What Is a Computer?

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the computer definition is ''a programmable usually

electronic device that can store, retrieve, and process data.'' Today, many people use computers at
work, school, and home to prepare documents, play games, send and receive e-mails, surf the
internet, watch videos, and more.

Types of Computers
There are many different types of computers, including:

Desktop Computer - A larger device that is designed to stand on a desk. Desktop computers include a
computer unit, a monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse.

Laptop Computer - This smaller, portable computer is powered by batteries so it can be used outside of
the home, school, or office.

Tablet Computer - These handheld computers (like an iPad) use a touch screen for typing instead of a
keyboard or mouse.

Server - A server is a primary computer that sends information to computers that are networked
together. Many businesses use servers to store files.

Smartphones - Smartphones are a type of specialized computer that include internet and games with
phone service.

Wearable Technology - These devices, such as fitness trackers and smartwatches, are worn to gather
data.

Game Consoles - These specialized computers allow users to play video games using their television
screen.

Televisions - Some modern TVs incorporate applications that connect to content online, such as internet
video streaming services.

There are also two major styles of computers:

PC - The IBM PC, introduced in 1981, was the first personal computer (PC), which usually runs the
Microsoft Windows operating system.

Mac - Introduced in 1984, the Macintosh computer is made by Apple and uses the Mac OS X operating
system.

Uses of Computers
Today, there are many uses for computers. Individuals rely on computers in their daily lives, and
computer technology is integrated into many activities.
Some of the main uses of computers include:

Word Processing - Students and professionals use computers to prepare and edit documents.

Data Analysis - Computer users can create spreadsheets and use computer programs to quickly and
easily process large amounts of data so that they can perform complex calculations.

Internet Browsing - Many people enjoy surfing the web to find information, use social media, read news,
watch videos, or listen to music.

Web Cameras - This video recording device is useful for online classes and meetings, as well as for
creating personal videos.

Playing Games - A large variety of computer games are available for individuals to play on computers,
phones, or game consoles.

Creating Applications - Applications (or apps) are software available on mobile phones, desktops, and
laptop computers. Apps help complete a variety of tasks on the computer.

History of Computers Timeline

From the introduction of the first computer in the early 1800s through the many types of portable
and handheld computers available now, the evolution of computers continues to this day.

This timeline includes some of the key events in the history of computers:

1834 - Charles Babbage invents the analytical engine, which improved upon mechanized calculation
technology and allowed for more general-purpose calculation.

1887 - Herman Hollerith develops a tabulating system that uses punch cards to speed up processing for
the 1890 U.S. Census. This technology set the foundation for later developments in computing.

1911 - Herman Hollerith's Tabulating Machine Company merges with two other companies to form the
Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, which is now called IBM.

1937 - George Stibitz, a scientist at Bell Laboratories, builds a demonstration circuit called the ''Model K''
Adder. This development led to the 1939 construction of the Model I Complex Calculator.

1939 - Bill Hewlett and David Packard found Hewlett-Packard in California.

1940 - German engineer Konrad Zuse completes the Z3, a computer that was used for aerodynamic
calculations.

1945 - University of Pennsylvania professors John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert develop the Electronic
Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC), an early digital computer. The ENIAC used punch cards and
was designed to help Army gunners aim their weapons with accuracy.

1946 - Mauchly and Eckert build the first commercial computer, the Universal Automatic Computer
(UNIVAC), using Census Bureau funding. Business and government entities used the UNIVAC.

1947 - Bell Labs scientists develop the first transistor, a solid state electronic device with three terminals
that can be used to control electric current and voltage flow between terminals. The transistor is an
important component in nearly all electronics used today.

1958 - The integrated circuit debuts. Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce designed the integrated circuit, which
 is also known as the computer chip. Kilby received a Nobel Prize in Physics for his efforts.

1971 - Intel introduces the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004. This microprocessor combined all of the
necessary chips onto one chip and made the PC possible.

1975 - The Altair 8800 mail order computer kit is featured in Popular Electronics. The computer sold for
$297 without a case and had 256 bytes of memory. Produced by Telemetry Systems and Micro
Instrumentation, the Altair 8800 is considered by many to be the first personal computer.

1975 - Bill Gates and Paul Allen formed Microsoft, a computer software company that transformed into
a global technology corporation. When Microsoft went public in 1987, Gates became the youngest
billionaire in the world at age 31.

1976 - Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak found Apple Computers, Inc. to create user-friendly computers. By
1980, Apple Computers, Inc. had $117 million in sales.

1981 - IBM releases its first PC, which gained widespread adoption. The IBM PC ran on Microsoft Disk
Operating System, MS-DOS.

1991 - Swiss computer programmer Tim Berners-Lee introduces the World Wide Web, a network of
information that anyone on the internet can access.

2010 - The iPad, a handheld tablet produced by Apple, is launched. Handheld computers became
increasingly popular after the release of the iPad.

Who Invented Computers?

The earliest computing devices focused on making calculations easier and quicker. The abacus,
which is a counting board with beads or discs that can be moved to track numbers, is an early
predecessor to the modern computer. The abacus has been used for calculations since 1100 BC. An
abacus is a portable counting device that was used to keep tallies for merchants who need to
manage their inventory of traded goods.

Technology continued to progress when the circular and rectangular slide rules were invented by
mathematician William Oughtred in 1632 and 1620, respectively. The slide rule built on the
invention of logarithms by John Napier and helped make performing calculations easier.
 Charles Babbage

While these technologies were important in the development of computers, when considering who
invented computers, it is essential to learn about Charles Babbage. Starting in 1830, Babbage, an
English mathematician, began designing an analytical engine that could be programmed to
perform calculations using punched cards. Babbage is sometimes considered the father of
computers since most computers today use basic ideas that he pioneered.

The First Computers

 Women Using Punch Card Technology in the 1930s

In the 1930s and 1940s, engineers and developers in Germany, Britain, and the United States
focused on producing more technologically advanced computing technology. Many consider the Z3
to be the first computer. Konrad Zuse developed the Z3 in Germany. The Z3 was the first working,
fully automatic, and programmable digital computer. Zuse worked on the Z3 project between 1935
and 1941.

British engineer Tommy Flowers designed the Colossus computer, which became operational in
1944. This computer was intended to break complicated Nazi ciphers during World War II.

The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) computing system was built by John
Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, professors at the University of Pennsylvania. The project began in
1943, and the ENIAC was unveiled in 1946. The ENIAC employed electronic rather than
electromechanical technology, which made the device more than 1,000 times faster than preceding
computers.

In 1926, Austro-Hungarian physicist Julius E. Lilienfield filed a patent for an electrolytic capacitor
that set the foundation for the development of the transistor. The transistor is useful in computers
because it helps in switching computer tasks on and off and in amplifying current signals. By 1947,
the transistor was used in computers.
The first integrated circuit was produced in 1958. This device placed components (including
transistors) with the circuitry that connects them on a single piece of silicon.

Personal Computers
The technology behind computers has continued to evolve over time. Vacuum tubes were used in
the first generation of computers; because vacuum tubes used a lot of energy and created
excessive heat, they were replaced by transistors after 1947. In 1965, Fairchild Semiconductor
Corporation research director Gordon E. Moore predicted that processing power would increase
with the use of transistors. This is known as Moore's Law.

The personal computer entered the market in the 1970s and several major computer companies
launched. Microsoft was founded in 1975, and Apple Computers, Inc. was created in 1976. The
Altair 8800 is the first device that could be considered a personal computer. Telemetry Systems and
Micro Instrumentation produced the Altair 8800 in 1975. The computer was sold via mail order in
Popular Electronics magazine. IBM produced the company's first personal computer, which was
popular among consumers, in 1981.

Computer Hardware and Software Development

Computers have evolved as technology has progressed. Early computers were extremely large and
difficult to program. They also required air-conditioning to prevent overheating. Modern computers
benefit from the development of a variety of hardware and software, as well as the creation of new
programming languages.

In 1953, Grace Hopper created the COmmon, Business-Oriented Language (COBOL), which was the
first computer language. She received a Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously for her
invention and was dubbed the ''First Lady of Software.''

The (Beginners All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) BASIC programming language was
developed at Dartmouth College in 1964. BASIC became one of the most commonly used
programming languages for computers.

The invention of computer hardware includes several key milestones. Magnetic core memory, the
first writable random access memory, was invented in 1951 based on work done at Harvard
University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Designed by IBM, the first commercial
hard drive, the Model 350 disk storage unit, entered the market in 1956.

Hardware continued to evolve in the 1970s. Working at Stanford Research Institute, Doug Engelbart
designed the first computer mouse, which was patented in 1970. In 1973, a researcher at Xerox
invented Ethernet, which connects multiple computers. In 1975, IBM launched its 5100 Portable
Computer, which weighed around 50 pounds and was slightly larger than a typewriter. Released in
1982, the GRiD Compass 1100 was one of the first computers in a laptop style.
Computer software developers create programs that can simplify everyday tasks. Released in 1979,
WordStar was the first word processing software to be commercially successful. Apple added a
graphical user interface (GUI) called the Apple Lisa in 1983. The Windows operating system was first
released in 1985, and in 1992, America Online (AOL) began providing internet services, including
dial-up access, instant messaging, and e-mail.

Lesson Summary
The evolution of computer technology builds on the abacus, an ancient calculation device, and the
slide rule, an analog computational device. English mathematician Charles Babbage is often called
the father of computers because nearly all modern computers rely on the basic ideas that Babbage
introduced. Babbage began designing an analytical engine in 1830. The analytical engine could be
programmed using punched cards to perform calculations. Konrad Zuse developed the first
working, fully automatic, and programmable digital computer, the Z3, between 1935 and 1941 in
Germany.

The first generation of computers used vacuum tubes, which were ultimately replaced by
transistors because vacuum tubes consumed a large amount of energy and produced excessive
heat. In 1958, the first integrated circuit was created by combining components (like transistors)
and the circuitry that connects them on one piece of silicon. Introduced in 1975, the Altair 8800 is
the first device that could be called a personal computer. The Altair 8800 was produced by
Telemetry Systems and Micro Instrumentation. Computer hardware, software, and programming
languages have evolved over time, and the computer market now includes PCs, Macs, consoles,
and handheld devices. Microsoft was founded in 1975, and Apple Computers, Inc. was launched in
1976.

Video Transcript

History of Computers
A computer is an electronic machine that accepts information, stores it, processes it according to
the instructions provided by a user and then returns the result. Today, we take computers for
granted, and they have become part of our everyday activities. While computers as we know them
today are relatively recent, the concepts and ideas behind computers have quite a bit of history -
time for a whirlwind tour of how we got to the age of email, YouTube and Facebook.

Early Computing Devices

Attempts by humans to develop a tool to manipulate data go back as far as 2600 BC when the
Chinese came up with the abacus. The slide rule was invented in 1621 and remained widely used
until the emergence of electronic calculators in the 1970s. Both these examples of early devices
were mechanical and on a human scale.