IT Application tools in Business

COMPUTER HISTORY
ABACUS 4th Century B.C.
- The abacus, a simple counting aid, may have been invented in Babylonia (now Iraq) in
the fourth century B.C.
- This device allows users to make computations using a system of sliding beads arranged
on a rack.
- Considered the first computer
BLAISE PASCAL (1623 - 1662)
- In 1642, the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal invented a calculating
device that would come to be called the "Adding Machine".
- One of the first and earliest mechanical devices used for calculating was the Pascaline
- Originally called a "numerical wheel calculator" or the "Pascaline", Pascal's invention
utilized a train of 8 moveable dials or cogs to add sums of up to 8 figures long. As one
dial turned 10 notches - or a complete revolution - it mechanically turned the next dial.
- Pascal's mechanical Adding Machine automated the process of calculation. Although
slow by modern standards, this machine did provide a fair degree of accuracy and
speed.
- Only performed addition, not multiplication or division

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz

- The stepped reckoner - Supposed to be able to add, subtract, multiply, divide and
calculate square roots **Device never worked properly

CHARLES BABBAGE (1791 - 1871)

- Born in 1791, Charles Babbage was an English mathematician and professor.
- In 1822, he persuaded the British government to finance his design to build a machine
that would calculate tables for logarithms. Called the “Difference Engine.”
- Device was to calculate numbers to 20th place and print them at 4 digits per minute.
- Considered the “Father of Computers”
- With Charles Babbage’s creation of the “Analytical Engine”, (1883) computers took the
form of a general purpose machine.
- 1822 Babbage’s Difference Engine

Analytical Engine 1833

- Used to perform a variety of calculations by following a set of instructions or programs
stored on punch cards
- Machine only designed but never built
- Joseph Jacquard

First Computer Programmer - Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace

U.S. Census
- Done every 10 years
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- Process done by hand in 19th century

- Took 10 years to complete UNTIL
- Herman Hollerith
- Hollerith’s Punch Card

Tabulating Machine
- Used electricity rather than mechanical gears
- Holes representing information to be tabulated were punched in cards
- The location of each hole represented a specific piece of information (male vs. female)
- Cards inserted into the machine and metal pins used to open and close electrical circuts
- If the circuit was closed, a computation was increased by one
- Tabulating Machine Company International Business Machines (IBM)
Population Count
- Now took only 6 weeks to count 63 million
HOWARD AIKEN (1900 - 1973)
- Aiken thought he could create a modern and functioning model of Babbage's Analytical
Engine.
- He succeeded in securing a grant of 1 million dollars for his proposed Automatic
Sequence Calculator; the Mark I for short. From IBM.
- In 1944, the Mark I was "switched" on. Aiken's colossal machine spanned 51 feet in
length and 8 feet in height. 500 meters of wiring were required to connect each other
- The Mark I did transform Babbage's dream into reality and did succeed in putting IBM's
name on the forefront of the computer industry. From 1944 on, modern computers
would forever be associated with digital intelligence.
Mark I Calculator 1939-1942
- First electronic computer built by John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry
- Computer used binary number system of 1 and 0
- Binary system is still used today
ENIAC – 1943-1946
- Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer
- a machine that computed at speeds 1,000 times faster than the Mark I was capable of
only 2 years earlier.
- Using 18,00-19,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors and 5 million soldered joints this
massive instrument required the output of a small power station to operate it.
- It could do nuclear physics calculations (in two hours) which it would have taken 100
engineers a year to do by hand.
- The system's program could be changed by rewiring a panel.
- Weighed 30 tons and was 1500 square feet (average area of a 3 bedroom house
Computer
- An electronic machine accepts data, processes it according to instructions and provides
the results as new data
- Can make simple decisions and comparisons
Program
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- List of instructions written in a special language that the computer understands

Vacuum Tubes 1930’s – 1940’s

- Alan Turning developed “Universal Machine”
- He envisioned a computer that could perform any different tasks by simply changing a
program rather than by changing electronic components
1945 – John Von Newmann
- Developed stored programs concept
- Program would be stored in CPU or Central Processing Unit

TRANSISTOR 1947
- In the laboratories of Bell Telephone, John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William
Shockley discovered the "transfer resistor"; later labeled the transistor.
- Advantages:
 increased reliability
 consumed 1/20 of the electricity of vacuum tubes
 were a fraction of the cost
- This tiny device had a huge impact on and extensive implications for
modern computers. In 1956, the transistor won its creators the Noble
Peace Prize for their invention.
First Computer Bug – Grace Hopper
ALTAIR 1975
- The invention of the transistor made computers smaller, cheaper and
more reliable. Therefore, the stage was set for the entrance of the
computer into the domestic realm. In 1975, the age of personal
computers commenced.
- Under the leadership of Ed Roberts the Micro Instrumentation and
Telemetry Company (MITS) wanted to design a computer 'kit' for the
home hobbyist.
- Based on the Intel 8080 processor, capable of controlling 64 kilobytes
of memory, the MITS Altair - as the invention was later called - was debuted on the
cover of the January edition of Popular Electronics magazine.
- Presenting the Altair as an unassembled kit kept costs to a minimum. Therefore, the
company was able to offer this model for only $395. Supply could not keep up with
demand.
- ALTAIR FACTS:
 No Keyboard
 No Video Display
 No Storage Device
1970 John Huff
- Transistors were replaced by integrated circuits or chips, giving computers tremendous
speed to process information at a rate of millions of calculations per second.
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- In 1970 John Huff invented the microprocessor, an entire CPU on a single chip. This
allowed for the building of a microcomputer or personal computer.
IBM (PC) 1981
- On August 12, 1981 IBM announced its own personal computer.
- Using the 16 bit Intel 8088 microprocessor, allowed for increased speed and huge
amounts of memory.
- Unlike the Altair that was sold as unassembled computer
kits, IBM sold its "ready-made" machine through retailers
and by qualified salespeople.
- To satisfy consumer appetites and to increase usability,
IBM gave prototype IBM PCs to a number of major
software companies.
- For the first time, small companies and individuals who
never would have imagined owning a "personal"
computer were now opened to the computer world.
MACINTOSH (1984)
- IBM's major competitor was a company lead by Steve
Wozniak and Steve Jobs; the Apple Computer Inc.
- The "Lisa" was the result of their competitive thrust.
- This system differed from its predecessors in its use of a "mouse" - then a quite foreign
computer instrument - in lieu of manually typing commands.
- However, the outrageous price of the Lisa kept it out of reach for many computer
buyers.
- Apple's brainchild was the Macintosh. Like the Lisa, the Macintosh too would make use
of a graphical user interface.
- Introduced in January 1984 it was an immediate success.
- The GUI (Graphical User Interface) made the system easy to use.
- The Apple Macintosh debuts in 1984. It features a simple, graphical interface, uses the
8-MHz, 32-bit Motorola 68000 CPU, and has a built-in 9-inch B/W screen.
- Cost $2,495

Chapter 1 Introduction to the World of Computers

Computers in Your Life
Why learn about computers?
 Pervasive computing
– Also known as ubiquitous computing
– Computers have become an integral part of our lives
• Basic computer literacy
– Understanding what a computer is and how it works
 Before 1980
– Computers were large and expensive
– Very few people had access to them
– Computers were mostly used for high-volume processing tasks
 Microcomputers in the early 1980s
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- Inexpensive personal computers

- Computer use increased dramatically
 Today
– Nearly 90% of US households include a computer, and most use computers at work
– Electronic devices are converging into single units with multiple capabilities
o Check e-mail on living room television
o View Internet content on mobile devices
- Computer literacy is an essential skill for everyone
Computers in the Home
 Computers used for a variety of tasks:
- Looking up information and news
- Exchanging e-mail
- Shopping and paying bills
- Watching TV and videos
- Downloading music and movies
- Organizing digital photographs
- Playing games
- Making vacation plans
 Used for reference, productivity, and entertainment
 Wireless networking
- Computers can be used in nearly any location
 Smart appliances
- Traditional appliances with built-in computer or communication technology
 Smart homes
- Household tasks are monitored and controlled by a main computer in the house

Computers in Education
 Youth today: the computing generation
 Computer labs and classrooms
- Most students today have access to computers at school
- Some schools integrate e-books into the curriculum
 Wireless hotspots
- Colleges and universities are even more integrated
- Some have computer requirements for enrollment
- Supplied or Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
 Distance learning
- Students participate from locations other than the traditional classroom setting
using computers and Internet access
Computers on the Job
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 Computers have become a universal on-the-job tool for decision-making, productivity, and
communication
- By all types of employees
- For access control and other security measures
- For service professional use
- Extensively by the military
- Requires continually refreshing computer skills
 Common uses:
- Decision making, productivity, off-site communications, and authentication