Jacquard machine is a device fitted to a loom that simplifies the
process of manufacturing textiles with such complex patterns
as brocade, damask and matelassé.[
The machine was invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1804[4], based
on earlier inventions by the Frenchmen Basile Bouchon (1725), Jean
Baptiste Falcon (1728), and Jacques Vaucanson (1740). The machine
was controlled by a "chain of cards"; a number of punched cards laced
together into a continuous sequence.[6] Multiple rows of holes were
punched on each card, with one complete card corresponding to one row
of the design. Several such paper cards, generally white in color, can be
seen in the images below. Chains, like Bouchon's earlier use of paper
tape, allowed sequences of any length to be constructed, not limited by
the size of a card.
The Arithmometer or Arithmomètre was the first digital mechanical
calculator strong enough and reliable enough to be used daily in an
office environment. This calculator could add and subtract two numbers
directly and could perform long multiplications and divisions effectively
by using a movable accumulator for the result. Patented in France
by Thomas de Colmar in 1820[1] and manufactured from 1851[2] to 1915,
[citation needed]
it became the first commercially successful mechanical
[3
calculator.
THE ENGINES
Charles Babbage (1791-1871), computer pioneer, designed two classes
of engine, Difference Engines, and Analytical Engines. Difference
engines are so called because of the mathematical principle on which
they are based, namely, the method of finite differences. The beauty of
the method is that it uses only arithmetical addition and removes the
need for multiplication and division which are more difficult to
implement mechanically.
Difference engines are strictly calculators. They crunch numbers the
only way they know how - by repeated addition according to the method
of finite differences. They cannot be used for general arithmetical
calculation.
The Analytical Engine is much more than a calculator and marks the
progression from the mechanized arithmetic of calculation to fully-
fledged general-purpose computation. There were at least three designs
at different stages of the evolution of his ideas. So it is strictly correct to
refer to the Analytical Engines in the plural.
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (née Byron; 10 December
1815 – 27 November 1852) was an English mathematician and writer,
chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical
general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She is believed by
some to be the first to recognise that the machine had applications
beyond pure calculation, and to have published the
first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. As a result,
she is often regarded as the first to recognise the full potential of
computers and as one of the first to be a computer programmer
Scheutz studied law at Lund University, graduating in 1805. He then
worked as a legal expert and translator (he translated several works
of William Shakespeare and Sir Walter Scott) before turning
predominantly to liberal politics and mechanical engineering.
Scheutz's calculator
He is most known for his inventions; the best known of these is
the Scheutzian calculation engine, invented in 1837 and finalized in
1843. This machine, which he constructed with his son Edvard
Scheutz, was based on Charles Babbage's difference engine. In 1851
they obtained funds from government to build an improved model,
which was created in 1853 (was roughly the size of a piano), and
subsequently demonstrated at the World's Fair in Paris, 1855. The
machine was then sold in 1856 to the Dudley Observatory in Albany,
New York.[1][2] In 1857 British government ordered another model,
which was built by Donkin's company in 1859.[3][4]
The devices were used for creating logarithmic tables.
While the machine was not perfect and could not produce complete
tables, Martin Wiberg reworked the construction from the ground up and
in 1875 created a compact device which would print complete tables.
Scheutz was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of
Sciences in 1856.
The tabulating machine was an electromechanical machine designed to
assist in summarizing information stored on punched cards. Invented
by Herman Hollerith, the machine was developed to help process data
for the 1890 U.S. Census. Later models were widely used for business
applications such as accounting and inventory control. It spawned a class
of machines, known as unit record equipment, and the data processing
industry.
The tabulating machine was an electromechanical machine designed to
assist in summarizing information stored on punched cards. Invented
by Herman Hollerith, the machine was developed to help process data
for the 1890 U.S. Census. Later models were widely used for business
applications such as accounting and inventory control. It spawned a class
of machines, known as unit record equipment, and the data processing
industry.
The Z1 was a motor-driven mechanical computer designed by Konrad
Zuse from 1936 to 1937, which he built in his parents' home from 1936
to 1938.[1][2] It was a binary electrically driven mechanical calculator
with limited programmability, reading instructions from punched
celluloid film.
The Z1 was the first freely programmable computer in the world which
used Boolean logic and binary floating-point numbers, however it was
unreliable in operation.[3][4] It was completed in 1938 and financed
completely from private funds. This computer was destroyed in the
bombardment of Berlin in December 1943, during World War II,
together with all construction plans.
The Z1 was the first in a series of computers that Zuse designed. Its
original name was "V1" for VersuchsModell 1 (meaning Experimental
Model 1). After WW2, it was renamed "Z1" to differentiate from
the flying bombs designed by Robert Lusser.[5] The Z2 and Z3 were
follow-ups based on many of the same ideas as the Z1.
The Atanasoff–Berry computer (ABC) was the first automatic
electronic digital computer.[1] Limited by the technology of the day, and
execution, the device has remained somewhat obscure. The ABC's
priority is debated among historians of computer technology, because it
was neither programmable, nor Turing-complete,[2] unlike the widely
famous ENIAC machine of 1947 in part derived from it. It was designed
only to solve systems of linear equations and was successfully tested in
1942. However, its intermediate result storage mechanism, a paper card
writer/reader, was not perfected, and when John Vincent Atanasoff left
Iowa State College for World War II assignments, work on the machine
was discontinued.[3] The ABC pioneered important elements of modern
computing, including binary arithmetic and electronic
[4]
switching elements, but its special-purpose nature and lack of a
changeable, stored program distinguish it from modern computers. The
computer was designated an IEEE Milestone in 1990.[5]
ENIAC (/ˈɛniæk/; Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)[1]
[2]
was the first programmable, electronic, general-purpose digital
computer.[3] It was Turing-complete, and able to solve "a large class of
numerical problems" through reprogramming.[4][5]
Although ENIAC was designed and primarily used to
calculate artillery firing tables for the United States Army's Ballistic
Research Laboratory (which later became a part of the Army Research
Laboratory),[6][7] its first program was a study of the feasibility of
the thermonuclear weapon.[8][9]
ENIAC was completed in 1945 and first put to work for practical
purposes on December 10, 1945.[10]
UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) is a line of electronic
digital stored-program computers starting with the products of
the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation. Later the name was applied
to a division of the Remington Rand company and successor
organizations.
The BINAC, built by the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation, was
the first general-purpose computer for commercial use. The descendants
of the later UNIVAC 1107 continue today as products of
the Unisys company.
EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) was one of
the earliest electronic computers. Unlike its predecessor the ENIAC, it
was binary rather than decimal, and was designed to be a stored-program
computer. ENIAC inventors John Mauchly and J. Presper
Eckert proposed the EDVAC's construction in August 1944. A contract
to build the new computer was signed in April 1946 with an initial
budget of US$100,000. EDVAC was delivered to the Ballistic Research
Laboratory in 1949. The Ballistic Research Laboratory became a part of
the US Army Research Laboratory in 1952.
The Osborne 1 is the first commercially successful
portable microcomputer, released on April 3, 1981 by Osborne
Computer Corporation.[1] It weighs 10.7 kg (24.5 lb), cost US$1,795, and
runs the CP/M 2.2 operating system. It is powered from a wall socket, as
it has no on-board battery, but it is still classed as a portable device since
it can be hand-carried when packed.
The computer shipped with a large bundle of software that was almost
equivalent in value to the machine itself, a practice adopted by other
CP/M computer vendors. Competitors quickly appeared, such as
the Kaypro II.
The Osborne 1 was developed by Adam Osborne and designed by Lee
Felsenstein, first announced in early 1981. Osborne, an author of
computer books decided that he wanted to break the price of computers.
The computer's design was based largely on the Xerox NoteTaker, a
prototype developed at Xerox PARC in 1976 by Alan Kay.[2] It was
designed to be portable, with a rugged ABS plastic case and a handle.
[3]
The Osborne 1 is about the size and weight of a sewing machine and
was advertised as the only computer that would fit underneath an airline
seat.[4] It is now classified as a "luggable" computer when compared to
those later "laptop" designs such as the Epson HX-20.
The first computer company
The first computer company was Electronic
Controls Company and was founded
in 1949 by J. Presper Eckert and John
Mauchly, the same individuals who helped
create the ENIAC computer. The company
was later renamed to EMCC or Eckert-
Mauchly Computer Corporation and released
a series of mainframe computers under
the UNIVAC name.
