I will present a brief history of the computer since it is prominent in society. The twentieth century was a time of invention and innovation. More specifically, there were major advances in computer technology as electricity developed. The invention of the computer originated from the reliance on electrical based machines that stemmed from a dependence upon mechanical devices. The stepping stones for computers originated in the early 1900’s, but computer advancement occurred most prominently from the 1930’s to the 1950’s. In the late 1930’s, using Alan Turing’s Information Theory, the first computer was built. Yet, as more applications of new scientific knowledge were needed to solve problems in the military and scientific communities, computer research increased. Engineers, scientists, and mathematicians were major influences upon the technological industry and its development of computers. These early computers needed teams of specialists in order for the devices to even function. MIT, Harvard, and University of Pennsylvania put together teams of these experts, and although expensive, the United States’ government funded the majority of the support throughout the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. These specialists adapted new technologies applying scientific knowledge to gradually modify and enhance these machines (Cortada 15). It was challenging for the specialists, since “nothing was inevitable; the computer was not a historical phenomenon waiting to happen (14). As time progressed, new materials and advanced ways to package components were introduced in order to lower manufacturing costs. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the older machines were replaced by new ones with a greater function per unit cost (Cortada 12). It was in 1960 and 1961... ... middle of paper ... ...s for desktop computers, Apple introduced its first computer in 1977. It sold for $1,195 and had 16K of Ram. At the time, this was the fastest growing company in American history at the time (Augarten 280). Presently, this computer can be sold at auction for nearly $25,000 (“Old and Gold”). After the introduction of Apple’s computer, IBM presented its PC in 1981; it became the most popular ordinary commodity at the time (Augarten 280). Financially, computers could have been small and inexpensive from the start if Atanasoff published his electrical calculating machine, but instead, the computer originated from the large and costly ENIAC. The computer has made incredible advancements in society for all ages and professions, and early pioneers would have laughed at the thought of computers being used for these purposes, as their work started from room-sized machines.
The introduction of Apple’s Macintosh in 1984 revolutionized the personal computer industry (North, 2011). Although Jobs did not invent the
The development of Apple Inc. came during the unstable economic times of the 1970’s. Best friends and college dropouts, Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak pooled their electronic and business skills to market what was to become the first personal computer. Stephen Wozniak had designed a small computer, the Apple 1, for the enjoyment of some friends at a Homebrew Computer Club meeting. The Apple 1 developed in Steve Jobs’ bedroom and garage, while he envisioned the commercial potential of a personal computer that could help families with personal finances and small businesses with day to day tasks. Vision, drive and creativity allowed this entrepreneur to take the risk to create a business. The challenge of building that business and the desire to control his destiny required passion and perseverance along with innovation.
The subject of this term paper will be about computers in the 1950’s. The divisions that will be covered are; the types of computers there were, the memory capacity of computers, the programming languages of that time, and the uses of the computers for that time. Information will be gathered from the Internet, from books, and from magazines, and from the encyclopedia.
In 1953 it was estimated that there were 100 computers in the world. Computers built between 1959 and 1964 are often regarded as the "second generation" computers, based on transistors and printed circuits - resulting in much smaller computers. 1964 the programming language PL/1 released by IBM. 1964 the launch of IBM 360. These first series of compatible computers. In 1970 Intel introduced the first RAM chip. In 1975 IBM 5100 was released. In 1976 the Apple Computer Inc. was founded, to market Apple I Computer. Designed to Stephen Wozinak and Stephan Jobs. In 1979 the first compact disk was released around 1981 IBM announced PC, the standard model was sold for $2,880.00.
Schlager, Neil, and Josh Lauer. "The History, Development, and Importance of Personal Computers." Science and Its Times 7 (2001): n. pag. Print.
It was Steve Jobs who made Apple leave the garage and make leaps and bounds in the world of technology. Steve Wozniak made the first prototype, but it was Jobs who “saw the potential” in his computer and persuaded Wozniak to sell it (Peterson 106). Even though that first computer saw very little success, Jobs knew that Apple had potential and so released the Apple II. From the beginning Jobs knew what the consumers wanted, and where computers were going to take the world; he had a vision of the opportunities in technology and saw that Apple needed to move in a different direction. In 1984, one year before he left, Jobs finished the Macintosh computer system. He was pushed from his original computer design project, “the Lisa”, and then raced to release the Mac first, but the Lisa was released to the public first. Although the Lisa came out first, the Mac “[became] synonymous with Apple, mark[ing] a…revolution in…personal computing,” (Peterson 106).
Today, in the United States, we all live in an age of technology and science. The use of technology and science has revolutionized our way of life. There are few things in history that have influenced our lives more than a computer. Today, there cannot be any field that is absent of the influence of computer applications. From farming to rocket science, computers have a huge role to play.
Computers are a magnificent feat of technology. They have grown from simple calculators to machines with many functions and abilities. Computers have become so common that almost every home has at least one computer, and schools find them a good source for information and education for their students (Hafner, Katie, unknown). Computers have created new careers and eliminated others and have left a huge impact on our society. The invention of the computer has greatly affected the arts, the business world, and society and history in many different areas, but to understand how great these changes are, it is necessary to take a look at the origins of the computer.
In almost every part of the world Apple and at least one of their products is known. The Apple brand started in the 1970s. Three men founded the organization in 1976, to produce a computer that every citizen could use personally (Sohail, 2010). The first item released was the Apple 1 personal computer kit made by Steve Wozniak (Sohail, 2010). Through the 70s, Apple concentrated on developing storing technologies such as the floppy disk and the use of color, graphics, and spreadsheets used for business (Sohail, 2010). Apple was about to have their first major product release with a million dollar ad campaign. This was the release of the Macintosh personal computer, which also led to Apple’s great reputation (Sohail, 2010).
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 computer evolution has been an amazing one. There have been astonishing achievements in the computer industry, which dates back almost 2000 years. The earliest existence of the computer dates back to the first century, but the electronic computer has only been around for over a half-century. Throughout the last 40 years computers have changed drastically. They have greatly impacted the American lifestyle. A computer can be found in nearly every business and one out of every two households (Hall, 156). Our Society relies critically on computers for almost all of their daily operations and processes. Only once in a lifetime will a new invention like the computer come about.
Without dragging on a long history and kill the excitements, I would just get started here, Charles Babbage created the first computing machine in 1822. He wasn’t planning to actually built a real computers that had millions of software’s in it but indeed a computer that actually solved math problem. He was sick of correcting math problems that all human brains couldn’t solve, therefore he thought of inventing something that would help him solve the headache, but then what he finally was a computer. Computer! What is an computer. As we all know computer is device storing and processing data, typically that binate, according to instructions given to it in a variable program. Computers are also known as PC, laptop, netbook, ultraportable, desktop or even terminal. A brief history on how was a computer was invented, computer was originally found being used in 1613 that meant “ humans who perform calculation and computations. The definition of a computer never changed until 19th century when humans began to realize machines never get tired and can perform calculations much accurately and effectively than any human beings that could ever do. More on, in World War II, mechanical analog computers were used for specialized military applications. During this time the first electronic digital computers were developed.the digital computers were a size of a large room,and it consumed power as 50 over personal computers. The machine contained fifty-foot long camshaft that carried the machine’s thousands of component parts. To prodeuced mathematical tables the MARK -1 was used but than soon it was superseded by stored program computers.
Since the beginning of time, humans have thought and made many inventions. Repeatedly the newer one is better than the older. Our minds have created many remarkable things, however the best invention we ever created is the computer. computers are constantly growing and becoming better every day. Every day computers are capable of doing new things. Even though computers have helped us a lot in our daily lives, many jobs have been lost because of it, now the computer can do all of the things a man can do in seconds! Everything in the world relies on computers and if a universal threat happens in which all computers just malfunction then we are doomed. Computers need to be programmed to be able to work or else it would just be a useless chunk of metal. And we humans need tools to be able to live; we program the computer and it could do a lot of necessary functions that have to be done. It is like a mutual effect between us and he computer (s01821169 1).
Thousands of years ago calculations were done using people’s fingers and pebbles that were found just lying around. Technology has transformed so much that today the most complicated computations are done within seconds. Human dependency on computers is increasing everyday. Just think how hard it would be to live a week without a computer. We owe the advancements of computers and other such electronic devices to the intelligence of men of the past.
If nineteenth century was an era of the Industrial revolution in Europe, I would say that computer and Information Technology have domineered since the twentieth century. The world today is a void without computers, be it healthcare, commerce or any other field, the industry won’t thrive without Information Technology and Computer Science. This ever-growing field of technology has aroused interest in me since my childhood.