History of the Computer

1

The Journey of Computers
Anita Hall EDU 6660 Instructional Technology
2
Pre-history Computing

• The abacus was invented in Babylonia (present-day
  Iraq) as a simple counting device.
• The person uses the abacus to keep track of the
  numbers calculated in their head.

3
Early Mechanical Computation

• 1st mechanical calculator, the Pascaline, named
  for its inventor Blaise Pascal (1642).
• Only Pascal could repair the device and it cost
  more than the people it replaced!
• The first signs of technophobia emerged when
  mathematicians feared the loss of their jobs due
  to progress.

Blaise Pascal
4
Early Mechanical Computers

• The Analytical Engine invented by Charles
  Babbage (1832)
• It used punchcards and could perform simple
  mathematical problems

Babbages Analytical Engine
5
Early Electronic Computers

• Konrad Zuse (1941) develops the 1st programmable
  computer, the Z1
• Bell Telephone Labs (1947) develop the
  transistor, which are smaller faster than
  vacuum tubes

Zuses Z1 computer
6
1st Mass Produced Computer

• UNIVAC is developed in 1951.
• Able to store 12,000 digits in random access
  mercury-delay lines.
• The complete system had 5200 vacuum tubes,
  weighed 29,000 pounds, and consumed 125 kilowatts
  of electrical power.

7
Integrated Circuitry Mainframes

• Texas Instruments introduces the integrated
  circuit (1959)
• IBM introduces the 1st mainframe computer series
  to suit a variety of data needs (1964)

IBM System 360, Model 40
8
Entry of the Mini-Computer

• Ivan Sutherland demonstrates his Sketchpad that
  uses a light pen to make engineering drawings
  (1962)
• Doug Engelbart demonstrates a word processor
  (1968)
• By 1972, Intel has developed the 8008, an 8-bit
  microprocessor

Ivan Sutherlands TX-2 Sketchpad
9
From Mini to Micro

• Apple sells its Apple II for 1,195 (1977)
  captures 50 of the personal computer market by
  1980
• Released in 1981, IBMs personal computer uses
  BASIC programming

Apple II
10
Personal Computing Speeds Up

• Microsoft Windows 1.0 ships Nov. 1985
• Motorola sells the 1st 32-bit, 25 MHz
  microprocessor
• By 1989, Microsofts sales achieve the 1
  billion mark

Windows 1.0 (1985)
11
Timesharing, Networks, Internet

• Timesharing is developed at MIT (1958)
• BBN opens the 1st public packet-switched network
  Telenet
• Tim Berners-Lee develops the World Wide Web
  (1991)
• WWW experiences a growth rate of 341,634 (1993)

12
Worldwide Connectivity

• The Internet traffic report displays the rate at
  which data is moving. The higher the value
  (0-100) reflects a faster and more reliable
  connection.
• As of Sept 2002,
• 605.6 million people were online worldwide.
• Online usage has doubled every 6 months since
  1997.

13
Looking to the Future

• Robotics nanotechnology.
• Faster connectivity mobility of wireless
  communication.
• Technology will continue to manage information
  faster and reduce complexity for a mobile
  workforce living in a volatile world.
• Man is the best computer we can put aboard a
  spacecraft ... and the only one that can be mass
  produced with unskilled labor.
• (Werner von Braun).

1st single-molecule computer circuit
(IBM)