History of Computers

Who invented the computer? is not a

question with a simple answer. The
real answer is that many inventors
contributed to the history of computers
and that a computer is a complex
piece of machinery made up of many
parts, each of which can be considered
a separate invention.
-Mary Bellis
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What was it before

computers?
Manual calculators
abacus
Napier bones
slide rule

What was it before

computers?
Mechanical calculators
Schickards calculator (1623)
series of interlocking geard

Pascaline (1642)
performed basic arithmetic operations

What was it before

computers?
Mechanical calculators
Leibniz calculator (1673)
similar with pascaline

de Colmars Arithmometer (1820)

first mass produced mechanical calculator

What was it before

computers?
Difference engine
(1822)
device proposed by
Charles Babbage that
would operate using
steam engine
too complicated to work
until 1853

What was it before

computers?
Analytical engine (1834)
new device designed by Babbage
never completed
design embodies many concepts that
define modern computers

memory
programmable processor
output device
user-definable input
data
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Computer Prototypes
Prototype
experimental device that must be
further developed and perfected before
going into production and becoming
widely available.

ABC (circa 1942)

Atanasoff-Berry Computer
John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry (Iowa State
University)

Represented several innovations in

computing
binary system of arithmetic
parallel processing
regenerative memory
separation of memory and computing
functions.
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Atanasoff-Berry Computer

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Z1 (1936)
Mechanical calculator, first binary computer
Invented by Konrad Zuse
Z2 invented in 1939
first fully functioning electro-mechanical
computer

Z3 invented in 1941
digital computer based on a binary floatingpoint number and switching system
used old movie film instead of paper and punch
card to store data
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Z
1
Z2

Z3
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MARK Series (1944)

Designed by Howard Aiken and
Grace Hopper at Harvard University
MARK I in 1944
Giant roomful of noisy, clicking metal
parts, 55ft X 8ft
Used by US Navy for gunnery and
ballistic calculations
In operation until 1959

13

Harvard MARK Computer

14

ENIAC (1945)
Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Computer
Developed by John Mauchly and J.
Presper Eckert
Sponsored by the US military
for writing artillery-firing tables

15

ENIAC

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First Generation Computers

Characterized by their use of
vacuum tubes to store
individual bits of data
Vacuum tube
An electronic device that controls
the flow of electrons in a vacuum
Respond more quickly than
mechanical relays, resulting in
faster computations, but they also
have several disadvantages
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UNIVAC (1951)
Universal Automatic Computer
Developed by John Mauchly and J.
Presper Eckert
Considered by most historians to be
the first commercially successful
digital computer
Could read data at the rate of 7,200
characters per second, and complete
2.25 million instruction cycles per
second

18

UNIVAC 1

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Second Generation
Computers
Generations of computers that
used transistors instead of
vacuum tubes
Transistors
regulate current or voltage flow and
act as a switch for electronic signals
performed functions similar to
vacuum tubes, but they were much
smaller, cheaper, less power hungry,
and more reliable
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Third Generation Computers

Based on integrated circuits
Became possible in 1958, when Jack Kilby at
Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce at
Fairchild Semiconductor independently
developed integrated circuits
Integrated circuit
Packed the equivalent of thousands of vacuum
tubes or transistors onto a single miniature chip,
vastly reducing the physical size, weight, and
power requirements for devices such as
computers
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First Integrated Circuit

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Third Generation Computers

First computers to incorporate ICs
RCA Spectra 70
IBM 360

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Third Generation Computers

DEC PDP-8
The first commercially successful
minicomputer

IBM AS/400
One of the few remaining devices that
could be classified as a minicomputer

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Fourth Generation
Computers
Microprocessor-based computer systems
that were faster, smaller, and even less
expensive than third-generation
computers
Microprocessor
developed by Ted Hoff in 1971
Intel 4004
equivalent to 2,300 transistors
4 bit data path
ran at 108 KHz
25

Home Computers (early

1970s)
Based on microprocessors
Utilize LSI (large scale integration)
and VLSI (very large scale
integration)
Smaller, faster and more complex
than computers built on ICs

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Scelbi
Scientific Electronic Biological
Computer

27

MARK 8

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Altair 8800

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IBM 5100

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Personal Computer (1981)

IBM PC
Introduced by IBM
MS-DOS 1.0 operating system
Intel 8088 processor
Success lead many other companies to
develop their products IBM compatible

IBM PC XT
The IBM PC was soon followed by the IBM PC
XT, which featured RAM upgradable to 640
KB, and a 10 MB hard disk drive.
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First IBM PCs

32

Personal Computers by
Apple
Apple I
a kit containing a system board with 4 KB of
RAM that sold for $666.66.
released during 1976 by Apple Computer
Corporation founded by Steve Jobs and Steve
Wozniak.

Apple II
preassembled computer which featured color
graphics, expansion slots, a disk drive, a 1.07
MHz 6502 processor, and 16 KB of RAM for
$1,195.
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Personal Computers by
Apple

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Apple Lisa
Computer developed by Apple
Computer, Inc.
Developed starting 1978, released 1983
Features:
protected memory, cooperative multitasking
hard disk based OS, built-in screensaver
advanced calculator, numeric keypad
support for up to 2MB RAM
Motorola 68000 CPU running at 5 MHz
35

Apple Lisa

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Apple Macintosh
Featured a graphical user interface
that made programs easier to use
than those on the command-linebased IBM PC.

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Microsoft Windows 1.0

(1983)
Announced this new OS in 1983 but was
released in 1985
Originally called Interface Manager but
Windows prevailed because it best
describes the boxes or computing
windows that are fundamental to the new
system
Provides graphical user interface (GUI)
Multitasking environment for IBM
computers
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Windows 1.0 Screenshot

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Trends
Desktop computers were very famous and
still are available
Trend goes to portable devices
Portable computers became smaller, lighter
and popular
outsold desktop computers in 2005

Apple iPhone ushered in the era of handheld

computing devices
Smartphones outsold desktop and notebook
computers in 2011
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