The document summarizes the history of computing from the 19th century to present day. It discusses early pioneers like Charles Babbage and the development of computers from human computers to mainframes to microcomputers. The document was presented at an ACS History SIG meeting to discuss topics of interest for the group, including important figures, events, and technologies in computing history as well as suggestions for future talks and activities. Attendees were asked to provide feedback on topics not covered and how the SIG could explore computing's past.

1. ACS History SIG
April 2010
David Benn

2. Back to the Future
The best way to predict the future is to invent it. (Alan
Kay)
On the other hand...
Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to
repeat it. (Winston Churchill)
ACS is 50.
computing goes back a long way...

3. Why should we talk
about history?
to recognise, celebrate, and learn from the past.
To understand, e.g. why are computers, GUIs,
programming languages etc the way they are?
It’s interesting...
Actually, do we need another reason?
We like to explore; the past is no different...

4. “I wish to God these calculations
had been executed by steam.”
Charles Babbage (19th Century inventor)

6. “Before computers were machines,
they were people.” (David Alan Grier)
they were people.” (David Alan Grier)

7. Harvard College
Observatory Human
Computers (1925)

8. Harvard Archives (1891)

9. ENIAC

10. Early (Australian)
Computers
CSIRAC
SILLIAC

12. IBM 7094
IBM
System/360

13. Minicomputers

14. supercomputers

15. Microcomputers

16. Microcomputers

17. Microcomputers

18. Computer Science
But, as Edsger Dijkstra remarked:
“Computing Science is no more about computers
than Astronomy is about Telescopes.”

19. Computer Science

21. Programming
Languages

22. People

23. Operating Systems1969 - UNIX
1985 - OSX (Mach kernel)
1985 - AmigaOS
1991 - Linux
1993 - Windows 7 (via WindowsNT)
1995 - BeOS
1996 - Windows Mobile (via WinCE)
1997 - Symbian (via EPOC32)
2005 - Microsoft Singularity

24. Australia, SA, ACS, ...
CSIRAC, SILLIAC, ...
Computer Society of SA (CSSA) founded in 1960 by
late Prof. Renn Potts & Don Overhue
First society for computing professionals in Australia
(amongst first in world).
CSSA merged with others across Australia in 1966 to
form Australian Computer Society. (ACS)

25. Questions for you
What big topics don’t appear in these slides?
What do you think this SIG should be about?
Do you have suggestions for talk topics, speakers?
Are you interested in writing, reviewing, speaking?
quotes could form basis of SIG meeting topics.

26. References
http://www.philsoc.org/2001Spring/2132transcript.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage
info@ITHistory.org
http://www.ithistory.org
Powerhouse Museum (Babbage etc)
The Computer History Museum
http://dbenn.wordpress.com/2007/01/14/martin-davis-on-the-importance-of-pure-
research/
acs history book, other society’s (IEEE, ACM) journals

27. Notes
Leinbiz (17th century)
Binary number system
Calculus, independently of Newton
Stepped reckoner
calculus ratiocinator
characteristica universalis