Download name: aderibigbe zainab yetunde course code: gst 115

NAME: ADERIBIGBE ZAINAB
YETUNDE
COURSE CODE: GST 115
COURSE TITLE: INTRODUCTION TO
INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION
AND TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT: LAW
ASSIGNMENT: 1. DESCRIBE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER THE HISTORY OF
COMPUTERS
2. MY VISIT TO THE ICT UNIT COLLEGE 1/2ND FLOOR /C17
HISTORY OF COMPUTER
The computer was born not for entertainment or email but out of a need to solve a serious
number-crunching crisis. By 1880, the U.S. population had grown so large that it took more than
seven years to tabulate the U.S. Census results. The government sought a faster way to get the
job done, giving rise to punch-card based computers that took up entire rooms.
Today, we carry more computing power on our smartphones than was available in these early
models. The following brief history of computing is a timeline of how computers evolved from
their humble beginnings to the machines of today that surf the internet, play games and stream
multimedia in addition to crunching numbers.
The computer as we see it today is a result of extensive research and development through the
decades. The reason of origin of the computer and a brief history of its evolution are outlined
below.
THE FIRST GENERATION
During the period of 1940 to 1956 first generation of computers were developed. The first
generation computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and
were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. The vacuum tube was developed by Lee DeForest.
A vacuum tube is a device generally used to amplify a signal by controlling the movement of
electrons in an evacuated space. First generation computers were very expensive to operate and
in addition to using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause
of malfunctions.
CHARACTERISTICS
1) First generation computers were based on vacuum tubes.
2) The operating systems of the first generation computers were very slow.
3) They were very large in size.
4) Production of the heat was in large amount in first generation computers.
5) Machine language was used for programming.
6) First generation computers were unreliable.
7) They were difficult to program and use.
The word 'computer' comes from the word compute which means 'to calculate'. Computers were
developed from calculators as the need arose for more complex and scientific calculations.
Charles Babbage is known as the father of computers because of his immense contribution to
the world of programming. His idea was soon developed into a programmable computer that
could calculate and print logarithmic tables with huge precision. But there were many practical
problems and the progress was slow.
During the World War, the U.S military had a demand for fast computers that could perform
extremely complex calculations and weather predictions in minutes. This was when the ENIAC
was built, by a partnership between University of Pennsylvannia and the U.S government. After
the landmark "Von Neumann Architecture" was introduced it considerably increased the speed
of the computer since it used only one memory. The EDVAC and UNIVAC were built based on
this architecture using vacuum tubes. All the computers built from 1941-1956 are called 'first
generation computers'.
THE SECOND GENERATION
The transistor was invented in 1947 by William Shockley and Walter Brattain in the Bell
Laboratories of U.S.A. The 'second generation' of computers utilized transistors, stored
memory concept and magnetic-core memory making them smaller, faster, more reliable and
more energy efficient than their predecessors. Throughout the 1960's there were a number of
computers used commercially for large businesses and in universities like Honeywell and IBM.
THE THIRD GENERATION
The transistors were found to damage the more sensitive parts of a computer since they
generated a lot of heat. In 1958, the IC (Integrated Circuit) was invented by Jack Kilby. This
revolutionized computing since all the electronic components were on a single semiconductor
chip made of silicon, drastically reducing the size of the computer. Also, new operating systems
were developed, which allowed the running of many applications simultaneously. These
computers developed from 1964-1971 were the 'third generation' machines.
THE FOURTH GENERATION
The microprocessor ushered in the 'fourth generation' of computers. Thousands of integrated
circuits were fit into a single miniscule chip using VLSI and ULSI technology. This made the
computers smaller, more portable and much faster than before. In 1981, IBM introduced a
computer especially designed for use at home. Apple followed with its 'Macintosh'. These small
computers were very powerful and permitted linking of several machines that eventually led to
networking and the internet
.
THE FIFTH GENERATION
The 'fifth generation' computers include the present day computers and the ones that are being
developed. These devices are based on the concept of 'Artificial Intelligence'. They utilize
various new technologies like 'Quantum computing' and 'superconductors'. One of the
applications is in 'Voice recognition' which is a software that is used to recognize the user's
voice and respond to it. Parallel processing is a relatively new concept that is still in the nascent
stage but has immense potential.
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QUESTION 2
MY VISIT TO THE ICT UNIT WHICH IS LOCATED AT COLLEGE ONE, SECOND
FLOOR, C17 AFE BABALOLA UNIVERSITY ADO EKITI.
LIST OF DEVICES I SAW
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Sound card
Projector
Printers
Ups (uninteruoted power supply]
Computers
Monitors
Cpu
Cables
Mouse
THE SOURRONDING OF THE ENVIRONMENT
The Computers in computer labs are typically equipped with internet access, while scanners and
printers may augment the lab setup. The Computers in computer labs are typically arranged either
in rows, so that every workstation has a similar view of one end of the room to facilitate lecturing or
presentations,[2] or in clusters, to facilitate small group work.
HISTORY OF COMPUTER