Running Head: THE HISTORY OF COMPUTERS

The History of the Development Process of Computers Since 1822 Mara Fernanda Ruiz Hungra Unidad Educativa Experimental Bilinge Nuevo Mundo

Running Head: THE HISTORY OF COMPUTERS Abstract A computer is an electronic device which is capable of making mathematical operations and calculations. Thats why simple devices like the abacus or the slide rule are the precursors of nowadays modern computers. It all begins in the 19th century with English math professor, Charles Babbage and his design of the Analytical Engine. Between 1938 and 1938 the Z1 appeared, a creation of a German man called Konrad Zuse, and it was the first binary programmable computer. Also, between these years the ABC computer was created and although it was the first digital computer, the J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly computer, ENIAC, was patented and known as the first working digital device. The developments of computers are based on three generations. The first one (1937 1946) includes the ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer), Colossus, and ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and

Computer) as the more important and relevant. In the second generation (1947 1962) we have transistors and vacuum tubes, the IBM (International Business Machine) with its different computer models, and computers that included programming language, memory and operating systems. Finally, the third generation (1963 present) which introduces integrated circuits, with these computers now was smaller, more powerful, and they could run many programs at the same time. Then MS-Dos (Microsoft Disk Operating System) was born with the IBMs personal computer, used at home and at work. Later Apple brought Macintosh. Finally the 90s brought us Windows OS. So, this is the computer process and development, which will continue and never end.

Running Head: THE HISTORY OF COMPUTERS The History of the Development Process of Computers Since 1822 Who invented computers? Well, this question has no specific answer. Before 1935 the word computer was assigned to people who realized arithmetical operations. Then, between 1935 and 1945 computer was referred to a machine. Nowadays, "The modern machine

definition is based on von Neumann's concepts: a device that accepts input, processes data, stores data, and produces output." (Von Neumann, n.d.) The background of computers starts with the abacus in the 14th century. This instrument was used to perform calculations (very simple ones.) Then in the 17th century the slide rule appeared, a manual device with which you can make calculations by just simply moving the movable piece side to side. A few years later, in 1822, Charles Babbage began to develop the Difference Engine which was a mechanical calculator, but unfortunately because of financial problems he never completed the full version of his machine. Then in 1837, Babbage proposed the Analytical Engine, the first general mechanical computer, but also he could never build it. In 1936, Konrad Zuse a construction engineer for the Henschel Aircraft Company in Berlin, Germany at the beginning of WWII. created the Z1, the first programmable computer which used binary digits. Then in 1941, he made Z3, which had almost all of the characteristics of John Von Neumanns definition of a computer. In the 1940s, the Colossus, a very useful vacuum tube machine for the British, broke Hitlers code during WWII. Then, between 1939 and 1942, Professor John Atanasoff and a graduate student Clifford Berry made the ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer) which included a binary arithmetical system and Boolean logic, with no CPU. This was the first digital computer. But, Presper Eckert and John Mauchly were the first ones to patent the digital computer, the ENIAC (Electrical Numerical Integrator And

Running Head: THE HISTORY OF COMPUTERS Calculator) in 1943. It was used by the American military forces and it made calculations of artillery firing-tables, using like 18,000 vacuum tubes, and instead of using the binary digits it used a word of 10 decimal digits (History of Computers, n.d). Later on in, 1949 the EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) was another British creation, by Tom Kilburn, was the first stored program computer, and also the first computer to run a graphical game. In

the same year, the Electronic Controls Company (the first computer company) was founded by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, but then it was renamed to EMCC (Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation.) The hardware progression continues with vacuum tubes which are electronic devices that amplify the electronic signals. Then transistors, created by John Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain, made a big impact on computing designs. They were made of semiconductors which replaced tubes in the elaboration of computers. With transistors, computers could realize the same functions, but using less space and less power. With thousands of vacuum tubes UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was created in 1950 by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly. Then, in 1953, the IBM (International Business Machine) which was started by Herman Hollerith, introduced the 701, which was the first mass produced and electronic computer. The computer had 256 40-bit words of principal memory and it could do 2,200 multiplications per second. Later in 1981, IBM made its own first personal computer, the IBM PC. It had an 8088 processor, 16 KB memory, which could expand and it used MS-DOS. Now, FORTRAN (Formula Translation) appeared. Invented by John Backus for IBM in 1954, this was the first high level programming language (software) (Fortran, n.d.) FORTRAN has been used until today in order to program scientific and mathematical applications. In 1955, ERMA (Electronic

Running Head: THE HISTORY OF COMPUTERS Recording Method of Accounting) was created by a group of researchers at the Stanford Research Institute, this computer computerized the manual processing of checks and account management and automatically updated and posted checking accounts. (Inventors of modern computers, n.d.) Then in 1956, the first transistorized computer came out, TX-O (Transistorized

Experimental computer.) In 1964 the way in which computers worked was changed by Douglas Engelbart whom invented user-friendly devices like the computer mouse, video teleconferencing, email and the Internet. And hes considerate the inventor of modern computers. Then in 1968, Hewlett Packard created the first mass-marketed PC, the HP 9100A. Then Intel introduces, in 1971, the first microprocessor, Intel 4004. It was really small and it had a 4-bit register and a 740 kHz speed. Four years later, Xerox a business product solution provider of printers, copiers, scanners, faxing machines and other related products. (Xerox, n.d.) created Xerox Alto, the first workstation, which was a simple user-network connection, and it has display and mouse, and it worked with windows, menus and icons, like many computers today. Sadly, it was never sold. Later in 1975, the first personal computer appeared, Altair 8800, introduced by Ed Roberts. It had an Intel 8080 processor, and a "1024 word" memory boards including 256 bytes of memory. In the same year, the first portable computer was invented, the IBM 5100 and it weighed 55 pounds and had a five inch CRT display, tape drive, 1.9MHz PALM processor, and 64KB of RAM. (IBM 5100, n.d.) And also Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque. Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs in 1976 designed Apple I, a 6502 8-bit processor and 4 kb of memory computer. Then, in 1977 Apple II was released with colored graphics. Steve Jobs released Lisa (The Personal Computer That Works The Way You Do) in 1983. It had a menu

Running Head: THE HISTORY OF COMPUTERS

bar, windows, multi-tasking, the ability to copy and paste, icons, folders and a mouse. Few years later in 1992, Tandy Radio Shack introduces the M2500 XL/2 and M4020 SX computers, based on the MPC, the Multimedia PC (a computer capable of running video, animation and audio programs.) In 1984, Apple Macintosh had a graphical user interface. Later, Microsoft Windows 1.0 in 1985 competed with Apple overcome Mac OS. Then it introduced Microsoft Windows 2000, which was really advanced. And nowadays we have Windows 2008, which was created in 2012. In conclusion, I think the history of computers is and will be an endless story. Development and advancements wont stop and everyday there will be a new form, a new way of technology. And the human brain wont ever stop imagining and creating the best for the future.

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