What is computer?

A computer is a digital electronic machine that

can be programmed to carry out sequences of
arithmetic or logical operations automatically.
Modern computers can perform generic sets of
operations known as programs. These programs
enable computers to perform a wide range of
tasks.

Pfahler 2008
Matiste 2015
Pfahler 2008
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

Matiste 2015
Pfahler 2008
First Computer

ABACUS

Pfahler 2008
 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

Pfahler 2008
 BLAISE PASCAL
(1623 - 1662)
 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 Matiste 2015
Pfahler 2008
 Blaise Pascal

Matiste 2015 Pfahler 2008

 Gottfried Wilhelm
von Leibniz

The stepped reckoner

Supposed to be able to add,
subtract, multiply, divide and
calculate square roots
**Device never worked properly
Pfahler 2008
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.
With Charles Babbage's creation of the
Pfahler 2008
Charles Babbage
1822 Babbage's Difference
Engine

Pfahler 2008
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

Pfahler 2008
Joseph Jacquard

Pfahler 2008
 Charles Babbage
Considered the “Father of Computers”

Pfahler 2008
Pfahler 2008
 First Computer
Programmer

Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace

Pfahler 2008
Matiste 2015
 U.S. Census
• Done every 10 years
• Process done by hand in 19th century
• Took 10 years to complete UNTIL

Matiste 2015
Pfahler 2008
Herman Hollerith

Pfahler 2008
Hollerith’s Punch Card

Matiste 2015
Tabulating Machine

Pfahler 2008
 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

Matiste 2015
 Population Count
• Now took only 6 weeks to count 63 million

Matiste 2015
Tabulating Machine Company

International Matiste
Business2015
Machines
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
component. Pfahler 2008
HOWARD AIKEN
(1900 - 1973)

 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.

Pfahler 2008
Howard Aiken

Mark I Pfahler 2008

Mark I Calculator

Pfahler 2008
 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

Pfahler 2008
 ENIAC - 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.

Pfahler 2008
ENIAC

Matiste 2015
ENIAC
1943-1946

 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

Pfahler 2008
ENIAC
1946

Pfahler 2008
 Computer
• An electronic machine accepts data, processes it
according to instructions and provides the results
as new data
• Can make simple decisions and comparisons

Matiste 2015
 Program
• List of instructions written in a special
language that the computer understands

Matiste 2015
Vacuum Tubes

Matiste 2015
 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

Matiste 2015
 1945 – John Von Newmann
• Developed stored programs concept
• Program would be stored in CPU or
Central Processing Unit

Matiste 2015
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
Pfahler 2008
TRANSISTOR
1947
 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.

Pfahler 2008
Transistor

Matiste 2015
Transistor Radio

Matiste 2015
First Computer Bug

Grace Hopper
Matiste 2015
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.

Pfahler 2008
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.
• 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.

Pfahler 2008
ALTAIR
1975
 Based on the Intel 8080 processor,
capable of controlling 64 kilobyes 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.

Pfahler 2008
ALTAIR
1975
 ALTAIR FACTS:
No Keyboard
No Video Display
No Storage Device

Pfahler 2008
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.

Pfahler 2008
IBM (PC)
1981

 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.

Pfahler 2008
 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.
Pfahler 2008
MACINTOSH
(1984)

 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.

Pfahler 2008
MACINTOSH
(1984)

 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

Pfahler 2008