INTRO TO COMPUTING

1801: Joseph Marie Jacquard invents a loom using punched cards for automatic fabric
weaving.

1821: Charles Babbage designs the "Difference Engine," an early mechanical calculator.

1848: Ada Lovelace writes the first computer program while working on Babbage's
Analytical Engine.

1853: Per Georg Scheutz and Edvard design the first printing calculator.

1890: Herman Hollerith creates a punch-card system for the U.S. Census, precursor to
IBM.

1931: Vannevar Bush builds the Differential Analyzer, an early mechanical computer.

1936: Alan Turing presents the concept of the Turing machine, foundational for modern
computing.

1937: John Vincent Atanasoff proposes building the first electric-only computer.

1939: David Packard and Bill Hewlett found Hewlett-Packard (HP).

1941: Konrad Zuse builds the Z3, the first digital computer. Atanasoff and Berry create
the first digital electronic computer.

1945: Mauchly and Eckert design the ENIAC, the first general-purpose digital computer.

1946: Mauchly and Presper begin work on UNIVAC, the first commercial computer.

1947: Shockley, Bardeen, and Brattain invent the transistor.

1949: Cambridge team develops EDSAC, the first practical stored-program computer.

1953: Grace Hopper develops COBOL, the first computer language.

1954: IBM's John Backus creates FORTRAN, the first high-level programming language.

1958: Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce invent the integrated circuit (computer chip).

1968: Douglas Engelbart demonstrates the first modern computer with a GUI and mouse.

1969: Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie create UNIX, an operating system critical for
networking and the internet.

1970: Intel introduces the first DRAM chip.

1971: IBM engineers invent the floppy disk.

1972: Ralph Baer releases the first home game console, and Atari launches Pong.

1973: Robert Metcalfe develops Ethernet for connecting computers.

1975: Paul Allen and Bill Gates start Microsoft after writing software for the Altair 8080.

1976: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak co-found Apple and unveil the Apple I.

1977: Apple II is introduced with color graphics at the first West Coast Computer Faire.

1978: VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet software, is introduced.

1979: WordStar, the first successful word processor, is released.

1981: IBM launches the Acorn, its first personal computer.

1983: Apple introduces Lisa, the first personal computer with a GUI.

1984: Apple releases the Macintosh with a famous Super Bowl ad.

1985: Microsoft releases Windows as a response to Apple's GUI.

1989: Tim Berners-Lee proposes the World Wide Web.

1993: Intel’s Pentium processor enhances graphics and audio for PCs.
1996: Sergey Brin and Larry Page develop the Google search engine.

1997: Microsoft invests in Apple, saving it from financial trouble.

1999: Wi-Fi is introduced, enabling wireless networking.

*Triumph of the Nerds* Part 1 and Part 2:

### Part 1: "Impressing Their Friends"

1. **Bill Gates** – Microsoft

2. **Paul Allen** – Microsoft

3. **Steve Jobs** – Apple

4. **Steve Wozniak** – Apple

5. **Ed Roberts** – MITS (creator of Altair 8800)

6. **Arthur Rock** – Venture capitalist (Intel, Apple)

7. **Dan Bricklin** – Co-creator of VisiCalc

8. **Bob Frankston** – Co-creator of VisiCalc

### Part 2: "Riding the Bear"

1. **Bill Gates** – Microsoft

2. **Paul Allen** – Microsoft

3. **Steve Jobs** – Apple

4. **Gary Kildall** – Digital Research (creator of CP/M)

5. **Jack Sams** – IBM (negotiated with Microsoft)

6. **Rod Canion** – Co-founder of Compaq

7. **John Sculley** – Former Apple CEO

People:

• Robert Cringely - narrator

• Bill Gates & Paul Allen - Cofounders of Microsoft

• Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak - Cofounders of Apple

• Ed Roberts - creator of the first computer kit, Altair 8800, ex-air force officer

• Gary Killdall - created CP/M

• Gordon Moore - one of the founders of Intel

• Jim Warren - founder of West Coast Computer Fair(1978)

• Dan Bricklin & Bob Frankston - made VisiCalc

• Jack Sams - former IBM executive (approached Gary Killdall and Bill Gates)

• Bill Lowe - Head of IBM PC development

• Tim Patterson - creator of 86-DOS / PC DOS

• Rod Canion - created the Compaq portable computer by reverse engineering the IPM
PC
Terms:

• Microsoft - largest vendor of computer software

• Apple - first mass market PC company, created the first commercially successful
personal computer, the Apple 1

• Intel - company that invented the microprocessor/chip, influenced the Silicon Valley
norms

• CP/M (Control Program for Microcomputers) - mass market operating system for the PC

• 86-DOS / PC DOS - exactly the same as CP/M.

Microsoft bought the rights for 86-DOS to create MS-DOS for IBM

• MS-DOS - Microsoft operating system based on Tim Patterson's 86-DOS

• OS/2 - IBM operating system initially made by Microsoft

• Chip/microprocessor - allows the function of a mainfraim computer

• Altair 8800 - world's first minicomputer kit, announced during January 19, 1975

• MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) - Ed Robert's calculator company

• BASIC - programming language for the Altair

• Silicon Valley - global center for technological innovation, named after the primary
material in microprocessors

• VisiCalc (Visible Calculator) - Apple's (specifically Apple II, for marketing purposes)
killer application, first spreadsheet program launched during October 1979

• IBM (International Business Management) - IT company, known for their computer

hardwares and softwares

• Compaq PC - cheaper than the IBM PC

Highlights:

• first computer headquarters by pioneers was a garage

• data must be put in a binary code and be given instructions in order, called a program

• flip switches and put in a paper code, called machine language

• computers used to use valves/vacuum tubes in the 1950s, then transistors, before
moving to chips/microprocessors

• the Altair (specifically Altair serial no. 2) was the oldest personal computer in the world,
was not great(tedious to use, a lot of switches), but in good demand

• Hombrew computer club was one of the clubs created by nerds

• Altair required a programming language so users can type their code instead of flipping
switches

COMPUTER COMPONENTS
HARDWARE : Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer, such as the
case, central processing unit, monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer data storage,
graphics card, sound card, speakers and motherboard.

SOFTWARE: the programs and other operating information used by a computer.

PARTS OF DESKTOP

• System Unit

• Processor RAM

• Mother Board

• PSU

• GPU

• HDD/SSD

SYSTEM UNIT : Casing/Enclosure, Should be large enough to assemble all the hardware.

POWER SUPPLY : Supplies power to the whole unit, Should be compatible with the
wattage of the whole unit.

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT / CPU : A central processing unit, also called a central
processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry within a computer
that executes instructions that make up a computer program.

RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY : Primary memory

MOTHER BOARD : The motherboard is the main circuit board of your computer and is
also known as the mainboard or logic board.

READ ONLY MEMORY (ROM)/SECONDARY MEMORY ROM : (read only memory) is a flash
memory chip that contains a small amount of non-volatile memory. Non-volatile means
that its contents cannot be changed and it retains its memory after the computer is
turned off.

SATA : (SERIAL ATA) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to
mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives.

PCIE : (peripheral component interconnect express) is an interface standard for

connecting high-speed components.

GRAPHICS CARD : A graphics processing unit is a specialized, electronic circuit designed

to rapidly manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame
buffer intended for output to a display device.

MONITOR: A computer monitor is an output device that displays information in pictorial

form.