Evolution of computer

MANUAL-MECHANICAL DEVICES

1. Abacus:

- History: The abacus dates back over 2000 years and has its origins in ancient Mesopotamia. It was
used by various cultures throughout history, including the Chinese, Greeks, and Romans.

- Inventor: The abacus is a tool that evolved over time and doesn't have a specific inventor.

- How it Works: An abacus typically consists of rods or wires with beads that represent numbers. Users
move the beads to perform arithmetic calculations through simple addition, subtraction, multiplication,
and division.

- Citation: Smith, David Eugene. "The Abacus: A Brief History." The Open Court Publishing Company,
1917.

2. Napier's Bones:

- History: John Napier, a Scottish mathematician, invented Napier's Bones in 1617.

- Inventor: John Napier (1550-1617),

- How it Works: Napier's Bones are a set of numbered rods, each with a series of inscribed bones
(multiplication tables). Users align the rods to perform multiplication and division by adding the
numbers from the appropriate bones.

- Citation: Williams, Alex. "Napier's Bones: A Brief History and Instruction Manual." Wooden Books,
2016.

3. Oughtred's Slide Rule:

History: William Oughtred, an English mathematician, invented the slide rule in 1622.

Inventor: William Oughtred (1575-1660)

How it Works: The slide rule consists of two logarithmic scales that slide against each other. Users align
numbers on the scales to perform various mathematical calculations, including multiplication, division,
and more.

Citation: Bonsor, N. P. "The Slide Rule: A Practical Manual." Forgotten Books, 2017.

4. Pascaline Calculator:

History: Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, and inventor, created the Pascaline in 1642.

Inventor: Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Citation: Hunter, Louise S. "Blaise Pascal: The Story of a Genius." The University of Notre Dame Press,
2010.

5. Leibniz Calculator:

History: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a German mathematician, designed his calculator in the late 17th
century.

Inventor: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716)

How it Works: Leibniz's calculator is a stepped drum machine that can perform all four arithmetic
operations. It uses a stepped drum with teeth to mechanically calculate results.

Citation: Antognazza, Maria Rosa. "Leibniz: An Intellectual Biography." Cambridge University Press,
2009.

6. Babbage's Difference and Analytical Engines:

History: Charles Babbage, an English mathematician and inventor, designed these engines in the 19th
century.

Inventor: Charles Babbage (1791-1871)

How it Works: The Difference Engine was designed to compute polynomial functions through
mechanical means. The Analytical Engine was a more advanced design, including a punched card system
and an ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit), making it a precursor to modern computers.

- Citation: Swade, Doron. "Charles Babbage: And the Engines of Perfection." Oxford University Press,
2002.

"These devices played significant roles in the development of early computing and mathematics, laying
the groundwork for modern computers and calculators."

ELECTRO-MECHANICAL DEVICES

1. Hollerith Card:

History: The Hollerith Card, also known as the punched card, was developed by Herman Hollerith in
the late 19th century.

Inventor: Herman Hollerith (1860-1929)

Citation: Cortada, James W. "Before the Computer: IBM, NCR, Burroughs, and Remington Rand and the
Industry They Created, 1865-1956." Princeton University Press, 1993.

2. Automatic Weaving Loom:

History: The automatic weaving loom, also known as the power loom, was a significant innovation in
the textile industry during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Inventor: Edmund Cartwright (1743-1823) is credited with inventing one of the earliest power looms
in 1785.

How it Works: The automatic weaving loom mechanized the process of weaving fabric, replacing
manual labor. It used various mechanisms, including cams and shafts, to control the weaving process
automatically.

Citation: Chapman, S. D. "Edmund Cartwright and the Power Loom: The First Step Toward the Second
Industrial Revolution." The Economic History Review, vol. 30, no. 1, 1977, pp. 32-45.

3. Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (MARK1):

History: The Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, also known as the Harvard Mark I, was one of
the earliest electromechanical computers.

Inventor: The project was led by Howard Aiken, with contributions from Grace Hopper, among others.

How it Works: The MARK I was a large machine that used a combination of mechanical switches and
electrical components to perform calculations. It used punched paper tape for input and could perform
complex mathematical operations automatically.

Citation: Ceruzzi, Paul E. "Reckoners: The Prehistory of the Digital Computer, from Relays to the Stored
Program Concept, 1935-1945." Greenwood Publishing Group, 1983.

"These electro-mechanical devices marked significant advancements in various fields, from data
processing to manufacturing and computing, laying the groundwork for further technological
innovations."
ELECTRONIC DEVICES

1. ABC (Atanasoff-Berry-Computer):

History: The Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) is considered one of the first electronic digital computers
and was developed during the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Inventors: John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry

How it Works: The ABC used binary representation and electronic components, including vacuum
tubes, to perform digital calculations. It employed a system of capacitors to store and manipulate binary
information.

Citation: Burks, Arthur W., et al. "The First Electronic Computer: The Atanasoff Story." The University
of Michigan Press, 1988.

2. Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC):

History: ENIAC was one of the earliest general-purpose electronic digital computers and was
developed during World War II at the University of Pennsylvania.

Inventors: ENIAC was designed and constructed by John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, along with
their team.

How it Works: ENIAC used over 17,000 vacuum tubes for computation. It could perform a wide range
of calculations, including numerical integration and trajectory calculations, through the use of
plugboards and switches.

Citation: Haigh, Thomas, et al. "ENIAC in Action: Making and Remaking the Modern Computer." The
MIT Press, 2016.

3. Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC):

History: EDVAC was developed as a successor to ENIAC at the University of Pennsylvania and is
regarded as one of the earliest stored-program computers.

Inventors: The concept of the stored-program computer was developed by John von Neumann and his
team, including John Mauchly and Presper Eckert.

How it Works: EDVAC used a stored-program architecture, meaning it could store both data and
instructions in its memory. This allowed for more flexible and efficient computation compared to earlier
machines like ENIAC.
 Citation: Burks, Arthur W., et al. "High-Speed Computing Devices." The University of Michigan Press,
1951.

4. Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC):

History: EDSAC was developed in the late 1940s at the University of Cambridge, UK, and is considered
one of the earliest practical stored-program computers in Europe.

Inventors: The project was led by Maurice Wilkes and his team at the University of Cambridge.

How it Works: EDSAC used mercury delay lines to store and manipulate data. It employed a binary
system and could execute a wide range of stored programs, making it a versatile early computer.

Citation: Wilkes, Maurice V. "The Design of EDSAC." Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series
A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, vol. 200, no. 1064, 1950, pp. 63-95.

"These electronic devices marked significant milestones in the development of modern computing by
utilizing electronic components, binary representation, and stored-program concepts."

Modern computers

A modern computer is an integrated system including machine hardware, an instruction set, system
software, application programs, and user interfaces

1976: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak co-found Apple Computer on April Fool's Day. They unveil Apple I,
the first computer with a single-circuit board and ROM (Read Only Memory), according to MIT.

1981: "Acorn," IBM's first personal computer, is released onto the market at a price point of $1,565,
according to IBM. Acorn uses the MS-DOS operating system from Windows. Optional features include a
display, printer, two diskette drives, extra memory, a game adapter and more.

1989: Tim Berners-Lee, a British researcher at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN),
submits his proposal for what would become the World Wide Web. His paper details his ideas for Hyper
Text Markup Language (HTML), the building blocks of the Web.

1993: The Pentium microprocessor advances the use of graphics and music on PCs.

1996: Sergey Brin and Larry Page develop the Google search engine at Stanford University.

1997: Microsoft invests $150 million in Apple, which at the time is struggling financially. This investment
ends an ongoing court case in which Apple accused Microsoft of copying its operating system.
1999: Wi-Fi, the abbreviated term for "wireless fidelity" is developed, initially covering a distance of up
to 300 feet (91 meters) Wired reported.

2001: Mac OS X, later renamed OS X then simply macOS, is released by Apple as the successor to its
standard Mac Operating System. OS X goes through 16 different versions, each with "10" as its title, and
the first nine iterations are nicknamed after big cats, with the first being codenamed "Cheetah,"
TechRadar reported.

2003: AMD's Athlon 64, the first 64-bit processor for personal computers, is released to customers.

2004: The Mozilla Corporation launches Mozilla Firefox 1.0. The Web browser is one of the first major
challenges to Internet Explorer, owned by Microsoft. During its first five years, Firefox exceeded a billion
downloads by users, according to the Web Design Museum.

2005: Google buys Android, a Linux-based mobile phone operating system

2006: The MacBook Pro from Apple hits the shelves. The Pro is the company's first Intel-based, dual-core
mobile computer.

2009: Microsoft launches Windows 7 on July 22. The new operating system features the ability to pin
applications to the taskbar, scatter windows away by shaking another window, easy-to-access jumplists,
easier previews of tiles and more, TechRadar reported.

2010: The iPad, Apple's flagship handheld tablet, is unveiled.

2011: Google releases the Chromebook, which runs on Google Chrome OS.

2015: Apple releases the Apple Watch. Microsoft releases Windows 10.

2016: The first reprogrammable quantum computer was created. "Until now, there hasn't been any
quantum-computing platform that had the capability to program new algorithms into their system.
They're usually each tailored to attack a particular algorithm," said study lead author Shantanu Debnath,
a quantum physicist and optical engineer at the University of Maryland, College Park.

2017: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing a new "Molecular
Informatics" program that uses molecules as computers. "Chemistry offers a rich set of properties that
we may be able to harness for rapid, scalable information storage and processing," Anne Fischer,
program manager in DARPA's Defense Sciences Office, said in a statement. "Millions of molecules exist,
and each molecule has a unique three-dimensional atomic structure as well as variables such as shape,
size, or even color. This richness provides a vast design space for exploring novel and multi-value ways to
encode and process data beyond the 0s and 1s of current logic-based, digital architectures."