Computer History

What is a COMPUTER?
• A computer is a machine or device that can be instructed to carry
out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations automatically via
computer programming.
• Modern computers have the ability to follow generalized sets of
operations, called programs. These programs enable computers to
perform an extremely wide range of tasks.
Early Computing Devices
 ABACUS
• It is a Latin word, derived from
the Greek word ABAX which
means a calculating table.
• The abacus, also called a
counting frame, is a calculating
tool – the first known calculator,
was invented in Babylonia 2400
BC.
• The abacus itself doesn't
calculate; it's simply a device
for helping a human being to
calculate by remembering what
has been counted.
 THE PASCAL'S
CALCULATOR
(1642)
The first practical mechanical
calculator--also known as Pascaline
or the Arithmetique.
Pascal's wheel is a mechanical
calculator invented by Blaise Pascal
at the age of 18 in the early 17th
century. Pascal was led to develop a
calculator by the laborious
arithmetical calculations required by
his father's work as the supervisor of
taxes in Rouen.
The machine had a series of
interlocking cogs (gear wheels with
teeth around their outer edges) that
could add and subtract decimal
numbers.
 STEPPED DRUM
(1672)
The stepped reckoner was a digital
mechanical calculator invented by
the German mathematician
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz around
1672 and completed in 1694.
The name comes from the
translation of the German term for
its operating mechanism,
Staffelwalze, meaning 'stepped
drum'.
The first machine which could
execute all 4 arithmetic functions.
 Engines of Calculations

Neither the abacus, nor the mechanical calculators constructed by Pascal

and Leibniz really qualified as computers.
A calculator is a device that makes it quicker and easier for people to do
sums—but it needs a human operator.
A computer, on the other hand, is a machine that can operate
automatically, without any human help, by following a series of stored
instructions called a program (a kind of mathematical recipe).
Calculators evolved into computers when people devised ways of making
entirely automatic, programmable calculators.
 CHARLES BABBAGE
(1791-1971)

An English Mathematician, computer pioneer,

mechanical engineer, inventor and philosopher.
He contributed to many different scientific fields
but his most famous work is designing a
programmable computing device.

Charles Babbage is considered the

“Father of the Computer” and is given credit for
devising the first ever mechanical computer. His
design served as the blue print for other, more
complex machines.
DIFFERENCE ENGINE
(1820)

A difference engine, first created by

Charles Babbage, is an automatic
mechanical calculator designed to
tabulate polynomial functions.
Its name is derived from the method of
divided differences, a way to
interpolate or tabulate functions by
using a small set of polynomial
coefficients.
 Analytical
Engine
(1837)
The Analytical Engine was a
proposed mechanical general-
purpose computer designed by
English mathematician and
computer pioneer Charles
Babbage.
It was first described in 1837 as
the successor to Babbage's
difference engine, a design for a
simpler mechanical computer.
First computer resembling
today's modern machines was
the Analytical Engine.
1936:
Alan Turing presents
the notion of a
universal machine,
later called the Turing
machine, capable of
computing anything
that is computable.
The central concept of
the modern computer
was based on his
ideas.
The machine that cracked the Enigma Code.
 First Generation: Vacuum Tubes
(1940-1956)

• The first computer systems used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and
were often enormous, taking up entire rooms.
• First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language
understood by computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time.
• Computers of this generation could only perform single task, and they had no operating system.
• It would take operators days or even weeks to set-up a new problem. Input was based on
punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts.
• These computers were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of
electricity, the first computers generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions.
 ATANASOFF-
BERRY
COMPUTER
(1937-1942)
The first automatic electronic digital
computer was built by Dr. John V.
Atanasoff and Clifford Berry.
It was called the Atanasoff-Berry
Computer (ABC). An early electronic
digital computing device that has
remained somewhat obscure.
It was designed only to solve systems
of linear equations and was
successfully tested in 1942.
The ABC pioneered important
elements of modern computing,
including binary arithmetic and
electronic switching elements, but its
special-purpose nature and lack of a
changeable, stored program
distinguish it from modern computers.
Conceived in 1937, the machine was built by Iowa State College mathematics and physics professor John
Vincent Atanasoff with the help of graduate student Clifford Berry.

Atanasoff and Berry's computer work was not widely known until it was rediscovered in the 1960s,
amidst conflicting claims about the first instance of an electronic computer. At that time ENIAC,
that had been created by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, was considered to be the first
computer in the modern sense, but in 1973 a U.S. District Court invalidated the ENIAC patent and
concluded that the ENIAC inventors had derived the subject matter of the electronic digital
computer from Atanasoff.

Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC), an early digital computer. It was generally believed that the first
electronic digital computers were the Colossus, built in England in 1943, and the ENIAC, built in the
United States in 1945.
 COLOSSUS
(1943)
Colossus was an electronic
digital computer, built
during WWII from over 1700
valves (tubes).
It was used to break the
codes of the German Lorenz
SZ-40 cipher machine that
was used by the German
High Command.
Colossus is sometimes
referred to as the world's
first fixed program, digital,
electronic, computer.
 ELECTRONIC NUMERICAL
INTEGRATOR AND COMPUTER
(1943-1945)
Two University of Pennsylvania professors, John
Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, build the Electronic
Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC).
Considered the grandfather of digital computers, it
fills a 20-foot by 40-foot room and has 18,000
vacuum tubes.
ENIAC was the world's first electronic general-
purpose computer. It was Turing-complete, digital
and able to solve "large class of numerical problems"
through reprogramming.
Although ENIAC was designed and primarily used to
calculate artillery firing tables for the United States
Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory its first program
was a study of the feasibility of the thermonuclear
weapon.
The first large-scale computer to run at electronic
speed without being slowed by any mechanical
parts. For a decade, until a 1955 lightning strike,
ENIAC may have run more calculations than all
mankind had done up to that point.
ELECTRONIC DISCRETE
VARIABLE AUTOMATIC
COMPUTER
(1946)

Invented by John Presper Eckert

and John William Mauchly in the
year 1946, who were also the
inventors of ENIAC
was octal based, rather than
binary.

EDVAC was binary based, and

used stored programs.
1947:
William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain of Bell Laboratories invent the
transistor.
They discovered how to make an electric switch with solid materials and no need for
a vacuum.
 UNIVERSAL
AUTOMATIC
COMPUTER
(1951)
The U.S. Census Bureau dedicates
UNIVAC: the world's first commercially
produced electronic digital computer.
Developed by J. Presper Eckert and
John Mauchly, makers of ENIAC, the
first general-purpose electronic digital
computer.
The UNIVAC was used for general
purpose computing with large
amounts of input and output.
 IBM 701
(1952)

The IBM 701 Electronic Data Processing

Machine, known as the Defense Calculator
while in development, was IBM’s first
commercial scientific computer, which was
announced to the public on April 29, 1952.
It was designed by Nathaniel Rochester and
based on the IAS machine at Princeton.
IBM ships its Model 701 Electronic Data
Processing Machine
During three years of production, IBM sells
19 701s to research laboratories, aircraft
companies, and the federal government.
 IBM 650
(1953)

The IBM 650 Magnetic

Drum Data-Processing
Machine is one of IBM's
early computers.
The first one was installed
in late 1954 and it was
the most-popular
computer for the next 5
years.
This was the first mass-
produced computer .
1953:
Grace Hopper develops the first computer language, which eventually
becomes known as COBOL.
Thomas Johnson Watson Jr., son of IBM CEO Thomas Johnson Watson Sr.,
conceives the IBM 701 EDPM to help the United Nations keep tabs on Korea
during the war.

1954:
The FORTRAN programming language, an acronym for FORmula TRANslation,
is developed by a team of programmers at IBM led by John Backus, according
to the University of Michigan.
 Second Generation: Transistors
(1956-1963)

• The world would see transistors replace vacuum tubes in the second generation of computers.
• The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller,
faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation
predecessors. Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the
computer to damage, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube.
• Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for
output.
• From Binary to Assembly:
Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or
assembly,languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words.
DATAMATIC 1000
(1957)

Datamatic 1000 was a vacuum tubes

computers developed in 1956. It
originated the 48-bits architecture
used on Honeywell Series 400 and
800.
Seven systems had been delivered in
1957 prior tha Honeywell
acquisition, the first customer being
Blue Cross/Blue Field of Michigan.
1958:
Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce unveil the integrated circuit, known as the computer chip.
Kilby was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000 for his work.
 IBM 1401
(1959)
The IBM 1401 is a variable-wordlength
decimal computer.
The first member of the highly
successful IBM 1400 series, it was
aimed at replacing unit record
equipment for processing data stored
on punched cards and at providing
peripheral services for larger
computers.
It performs the arithmetic and logical
functions, controls card reading and
punching, magnetic tape input and
output, and tells the printer what to
print and where to print it. The 1401
automatically edits the systems printed
output for spacing, punctuation and
format.
 IBM 7090/94
(1959)

The IBM 7090 is a second-

generation transistorized version
of the earlier IBM 709 vacuum
tube mainframe computer that
was designed for "large-scale
scientific and technological
applications". The 7090 is the
fourth member of the IBM
700/7000 series scientific
computers.
 Third Generation: Integrated Circuits
(1964-1971)
• The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of
computers.
• Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which
drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers.
• Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers
through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the
• • •
device to run many different applications at one time with a central program that monitored
the memory.
• Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were
smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.
 UNIVAC 1108
(1964)

The UNIVAC was used for general

purpose computing with large
amounts of input and output.
These giant computers, which
used thousands of vacuum tubes
for computation, were the
forerunners of today's digital
computers
In 1964, Douglas Engelbart shows a prototype of the
modern computer, with a mouse and a graphical user
interface (GUI). This marks the evolution of the computer
from a specialized machine for scientists and
mathematicians to technology that is more accessible to
the general public.
 IBM 360
(1964)

It was the first family of

computers designed to
cover the complete range
of applications, from small
to large, both commercial
and scientific.
 PDP 8
(1965)
The PDP-8 (Programmed Data Processor)
is a 12-bit minicomputer that was
produced by Digital Equipment
Corporation. It was the first commercially
successful minicomputer, with over
50,000 units being sold over the model's
lifetime.
Consideres as a general purpose
minicomputer, because its configuration
allowed many types of peripheral devices
to be connected to it. It is shown here
configured for data processing, with
conventional teletypewriters (front
foreground), and a line printer (back left)
1969:
A group of developers at Bell Labs produce UNIX, an operating system that
addressed compatibility issues.
Written in the C programming language, UNIX was portable across multiple
platforms and became the operating system of choice among mainframes at
large companies and government entities.
Due to the slow nature of the system, it never quite gained traction among
home PC users.

1970:
The newly formed Intel unveils the Intel 1103, the first Dynamic Access
Memory (DRAM) chip.
 Fourth Generation: Microprocessors
(1971-Present)

• The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated

circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room could
now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the
components of the computer—from the central processing unit and memory to input/output
controls—on a single chip.
• Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many areas of life as
more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors.
• As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks,
which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw
the development of GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices.
1971:
Alan Shugart leads a team of IBM engineers who invent the "floppy
disk," allowing data to be shared among computers.
 WANG 2200
(1973)
The Wang 2200 appeared in May
1973,and was Wang Laboratories' first
minicomputer that could perform
data processing in a common
computer language.
It had a cathode ray tube (CRT) in a
cabinet that also included an
integrated computer-controlled
cassette tape storage unit and
keyboard.
Microcoded to run interpretive BASIC,
about 65,000 systems were shipped in
its lifetime and it found wide use in
small and medium-size businesses
worldwide.
1973:
Robert Metcalfe, a member of the research staff for Xerox, develops
Ethernet for connecting multiple computers and other hardware.
The Altair 8800 is a microcomputer designed in 1974 by MITS
and based on the Intel 8080 CPU.
The January issue of Popular Electronics magazine features
the Altair 8080, described as the "world's first
minicomputer kit to rival commercial models."

Two "computer geeks," Paul Allen and Bill Gates, offer to

write software for the Altair, using the new BASIC
language.

On April 4, after the success of this first endeavor, the two

childhood friends form their own software company,
Microsoft.
COMMODORE PET
(1977)

A number of personal
computers hit the market,
including Scelbi & Mark-8
Altair, IBM 5100, Radio
Shack's TRS-80 —
affectionately known as the
"Trash 80" — and the
Commodore PET.
 TRASH 80
(1977)

The TRS-80 Micro Computer System

(TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to
distinguish it from successors) is a
desktop microcomputer launched in
1977 and sold by Tandy Corporation
through their RadioShack stores.
The name is an abbreviation of
Tandy/RadioShack, Z80 microprocessor.
It is one of the earliest mass-produced
and mass-marketed retail home
computers.
 APPLE I
(1976)

A desktop computer
released by the Apple
Computer Company in
1976.
It was designed and hand-
built by Steve Wozniak.
The idea of selling the
computer came from
Wozniak's friend Steve Jobs.
1977:
Jobs and Wozniak incorporate Apple and show the Apple II at the first West Coast
Computer Faire. It offers color graphics and incorporates an audio cassette drive for
storage.

1978:
Accountants rejoice at the introduction of VisiCalc, the first computerized
spreadsheet program.

1979:
Word processing becomes a reality as MicroPro International releases WordStar.
"The defining change was to add margins and word wrap," said creator Rob Barnaby
in email to Mike Petrie in 2000. "Additional changes included getting rid of command
mode and adding a print function. I was the technical brains — I figured out how to
do it, and did it, and documented it. "
 ACORN
(1981)

The first IBM personal computer,

code-named "Acorn," is introduced.
It uses Microsoft's MS-DOS operating
system.
It has an Intel chip, two floppy disks
and an optional color monitor.
Sears & Roebuck and Computerland
sell the machines, marking the first
time a computer is available through
outside distributors.
It also popularizes the term PC.
 GAVILAN-SC
(1983)

The Gavilan SC was a

laptop computer, and was
the first ever to be
marketed as a "laptop".
 A1000
(1985)
The Commodore
Amiga 1000, also
known as the A1000
and originally
marketed as the
Amiga, is the first
personal computer
released by
Commodore
International in the
Amiga line.
 COMPAQ
DESKPRO 386
(1986)

The Compaq Deskpro was a line of

business-oriented personal
computers manufactured by
Compaq, then discontinued after
the merger with Hewlett-Packard.
Models were produced containing
microprocessors from the 8086 up
to the x86-based Intel Pentium 4.
1985:
The first dot-com domain name is registered on March 15, years before the World Wide Web would mark the formal beginning of Internet
history. The Symbolics Computer Company, a small Massachusetts computer manufacturer, registers Symbolics.com. More than two years
later, only 100 dot-coms had been registered.

1986:
Compaq brings the Deskpro 386 to market. Its 32-bit architecture provides as speed comparable to mainframes.

1990:
Tim Berners-Lee, a researcher at CERN, the high-energy physics laboratory in Geneva, develops HyperText Markup Language (HTML), giving
rise to the World Wide Web.

1993:
The Pentium microprocessor advances the use of graphics and music on PCs.

1994:
PCs become gaming machines as "Command & Conquer," "Alone in the Dark 2," "Theme Park," "Magic Carpet," "Descent" and "Little Big
Adventure" are among the games to hit the market.

1996:
Sergey Brin and Larry Page develop the Google search engine at Stanford University.

1997:
Microsoft invests $150 million in Apple, which was struggling at the time, ending Apple's court case against Microsoft in which it alleged
that Microsoft copied the "look and feel" of its operating system.

1999:
The term Wi-Fi becomes part of the computing language and users begin connecting to the Internet without wires.
 Fifth Generation: Artificial Intelligence
(Present-Beyond)

• Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in

development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are
being used today.
• The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial
intelligence a reality.
• Quantum computation and molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the
face of computers in years to come.
• The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural
language input and are capable of learning and self-organization.
2001:
Apple unveils the Mac OS X operating system, which provides protected memory architecture and pre-
emptive multi-tasking, among other benefits. Not to be outdone, Microsoft rolls out Windows XP, which has
a significantly redesigned GUI.

2003:
The first 64-bit processor, AMD's Athlon 64, becomes available to the consumer market.

2004:
Mozilla's Firefox 1.0 challenges Microsoft's Internet Explorer, the dominant Web browser. Facebook, a social
networking site, launches.

2005:
YouTube, a video sharing service, is founded. Google acquires Android, a Linux-based mobile phone
operating system.
MACBOOK PRO
(2006)

Apple introduces the

MacBook Pro, its first
Intel-based, dual-core
mobile computer, as well
as an Intel-based iMac.
Nintendo's Wii game
console hits the market.
2007:
The iPhone brings many computer functions to the smartphone.

2009:
Microsoft launches Windows 7, which offers the ability to pin
applications to the taskbar and advances in touch and handwriting
recognition, among other features.
iPAD
(2010)

Apple unveils the iPad, changing the way consumers view media and
jumpstarting the dormant tablet computer segment.
2011:
Google releases the Chromebook, a laptop that runs the Google Chrome OS.

2012:
Facebook gains 1 billion users on October 4.

2015:
Apple releases the Apple Watch. Microsoft releases Windows 10.

2016:
The first reprogrammable quantum computer was created. "Until now, there hasn't been any quantum-computing
platform that had the capability to program new algorithms into their system. They're usually each tailored to
attack a particular algorithm," said study lead author Shantanu Debnath, a quantum physicist and optical engineer
at the University of Maryland, College Park.

2017:
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing a new "Molecular Informatics" program
that uses molecules as computers. "Chemistry offers a rich set of properties that we may be able to harness for
rapid, scalable information storage and processing," Anne Fischer, program manager in DARPA's Defense Sciences
Office, said in a statement. "Millions of molecules exist, and each molecule has a unique three-dimensional atomic
structure as well as variables such as shape, size, or even color. This richness provides a vast design space for
exploring novel and multi-value ways to encode and process data beyond the 0s and 1s of current logic-based,
digital architectures
That's all.

Group IV:
 Argente, Angelica P.
 Gaganao, Kate G.
 Calvadores, Adam
 Navidad, June