A Brief History of Computers and Networks,

Part I
Webster's Dictionary defines "computer" as any prorammab!e e!ectronic de"ice t#at can store, retrie"e, and
process data$ %#e basic idea of computin de"e!ops in t#e &'(('s w#en a )os!em c!eric proposes so!"in prob!ems
wit# a series of written procedures$
As ear!y as t#e &*+('s mec#anica! ca!cu!ators are manufactured for sa!e$ ,ecords e-ist of ear!ier mac#ines, but
B!aise Pasca! in"ents t#e first commercia! ca!cu!ator, a #and powered addin mac#ine$ A!t#ou# attempts to mu!tip!y
mec#anica!!y were made by .ottfried /iebnit0 in t#e &*1(s t#e first true mu!tip!yin ca!cu!ator appears in .ermany
s#ort!y before t#e American ,e"o!ution$
In &2(& a 3renc#man, 4osep#5)arie 4ac6uard bui!ds a !oom t#at wea"es by readin punc#ed #o!es stored on sma!!
s#eets of #ardwood$ %#ese p!ates are t#en inserted into t#e !oom w#ic# reads 7retrie"es8 t#e pattern and
creates7process8 t#e wea"e$ Powered by water, t#is "mac#ine" came &+( years before t#e de"e!opment of t#e
modern computer$
9#ort!y after t#e first mass5produced ca!cu!ator7&2'(8, C#ar!es Babbae beins #is !ife!on 6uest
for a prorammab!e mac#ine$ A!t#ou# Babbae was a poor communicator and record5keeper, #is
difference enine is sufficient!y de"e!oped by &2+' t#at Ada /o"e!ace uses it to mec#anica!!y
trans!ate a s#ort written work$ 9#e is enera!!y rearded as t#e first prorammer$ %we!"e years !ater
.eore Boo!e, w#i!e professor of )at#ematics at Cork :ni"ersity, writes An In"estiation of t#e
/aws of %#ou#t7&2;+8, and is enera!!y reconi0ed as t#e fat#er of computer science$
%#e &2<( census is tabu!ated on punc# cards simi!ar to t#e ones used <( years ear!ier to create wea"es$
De"e!oped by Herman Ho!!erit# of )I%, t#e system uses e!ectric power7non5mec#anica!8$ %#e Ho!!erit# %abu!atin
Company is a forerunner of today's IB)$
4ust prior to t#e introduction of Ho!!erit#'s mac#ine t#e first printin ca!cu!ator is introduced$ In &2<' Wi!!iam
Burrou#s, a sick!y e-5te!!er, introduces a commercia!!y successfu! printin ca!cu!ator$ A!t#ou# #and5powered,
Burrou#s 6uick!y introduces an e!ectronic mode!$
In &<';, unaware of t#e work of C#ar!es Babbae, =anne"ar Bus# of )I% bui!ds a mac#ine #e ca!!s t#e differentia!
ana!y0er$ :sin a set of ears and s#afts, muc# !ike Babbae, t#e mac#ine can #and!e simp!e ca!cu!us prob!ems,
but accuracy is a prob!em$
%#e period from &<>; t#rou# &<;' ets murky wit# c!aims and counterc!aims of w#o in"ents w#at and w#en$ Part
of t#e prob!em !ies in t#e internationa! situation t#at makes muc# of t#e researc# secret$ ?t#er prob!ems inc!ude
Ada /o"e!ace
poor record5keepin, deception and !ack of definition$
In &<>;, @onrad Ause, a .erman construction enineer, bui!ds a mec#anica!
ca!cu!ator to #and!e t#e mat# in"o!"ed in #is profession$ 9#ort!y after
comp!etion, Ause starts on a prorammab!e e!ectronic de"ice w#ic# #e
comp!etes in &<>2$
4o#n =incent Atanasoff beins work on a diita! computer in &<>* in t#e
basement of t#e P#ysics bui!din on t#e campus of Iowa 9tate$ A raduate
student, C!ifford 74o#n8 Berry assists$ %#e "ABC" is desined to so!"e !inear
e6uations common in p#ysics$ It disp!ays some ear!y features of !ater
computers inc!udin e!ectronic ca!cu!ations$ He s#ows it to ot#ers in &<><
and !ea"es t#e patent app!ication wit# attorneys for t#e sc#oo! w#en #e
!ea"es for a Bob in Was#inton durin Wor!d War II$ :nimpressed, t#e sc#oo!
ne"er fi!es and ABC is canniba!i0ed by students$
%#e Cnima, a comp!e- mec#anica!
encoder is used by t#e .ermans and t#ey be!ie"e it to be unbreakab!e$
9e"era! peop!e in"o!"ed, most notab!y A!an %urin, concei"e mac#ines to
#and!e t#e prob!em, but none are tec#nica!!y feasib!e$ %urin proposes a
":ni"ersa! )ac#ine" capab!e of "computin" any a!orit#m in &<>1$ %#at
same year .eore 9teb!it0 creates #is )ode! @7itc#en8, a con!omeration of
ot#erwise use!ess and !efto"er materia!, to so!"e comp!e- ca!cu!ations$ He
impro"es t#e desin w#i!e workin at Be!! /abs and on 9eptember &&, &<+(,
9teb!it0 uses a te!etype mac#ine at Dartmout# Co!!ee in New Hamps#ire to
transmit a prob!em to #is Comp!e- Number Ca!cu!ator in New Dork and
recei"es t#e resu!ts$ It is t#e first e-amp!e of a network$
3irst in Po!and, and !ater in .reat Britain and t#e :nited 9tates, t#e Cnima
code is broken$ Information ained by t#is s#ortens t#e war$ %o break t#e
code, t#e Britis#, !ed by %ourin, bui!d t#e Co!ossus )ark I$ %#e e-istence of
t#is mac#ine is a c!ose!y uarded secret of t#e Britis# .o"ernment unti! &<1($ %#e :nited 9tates Na"y, aided to
some e-tent by t#e Britis#, bui!ds a mac#ine capab!e of breakin not on!y t#e .erman code but t#e 4apanese code
as we!!$
A brief #istory of computers and networks, Part II
In &<+> de"e!opment beins on t#e C!ectronic Numerica! Interator And Computer 7CNIAC8 in earnest at
Penn 9tate$ Desined by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert of t#e )oore 9c#oo!, t#ey et #e!p from
John von Neumann and ot#ers$ In &<++, t#e Ha"ard )ark I is introduced$ Based on a series of proposa!s
from Howard Aiken in t#e !ate &<>('s, t#e )ark I computes comp!e- tab!es for t#e :$9$ Na"y$ It uses a
paper tape to store instructions and Aiken #ires Grace Hopper7"Ama0in .race"8 as one of t#ree
prorammers workin on t#e mac#ine$ Thomas J. Watson r. p!ays a pi"ota! ro!e in"o!"in #is company,
IB), in t#e mac#ine's de"e!opment$
4o#n =incent Atanasoff
Courtesy 4o Campbe!!
%#e 9#ore 4ourna!
%#e Cnima
Courtesy :$ 9$ Army
Car!y in &<+;, wit# t#e )ark I stopped for repairs, Hopper notices a mot# in one of t#e re!ays, possib!y
causin t#e prob!em$ 3rom t#is day on, Hopper refers to fi-in t#e system as "debuin"$ %#e same year
=on Neumann proposes t#e concept of a "stored proram" in a paper t#at is ne"er officia!!y pub!is#ed$
Work comp!etes on CNIAC in &<+*$ A!t#ou# on!y t#ree years o!d t#e mac#ine is woefu!!y be#ind on
tec#no!oy, but t#e in"entors opt to continue w#i!e workin on a more modern mac#ine, t#e CD=AC$
Prorammin CNIAC re6uires it to be rewired$ A !ater "ersion e!iminates t#is prob!em$ %o make t#e mac#ine
appear more impressi"e to reporters durin its un"ei!in, a team member 7possib!y Cckert8 puts trans!ucent
sp#eres7#a!"ed pin pon ba!!s8 o"er t#e !i#ts$ %#e :9 patent office wi!! !ater reconi0e t#is as t#e first
computer$
%#e ne-t year scientists emp!oyed by Be!! /abs comp!ete work on t#e transistor 7John !ardeen, Walter
!rattain and William hockley recei"e t#e Nobe! Pri0e in P#ysics in &<;*8, and by &<+2 teams around t#e
wor!d work on a "stored proram" mac#ine$ %#e first, nicknamed "Baby", is a prototype of a muc# !arer
mac#ine under construction in Britain and is s#own in 4une &<+2$
%#e impetus o"er t#e ne-t ; years for ad"ances in computers is most!y t#e o"ernment and mi!itary$
:NI=AC, de!i"ered in &<;& to t#e Census Bureau, resu!ts in a tremendous financia! !oss to its manufacturer,
,eminton5,and$ %#e ne-t year .race Hopper, now an emp!oyee of t#at company proposes "reuseab!e
software," code sements t#at cou!d be e-tracted and assemb!ed accordin to instructions in a "#i#er !e"e!
!anuae$" %#e concept of compi!in is born$ Hopper wou!d re"ise t#is concept o"er t#e ne-t twenty years
and #er ideas wou!d become an intera! part of a!! modern computers$ CB9 uses one of t#e +* :NI=AC
computers produced to predict t#e outcome of t#e &<;' Presidentia! C!ection$ %#ey do not air t#e prediction
for > #ours because t#ey do not trust t#e mac#ine$
IB) introduces t#e 1(& t#e fo!!owin year$ It is
t#e first commercia!!y successfu! computer$ In
&<;* 3?,%,AN is introduced7proposed &<;+, it
takes near!y > years to de"e!op t#e compi!er8$
%wo additiona! !anuaes, /I9P and C?B?/,
are added in &<;1 and &<;2$ ?t#er ear!y
!anuaes inc!ude A/.?/ and BA9IC$ A!t#ou#
ne"er wide!y used, A/.?/ is t#e basis for many
of today's !anuaes$
Wit# t#e introduction of Contro! Data's CDC&*(+
in &<;2, t#e first transistor powered computer, a
new ae dawns$ Bri!!iant scientist eymour
"ray #eads t#e de"e!opment team$ %#is year
interated circuits are introduced by two men,
Jack #il$y and John Noyce, workin
independent!y$ %#e second network is de"e!oped
at )I%$ ?"er t#e ne-t t#ree years computers
bein affectin t#e day5to5day !i"es of most
Americans$ %#e addition of )IC, c#aracters at
t#e bottom of c#ecks is common$
In &<*& 3airc#i!d 9emiconductor introduces t#e interated circuit$ Wit#in ten years a!! computers use t#ese
instead of t#e transistor$ 3orma!!y bui!din si0ed computers are now room5si0ed, and are considerab!y more
powerfu!$ %#e fo!!owin year t#e At!as becomes operationa!, disp!ayin many of t#e features t#at make
today's systems so powerfu! inc!udin "irtua! memory, pipe!ine instruction e-ecution and pain$ Desined at
t#e :ni"ersity of )anc#ester, some of t#e peop!e w#o de"e!oped Co!ossus t#irty years ear!ier make
contributions$
?n Apri! 1, &<*+, IB) introduces t#e 9ystemE>*($ W#i!e a tec#nica! mar"e!, t#e main feature of t#is mac#ine
is business oriented$$$IB) uarantees t#e "upward compatibi!ity" of t#e system, reducin t#e risk t#at a
business wou!d in"est in outdated tec#no!oy$ Dartmout# Co!!ee, w#ere t#e first network was demonstrated
'; years ear!ier, mo"es to t#e forefront of t#e "computer ae" wit# t#e introduction of %997%ime 9#are
9ystem8 a crude7by today's standards8 networkin system$ It is t#e first Wide Area Network$ In t#ree years
,andy .o!den, President and 3ounder of .o!den Ink, wou!d bein workin on t#is network$
9ma!! portion of t#e IB) 1(&
Courtesy IB)
Wit#in a year )I% returns to t#e top of t#e inte!!ectua! computer community wit# t#e introduction of a reat!y
refined network t#at features s#ared resources and uses t#e first minicomputer7DCC's PDP528 to manae
te!ep#one !ines$ Be!! /abs and .C p!ay maBor ro!es in its desin$
In &<*< Be!! /abs, un#appy wit# t#e direction of t#e )I% proBect, !ea"es and de"e!ops its own operatin
system, :NIF$ ?ne of t#e many precursors to today's Internet, A,PANet, is 6uiet!y !aunc#ed$ Alan #eys,
w#o wi!! !ater become a desiner for App!e, proposes t#e "persona! computer$" A!so in &<*<, un#appy wit#
3airc#i!d 9emiconductor, a roup of tec#nicians bein discussin formin t#eir own company$ %#is company,
formed t#e ne-t year, wou!d be known as Inte!$ %#e mo"ie Colossus:The Forbin Project #as a
supercomputer as t#e "i!!ain$ Ne-t year, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes was t#e first feature !ent#
mo"ie wit# t#e word computer in t#e tit!e$ In &<1&, %e-as Instruments introduces t#e first "pocket ca!cu!ator$"
It wei#s '$; pounds$
Wit# t#e country embroi!ed in a crisis of confidence known as Waterate, in &<1> a !itt!e pub!ici0ed Budicia!
decision takes t#e patent for t#e computer away from )auc#!y and Cckert and awards it to Atanasoff$ Fero-
introduces t#e mouse$ Proposa!s are made for t#e first !oca! area networks$
In &<1; t#e first persona! computer is marketed in kit form$ %#e A!tair features ';* bytes of memory$ !ill
Gates, wit# ot#ers, writes a BA9IC compi!er for t#e mac#ine$ %#e ne-t year App!e beins to market PC's,
a!so in kit form$ It inc!udes a monitor and keyboard$ %#e ear!iest ,I9C p!atforms become stab!e$ In &<1*,
Gueen C!i0abet# oes on5!ine wit# t#e first roya! emai! messae$
Durin t#e ne-t few years t#e persona! computer e-p!odes on t#e American scene$ )icrosoft, App!e and
many sma!!er PC re!ated companies form 7and some die8$ By &<11 stores bein to se!! PC's$ Continuin
today, companies stri"e to reduce t#e si0e and price of PC's w#i!e increasin capacity$ Cnterin t#e fray, IB)
introduces it's PC in &<2&7it's actua!!y IB)'s second attempt, but t#e first fai!ed miserab!y8$ %ime se!ects t#e
computer as its )an of t#e Dear in &<2'$ Tron, a computer5enerated specia! effects e-tra"aan0a is
re!eased t#e same year$