Transcript Technology History and the Development of Computers

AOIT
Principles of Information Technology
Technology History and the Development of
Computers
The word computer has a broad meaning
What is a computer?
A computer is a person, instrument, or machine
that gathers, processes, and stores information.
Early counting methods were very basic
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The first counting tools were people’s own fingers. The
word digit can refer to a finger (or toe) or to a single
character in a number system.
Bones with carved notches have been found in Europe
dated between 30,000 to 20,000 B.C. One had notches
in groups of five — early evidence of the tally system.
When you use objects instead of fingers to count, you
can store results for later reference.
Charles Babbage is called the “father of computing”
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Charles Babbage
designed a steampowered calculator called
the Difference Engine in
1821.
His next idea was the
Analytical Engine (1856),
designed to perform any
kind of mathematical
calculation.
The British Colossus decoded messages during WWII
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In 1943, the British built the first “Colossus” computer.
These machines were used to decipher encrypted
teleprinter messages sent by the Germans during
World War II.
Integrated circuits brought “chips” to computers
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One major step in
computer development
was the integrated
circuit, a group of tiny
transistors and electric
wires built on a silicon
wafer, or “chip.”
Over the years,
integrated circuits have
continued to get smaller
in size but larger in their
capacity to function.
The Altair was a computer individuals could afford
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The first computer that most individuals could afford was the
Altair 8800, built in 1975 by a small company, MITS.
Since there was no keyboard or screen, information was
entered by clicking switches on the front of the machine.
Apple created the first user-friendly personal computer
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Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created the first user-friendly
personal computer, called the Apple, with a built-in
keyboard, display screen, and storage unit.
The term personal computer refers to a computer designed
to be used by one person at a time.
The IBM PC gave way to many clone “compatibles”
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In 1981, IBM introduced its
version of the personal
computer—the IBM PC.
IBM made the general
design available to
competing companies,
resulting in many clones or
“compatibles.”
Today, the term PC often
refers to computers running
Microsoft’s Windows
operating system.
Personal computers are also called microcomputers
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Microcomputers are more
commonly known as
personal computers.
Microcomputers come in
many different shapes and
sizes.
The microcomputers shown
at the right are “desktop”
models, which are generally
meant to stay in one place.
Laptops and PDAs are also microcomputers
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Notebook or laptop
computers are portable
microcomputers.
An even smaller portable
microcomputer is a
“handheld” device, often
referred to as a
personal digital
assistant (PDA).
Workstations are more powerful than microcomputers
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Workstations are single-user computers that are
more powerful than microcomputers.
Workstations are commonly used by professionals
such as engineers, scientists, and graphic artists.
Minicomputers & mainframes process and store lots of data
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Minicomputers and
mainframe computers
are generally connected to
many other computers, or
terminals.
A minicomputer is smaller
and less powerful than a
mainframe.
Government agencies and
businesses that need to
process and store lots of
information use these.
Supercomputers are the most powerful computers
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Supercomputers are the largest, most powerful, and most
expensive computers.
Supercomputers are not very common.
Image credits
The images on slide 7, the telegraph on slide 10, the images on slide 14, the Macintosh on slide 16, and the PC on
slide 17 can be accessed on wikipedia.org and are reproduced here under the terms of the GNU Free
Documentation License. Permission is granted to copy, distribute, and/or modify these images under the terms
of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software
Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license
is available at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:GNU_Free_Documentation_License.
The image on slide 8 can be accessed on wikipedia.org and is reproduced here under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution ShareAlike 1.0 license. The original photograph was taken by Joe D. in January 2005.
The image on slide 11 can be accessed on http://www.officemuseum.com/data_processing_machines.htm. It
shows the Hollerith Electric Tabulator at the US Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 1908, Photograph by Waldon Fawcett.
Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-45687.
The Sun workstation on slide 20 can be accessed on http://www.sun.com/desktop/workstation/ultra40/
All other images are in the public domain.