The History of Computers
Ancient Mechanical Devices Used for Calculation
Abbacus: One of the oldest known calculating devices invented around 500 B.C. It was primarily used for addition and subtraction and there are still questions of its relevance today.
Pascaline: A notable calculator which allowed for addition and subtraction subtraction invented in 1642 by Blaise Pascal. It represented numbers by-a-systems of gears and wheels.
How Computers Have Developed (Generations)
First Generation period (1940s to 1950s):
- Instead of using semiconductor devices, computers relied on vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory.
- So huge the computers were and occupied so much power.
- Example USS ENIAC; This was one of the first general purpose electronic computers made between 1946 and 1955
Second Generation 1950s and 60s:
- Incorporated transistors replacing vacuum tubes which improved the size, speed, cost, and reliability of computers.
- Magnetic core memory was in place, and the software available was mainly in machine code, assembly language and in some cases the early high-level language.
Third Generation 1960s and 70s:
- In this era due to the invention of the integrated circuits, the transistors were contained in a little sleek integrated chip, so computers became more compact, and Powerful.
- Multitasking was enabled including the birth of an operating system which allowed several operations to be run concurrently.
Fourth Generation (1970s-Present): Microprocessors were introduced, where the entire central processing unit (CPU) was placed on a single chip. Personal computers appear during this generation. The most popular ones are the IBM PC and Apple Macintosh.
This in turn gave birth to the development of graphical user interfaces (GUI) and Internet. Evolution of Computers 4.1 Comic Relief Their impact on history of computing is significant due to their contributions.
Charles Babbage: On occasion referred as father of the computer, Charles Babbage is credited with the of designing Difference engine and the Analytical engine during the early 19th century. The analytical engine is regarded as the prototypical conception of a computer for general usage.
Alan Turing: A prominent figure in computer science whose work concerned the concepts of ‘computation’ and the Turing Machine. During World War II, the Turing made some contributions that aided in the decryption of the Enigma.
John von Neumann: Since neumann shaped modern computing, he also devised the von Neumann architecture wherein the components of storage of programs and data. It contains the central processor and memory units.
Present Day Computer Systems
Mainframe Computers: Very large and strong computers that were originally used by institutions such as banks and Governments for mass data processing. These can handle several users at the same time.
Personal Computers (PCs): The emergence and acceptance of personal computers during the late 1970s made the impossible task of individual and small businesses’ computerisation, possible. Early computers such as the Apple II and the IBM PC created and harnessed a future less dependent on a computer for every business operation.
Impact of the Internet and Mobile Computing
Internet: The internet was becoming commonplace in society only during the 1990s, which shifted the mode of access and sharing of information. It made possible such services as electronic mail, the World Wide Web, Internet banking, and sculpt’d the modern business form and communication.
Mobile Computing: Mobile computing got naturally integrated into life with the popularization of smart phones and tablets. Nowadays, Smartphones can be regarded as computer systems installed and operable on the palm of hand through internet connection, app software installation and manipulation, among other operations that were previously done by desktop computers.