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Short note on the history of the computer
Short note on the history of the computer
Short note on the history of the computer
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The History of the Computer
"This reminds me of a revelation I had a few years ago, after getting my first CD-ROM drive. I'd manage to misplace a CD containing a multimedia encyclopedia and eventually found it sitting on the floor under my desk. I realised then that never before in human history had it been possible to lose an entire 28 volume encyclopedia by dropping it behind a piece of furniture. Now that's what I call progress!" (Computer Quotes) The information age is marked by the widespread use of the personal computer. Beginning with Ed Roberts’ first computer through to the development of the world’s fastest computer in Japan, the use of the personal computer has revolutionized our country, and in fact, our world.
Although Roberts created the first computer, there were many stepping stones that led up to its conception. For instance, he negotiated with Intel to use their silicon chips. These chips were an uprising in their own creation. Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore created them. This in turn was modified to become a single-chip microprocessor. This was very important because it could be programmed, and memory could be added onto it. Thus, using Intel’s chip as a foundation, Roberts created the first computer, the Altair 8800. His company, Model Instrumentation Telemetry Systems (MITS), marketed these machines as a last hope strategy to decrease debt within the company. Little did they know that the demand for the Altair 8800 would never die down, nor that it was a great rise in modern technology.
Because of the rise in interest in computers, there formed a group, Homebrew Computer Club, which discussed how to build computers. One of its members, Steve Wozniak, soon created another version of a computer, the Apple I. Other computers also built around 1977 were the IMSAI 8080, built by IMSAI, Radio Shack’s TRS-80, and the most advanced thus far that year, the Commodore PET. This machine, contrived by Commodore, had a monitor, keyboard, and cassette player, as opposed to antecedent devices, which had switchboards and lights to indicate signals. Apple soon was influenced by this computer, and decided to make their next computer, the Apple II, a more consumer-friendly machine, in 1979. Thus, it was enclosed in a plastic casing and came with a video monitor, keyboard, cassette interface (which stored data), and game paddles. It was also capable of having stored programs, or installing programs onto it.
In 1976, Apple was just an idea being made in a garage by Steve Wozniak and the well-known owner of Apple, Steven Jobs. The two were college drop-outs and were looked at as outcasts. The first invention that Apple introduced was the Apple I. On April 1, 1976 Apple computer was made a reality (Glen). The company did not take off until 1977, when Apple introduced the Apple II. The Apple II was the first personal computer to have plastic casing and color graphics (Glen). Then in early 1978, the Apple Disk II was invented. It was Apple’s most inexpensive product of the time and had easy to use floppy disk (Glen). By 1980, the Apple III had been invented and the sales were increasing and so was the company. Apple had several of thousand employees and managers and had developed many investors. Fast forward twenty-one years to 2001, when Apple made the iPod. From there Apple grew like wildfire, with the invention of the iPhone in 2007 and many version...
...m simple tasks. Then Massachusetts Institute of Technology students, led by Vannevar Bush, fabricated the first analog computer, which could perform more complicated tasks than the previous computer. The analog computer was improved upon even further by Howard Aiken, who created the first computer with memory (Brinkley 643).
From the first Apple computer to the iWatch, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started out in the business of kit computers with the Apple I. This initial production run, although popular as a collectible now, will mainly be remembered for helping the company get enough capital to build the Apple II in 1977 - the same year Apple officially incorporated. Steve Wozniak primarily built both these computers and Steve Jobs handled the marketing side. The Apple II drove the company’s revenue until the mid-1980s despite the hardware remaining the same. Apple attempted updates like the Apple III and the Apple Lisa, but these failed to catch on commercially. Although the Apple II was still selling, Apple as a company was in trouble when the 80s began. The 1984 release of the Macintosh was a leap forward for Apple, but in the intervening years between the Apple II and the Macintosh, IBM had caught up. Disappointing revenues from the Macintosh and internal struggles for control led to Apple’s board dismissing Steve Jobs in favor of John Sculley. Steve Inc. Under Sculley, Apple started growing its product lines. John Sculley served as Apple’s CEO
People have been in awe of computers since they were first invented. At first scientist said that computers would only be for government usage only. “Then when the scientists saw the potential computers had, scientist then predicted that by 1990 computers may one day invade the home of just about ever citizen in the world” (“History” Internet), the scientists were slightly wrong, because by 1990 computers were just beginning to catch on. Then a few years later when scientists when to major corporations to get help with a special project, the corporations said no, because computers would just be a fad and they wouldn’t make much money off of it. “By definition Abacus is the first computer (the proper definition of a computer is one who or that which computes) ever invented” (Internet).
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.
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).
In 1979 Apple II+ is introduced, available with 48K of memory and a new auto-start ROM for easier startup and screen editing for $1,195.
"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.
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).
Prior to the revolution in technology that was microprocessors, making a computer was a large task for any manufacturer. Computers used to be built solely on discrete, or individual, transistors soldered together. Microprocessors act as the brain of a computer, doing all mathematics. Depending on how powerful the machine was intended to be, this could take weeks or even months to produce with individual components. This laborious task put the cost of a computer beyond the reach of any regular person. Computers before lithographic technology were massive and were mostly used in lab scenarios (Brain 1).
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 Apple II earned the company handsome revenue until the mid 1980s though the hardware remained largely the same. Later Apple attempted Apple III and the Apple Lisa which failed.
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.
computer. The electronic computer has been around for over a half-century, but its ancestors have been around for 2000 years. However, only in the last 40 years has it changed the American society. From the first wooden abacus to the latest high-speed microprocessor, the computer has changed nearly every aspect of people’s lives for the