INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING

“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.”

LESSON 1: OVERVIEW OF ICT

ELEMENTS OF COMPUTER SYSTEM MICROCOMPUTERS

★ HARDWARE -They are cheap and user-friendly

- Physical components of the computer -Main components are Monitor, CPU,
system Keyboard, Mouse, Speaker, Modem, and
printer.
★ SOFTWARE
- Instructions that run the computer MINICOMPUTERS
system.

-Have less memory & storage capacity than

★ PEOPLEWARE
mainframe computers
- The people involved in the information
-Limited range of peripherals
technology system whether as user or
-Limited range of softwares
developer.
-End users can directly operate it.
-Not very sensitive to the external environment
THREE CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS

According to types of data handling

1. According to Size
2. According to types of data handling
3. According to Purpose
ANALOG devices

ACCORDING TO SIZE -Displays data in continuous form . Examples of

it are the speedometer, Oscilloscope.

SUPERCOMPUTERS
DIGITAL devices

- It is used for intensive computation such as

Weather forecasting, Climate Research, Oil -Digital devices transform all data into binary
Exploration, Molecular modeling, Quantum form, and then it executes all operation on them
Mechanics, and Cryptanalysis. Example: Personal computer.
-Used for performing complex mathematical
calculations. Hybrid devices
-Mostly used by scientist and mathematicians.
-They have huge memories & tremendous
-Accept a digital computer that accepts analog
processing speed.
signals, converts them to digital and processes
-Installed in space centres, nuclear power
them in a digital form.
stations, etc.

MAINFRAME Computer ACCORDING TO PURPOSE

-They are used for bulk processing: Census

data and transaction
SPECIAL PURPOSE COMPUTERS
-Sensitive to temperature, humidity, dust
-Can be use wide variety of software
-Not user friendly -Dedicated to a specific tasks
-Wide range of peripherals attached
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING
“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.”

-May be more efficient because of specialized

programs.

GENERAL PURPOSE COMPUTERS

-Handles a variety of tasks

-Versatile
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING
“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.”

LESSON 2: History of Computers Tabulating Machine

-Counting machine used in the 1890 US census
Abacus -Used punch cards to represent an individual’s
-2400 BC sensus data
-Used as calculating tool
Herman Hollerith
Pascaline -Developed electromechanical tabulating
-17th Century machine
-Called Arithmetic machine, Pascal’s
calculator Alan Turing
-Primarily an adding machine which could add
and subtract numbers -In 1936, he wrote “On Computable Numbers,
with an application to
Entscheidungsproblem” which paved the way
Blaise Pascal for the invention of Turing Machine
-1623-1662 –Devised the First systematic method for
-French mathematician, physicist, inventor, breaking messages
writer and a Christian Philosopher -Father of modern computer, computer
science and artificial intelligence

Leibniz Calculator
Turing Machine
-17th century
-named Stepped Reckoner -abstract computing machine that
encapsulates the fundamental logical
principles of the digital computer.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
-Prominent German Polymath and one of the
Konrad Zuse
most important logicians
-Inventor and computer pioneer
-Created Z1-Z4
Analytical Engine
-Contained many similar elements to modern
Z1-Z4
digital computers.
-Similarities are punched card control, fast -1936-1943
multiplier/divider, a range of peripherals, array
processing Harvard Mark 1
-Conceived by Howard Aiken, and designed by
Charles Babbage IBM
-Remembered now for originating the -used to produce mathematical tables but was
concept of programmable computer soon superseded by stored program computers
-Father of Computer
HP 200A Audio Oscillator
Lady Ada Lovelace -David Packard and Bill Hewlett created this.
-First computer programmer -Popular piece of test equipment for
engineers
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING
“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.”

Atanasoff Berry Computer (1837-1942) SAGE

–First electronic digital computer
-Gigantic computerized air defense system.
-Used to help Air force track radar data in real
Colossus (1943) time
–Designed by British engineer Tommy Flowers
-Designed to break the complex Lorenz NEAC 2203
ciphers used by the Nazis during WW2
-One of the earliest transistorized Japanese
ENIAC (1946) computers.
-Used for business, scientific and engineering
-conceived by John Mauchly and J. Presper applications.
Eckert
–commissioned for the use in WW2 CDC 6600
-Heralded in the press as a “GIANT BRAIN”
-Speed of 1000 times that of
-Fastest machine in the world
electro-mechanical machines
-Designed by Seymour Cray

EDVAC (1947)
IBM System 360

-conceived by John Mauchly and J. Presper

-Family of six mutually compatible computers
Eckert
and 40 peripherals that could work together.
-Design would implement a number of
-Transition from discrete transistors to
important architectural and logical
integrated circuits.
improvements during ENIAC’s construction.

Manchester Mark I (1949)

DEC PDP

-First stored program digital computer

-First successful commercial minicomputer

John Von Neumann

Apollo Guidance Computer

-Credited with defining that stored program

-Made its debut orbiting the Earth on Apollo 7
computer architecture.
-Steered Apollo 11 to lunar surface

EDSAC
Interface Message Processor

-Second usefully operational electronic digital

-Use by the US government to keep its network
stored-program computer
of computers alive in case certain nodes were
destroyed in a nuclear attack.
-First generation of gateways (routers)
UNIVAC -Performed critical task in development of
ARPANET
-First general purpose computer for
commercial use.
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING
“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.”

ARPANET VAX 780

-World’s first operational packet switching -Featured the ability to address up to 4.3 gb of
network and predecessor of the virtual memory, providing hundreds of times
contemporary global internet. the capacity of most minicomputers.

Kenbak-1 Atari 400

-World’s first personal computer -Atari introduces the Model 400 and 800
-It had only 256 bytes of computing power. computer.
-Designed two MICROCOMPUTERS.
-Built with the idea that 400 would serve
Altair 8800
primarily as game console.

-Bill Gates and Paul Allen licensed BASIC as the

software language of Altair ATARI 800
-Ed Roberts invented 8800 and coined the term
“personal computer.” -More of home computer

Apple 1 IBM PC

-Conceived by Steve Wozniak -First PC ran on 4.77 MHz Intel 8088

-Build-it yourself kit computer microprocessor/
-Managed to sell 50-pre built models to the
Osborne (1981)
Byte Ship

Commodore 64 (1982)
Apple 2
Hewlett Packard 150 (1983)
-Became an instant success in 1977 with its
printed circuit motherboard, switching power Apple Lisa (1983)
supply, keyboard, case assembly, manual,
game paddles, A/C power cord, and cassette Apple Macintosh (1984)
with the computer game “Breakout”.
IBM PS2 (1987)
-Produced brilliant color graphics
NeXT (1988)

Cray
Deep Blue (1997)

-Fastest computing machine in the world

I Phone (2007)
-Designed by Setymour cray
-Supercomputer which prioritized processing
IPAD (2010)
capacity and speed of calculation.
Google Glass (2012), Apple Watch (2014)
TRS -1977
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING
“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.”