2. The first electronic digital computers were developed in the 20th
century (1940–1945). Originally, they were the size of a large room,
consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal
computers (PCs). In this era mechanical analog computers were
used for military applications.
3. Modern computers based on integrated circuits are millions to billions
of times more capable than the early machines, and occupy a fraction
of the space. Simple computers are small enough to fit into mobile
devices, and mobile computers can be powered by small batteries.
Personal computers in their various forms are icons of the Information
Age and are what most people think of as "computers". However, the
embedded computers found in many devices from mp3 players to
fighter aircraft and from toys to industrial robots are the most
numerous.
4. The first use of the word "computer" was recorded
in 1613, referring to a person who carried out
calculations and the word continued with the same
meaning until the middle of the 20th century. From
the end of the 19th century the word began to take
on its more familiar meaning, a machine that carries
out computations.
5. In 1837, Charles Babbage was the first to conceptualize and
design a fully programmable mechanical computer, his
analytical engine. Limited finances and Babbage's inability to
resist tinkering with the design meant that the device was
never completed—nevertheless his son, Henry Babbage,
completed a simplified version of the analytical engine's
computing unit (the mill) in 1888.
6. The Atanasoff–Berry Computer (ABC) was the world's first
electronic digital computer, albeit not programmable.
Atanasoff is considered to be one of the fathers of the
computer.
7. The first program-controlled computer was invented
by Konrad Zuse, who built the Z3, an
electromechanical computing machine, in 1941.
8. The first programmable electronic computer was
the Colossus, built in 1943 by Tommy Flowers.
