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Short history of computers
Short history of computers
History and development of robotics
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What qualifies an invention as great? A good invention would be one that makes some aspect of life simpler. A great invention goes beyond that. It becomes ingrained into society as a part of everyday life, improves itself constantly, and leads to the rapid creation of more great inventions. I believe that since 1898, no invention fits that description more than the electronic computer. Since its creation, no device has changed so much, and so rapidly, as the computer.
The original computer was nothing like it is known now. It was a simple device known as an abacus, a mathematic tool that may have been invented in the fourth century BC by the Babylonians (PBS). Before a new computer could be created, a few things had to happen.
In the eighth century AD, Arabic numerals were introduced into Europe. Arabic numerals were important because they used zeroes as placeholders for tens, which made math simpler. Another simplification of math came in 1614 with John Napier, the creator of Logarithms. Logarithms allowed mathematicians to use addition and subtraction for multiplication and division problems (PBS). Everything was in place for the age of the mechanical calculator to begin.
The first mechanical calculator was built in 1623 by Wilhelm Schickard. It worked with six digits and carried these digits across columns. Though it worked, it never made it past the prototype stage. Another mechanical calculator, this time one with eight digits, was built by Blaise Pascal in 1642. This calculator was, however, prone to error and jamming (PBS).
In the early 1820s, Charles Babbage conceived the idea of the "Difference Engine". It was meant to be a steam-powered calculator for printing astronomical tables (PBS). He attempted to build it, but the ...
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...er, that dream has become a reality. However, like the internet, robots come with responsibility. Robots are becoming more mobile everyday and could be used in many helpful ways, but they can also be used in destructive ways.
The computer is an amazing invention that is still changing today. Computers more thousands of times powerful than the hulking machine ENIAC, are carried around in the pockets of nearly everyone in the United States. This very paper was written using a computer. The internet has become a powerful amalgam of information from billions of people and the center of nearly everything we do. With so much power in the hands of so many people, it is important that humanity take great care of the responsibility we have all been given. That way this glorious device will not have gone to waste and will continue to benefit the world for centuries to come.
Science and technology go hand in hand. Scientific discoveries result in technology advancements for the people. In today’s technological world, it has progressed to a whole new level. This type of modernization opened doors for new and improved computers, cell phones, medical treatment, and machinery. In a reference article, “Computers and the Internet in America: Modern World” by Christopher Cumo, he discusses how computers and the internet have impacted human life since the 20th century. Technology has always been a part of society and as
...ers. "Finally, just as computers shape our world, so our own dreams and desires influence technological change. Where will our dreams and desires drive the technology of the future?" (241). Eventually, we need to be able to 'read the world,' (239). Computers will continue to impact our ways of life. People have begun to experience more leisure and less hard labor because of computer-related technologies. Perhaps in the future, these luxuries will be extended to the poor, and human rights and equality issues will be improved. As people become more connected, they will hopefully become more aware.
New technology is arriving every day. The greatest invention during this time was the steam engine. The creation of the steam engine was credited to James Watt. There had been other steam engines before James Watt’s, but none of them were efficient. Watt’s engine was the first efficient engine that could be used in a factory.
Mark I. It was actually a electromechanical calculation. It is said that this was the first potentially computers. In 1951 Remington Rand’s came out with the UNIVAC it began
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.
Over the years, man has come up with countless inventions, each more resourceful than the last. However, as the computer age continues, mankind is threatened. Ridiculous, some may say, but I say look around! The computer has already begun to control so many of the vital functions that man has prided himself upon before. Our lives are now dependent on a computer and what it tells you. Even now, I type this essay on a computer, trusting that it will produce a result far superior to what I can do with my own to hands.
“Computers play a key role in almost every sphere of life” (Berry, Terrie). Without them, everything would be different. People all around the world own or used a computer. Whether you are a professional in technology or just an average person, computers are still very important in your everyday life. “No other technology has accessed the world like computers and the use of the Internet have” (Maddox, Amanda). Without computers, consumers would not be able to do half the things as quickly as we can. Advances in computer design have increased its use for different industries, especially in the medical field.
Since the beginning of time, humans have thought and made many inventions. Repeatedly the newer one is better than the older. Our minds have created many remarkable things, however the best invention we ever created is the computer. computers are constantly growing and becoming better every day. Every day computers are capable of doing new things. Even though computers have helped us a lot in our daily lives, many jobs have been lost because of it, now the computer can do all of the things a man can do in seconds! Everything in the world relies on computers and if a universal threat happens in which all computers just malfunction then we are doomed. Computers need to be programmed to be able to work or else it would just be a useless chunk of metal. And we humans need tools to be able to live; we program the computer and it could do a lot of necessary functions that have to be done. It is like a mutual effect between us and he computer (s01821169 1).
Computers are changing the world as we know it, and they offer an exciting new way of working. The news represented a complete turnaround for the corporate giant. Microsoft Chairperson, Bill Gates publicly announced his company's new connection to the Internet. The announcement rang through the nation. Gates has consistently ignored the Internet in favor of desktop computing. So, with Microsoft's approval, computers kicked into even higher gear . The pace of innovation continues to astonish even those involved from the start. If one wants to find enthusiasm, intellect, hard work, and imagination; then computers is the place to be .
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.
The first computer and keyboard were produced before the Selectric came out, but typewriters were widely used through the 1950’s to the 1070’s. The first computer was made in 1946, computers started to become popular to use after the 1970s. The name of the first computer is ENICA. The key board used punch cars to insert the data into the computer. The cards had a series of hole that would be punched when you hit a certain key. The MULTICS computer was built by Bell Labs and M.I.T. in 1964. This is the first computer where the information is shown on the screen as you type it. By the 1970s when computers started to be used more often all computers used electronic keyboards.
To conclude, robots could be the backbone of the society that will result in a technological revolution. Because of robots various characteristics that do not experience fear, nor exhaustion and they are precisely programmed, which make them able to help in case of need, housework, and factories production. Society needs to put the issue of robots into consideration to satisfy any shortage exists in the world.
From classroom activities to space flight and everything in between, computers are a vital part of daily life. Everything we do and every aspect of our life is affected by modern technology, like the computers. Computers let us dissect any sort of data. Computers make us reflect, hence we develop. Because of computers and the Internet, we can talk with individuals from diverse nations, and even see them via webcams.