 Revolution in Technology

( Computer )

The term Computer, originally meant a person capable of performing numerical

calculations with the help of a mechanical computing device. The foundation stone
of the development of computers was laid way back in the era before Christ. Binary
arithmetic is at the core of computer systems.
The history of computers dates back to the invention of a mechanical adding
machine in 1642. ABACUS, an early computing tool, the invention of logarithm by
John Napier and the invention of slide rules by William Oughtred were significant
events in the evolution of computers from these early computing devices. Here's
introducing you to the ancestors of modern computers.

# Abacus was invented in 2400 BC.

# Pingala introduced the binary
number system, which would later
form the core of computing systems.
# Later in 60 AD, Heron of
Alexandria invented machines that
could follow instructions. Who knew
back then that this idea would evolve
into intelligent machines!
# The 1600s witnessed the invention
of slide rules, the system of movable
rods based on logarithms used to
perform basic mathematical
calculations, and a mechanical adding
machine, which in some way, laid the
foundation of modern-day calculating
machines or computers.
1800s saw some remarkable feats in the history of computers. They included:
# A punching card system was devised by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1801.

(youtube.com)
 # Charles Babbage designed the first mechanical computer in 1822 and the
Analytical Engine in 1834.
# Morse code was invented in 1835 by Samuel Morse.
# George Boole invented the Boolean algebra in 1848, which would later be at the
heart of programming.

If you look at how computers

evolved, you will notice that first
generation computers made use
of vacuum tubes. These computers
were expensive and bulky. They
used machine language for
computing and could solve just one
problem at a time.they did not
support multitasking.

 IBM, today a big name in the

list of computer technology
industries, was founded in 1911.

 It was in 1937 that Alan Turing

came up with the concept of a
theoretical Turing machine. In the
same year, John V. Atanasof devised
the first digital electronic computer. Atanasof and Cliford Berry came up with
the ABC prototype in the November of 1939. Its (techspirited.com))
computations were based on a vacuum tube and it used
regenerative capacitor memory.

 Konrad Zuse's electromechanical 'Z Machines', especially the Z3 of 1941

was a notable achievement in the evolution of computers. It was the first machine
to include binary and floating-point arithmetic and a considerable amount of
programmability. Since it was proved to be Turing complete in 1998, it is regarded
as the world's first operational computer.

 In 1943, the Colossus was secretly designed at Bletchley Park, Britain to

decode German messages. The Harvard Mark I of 1944 was a large-scale
 electromechanical computer with less programmability. It was another step
forward in the evolution of computers.

 The U.S. Army's Ballistics Research Laboratory came up with the

Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC) in 1946. It came to be
known as the first general purpose electronic computer. However, it was required
to be rewired to change its programming thus making its architecture inflexible.
Developers of ENIAC realized the flaws in the architecture and developed a better
one. It was known as the stored program architecture or von Neumann
Architecture. It got this name after John von Neumann, who for the first time
described the architecture in 1945. All the projects of developing computers taken
up thereafter have been using the von Neumann Architecture. All the computers
use a 'stored program architecture', which is now a part of the definition of
computers.

 American mathematician and engineer, known as the 'Father of Information

Theory', Claude Shannon published a paper Programming a Computer for Playing
Chess, wherein he wrote about a machine that could be made to play chess!

 IBM announced the IBM 702 Electronic Data Processing Machine in 1953. It
was developed for business use and could address scientific and engineering
applications.

o Till the 1950s all

computers that
were used were
vacuum tube
based. In the
1960s, transistor-
based computers
replaced vacuum
tubes. Transistors
made computers
smaller and
cheaper. They
made computers
energy-efficient. But transistors led to emission of large amounts of
heat from the computer, which could damage them. The use of
transistors marked the second generation of computers.
 Computers of this generation used punched cards for input. They used
assembly language.

 Stanford Research Institute brought out ERMA, Electronic Recording Machine

Accounting Project, which dealt with automation of the process of bookkeeping in
banking.

 In 1959, General Electric Corporation delivered its ERMA computing system

to the Bank of America in California.

The use of Integrated circuits ushered in

the third generation of computers. Their
use increased the speed and efficiency of
computers. Operating systems were the
human interface to computing operations and
keyboards and monitors became the input-
output devices. COBOL, one of the earliest
computer languages, was developed in 1959-
60. BASIC came out in 1964. It was designed by (blogwaping.com)
John George Kemeny and Thomas Eugene
Kurtz. Douglas Engelbart invented the first mouse prototype in 1963. Computers
used a video display terminal (VDT) in the early days. The invention of Color
Graphics Adapter in 1981 and that of Enhanced Graphics Adapter in 1984, both by
IBM added 'color' to computer displays. All through the 1990s, computer monitors
used the CRT technology. LCD replaced it in the 2000s. Computer keyboards
evolved from the early typewriters. The development of computer storage devices
started with the invention of Floppy disks, by IBM again.

In 1968, DEC launched the first mini computer called the PDP-8.

 In 1969, the development of ARPANET

began with the financial backing of the
Department Of Defense.

 Thousands of integrated circuits placed

onto a silicon chip made up a
microprocessor. Introduction of
microprocessors was the hallmark
of fourth generation computers.
 Intel produced large-scale integration circuits in 1971. Microprocessors came up
during the 1970s. Ted Hoff, working for Intel introduced 4-bit 4004.

 In 1972, Intel introduced the 8080 microprocessors.

 (pinterest.com) In 1974, Xerox came up with Alto workstation at PARC. It

consisted of a monitor, a graphical interface, a mouse, and an
Ethernet card for networking.

 Apple Computers brought out the Macintosh personal computer on January 24

1984.

 By 1988, more than 45 million computers were in use in the United States. The
number went up to a billion by 2002.

 The fifth generation computers are in

their development phase. They would be capable
of massive parallel processing, support voice
recognition and understand natural language. The
current advancements in computer technology
are likely to transform computing machines into
intelligent ones that possess self organizing skills. The
(Computerhistory.org) evolution of computers will
continue, perhaps till the day their
processing powers equal human intelligence.

So,Day by day revolution in the computer

is very fast and very helpful to us.

 REFERENCES :

 1.youtube.com

 2.pinterest.

 3.techspirited.com
 4.computerhistory.org

 5.blogwaping.com