Personal computers also known as PC’s, are used in a variety of ways. PC’s have a wide range of uses, but the typical PC is used primarily for work, education and gaming. A common PC today usually includes the system itself, a monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse. But how did computers come to what they are today? Computers themselves, are devices that are used to carry out certain tasks or operations. So with this, what was the first computer? As there are many different classifications of computers there is no easy answer. There are Abacus’s which are also known as “counting frames”, that are calculating tools used for basic math such as addition, division, subtraction and multiplication they made their first appearance between 2700-2300 BC (Ifrah). However, the first mechanical computer was created by Charles Babbage in 1822 (Babbage). So consequently, computers have been around for centuries but it wasn't until the mid 1900’s that computers were becoming more advanced and developed. In 1943 the first digital computer was invented by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania. This computer took 3 years to complete and occupied more than 1,800 square feet and weighed a grand total of 50 tons. This computer, was the first digital computer to be ruled out by a judge because it was the first fully functional (Bellis).
Continuing along history, the first computer that had stored memory, was developed by a group of code-breakers working for the Navy during WWII and was the first computer capable to perform tasks, out of given memory. Later, MIT made the “Whirlwind Machine”, which revolutionized computers with RAM also known as “random access memory” a type of computer memory that can be accessed without t...
... middle of paper ...
...ry. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from http://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~elf/abacus/history.html
(Babbage) University of Minnesota (2013, April 3). Charles Babbage Institute: Who Was Charles Babbage? Retrieved November 25, 2013, from http://www.cbi.umn.edu/about/babbage.html
Bellis, M. (n.d.). John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry - The First All Electronic Computer. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa050898.htm
(Strickland) Strickland, J. (2009, February 26). How Moore's Law Works. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from http://www.howstuffworks.com/moores-law.htm
Zander, D. (2013, February 20). The Parts of a Computer and what they do. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from http://www.build-my-home-computer.com/parts-of-a-computer.html
Note: I have built a PC before and I know all the parts im including this link for the reader if interested
Grabianowski, E. (2012, 08 16). How the Mafia works. Retrieved 03 22, 2014, from How stuff works: people.howstuffworks.com/mafia8.html
Harris, T. (n.d.). how body armor works. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from How stuff works: http://schienc.howstuffworks.com/body-armor.htm
The lack of the internal drive, even 1 k drives proved to be very hard on the computers of the 1950’s (“Hackers” Internet) “with out the hard drives, programmers had
Herman Hollerith (1860 - 1929) founded IBM ( as the Tabulating Machine Company ) in 1896. The company renames known as IBM in 1924. In 1906 Lee D. Forest in America developed the electronic tube (an electronic value). Before this it would have been impossible to make digital electronic computers. In 1919 W. H. Eccles and F. W. Jordan published the first flip-flop circuit design.
Palermo, E. (2013, August 28). How Does Newton's Cradle Work? Retrieved May 17, 2014, from www.livescience.com: m.livescience.com/39271-how-does-newtons-cradle-work.html
There are many different beginnings to the origins of computers. Their origins could be dated back more than two thousand years ago, depending on what a person means when they ask where the first computer came from. Most primitive computers were created for the purpose of running simple programs at best. (Daves Old Computers) However, the first ‘digital’ computer was created for the purposes of binary arithmetic, otherwise known as simple math. It was also created for regenerative memory, parallel processing, and separation of memory and computing functions. Built by John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry during 1937-1942, it was dubbed the Atanasoff Berry Computer (ABC).
If there is one piece of technology in this world today that has been through thousands of revolutions and evolutions in the past several decades, it is the computer. The basis of all computers is the microprocessor, which is integrated on the motherboard which functions as the computer's nucleus or brain. The microprocessor has evolved heavily since Intel's discovery of the 4004 in 1971 to the present Pentium III class processors. Even today, the speed, complexity, versatility, and efficiency of processors are enhancing at a lightning fast pace.
"Technology is like fish. The longer it stays on the shelf, the less desirable it becomes." (1) Since the dawn of computers, there has always been a want for a faster, better technology. These needs can be provided for quickly, but become obsolete even quicker. In 1981, the first "true portable computer", the Osborne 1 was introduced by the Osborne Computer Corporation. (2) This computer revolutionized the way that computers were used and introduced a brand new working opportunity.
Ann, J. (2013, November 5). How Technology Makes Kids Smarter. In How To Learn.com. Retrieved from http:/www.howtolearn.com/2013/how-technology-makes-kids-smarter
The First Generation of Computers The first generation of computers, beginning around the end of World War 2, and continuing until around the year 1957, included computers that used vacuum tubes, drum memories, and programming in machine code. Computers at that time where mammoth machines that did not have the power our present day desktop microcomputers. In 1950, the first real-time, interactive computer was completed by a design team at MIT. The "Whirlwind Computer," as it was called, was a revamped U.S. Navy project for developing an aircraft simulator.
The fist computer, known as the abacus, was made of wood and parallel wires on which beads were strung. Arithmetic operations were performed when the beads were moved along the wire according to “programming” rules that had to be memorized by the user (Soma, 14). The second earliest computer, invented by Blaise Pascal in 1694, was a “digital calculating machine.” Pascal designed this first known digital computer to help his father, who was a tax collector. Pascal’s computer could only add numbers, and they had to be entered by turning dials (Soma, 32). It required a manual process like its ancestor, the abacus. Automation was introduced in the early 1800’s by a mathematics professor named Charles Babbage. He created an automatic calculation machine that was steam powered and stored up to 1000 50-digit numbers. Unlike its two earliest ancestors, Babbage’s invention was able to perform various operations. It relied on cards with holes punched in them, which are called “punch cards.” These cards carried out the programming and storing operations for the machine. Unluckily, Babbage’s creation flopped due to the lack of mechanical precision and the lack of demand for the product (Soma, 46). The machine could not operate efficiently because technology was t adequate to make the machine operate efficiently Computer interest dwindled for many years, and it wasn’t until the mid-1800’s that people became interested in them once again.
The history of the computer dates back all the way to the prehistoric times. The first step towards the development of the computer, the abacus, was developed in Babylonia in 500 B.C. and functioned as a simple counting tool. It was not until thousands of years later that the first calculator was produced. In 1623, the first mechanical calculator was invented by Wilhelm Schikard, the “Calculating Clock,” as it was often referred to as, “performed it’s operations by wheels, which worked similar to a car’s odometer” (Evolution, 1). Still, there had not yet been anything invented that could even be characterized as a computer. Finally, in 1625 the slide rule was created becoming “the first analog computer of the modern ages” (Evolution, 1). One of the biggest breakthroughs came from by Blaise Pascal in 1642, who invented a mechanical calculator whose main function was adding and subtracting numbers. Years later, Gottfried Leibnez improved Pascal’s model by allowing it to also perform such operations as multiplying, dividing, taking the square root.
The ENIAC (Electrical Numerical Integrator And Calculator) was the first computer developed in the United States. John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering created the Eniac Computer. John Mauchly was the chief consultant and John Presper Eckert was the chief engineer. John Presper Eckert obtained his Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1941 and his Master's degree in 1943, which qualified him to be chief engineer on the project. John Mauchly received his Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degree at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland in physics. John Eckert met John Mauchly when he was a graduate student. It took Mauchly and Eckert one year to design and 18 months to build the Eniac.
A motherboard is a much larger topic to discuss. The motherboard sometimes referred to as the mainboard, system board, planar board or logic board is the main printed circuit board in computers. It is a large board generally made of silicon that holds basically all of the crucial electronic components of the system. Components such as the CPU, memory, optical drives, video card, sound card and connections for other peripherals are fixed on the motherboard. Motherboards vary greatly as far as what components they are compatible with. Each mother board only supports one type of (CPU).
A computer is a device which is used for several applications; business, gaming, or school. It’s important for people to know how computers work because in this day and age, operating a computer is an everyday task. This complex electrical device utilizes several parts inside of it to keep itself cool, conduct the proper tasks, and maintain stability. These devices can be found several places whether it be on the job, in one’s room, or on a school campus. Computers are essential for everyday use in order to complete what is required. What each component is and its function will be described.