Download A brief history of computing

A BRIEF HISTORY OF COMPUTING
2700 B.C.
ABACUS
The Sumerians invented an early form of the
abacus that they may have used for simple
additional and subtraction. Other
civilizations developed their own variations
on the basic design over the centuries. The
design that is probably most familiar today
was invented in China during the 2nd century
B.C.
2ND–1ST CENTURY B.C.
ANTIKYTHERA
MECHANISM
This mysterious device was found off the
coast of Antikythera, a Greek island located
on the edge of the Aegean Sea. Most
believe that it is a clockwork computer used
to calculate the positions of the planets over
time, and may have even been used to
predict solar eclipses.
1642
THE PASCALINE
A mechanical adding machine created by
French mathematician Blaise Pascal.
1679
LEIBNIZ INVENTS
MODERN BINARY
SYSTEM
Building on binary systems that had been in
place for as much as 2,700 years, German
mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz
created the modern system of binary
arithmetic that became the foundation for
binary systems in computer science.
1801
JACQUARD LOOM
INVENTED
Invented in France by Joseph Marie
Jacquard, the Jacquard loom was based on
earlier designs made in the 18th century. It's
most notable feature was that the loom could
be programmed using punched cards to
produce different patterns in the fabric.
Punched cards have been in use for device
programming and data storage for various
computing devices ever since.
1837
ANALYTICAL ENGINE
PROPOSED
Charles Babbage, an English mathematician,
described a plan for building a device he called
the Analytical Engine. The engine was to be a
general-purpose mechanical calculator that
could be programmed using punched cards (an
idea that Babbage borrowed from the
Jacquard loom). The device was never built.
Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, wrote a paper
on Babbage's design that included an algorithm
for computing Bernoulli numbers. As a result,
she is credited as being the first computer
programmer.
1847
CREATION OF
BOOLEAN ALGEBRA
George Boole, an English mathematician,
described what was later termed "Boolean
algebra." Boolean algebra represents
binary values as true (1) and false (0), and
describes how those values interact
mathematically. These relationships are a
fundamental concept in digital electronics.
x
y
x and y
x or y
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1894
VACUUM TUBE
PATENTED
American inventor Thomas Edison patented a
design for an early version of the vacuum
tube, which is a sort of electrically controlled
voltage regulator. Edison did not realize the
potential of the device, and did not
understand how it worked. Later versions of
the design, however, became the core
components in computer logic circuits.
1941
Z3 COMPUTER
German scientist Konrad Zuse introduced the
Z3 computer. It was the first programmable
computer brought into operation. Zuse wrote
the first high-level programming language,
Plankalkül (Plan Calculus). The Z3 used a
combination of electronic and mechanical
components in its logic circuits.
1946
ENIAC
ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Computer), the first electronic generalpurpose computer, was brought online at the
University of Pennsylvania. The computer
was programmed by flipping switches and
connecting/disconnecting cables. It's original
purpose was to generate ballistics tables for
artillery, but it was also used in the
development of the first hydrogen bomb.
1947
TRANSISTOR
INVENTED
American physicists John Bardeen, Walter
Brattain, and William Shockley develop the
transistor, a low-voltage, low-heat
replacement for vacuum tubes. Computers
built with transistors were smaller and more
reliable than their predecessors.
1950
SIMON
Simon, developed by American computer
scientist Edmund Berkely, is considered by
some as the first personal computer. It used
punched tape for data entry and displayed
results on five lamps. It could perform a few
basic math operations, but its memory only
allowed it to work with the numbers 0
through 3. It's primary purpose was as a
technology demonstrator.
1951
UNIVAC I
The UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic
Computer I) was introduced by the EckertMauchly Computer Company (Eckert and
Mauchly helped build the ENIAC). This was
the first computer designed for general
business use.
1959
PATENT FILE ON FIRST
INTEGRATED CIRCUIT
The integrated circuit, or microchip, combines
several electronic components on a single
semi-conductor substrate. ICs are smaller,
more modular, and easier to replace than
individual components. ICs have replaced
vacuum tubes and individual transistors in
most applications.
1969
ARPANET IS
DEPLOYED
ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects
Agency NETwork) was deployed to link
universities and research centers working on
projects for the United States Department of
Defense (DoD). ARPANET was one of the first
packet switch networks, and was the
precursor to the global Internet. It was
succeeded in 1990 by the NSFNET, which
was in turn succeeded by the Internet in
1995.
1970
DATAPOINT 2200
The Datapoint 2200 was the first device that
resembled a modern personal computer. It
had a keyboard, integrated display and
optional 8-inch floppy drives.
1970
KENBAK-1
The Kenbak-1 is considered by most to be
the first true personal computer. It lacked the
familiar interface of a modern personal
computer, but was priced more affordably
than more sophisticated systems like the
Datapoint 2200.
1971
INTEL 4004
Intel produced the Intel 4004, the first central
processing unit (CPU) on a single chip. A
CPU is a component that executes a
computer program.
1977
THE “1977 TRINITY”
The Commodore PET, Apple II and TRS-80
Model I computers were introduced by
Commodore International, Apple Computer
and Tandy Corporation, respectively. Each
represented the first full-featured offering of
their companies. All three companies were
major forces in the personal computer
industry through the mid-1990s. Only Apple
Computer still manufactures computers today.
1981
IBM-PC
IBM's first entry into the personal computer
market. It's open design allowed third-party
vendors to produce add-on components to
extend the computer's base capabilities.
Computers made by other manufacturers that
are based on this original design dominate
the personal computer market today.
1983
APPLE LISA
The Lisa, named after Steve Job's daughter,
was the first mass-production personal
computer that featured a graphical user
interface (GUI). It was a commercial failure
due to its high price and slow performance.
1984
APPLE MACINTOSH
The Macintosh provided a GUI similar to the
Lisa, but at one-third the cost and better
performance.
1985
WINDOWS 1.0
The original Windows operating system was
actually a shell that ran under MS-DOS, the
operating system that Microsoft wrote to run
on the IBM-PC and compatibles. Unlike most
familiar GUIs, Windows 1.0 displayed
"windows" as non-overlapping tiles.
1989
WORLD WIDE WEB
PROPOSED
Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist,
wrote his first draft of a proposal to CERN
(European Organization for Nuclear
Research) to establish the World Wide Web.
This included the specification for a new
markup language called HyperText Markup
Language (HTML), which is the markup
language used by web pages.
1989
WORK BEGINS ON
HPCA
Senator Albert Gore, Jr. of Tennessee began
working on a bill that became the High
Performance Computing Act of 1991 (HPCA).
This bill continued the work to build a
national network infrastructure, a started by
ARPANET.
1991
HPCA ENACTED
President George H. W. Bush enacted the
HPCA, ushering in the establishment of the
modern Internet.
1993
NCSA MOSAIC
RELEASED
NCSA Mosaic was an early web browser. It
influenced the design of all the popular web
browsers in use today.