Computer history

1. Pfahler 2008

2. Pfahler 2008
ABACUS
4th Century B.C.
The abacus, a simple counting
aid, may have been invented in
Babylonia (now Iraq) in the fourth
century B.C.
This device allows users to make
computations using a system of
sliding beads arranged on a rack.
Considered the first computer

3. Pfahler 2008
First Computer
ABACUS

4. Pfahler 2008
BLAISE PASCAL
(1623 - 1662)
 In 1642, the French mathematician
and philosopher Blaise Pascal invented a
calculating device that would come to be
called the "Adding Machine".
One of the first and earliest
mechanical devices used for calculating
was the Pascaline

5. Pfahler 2008
BLAISE PASCAL
(1623 - 1662)
 Originally called a "numerical wheel
calculator" or the "Pascaline", Pascal's
invention utilized a train of 8 moveable
dials or cogs to add sums of up to 8
figures long. As one dial turned 10
notches - or a complete revolution - it
mechanically turned the next dial.
Pascal's mechanical Adding Machine
automated the process of calculation.
Although slow by modern standards, this
machine did provide a fair degree of
accuracy and speed.
Only performed addition, not

6. Pfahler 2008
Blaise Pascal
Matiste 2015

7. Pfahler 2008
Gottfried Wilhelm
von Leibniz
The stepped reckoner
Supposed to be able to add,
subtract, multiply, divide and
calculate square roots
**Device never worked properly

8. Pfahler 2008
CHARLES BABBAGE
(1791 - 1871)
 Born in 1791, Charles Babbage
was an English mathematician and
professor.
 In 1822, he persuaded the British
government to finance his design to
build a machine that would calculate
tables for logarithms. Called the
“Difference Engine.”
Device was to calculate numbers to
20th place and print them at 4 digits
per minute.

9. Pfahler 2008
Charles Babbage
1822 Babbage's Difference
Engine

10. Pfahler 2008
Analytical Engine
• 1833
• Used to perform a variety of
calculations by following a set
of instructions or programs
stored on punch cards
• Machine only designed but
never built

11. Pfahler 2008
Joseph Jacquard

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Charles Babbage
Considered the “Father of
Computers”

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14. Pfahler 2008
First Computer
Programmer
Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace

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U.S. Census
• Done every 10 years
• Process done by hand in 19th
century
• Took 10 years to complete
UNTIL

16. Pfahler 2008
Herman Hollerith

17. Hollerith’s Punch Card
Matiste 2015

18. Pfahler 2008
Tabulating Machine

19. Tabulating Machine
• Used electricity rather than mechanical gears
• Holes representing information to be tabulated
were punched in cards
• The location of each hole represented a specific
piece of information (male vs. female)
• Cards inserted into the machine and metal pins
used to open and close electrical circuts
• If the circuit was closed, a computation was
increased by one
Matiste 2015

20. Population Count
• Now took only 6 weeks to count 63 million
Matiste 2015

21. Tabulating Machine Company
International Business Machines
Matiste 2015

22. Pfahler 2008
HOWARD AIKEN
(1900 - 1973)
 Aiken thought he could create a
modern and functioning model of
Babbage's Analytical Engine.
He succeeded in securing a grant of
1 million dollars for his proposed
Automatic Sequence Calculator; the
Mark I for short. From IBM.
In 1944, the Mark I was "switched"
on. Aiken's colossal machine spanned 51
feet in length and 8 feet in height. 500
meters of wiring were required to

23. Pfahler 2008
HOWARD AIKEN
(1900 - 1973)
 The Mark I did transform
Babbage's dream into reality and did
succeed in putting IBM's name on the
forefront of the computer industry.
From 1944 on, modern computers
would forever be associated with
digital intelligence.

24. Pfahler 2008
Howard Aiken
Mark I

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Mark I Calculator

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1939-1942
• First electronic computer
built by John Atanasoff and
Clifford Berry
• Computer used binary number
system of 1 and 0
• Binary system is still used
today

27. Pfahler 2008
ENIAC - 1946
 Electronic Numerical Integrator
And Computer
a machine that computed at speeds
1,000 times faster than the Mark I
was capable of only 2 years earlier.
Using 18,00-19,000 vacuum tubes,
70,000 resistors and 5 million
soldered joints this massive instrument
required the output of a small power
station to operate it.

28. ENIAC

29. Pfahler 2008
ENIAC
1943-1946
 It could do nuclear physics
calculations (in two hours) which it
would have taken 100 engineers a year
to do by hand.
The system's program could be
changed by rewiring a panel.
Weighed 30 tons and was 1500
square feet (average area of a 3
bedroom house

30. Pfahler 2008
ENIAC
1946

31. Computer
• An electronic machine accepts data, processes it
according to instructions and provides the results
as new data
• Can make simple decisions and comparisons
Matiste 2015

32. Program
• List of instructions written in a special
language that the computer understands
Matiste 2015

33. Vacuum Tubes
Matiste 2015

34. 1930’s – 1940’s
• Alan Turning developed “Universal
Machine”
• He envisioned a computer that could
perform any different tasks by simply
changing a program rather than by
changing electronic components
Matiste 2015

35. 1945 – John Von Newmann
• Developed stored programs concept
• Program would be stored in CPU or
Central Processing Unit
Matiste 2015

36. Pfahler 2008
TRANSISTOR
1947
 In the laboratories of Bell
Telephone, John Bardeen, Walter
Brattain and William Shockley
discovered the "transfer resistor";
later labeled the transistor.
Advantages:
increased reliability
consumed 1/20 of the electricity of
vacuum tubes
were a fraction of the cost

37. Pfahler 2008
TRANSISTOR
1947
 This tiny device had a huge impact
on and extensive implications for
modern computers. In 1956, the
transistor won its creators the Noble
Peace Prize for their invention.

38. Transistor
Matiste 2015

39. Transistor Radio
Matiste 2015

40. First Computer Bug
Matiste 2015
Grace Hopper

41. Pfahler 2008
ALTAIR
1975
 The invention of the transistor
made computers smaller, cheaper and
more reliable. Therefore, the stage
was set for the entrance of the
computer into the domestic realm. In
1975, the age of personal computers
commenced.
Under the leadership of Ed Roberts
the Micro Instrumentation and
Telemetry Company (MITS) wanted to
design a computer 'kit' for the home
hobbyist.

42. Pfahler 2008
1970 John Huff
• Transistors were replaced by
integrated circuits or chips, giving
computers tremendous speed to
process information at a rate of
millions of calculations per second.
• In 1970 John Huff invented the
microprocessor, an entire CPU on a
single chip. This allowed for the
building of a microcomputer or
personal computer.

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ALTAIR
1975
 Based on the Intel 8080
processor, capable of controlling 64
kilobyes of memory, the MITS Altair
- as the invention was later called -
was debuted on the cover of the
January edition of Popular Electronics
magazine.
Presenting the Altair as an
unassembled kit kept costs to a
minimum. Therefore, the company was
able to offer this model for only
$395. Supply could not keep up with

44. Pfahler 2008
ALTAIR
1975
 ALTAIR FACTS:
No Keyboard
No Video Display
No Storage Device

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IBM (PC)
1981
 On August 12, 1981 IBM
announced its own personal computer.
Using the 16 bit Intel 8088
microprocessor, allowed for increased
speed and huge amounts of memory.
Unlike the Altair that was sold as
unassembled computer kits, IBM sold
its "ready-made" machine through
retailers and by qualified salespeople.

46. Pfahler 2008
IBM (PC)
1981
 To satisfy consumer appetites and
to increase usability, IBM gave
prototype IBM PCs to a number of
major software companies.
For the first time, small companies
and individuals who never would have
imagined owning a "personal" computer
were now opened to the computer
world.

47. Pfahler 2008
MACINTOSH
(1984)
 IBM's major competitor was a
company lead by Steve Wozniak and
Steve Jobs; the Apple Computer Inc.
The "Lisa" was the result of their
competitive thrust.
This system differed from its
predecessors in its use of a "mouse" -
then a quite foreign computer
instrument - in lieu of manually typing
commands.
However, the outrageous price of
the Lisa kept it out of reach for many
computer buyers.

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MACINTOSH
(1984)
 Apple's brainchild was the
Macintosh. Like the Lisa, the
Macintosh too would make use of a
graphical user interface.
Introduced in January 1984 it was
an immediate success.
The GUI (Graphical User Interface)
made the system easy to use.

49. Pfahler 2008
MACINTOSH
(1984)
 The Apple Macintosh debuts in
1984. It features a simple, graphical
interface, uses the 8-MHz, 32-bit
Motorola 68000 CPU, and has a built-
in 9-inch B/W screen.
 Cost $2,495