HISTORY OF COMPUTERS
I. Basic Computer Concepts
ABACUS 3000 B.C. – 5000 B.C.
• Abacus is a Latin word that has its origins
in the Greek words abax or abakon
(meaning "table" or "tablet") which in turn,
possibly originated from the Semitic word
abq, meaning "sand“.
• It can be used to perform addition,
subtraction, division and multiplication; the
abacus can also be used to extract square-
roots and cubic roots.
• The abacus is still in use today by
shopkeepers in Asia and "Chinatowns" in
North America.
• One particular use for the abacus is
teaching children simple mathematics
and especially multiplication.
• The abacus is also an excellent tool for
teaching other base numbering systems
since it easily adapts itself to any base.
NAPIER’S BONES/RODS 1614- 1617
• Invented by John Napier
• Used to multiply, divide
and calculate square and
calculate cube roots by
moving the rods around
and placing them in
specially constructed
boards.
CALCULATING CLOCK 1623
• Invented by Wilhelm
Schickard
• It was capable of
adding and
subtracting up to 6
digit numbers, and
warned of an overflow
by ringing a bell.
SLIDE RULE 1622-1625
• Invented by William
Oughtred
• Perform multiplications
and divisions by
addition and
subtraction.
• Based on Napier's
ideas about logarithms
PASCALINE 1642
• Invented by Blaise
Pascal
• It can add, subtract,
and carry between
digits.
• A mechanical adding
machine.
STEPPED RECKONER 1671
LEIBNIZ CALCULATOR 1671
Hand-cranked
calculator that
could only handle
simple
arithmetical
operations and
never became
widely used.
• Invented by Gottfried
Wilhelm Leibnitz
• A machine to carry out
multiplication
• It can multiply number
of up to 5 and 12 digits
to give a 16 digit
operand.
JACQUARDS LOOM 1801-1804
Jacquard's Loom showing the threads and the
punched cards
• Invented by Joseph-
Marie Jacquard
• The first machine to
use punched card
that controlled the
weaving, enabling an
ordinary workman to
produce the most
beautiful patterns
ARITHMOMETER 1820
• Invented by Charles
Xavier Thomas de
Colmar
• First mass-produced
calculator.
• It does multiplication
using the same
general approach as
Leibniz's calculator
DIFFERENCE ENGINE 1822
• Automatically
calculate
mathematical
tables.
ANALYTICAL ENGINE
• It was intended to use loops of
Jacquard's punched cards to control an
automatic calculator, which could make
decisions based on the results of
previous computations.
• Working with Babbage was Augusta
Ada Lovelace, the daughter of the
English poet Lord Byron Ada, created a
program for the Analytical Engine.
Charles Babbage
Augusta Ada Lovelace
Z1 1936-1938
• Invented by Konrad
Zuse
• One of the first binary
digital computers and
a machine that could
be controlled through
a punch tape.
BINARY-BASED ABC
(Atanasoff-Berry Computer) 1937
Clifford Berry
Atanasoff-Berry Computer at Durhum Center,
Iowa State University (1997 replica)
• Invented by John
Vincent Atanasoff and
Clifford Berry.
• Considered by most to John Vincent Atanasoff
be the first electronic
digital computer. Clifford Berry
Z3 1941
Original design
• Invented by Konrad
Zuse.
• It was the first reliable,
freely programmable,
working computer in the
world based on a binary
floating-point number
and switching system.
HARVARD MARK I 1943
• Invented by Howard
Aiken.
• It was officially known
as the IBM Automatic
Sequence Controlled
Calculator (ASCC), but
is more commonly
referred to as the
Harvard Mark I.
• It was the first large-scale automatic
digital computer in the USA. It is
considered by some to be the first
universal calculator.
• It was built at Harvard University partly
financed by IBM.
ELECTRONIC NUMERICAL
INTEGRATOR AND COMPUTER 1946
(ENIAC)
ENIAC was built at the
University of Pennsylvania
• Invented by Dr.
Presper Eckert and
Dr. John Mauchly
• This computer by
most is considered
to be the first
general-purpose
electronic computer.
• ENIAC was designed and built to
calculate artillery firing tables for the U.S.
Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory.
• It was built at the University of
Pennsylvania.
Electronic Delay Storage
Automatic Computer (EDSAC)1949
(EDSAC)
• It is considered to be
the first stored
program electronic
computer.
• It was the computer
that ran the first
graphical computer
game.
UNIVersal Automatic Computer
(UNIVAC) 1951
It was the
first
commercial
computer
made in the
United
States.
Inside UNIVAC
UNIVAC I at Franklin Life Insurance Company
UNIVAC at the census bureau
• Invented by Dr.
Presper Eckert and Dr.
John Mauchly.
• It was also the first
general purpose
computer - designed to
handle both numeric
and textual information.
Electronic Discrete Variable
Automatic Computer (EDVAC) 1944
• Invented by Dr.
Presper Eckert and
Dr. John Mauchly.
• It is the successor of
the ENIAC.
• It was one of the
earliest electronic
computers.
IBM 701 EDPM Computer 1952
IBM first electric computer
Intel 4004 processor 1971
This is a picture of the original engineering prototype of the
Busicom desktop printing calculator, the world’s first
commercial product to use a microprocessor. The
microcomputer that powered the calculator used five 4001’s,
two 4002’s, three 4003’s and the 4004 CPU.
• The first mass-produced microprocessor.
• It is widely considered to be the world's
first commercial single-chip
microprocessor.
• The Intel 4004, naturally, is one of
world's most sought-after collectable /
antique chips.
• The chief
designers of the
chip were Ted
Hoff and Federico
Faggin of Intel
and Masatoshi
Shima of Busicom
Altair 8800 1975
• It is the first personal
computer.
• It is produced by Micro
Instrumentation and
Telemetry Systems (MITS).
• Country of origin : USA
• Price: Approximately $400 in
kit form, Approximately $600
assembled.
Apple I 1976
• The first Apple
Computer
• Designed by Steve
Wozniak and
Stephen Jobs
IBM 3800 1976
First laser printer
introduced by IBM.
Osborne I 1980
The first portable computer or laptop.
Compaq Portable 1982
The first PC clone
Generations of Computer
Each generation of computer is
characterized by a major technological
development that fundamentally
changed the way computers operate,
resulting in increasingly smaller,
cheaper, more powerful and more
efficient and reliable devices.
First Generation - 1940-1956
Vacuum Tubes
• The first computers used vacuum tubes
for circuitry and magnetic drums for
memory, and were often enormous.
• They were very expensive to operate and
in addition to using a great deal of
electricity, generated a lot of heat, which
was often the cause of malfunctions.
• First generation computers relied on
machine language, the lowest-level
programming language understood by
computers, to perform operations
• They could only solve one problem at a
time. Input was based on punched cards
and paper tape, and output was
displayed on printouts.
Examples:
• Harvard Mark I, Whirlwind, ENIAC, EDSAC
• UNIVAC I, UNIVAC II, UNIVAC 1101, RCA
BIZMAC
• NCR CRC 102A, NCR CRC 102D
• Honeywell Datamatic 1000
• Burroughs E101, Burroughs 220
• IBM models 604, 650 (drum memory), 701,
702, 704, 705, 709
Second Generation - 1956-1963
Transistors
• Transistor is a device composed of
semiconductor material that amplifies a
signal or opens or closes a circuit.
– Invented in 1947at Bell Labs, transistors have
become the key ingredient of all digital circuits,
including computers.
• The transistor was far superior to the
vacuum tube, allowing computers to
become smaller, faster, cheaper, more
energy-efficient and more reliable than their
first-generation predecessors.
• Second-generation computers moved
from cryptic binary machine language to
symbolic, or assembly, languages, which
allowed programmers to specify
instructions in words. High-level
programming languages were also being
developed at this time, such as
early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN.
These were also the first computers that
stored their instructions in their memory,
which moved from a magnetic drum to
magnetic core technology.
Examples:
• UNIVAC 1107, UNIVAC III, RCA 501
• Philco Transact S-2000 , NCR 300 series
• IBM 7030 Stretch , IBM 7070, 7080, 7090,
1400 series, 1600 series
• Honeywell 800, 400 series
• General Electric GE 635, 645, GE 200
• Control Data Corp. CDC 1604, 3600, 160A
• Burroughs B5000, 200 series
Third Generation - 1964-1971:
Integrated Circuits
• The development of the integrated circuit
was the hallmark of the third generation of
computers.
• Transistors were miniaturized and placed
on silicon chips, called semiconductors.
• Users interacted with third generation
computers through keyboards and
monitors and interfaced with an operating
• system, which allowed the device to run
many different applications at one time
with a central program that monitored the
memory.
• Computers for the first time became
accessible to a mass audience because
they were smaller and cheaper than their
predecessors.
Examples:
• Burroughs 6700
• Control Data 3300, 6600, 7600
• Honeywell 200
• IBM System/360, System 3, System 7
• NCR Century Series
• RCA Spectra 70 series
• UNIVAC 9000 series
• General Electric GE 600 series, GE 235
Fourth Generation - 1971-Present:
Microprocessors
• The microprocessor brought the fourth
generation of computers, as thousands of
integrated circuits were built onto a single
silicon chip.
• What in the first generation filled an entire
room could now fit in the palm of the
hand.
• As these small computers became more
powerful, they could be linked together to
form networks, which eventually led to the
development of the Internet.
• Fourth generation computers also saw the
development of GUIs, the mouse and
handheld devices.
Examples:
• IBM System 3090, IBM RISC 6000, IBM RT
• ILLIAC IV
• Cray 2 XMP
• HP 9000
Fifth Generation - Present and
Beyond: Artificial Intelligence
• Fifth generation computing devices, based
on artificial intelligence, are still in
development, though there are some
applications, such as voice recognition,
that are being used today.
• The use of parallel processing and
superconductors is helping to make
artificial intelligence a reality.
• Artificial Intelligence is the branch of
computer science concerned with making
computers behave like humans.
– The term was coined in 1956 by John Mc
Carthy at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
– Artificial intelligence includes:
– Games Playing: programming computers to
play games such as chess and checkers
– Expert Systems: programming computers to
make decisions in real-life situations (for
example, some expert systems help doctors
diagnose diseases based on symptoms)
– Natural Language: programming computers
to understand natural human languages
– Neural Networks: Systems that simulate
intelligence by attempting to reproduce the types
of physical connections that occur in animal
brains
– Robotics: programming computers to see and
hear and react to other sensory stimuli
• The goal of fifth-generation computing is to
develop devices that respond to natural
language input and are capable of learning
and self-organization.
