Computer Confluence 7/e Chapter 1 Computers in Perspective: An Evolving Idea Every computer in use today follows the basic plan laid out by Babbage and.

Computer Confluence 7/e Chapter 1

Computers in Perspective: An Evolving Idea

Every computer in use today follows the basic plan laid out by Babbage and Lady Lovelace

The computer is an incredibly versatile toolCan compute your taxes or deploy a missile

© 2006 Prentice-Hall, Inc.


Computers in Perspective: An Evolving Idea

All computers take in information (data) called input and give out information called output



Computers in Perspective: An Evolving Idea (continued)

The computer's versatility is built upon its:

Hardware: The physical part

Software: The instructions that tells hardware how to transform the input data (information in a form it can read)

into the necessary output


The First Real Computers:1939 :German engineer Konrad

Zuse completed the first programmable, general-purpose digital computer




At about the same time, the British government was assembling a top-secret team of mathematicians and engineers to crack Nazi military codes

1943 :The team, led by mathematician Alan Turing and others, completed Colossus, considered by many to be the first electronic digital computer

This special-purpose computer successfully broke secret codes used by the Nazi.






1939 :Iowa State University professor John Atanasoff developed what could have been the first electronic digital computer, the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC)




1944 :Thanks to a one million dollar grant from IBM, Harvard professor Howard Aiken developed the Mark I




John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert helped the U.S. effort in World War II by constructing a machine to calculate trajectory tables for new guns

called ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)

After the war, Mauchly and Eckert started a private company called Sperry and created UNIVAC I, the first general-purpose commercial computer




Evolution and AccelerationFirst computers were big, expensive.

Vacuum tubes were used in early computersTransistors replaced vacuum tubes starting in 1956By the mid-1960s transistors were replaced by integrated circuits




Integrated circuits brought: Increased reliability Smaller size Higher speed Higher efficiency Lower cost




The Microcomputer Revolution1971: The first microprocessor was invented

by Intel engineersThe microcomputer revolution began in 1970:

AppleCommodoreTandy

Desktop computers haven’t completely replaced big computers, which have also evolved



Computers Today: A Brief Taxonomy

Mainframes and SupercomputersMainframes

Used by large organizations, such as banks and airlines, for big computing jobsUsers communicate with a mainframe using a computer terminal: a combination

keyboard and screen that transfer information to and from the computer .The computer might be in another room or even in another country.




Mainframes and SupercomputersMainframes

communicate with several users simultaneously through a technique called Timesharing

ex. A timesharing system allows travel agents all over the country to make reservations using the same computer and the same flight information at the

same time .



Computers Today: A Brief TaxonomySupercomputers

For power users who need access to the fastest, most powerful computers made these super-fast, super powerful computers are called Supercomputers

weather forecasting, oil exploration, telephone network design, simulation car crash testing. ,




Servers, Workstations, and PCsServers

Computers designed to provide software and other resources to other computers over a network




Workstations High-end desktop computers with massive computing power used for

high-end interactive applicationsAre widely used by scientists, engineers, financial analysts, designers,

…. Whose work involves intensive computations.




PCs: Serve a single user at a timeCommon applications include:

word processing, accounting, gaming, and enjoying digital music and video



Computers Today: A Brief Taxonomy Portable Computers: Machines that are not tied to the desktop

Notebooks (laptops)Sub notebooks : extra-light , ultra mobile notebooks

laptops can be expanded with docking stations: a device for expanding a laptop computer so that it has the power and flexibility of a desktop, so it enables a user to connect the laptop to an external monitor, keyboard, mouse, disk drives.

Handheld computers (personal digital assistants (PDAs)


docking stations:


Computers Today: A Brief TaxonomyEmbedded Computers

Special-purpose computer: Dedicated computers that perform specific tasks

Controlling the temperature and humidity in a roomMonitoring your heart rate

Monitoring your house security system



Computers Today: A Brief Taxonomy•Embedded computers enhance all kinds of

consumer goods: toys, games, digital video recorders (DVRs), and ovens.

•More than 90% of the world’s microprocessors are hidden inside common household and electronic

devices.


Computer Connections: The Internet Revolution

The Emergence of Networks

Local-Area Networks (LANs): computers are physically close to each other, usually in the same building, so they could share resources, such as storage, printers.


Computer Connections: The Internet Revolution

Wide-Area Networks (WANs) extends over a long

distance . a remote computer could

connect to a network through standard telephone lines by

using a modem, or using wireless connections.

a modem is an electronic device that could translate computer data into signals

compatible with the telephone system.


Computer Connections: The Internet Revolution (continued)

The experimental network built in 1969, called ARPANET, would become the Internet-the global collection of networks linking academic, research, government, and commercial institutions, and other organizations and individuals.

The Internet Explosion Electronic mail

E-mail software made it easy to send messages across the office or around the world

World Wide Web Led the Internet’s transformation from a text-only environment into a

multimedia landscape incorporating pictures, animation, sounds, and video people connect to the web each day through Web browsers:

Programs that, in effect, serve as navigable windows into the Web



Computer Connections: The Internet Revolution Hypertext links on web pages

Tie together millions of Web pages created by diverse authorsIntranets

Private intra-organizational networks based on Internet technology enable people to transmit, share, and store information within an organization.

Network computers (NC)Stripped-down computers designed to function mainly as network

terminals. NCs are designed to send and receive information.

they cost less than PCs.Set-top boxes

Provide Internet access through television sets Ex. Modern video game consoles, such as Sony play station 2


Acorn's Concord network computer (NC


Into the Information AgeIn the history of our society we have had:

An agricultural age

humanity lived mainly by domesticating animals and growing food using plows and other agricultural tools.

An industrial age

characterized by the shift from farms to factories, caused by advances in machine technology.

Now we are in a new age, the information age:More and more people earn their livings working with words,

numbers, and ideasShift from an industrial economy to an information economy.



Living with Computers(continued)

Explanations: Clarifying TechnologyComputer literacy (the ability to use

computers) is already improving our day-to-day life and careers

Applications: Computers in ActionApplication program: software tools that

enable you to use a computer for specific purposes.



Living with Computers (continued)

Implications: Social and Ethical IssuesThe threat to personal privacy posed by large databases and

computer networks The hazards of high-tech crime and the difficulty of keeping

data secure The difficulty of defining and protecting intellectual

property in an all-digital age The risks of computer system failure



Living with Computers (continued)

The threat of automation and the dehumanization of work The abuse of information as a tool of political and economic power

The dangers of dependence on complex technology The death of privacy The blurring of reality

The evolution of intelligenceThe emergence of bio-digital technology



Inventing the Future

Hardware: the base of any new projectSoftware: the next step, which gives value to the hardware

Service: the most successful current business approachWay of life: computers tend to become part of our way of life



Lesson SummaryComputers have evolved at an incredible pace since

Charles Babbage’s plan for an Analytical Engine Computers today come in all shapes and sizes, with

specific types being well suited for particular jobs Connecting to a network enhances the value and power

of a computer:InternetWWWE-mail



Lesson Summary (continued)

Computers and information technology have changed the world rapidly and irreversibly

Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, offer promise for future applications

Computers also threaten our privacy, our security, and perhaps our way of life


Computer Confluence 7/e Chapter 1 Computers in Perspective: An Evolving Idea Every computer in use today follows the basic plan laid out by Babbage and.

Documents

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