What is Computer? Describe historical background of computer.

Also
Discuss the Characteristic and Types of Computer? What are the
different Generations of Computer? Also Discuss its social impact on
society with its Applications?
Introduction:
• A computer is an electronic device, operating under the control
of instructions stored in its own memory that can accept data
(input), process the data according to specified rules, produce
information (output), and store the information for future use1.
Any kind of computers consists of hardware and software.
Definition:
• A programmed device with a set of instructions to perform
specific tasks and generate results at a high speed.
Origin:
• Derived from the Latin word “Computare”, i.e. to compute
Historical Background:
 First Mechanical Computer: The “Analytical Engine”, proposed
by Charles Babbage in 1837 and built by Henry Babbage in
1910. Consisted of flow control, punch cards, ALU and memory.
 First Programmable Computer: Created by Konard Zuse in
1938.Electromechanical binary programmable computer, the
first really functional machine.
 Turing Machine: Proposed by Alan Turing in 1936. An
information processor working through a series of instructions,
performing read/write and moving to the next instruction.
 Colossus: Developed by Tommy Flower in 1943.The first
electric programmable computer. Primarily aimed to decrypt
and read messages during world war II.
 First Digital Computer: “ABC”, Developed by Atansoff and Cliff
Berry in 1942.Used 300 vacuum tubes for
computations.“ENIAC”, developed by J. Presper and John
Mauchley in 1946.Consisted of 18000 vacuum tubes.
 UNIVAC: The first computer with program stored in memory.
Built in 1950.
 Whirlwind Machine: The first computer with RAM. Introduced
by MIT in 1955.
 First Desktop Computers: “Programma 101”, introduced in
1964. “HP 9100A”, introduced by HP in 1968
 The First Workstation: Xerox Alto, introduced in 1974. Fully
functional computer with display, mouse, windows, menus and
icons.
 The First Microprocessor: Intel 4004. Introduced by Intel in
1971
 The First Personal Computer: Altair 8800, introduced by Ed
Roberts in 1975. Consisted of a series of switches for
input/output by turning ON and OFF a series of lights.
 IBM 5100: The first portable computer, released in September
1975. CRT display, Tape drive,1.9 MHz processor and 64 KB of
RAM
 The First Laptop: Osborne 1, introduced in 1981, 5 inch display,
Two floppy drives, 64 KB memory, Modem, CP/M 2.2 operating
system
 IBM PC: The first personal computer, introduced by IBM in
1981, 8088 processor, 16 KB of memory extendable to 256 KB,
MS-DOS operating system.
  Compaq Portable: Introduced by Compaq in 1983, Compatible
with programs developed for IBM computers.
 Windows 1.0: Released in 1985,The first version of MS
windows line,16 bit multi-tasking shell on the top of MS-DOS,
Overlapping windows in Windows 2.0.
 First Multimedia Computer: M2500 XL/2 and M4020 SX
introduced in 1992 by Radio Shack,Ran programs that
combined video, animations, graphics and audio.
 History, 1990 – onward:
1990 – HTML was proposed by Tim Berners Lee. Microsoft
released windows 3.0, 1992 – Microsoft released windows 3.1,
1994 – PC video games, 1995 – Windows 95 which merged MS-
DOS and windows platforms, 1996 – Google Search Engine,
1998 – Windows 98, a graphical operating system, 1999 –
Wireless internet, 2001 – Mac OS X, a Unix based operating
system used in apple computers, 2003 – The first 64-bit
processor, “Athlon 64, 2004 – Mozilla Firefox was released and
Facebook was founded, 2005 – YouTube was founded.
 History, 1990 – onward (continued):
2006 – Apple introduced MacBook pro, the first dual core
laptop computer, 2007 – Steve Jobs launched iPhone, 2009 –
Microsoft released windows 7, 2010 – Apple introduced iPad, a
multi touch screen computer, 2011 – Google introduced
Chromebook which runs Google chrome OS, 2015 – Microsoft
released windows 10. Apple introduced the Apple Watch, 2016
– China’s Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer became the
world’s most powerful computer.
Characteristics of Computer:
 Accuracy:
 Every calculation should be performed with the same accuracy.
High degree of accuracy. Any inaccuracy is the result of
inaccurate data.
 Speed:
Modern computers run millions and billions of instructions in a
second. Even the slowest computers should perform
calculations much faster than humans.
 Reliability:
High speed. Provided accurate data, it should output correct
data. Results should be reliable.
 Automation:
To be able to schedule tasks to be performed without human
intervention. Procedures that are executed one after another
in an automated manner.
 Diligence: Free from tiredness, No fatigue, No lack of
concentration.
 Versatility: it Should be able to be used in multiple areas: Like
Scientific research, Medicine, Multimedia, Astronomy,
Agriculture and many more
 Memory: Stores huge amounts of data, from GBs to hundreds
of TBs
 AI and Decision Making: Modern computers can imitate
human intelligence and can perform intelligent decision making
alongside logical and arithmetic operations. AI is applied in
robotics, gaming, medicine, scientific research and more.
 Embedded Computer: A small computer device built into
another device, e.g. the computer embedded in an ATM
machine.
 Personal Computer: Also called PC or desktop computer,
Screen separated from the case containing mother board and
 power supply, Mouse, keyboard and other external
peripherals, several categories including: Tower model,
Desktop model, Laptop and Notebook, Tablet, Hybrid
computer, Personal digital assistant (PDA) and more.
 Wearable Computer: Computer devices strapped to human
body, e.g. Smart watches, Devices used for augmented
memory, Devices used for immediate access to important data,
Devices used to take notes.
 Microcomputer: A standard personal computer, Consists of
CPU, RAM, Modem, sound card and video card etc.
 Server Computer: Run server software to respond to clients.,
Powerful, capable of responding to several clients.
 Mainframe Computer: Powerful computers, Multiple user
interfaces, Reliability, availability, serviceability.
 Applied where processes are to be done with no downtime.
 Mini Computer: Mid-range computers, Small computers with
most of the features of large computers, Smaller than
mainframe and larger than microcomputers, mostly used as
server computers.
 Workstation: Comparatively powerful computer for individual
use, more capable and faster than PC, Used for processor and
memory extensive tasks.
 Super Computer: A very powerful computer or a collection of
several computers acting as a single computer.

Ran System Cores Rank System Cores

k

1 Sunway TaihuLight - 6 Sequoia - United

10,649,600 1,572,864
China States
2 Tianhe-2 (MilkyWay-2) 7 Trinity - United
3,120,000 979,968
– China States

3 Piz Daint - Switzerland 361,760 8 Cori - United States 622,336

4 Gyoukou - Japan 19,860,000 9 Oakforest- Japan 556,104

5 Titan - United States 560,640 10 K computer - Japan 705,024

, Very powerful, Used to solve problems where the primary constraint

is processing speed, Used in nuclear research, weather forecasting,
Bitcoin mining and more.
Different Generations of Computer:
A new release of computer hardware because of advancement in
technology is referred to as “Generation”. Since 1946, there have
been five known generations of computers, Generation 1 through
5.
 First Generation: 1946 – 1959: Vacuum tubes were used for
memory and circuitry for CPU, very expensive, Batch processing
operating systems, Used punch cards, paper tape and magnetic
tape, Machine language, Slow and Unreliable, Very large size,
Power intensive
 Examples: ENIAC, EDVAC, IBM-650
 Second Generation: 1959 – 1965: Transistors were used instead
of vacuum tubes, Comparatively reliable, Comparatively lesser
power intensive, Faster than first generation computers, Machine
and assembly languages.
 Examples include IBM 1620, CDC 1604 and UNIVAC 1108.
 Third Generation: 1965 – 1971: Transistors were replaced by IC’s
(integrated circuits), An IC has several transistors, resistors and
 capacitors integrated together, more reliable and faster,
Generated lesser heat, Expensive, Lesser power consumption,
High level languages like FORTRAN and COBOL.
 Examples: IBM-370/168, TDC-316, IBM-360
 Fourth Generation: 1971 – 1980: VLSI (very large scale integrated)
circuits based computers, Smaller in size, Faster and reliable,
Advanced networking, Easily available, Comparatively less
expensive.
 Examples: DEC 10, PDP 11, CRAY-1
 Firth Generation: 1980 – onward: ULSI (ultra large scale
integrated) circuits. Microprocessor chips with up to ten million
electronic elements, Artificial intelligence, Natural language
processing, Parallel processing, User friendly interfaces,
Multimedia support, Low price, Powerful, Smaller in size and
lesser heat generation.
 Examples: Modern day PC’s, laptops, smartphones, mainframe
and super computers.
 Computer has evolved as a mean of solving various problems in
human society. From the earliest form of computer to modern
day supercomputer, it has affected the society in several ways.
Computer is in use in various fields that include:
 Management, Banking, Industry, Engineering, Satellite,
Astronomy, Travelling, Traffic, control, Medicine, Research
Positive Impacts:
 Very Fast and efficient data processing in small time.
 Large storage within a small place.
 Multi-tasking and multi-processing.
 Easy access to data.
 Security and privacy to sensitive data.
  Results with no or less errors.
Negative Impacts:
 Highly expensive hardware and software.
 Highly skillful individuals required to operate a
system.
 Data piracy.
 Rise in unemployment.
 Damage to storage devices causes huge data loss.
 Several threats to data security.
 Rapidly changing technology.
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