History of Computer
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History of Computer:
-important people
Allen, Paul G. – Co-founder of Microsoft Corp. Allen left the company in 1985 but remained on the board of directors and as founded or financially supported several innovative computer ventures, including Asymetrix and Starware Corp. He is involved with a variety of other projects, including a Jimi Hendrix Museum in Seattle.
Amdahl, Gene M – South Dakota native who helped design the IBM 704, the S/360 series. He was the founder of the Amdahl Corp.
Andreessen, Marc – Co-founder (at the age of 22) of Netscape Communications, along with Silicon Graphics founder James H. Clark. Before Andreessen graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign, he had created the NCSA Mosaic prototype with a team of students and staff at the universitys National Center for Supercomputing Applications.
Babbage, Charles (1791-1871) – Eccentric, English mathematician who is considered to have conceptualized the modern computer a century before technology let it be built. He conceptualized the Difference Engine, a machine that would have computed lengthy scientific tables, but money, labor, and health problems prevented its completion. The Analytical Engine, a more ambitious plan, would have done a wide range of calculating tasks. With it, Babbage recognized the need for an input device, memory, a central processing unit, and an output device, and for this he is known as the Father of Computing.
Backus, John W. – Mathematician from Philadelphia who headed the research team at IBM that created FORTRAN, the first machine independent programming language.
-important devices/developments
Floppy Drive – The floppy drive is always called “Drive A:”. A floppy disk can hold 1.5 megabytes of data. Thats about 1,500,000 characters or letters (or about 300,000 words). Thats more than enough space for the text of a large book. Pictures, however, take up a great deal of room. You could only fit a small number of good-quality pictures (or graphics) on a floppy disk.
Hard drive – This drive uses disks that are made of aluminium or glass (and therefore hard). Each disk can store much more information than either a floppy or CD-ROM. Sometimes, there may be several disks in a hard drive. However, the disks in a normal hard drive can not be removed or replaced. Today, hard drives are measured in gigabytes. Thats one thousand million bytes. 1 gigabyte is about 11/3 CD-ROM disks.
Motherboard – Everything inside the computer is connected to a circuit board called the motherboard. The motherboard has sockets for the computers brain, called a CPU; the computers memory (RAM, ROM and CMOS); and for add-on cards to control the video (picture), audio (sound), printer and anything else that might be connected to the computer. You may also find a modem inside on an add-on card.
RAM – This stands for Random Access Memory. Everything you do with the computer is stored in RAM until you save your work to a disk. If the computer should lose power, everything in RAM is wiped out. You would have to start all over again (unless you saved it)! Today computers have 16 megabytes of RAM or more. (Some older computers may have less.)
CPU – This stands for Central Processing Unit and is the brain of the computer. Most CPUs today are made by Intel and bear such names as Pentium, Pentium Pro and Pentium II. Older Intel CPUs include the 80486 and 80386 families. Other manufacrurers also make CPUs: Motorolla for the Macintosh, AMD and Cirrus for PCs and others.
-generations
General Features of First Generation Computers
The First Generation was from 1946 to 1956
Computers in this generation did from 2,000 to 16,000 additions per second
Had main memory from 100 bytes to 2 kilobytes (2,000 bytes)
All computers of this generation used vacuum tubes to perform calculations
Vacuum tubes are expensive because of the amount of materials and skill needed to make them.
Vacuum tubes get hot and burn out light an incandescent light bulb.
All computers in this generation where very large machines
Needed special rooms to house them with air conditioning because of the heat generated by the vacuum tubes
All required specially trained technicians to run and maintain them
General Features of the Second Generation
From 1959 to around 1965
Smaller, faster, and more reliable than the First Generation of computers
Used transistors instead of vacuum tubes for performing calculations
6,000 to 3,000,000 operations per second
6 kilobytes to 1.3 megabytes of main memory
Contained in four cabinets about 6 feet high by 4 feet wide, each weighing 250 pounds
Cost about one-tenth the price of a First Generation computer
Computers become common in larger businesses and universities
Third Generation – Integrated Circuits
General Features of the Third Generation
Form 1965 to around 1972
Used integrated circuits – many transistors on one piece of silicon
Computers become smaller, faster, more reliable, and lower in price
Size of a stove or refrigerator, some can fit on desktops
Can do 100,000 to 400,000,000 operations per second
Cost about one-tenth the amount of second generation computers
Computers become very common in medium to large businesses
General Features of Fourth Generation Computers
Form 1972 until