This was when the ENIAC was built. The ENIAC stand for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer by a partnership between University of Pennsylvania and the U.S government. Right after the landmark "Von Neumann Architecture" was introduced it was considerably increased the speed of the computer since it was used only in one memory. The Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC) and UNIVAC were built... ... middle of paper ... ...t of the technology industry, providing the heavy lifting for many of the most difficult problems in computer science. As a conclusion, computer is not just one of the first tools to assist in the calculation, but it is also include all aspects of life that can be made easier and faster. According from one generation to another generation which started with the first generation until fifth, the computers already have developments and changes quite rapidly. Not only that, the computer from the first generation until now much more sophisticated yet more can make time-consume efficiently. Besides, the computer had more sophisticated with new technologies springing up and also environmentally friendly. For instance, a laptop is a device that is in desire for all or been among the IT users. It is also being able to use anywhere and lead to the professional lifestyle.
Inventing the ENIAC was a long and tedious process. The idea of creating a thing like the ENIAC came up in 1939, when John Mauchly and John Atanasoff met together to discuss it. It wasn't until 1942 when the blueprints were made by Mauchly and his new accomplice, J. Presper Eckert. Later that year the US government funded project ENIAC, with a budget of $500,000 (penn). Not much information of ENIAC was recorded from the process. The massive computer was not given coolers until 1945, when it caught fire. Finally, on February 14, 1946, it was announced to the public. The ENIAC did not get its rightful recognition until 1996, on the fiftieth anniversary. The entire process took about 5 years, and at the end they didn't even get proper respect for it.
The subject of this term paper will be about computers in the 1950’s. The divisions that will be covered are; the types of computers there were, the memory capacity of computers, the programming languages of that time, and the uses of the computers for that time. Information will be gathered from the Internet, from books, and from magazines, and from the encyclopedia.
The history of computers is an amazing story filled with interesting statistics. “The first computer was invented by a man named Konrad Zuse. He was a German construction engineer, and he used the machine mainly for mathematic calculations and repetition” (Bellis, Inventors of Modern Computer). The invention shocked the world; it inspired people to start the development of computers. Soon after,
There are many different beginnings to the origins of computers. Their origins could be dated back more than two thousand years ago, depending on what a person means when they ask where the first computer came from. Most primitive computers were created for the purpose of running simple programs at best. (Daves Old Computers) However, the first ‘digital’ computer was created for the purposes of binary arithmetic, otherwise known as simple math. It was also created for regenerative memory, parallel processing, and separation of memory and computing functions. Built by John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry during 1937-1942, it was dubbed the Atanasoff Berry Computer (ABC).
If nineteenth century was an era of the Industrial revolution in Europe, I would say that computer and Information Technology have domineered since the twentieth century. The world today is a void without computers, be it healthcare, commerce or any other field, the industry won’t thrive without Information Technology and Computer Science. This ever-growing field of technology has aroused interest in me since my childhood.
...ere are gears used to select which numbers you want. Though Charles Babbage will always be credited with making the first “true” computer, and Bill Gates with popularizing it, Blaise Pascal will always have a place among the first true innovator of the computer. There is even a programming language called Pascal or Object Pascal which is an early computer program.
Computer engineering started about 5,000 years ago in China when they invented the abacus. The abacus is a manual calculator in which you move beads back and forth on rods to add or subtract. Other inventors of simple computers include Blaise Pascal who came up with the arithmetic machine for his father’s work. Also Charles Babbage produced the Analytical Engine, which combined math calculations from one problem and applied it to solve other complex problems. The Analytical Engine is similar to today’s computers.
Almost every device has some type of computer in it. Whether it is a cell phone, a calculator, or a vending machine. Even things that we take for granted most cars since the 1980’s have a computer in it or a pacemaker. All of the advancements in computers and technology have led up to the 21st century in which “the greatest advances in computer technology will occur…” Mainly in areas such as “hardware, software, communications and networks, mobile and wireless connectivity, and robotics.”
In 1953 it was estimated that there were 100 computers in the world. Computers built between 1959 and 1964 are often regarded as the "second generation" computers, based on transistors and printed circuits - resulting in much smaller computers. 1964 the programming language PL/1 released by IBM. 1964 the launch of IBM 360. These first series of compatible computers. In 1970 Intel introduced the first RAM chip. In 1975 IBM 5100 was released. In 1976 the Apple Computer Inc. was founded, to market Apple I Computer. Designed to Stephen Wozinak and Stephan Jobs. In 1979 the first compact disk was released around 1981 IBM announced PC, the standard model was sold for $2,880.00.
Following the research done, it can be concluded that the computer today plays a vital role in everyday life whether it is liked or not, it is imposed to each and everyone in a way or another. Today it is unimaginable to think of a world without computers. And the technology advances in industry and at home. It has become necessary that everyone can have the basic knowledge of computer. It is important to note that there has to be a balance between the old way of educating and the new era to get everyone adjust and well equipped. Computers have invaded almost all areas and has become one of the hallmarks of an “ educated person”.
The history of the computer dates back all the way to the prehistoric times. The first step towards the development of the computer, the abacus, was developed in Babylonia in 500 B.C. and functioned as a simple counting tool. It was not until thousands of years later that the first calculator was produced. In 1623, the first mechanical calculator was invented by Wilhelm Schikard, the “Calculating Clock,” as it was often referred to as, “performed it’s operations by wheels, which worked similar to a car’s odometer” (Evolution, 1). Still, there had not yet been anything invented that could even be characterized as a computer. Finally, in 1625 the slide rule was created becoming “the first analog computer of the modern ages” (Evolution, 1). One of the biggest breakthroughs came from by Blaise Pascal in 1642, who invented a mechanical calculator whose main function was adding and subtracting numbers. Years later, Gottfried Leibnez improved Pascal’s model by allowing it to also perform such operations as multiplying, dividing, taking the square root.
The First Generation of Computers The first generation of computers, beginning around the end of World War 2, and continuing until around the year 1957, included computers that used vacuum tubes, drum memories, and programming in machine code. Computers at that time where mammoth machines that did not have the power our present day desktop microcomputers. In 1950, the first real-time, interactive computer was completed by a design team at MIT. The "Whirlwind Computer," as it was called, was a revamped U.S. Navy project for developing an aircraft simulator.
The fist computer, known as the abacus, was made of wood and parallel wires on which beads were strung. Arithmetic operations were performed when the beads were moved along the wire according to “programming” rules that had to be memorized by the user (Soma, 14). The second earliest computer, invented by Blaise Pascal in 1694, was a “digital calculating machine.” Pascal designed this first known digital computer to help his father, who was a tax collector. Pascal’s computer could only add numbers, and they had to be entered by turning dials (Soma, 32). It required a manual process like its ancestor, the abacus. Automation was introduced in the early 1800’s by a mathematics professor named Charles Babbage. He created an automatic calculation machine that was steam powered and stored up to 1000 50-digit numbers. Unlike its two earliest ancestors, Babbage’s invention was able to perform various operations. It relied on cards with holes punched in them, which are called “punch cards.” These cards carried out the programming and storing operations for the machine. Unluckily, Babbage’s creation flopped due to the lack of mechanical precision and the lack of demand for the product (Soma, 46). The machine could not operate efficiently because technology was t adequate to make the machine operate efficiently Computer interest dwindled for many years, and it wasn’t until the mid-1800’s that people became interested in them once again.
In todays world computers are very useful because there is weather forcasting and many other things. People can forcast weather by this process by computers . Advertising is one of the most progressive field these days . Computer animation is the art of creating moving images by this use of computers . We can use use internation network (internet) to check mail, play games, find other's addresses , etc. Scientists also use computers for their experiments . There are some documents to type. For example MS Word , MS Exel , etc . We can do our school project also by using computers. There is one thing which is very conveinient for us it is that we can talk or chat with people who are in another country by using google talk , yahoo messenger , etc . It is not at all expensive . It is better than using a telephone or a mobile . We can also send voicemails through google talk , yahoo messenger , etc . We can play many games using a computer . For example pinball , soltaire , spider soltaire , etc . Believe it or not, but the age of computers is upon us. I believe Computers are not only here to stay, but in my opinion computers are the wave of the future. Only a device like the computer can change the way we work, live, and think. I see computers taking us places where no man has gone before. students can receive an education from their own home Taking classes online is an option that a growing number of students are taking advantage of. These classes are making a college education available for students who are not able to attend a traditional university or college. Computers are taking us places where a lot of us thought was not possible. Truly it is my belief and opinion, the computer is one of the most incredible inventions of this time period or any other.
First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, they generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions. First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language understood by computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts. The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices. The UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951.