ELIE – Living in the IT Era

Learning module designed for BS Info Tech First Year students of the Aklan State University-
College of Industrial Technology for the First Semester of Academic Year 2022-2023
 ELIE – Living in the IT Era

This material does not make any claims to

originality and cannot be used in place of
required textbooks. This information was simply
compiled by the compiler for her many
teaching responsibilities. This work was prepared
with the help of several textbooks and freely
accessible online content. The relevant authors
or institutions are the proprietors of the
information.
 ELIE – Living in the IT Era

MODULE 1: HISTORY OF COMPUTER: BASIC COMPUTING PERIODS

Objectives
At the end of the chapter, students must be able to:
• Gain familiarity with the different discoveries during the different periods.
• Learn different inventions and discoveries during the electro-mechanical age
that lead to the inventions of today’s technology.
• Identify different technologies and their improvements during the different
generations.

Definition of Computer
• Computer is a programmable machine.
• Computer is an electronic device that manipulates information, or data. It has
the ability to store, retrieve, and process data.
• Computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a list of
instructions (program).
• Computer is any device which aids humans in performing various kinds of
computations or calculations.

Three principal characteristics of computer:

• It responds to a specific set of instructions in a well-defined manner.
• It can execute a pre-recorded list of instructions.
• It can quickly store and retrieve large amounts of data.

Applications of ICT (Computers) in Our Daily Lives

1. Business
Almost every business uses computers nowadays. They can be employed to
store and
maintain accounts, personnel records, manage projects, track inventory, create
presentations and reports. They enable communication with people both within
and outside the business, using various technologies, including e-mail. They can
be used to promote the business and enable direct interaction with customers.
2. Education
Computers can be used to give learners audio-visual packages, interactive
exercises, and remote learning, including tutoring over the internet. They can be
used to access educational information from intranet and internet sources, or
via e-books. They can be used to maintain and monitor student performance,
including through the use of online examinations, as well as to create projects
and assignments.
3. Healthcare
Healthcare continues to be revolutionized by computers. As well as digitized
medical
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information making it easier to store and access patient data, complex

information can also be analyzed by software to aid discovery of diagnoses, as
well as search for risks of diseases.
Computers control lab equipment, heart rate monitors, and blood pressure
monitors. They enable doctors to have greater access to information on the
latest drugs, as well as the ability to share information on diseases with other
medical specialists.
4. Retail and Trade
Computers can be used to buy and sell products online - this enables sellers to
reach a wider market with low overheads, and buyers to compare prices, read
reviews, and choose delivery preferences. They can be used for direct trading
and advertising too, using sites such as eBay, Craigslist, or local listings on social
media or independent websites.
5. Government
Various government departments use computers to improve the quality and
efficiency of their services. Examples include city planning, law enforcement,
traffic, and tourism. Computers can be used to store information, promote
services, communicate internally and externally, as well as for routine
administrative purposes.
6. Marketing
Computers enable marketing campaigns to be more precise through the
analysis and manipulation of data. They facilitate the creation of websites and
promotional materials. They can be used to generate social media campaigns.
They enable direct communication with customers through email and online
chat.
7. Science
Scientists were one of the first groups to adopt computers as a work tool. In
science, computers can be used for research, sharing information with other
specialists both locally and internationally, as well as collecting, categorizing,
analyzing, and storing data. Computers also play a vital role in launching,
controlling, and maintaining space craft, as well as operating other advanced
technology.
8. Publishing
Computers can be used to design pretty much any type of publication. These
might include newsletters, marketing materials, fashion magazines, novels, or
newspapers. Computers are used in the publishing of both hard-copy and e-
books. They are also used to market publications and track sales.
9. Arts and Entertainment
Computers are now used in virtually every branch of the arts, as well as in the
wider entertainment industry. Computers can be used to create drawings,
graphic designs, and paintings. They can be used to edit, copy, send, and print
photographs. They can be used by writers to create and edit. They can be used
to make, record, edit, play, and listen to music. They can be used to capture,
edit and watch videos. They can be used for playing games.
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10. Communication
Computers have made real-time communication over the internet easy, thanks
to software and videoconferencing services such as Skype. Families can
connect with audio and video, businesses can hold meetings between remote
participants, and news organizations can interview people without the need for
a film crew. Modern computers usually have microphones and webcams built-in
nowadays to facilitate software like Skype. Older communications technologies
such as email are also still used widely.
11. Banking and Finance
Most banking in advanced countries now takes place online. You can use
computers to check your account balance, transfer money, or pay off credit
cards. You can also use computer technology to access information on stock
markets, trade stocks, and manage investments. Banks store customer account
data, as well as detailed information on customer behavior which is used to
streamline marketing.
12. Transport
Road vehicles, trains, planes, and boats are increasingly automated with
computers being used to maintain safety and navigation systems, and
increasingly to drive, fly, or steer. They can also highlight problems that require
attention, such as low fuel levels, oil changes, or a failing mechanical part.
Computers can be used to customize settings for individuals, for example, seat
setup, air-conditioning temperatures.
13. Navigation
Navigation has become increasingly computerized, especially since computer
technology has been combined with GPS technology. Computers combined
with satellites mean that it's now easy to pinpoint your exact location, know
which way that you are moving on a map, and have a good idea of amenities
and places of interest around you.
14. Working from Home
Computers have made working from home and other forms of remote working
increasingly common. Workers can access necessary data, communicate, and
share information without commuting to a traditional office. Managers are able
to monitor workers' productivity remotely.
15. Military
Computers are used extensively by the military. They are used for training
purposes. They are used for analyzing intelligence data. They are used to control
smart technology, such as guided missiles and drones, as well as for tracking
incoming missiles and destroying them. They work with other technologies such
as satellites to provide geospatial information and analysis. They aid
communications. They help tanks and planes to target enemy forces.
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16. Social and Romance

Computers have opened up many ways of socializing that didn't previously exist.
Social media enables people to chat in text or audio in real time across large
distances, as well as exchange photographs, videos, and memes. Dating sites
and apps help people to find romance. Online groups help people to connect
with others who have similar interests. Blogs enable people to post a variety of
views, updates, and experiences. Online forums enable discussions between
people on specialist or general topics.
17. Booking Vacations
Computers can be used by travelers to study timetables, examine route options,
and buy plane, train, or bus tickets. They can be used to explore and book
accommodation, whether traditional hotels, or through newer services, such as
Air BnB. Guided tours, excursions, events, and trips can also be explored and
booked online using computers.
18. Security and Surveillance
Computers are increasingly being combined with other technologies to monitor
people and goods. Computers combined with biometric passports make it
harder for people to fraudulently enter a country or gain access to a passenger
airplane. Face-recognition technology makes it easier to identify terrorists or
criminals in public places. Driver plates can be auto scanned by speed cameras
or police cars. Private security systems have also become much more
sophisticated with the introduction of computer technology and internet
technology.
19. Weather Forecasting
The world's weather is complex and depends upon a multitude of factors that
are constantly changing. It's impossible for human beings to monitor and
process all the information coming in from satellite and other technologies,
never mind perform the complex calculations that are needed to predict what
is likely to happen in the future. Computers can process the large amounts of
meteorological information.
20. Robotics
Robotics is an expanding area of technology which combines computers with
science and engineering to produce machines that can either replace humans,
or do specific jobs that humans are unable to do. One of the first use of robotics
was in manufacturing to build cars. Since then, robots have been developed to
explore areas where conditions are too harsh for humans, to help law
enforcement, to help the military, and to assist healthcare professionals.
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History of Computer: Basic Computing Periods

Earliest Computers originally calculations were computed by humans, whose job
title was computers.
• These human computers were typically engaged in the calculation of a
mathematical expression.
• The calculations of this period were specialized and expensive, requiring years
of training in mathematics.
• The first use of the word "computer" was recorded in 1613, referring to a person
who carried out calculations, or computations, and the word continued to be
used in that sense until the middle of the 20th century.
a) Tally sticks
A tally stick was an ancient memory aid device to record and document
numbers, quantities, or even messages.
b) Abacus
An abacus is a mechanical device used to aid an individual in performing
mathematical calculations.
• The abacus was invented in Babylonia in 2400 B.C.
• The abacus in the form we are most familiar with was first used in China in
around 500 B.C.
• It used to perform basic arithmetic operations.
c) Napier’s Bones
• Invented by John Napier in 1614.
• Allowed the operator to multiply, divide and calculate square and cube roots
by moving the rods around and placing them in specially constructed boards.
d) Slide Rule
Invented by William Oughtred in 1622.
• Is based on Napier's ideas about logarithms.
• Used primarily for – multiplication – division – roots – logarithms – Trigonometry
• Not normally used for addition or subtraction.
e) Pascaline
• Invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642.
• It was its limitation to addition and subtraction.
• It is too expensive.
f) Stepped Reckoner
• Invented by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in 1672.
• The machine that can add, subtract, multiply and divide automatically.
g) Jacquard Loom
• The Jacquard loom is a mechanical loom, invented by Joseph-Marie
Jacquard in 1881.
• It is an automatic loom controlled by punched cards.
h) Arithmometer
• A mechanical calculator invented by Thomas de Colmar in 1820,
• The first reliable, useful and commercially successful calculating machine.
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• The machine could perform the four basic mathematic functions.

• The first mass-produced calculating machine.
i) Difference Engine and Analytical Engine
• It an automatic, mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial
functions.
• Invented by Charles Babbage in 1822 and 1834
• It is the first mechanical computer.
j. First Computer Programmer
• In 1840, Augusta Ada Byron suggests to Babbage that he use the binary
system.
• She writes programs for the Analytical Engine.
k. Scheutzian Calculation Engine
• Invented by Per Georg Scheutz in 1843.
• Based on Charles Babbage's difference engine.
• The first printing calculator.
l. Tabulating Machine
• Invented by Herman Hollerith in 1890.
• To assist in summarizing information and accounting.
m. Harvard Mark 1
• Also known as IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (ASCC).
• Invented by Howard H. Aiken in 1943
• The first electro-mechanical computer.
n. Z1
• The first programmable computer.
• Created by Konrad Zuse in Germany from 1936 to 1938.
• To program the Z1 required that the user insert punch tape into a punch tape
reader and all output was also generated through punch tape.
o. Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC)
• It was the first electronic digital computing device.
• Invented by Professor John Atanasoff and graduate student Clifford Berry at
Iowa State University between 1939 and 1942.
p. ENIAC
• ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer.
• It was the first electronic general-purpose computer.
• Completed in 1946.
• Developed by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.
q. UNIVAC 1
• The UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer 1) was the first commercial
computer.
• Designed by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.
r. EDVAC
• EDVAC stands for Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer
• The First Stored Program Computer
• Designed by Von Neumann in 1952.
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• It has a memory to hold both a stored program as well as data.

s. The First Portable Computer
• Osborne 1 – the first portable computer.
• Released in 1981 by the Osborne Computer Corporation.
t. The First Computer Company
• The first computer company was the Electronic Controls Company.
• Founded in 1949 by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.

Basic Computing Periods - Ages

a. Premechanical
The pre mechanical age is the earliest age of information technology. It can be
defined as the time between 3000B.C. and 1450A.D. We are talking about a
long time ago. When humans first started communicating they would try to use
language or simple picture drawings known as petroglyphs which were usually
carved in the rock. Early alphabets were developed such as the Phoenician
alphabet.

As the alphabet became more popular and more people were writing
information down, pens and paper began to be developed. It started off as just
marks in wet clay, but later the paper was created out of papyrus plant. The
most popular kind of paper made was probably by the Chinese who made
paper from rags.

Now that people were writing a lot of information down, they needed ways to
keep it all in permanent storage. This is where the first books and libraries are
developed. You’ve probably heard of Egyptian scrolls which were popular ways
of writing down information to save. Some groups of people were actually
binding paper together into a book-like form. Also, during this period were the
first numbering systems. Around 100A.D. was when the first 1-9 system was
created by people from India. However, it wasn’t until 875A.D. (775 years
later) that the number 0 was invented. And yes, now that numbers were
created, people wanted stuff to do with them, so they created calculators. A
calculator was the very first sign of an information processor. The popular model
of that time was the abacus.

b. Mechanical
The mechanical age is when we first start to see connections between our
current technology and its ancestors. The mechanical age can be defined as
the time between 1450 and 1840.
A lot of new technologies are developed in this era as there is a large explosion
in interest in this area. Technologies like the slide rule (an analog computer used
for multiplying and dividing) were invented. Blaise Pascal invented the Pascaline
which was a very popular mechanical computer. Charles Babbage developed
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the difference engine which tabulated polynomial equations using the method
of finite differences.
There were lots of different machines created during this era and while we have
not yet gotten to a machine that can do more than one type of calculation in
one, like our modern-day calculators, we are still learning about how all of our
all-in-one machines started. Also, if you look at the size of the machines invented
in this time compared to the power behind them it seems (to us) absolutely
ridiculous to understand why anybody would want to use them, but to the
people living in that time, ALL of these inventions were HUGE.

c. Electromechanical
Now we are finally getting close to some technologies that resemble our
modern-day technology. The electromechanical age can be defined as the
time between 1840 and 1940.
These are the beginnings of telecommunication. The telegraph was created in
the early 1800s. Morse code was created by Samuel Morse in 1835. The
telephone (one of the most popular forms of communication ever) was created
by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. The first radio was developed by Guglielmo
Marconi in 1894. All of these were extremely crucial emerging technologies that
led to big advances in the information technology field.
The first large-scale automatic digital computer in the United States was the
Mark 1 created by Harvard University around 1940. This computer was 8ft high,
50ft long, 2ft wide, and weighed 5 tons - HUGE. It was programmed using punch
cards. How does your PC match up to this hunk of metal? It was from huge
machines like this that people began to look at downsizing all the parts to first
make them usable by businesses and eventually in their own homes.

d. Electronic
The electronic age is what we currently live in. It can be defined as the time
between 1940 and right now. The ENIAC was the first high-speed, digital
computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing
problems. This computer was designed to be used by the U.S. Army for artillery
firing tables. This machine was even bigger than the Mark 1 taking up 680 square
feet and weighing 30 tons - HUGE. It mainly used vacuum tubes to do its
calculations.
There are 4 main sections of digital computing. The first was the era of vacuum
tubes and punch cards like the ENIAC and Mark 1. Rotating magnetic drums
were used for internal storage. The second generation replaced vacuum tubes
with transistors, punch cards were replaced with magnetic tape, and rotating
magnetic drums were replaced by magnetic cores for internal storage. Also
during this time high-level programming languages were created such as
FORTRAN and COBOL. The third generation replaced transistors with integrated
circuits, magnetic tape was used throughout all computers, and magnetic core
turned into metal oxide semiconductors. An actual operating system showed up
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around this time along with the advanced programming language BASIC. The
fourth and latest generation brought in CPUs (central processing units) which
contained memory, logic, and control circuits all on a single chip. The personal
computer was developed (Apple II). The graphical user interface (GUI) was
developed.

History of Computer: Generations of Computer

There are five generations of computers:
• First generation – 1946 to 1958
• Second generation – 1959 to 1964
• Third generation – 1965 to 1970
• Fourth generation – 1971 to Today
• Fifth generation – Today to future

a. The First Generation

The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for
memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very
expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity,
generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions. First
generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level
programming language understood by computers, to perform operations, and
they could only solve one problem at a time. The input was based on punched
cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts.

Examples: – ENIAC – EDSAC – UNIVAC I, UNIVAC II, UNIVAC 1101

b. The Second Generation

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of
computers. One transistor replaced the equivalent of 40 vacuum tubes.
Allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient
and more reliable. Still generated a great deal of heat that can damage the
computer. Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine
language to symbolic, or assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to
specify instructions in words. Second-generation computers still relied on
punched cards for input and printouts for output. These were
also the first computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which
moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.

Examples: UNIVAC III, RCA 501, Philco Transact S-2000, NCR 300 series, IBM 7030
Stretch, IBM 7070, 7080, 7090 series

c. The Third Generation

The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third
generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon
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chips, called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and

efficiency of computers. It could carry out instructions in billionths of a second.
Much smaller and cheaper compare to the second-generation computers.

d. The Fourth Generation

The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands
of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. As these small
computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form
networks, which eventually led to the development of the
Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUIs, the
mouse and handheld devices.

e. The Fifth Generation

Based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Still in development. The use of parallel
processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a
reality. The goal is to develop devices that respond to natural language input
and are capable of learning and self-organization. There are some applications,
such as voice recognition, that are being used today.

Reference:
 Book, Living in the IT Era – Polytechnic University of the Philippines.