Computer history

© J Wagner March 20, 2000


ABACUS

4th Century B.C.

The abacus, a simple counting aid, may have been invented in Babylonia (now Iraq) in the fourth century B.C.

This device allows users to make computations using a system of sliding beads arranged on a rack.


BLAISE PASCAL

(1623 - 1662)

In 1642, the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal invented a calculating device that would come to be called the "Adding Machine".


BLAISE PASCAL

(1623 - 1662)

Originally called a "numerical wheel calculator" or the "Pascaline", Pascal's invention utilized a train of 8 moveable dials or cogs to add sums of up to 8 figures long. As one dial turned 10 notches - or a complete revolution - it mechanically turned the next dial.

Pascal's mechanical Adding Machine automated the process of calculation. Although slow by modern standards, this machine did provide a fair degree of accuracy and speed.


CHARLES BABBAGE

(1791 - 1871)

Born in 1791, Charles Babbage was an English mathematician and professor.

In 1822, he persuaded the British government to finance his design to build a machine that would calculate tables for logarithms.

With Charles Babbage's creation of the "Analytical Engine", (1833) computers took the form of a general purpose machine.


HOWARD AIKEN

(1900 - 1973)

Aiken thought he could create a modern and functioning model of Babbage's Analytical Engine.

He succeeded in securing a grant of 1 million dollars for his proposed Automatic Sequence Calculator; the Mark I for short. From IBM.

In 1944, the Mark I was "switched" on. Aiken's colossal machine spanned 51 feet in length and 8 feet in height. 500 meters of wiring were required to connect each


HOWARD AIKEN

(1900 - 1973)

The Mark I did transform Babbage's dream into reality and didsucceed in putting IBM's name on the forefront of the burgeoning computer industry. From 1944 on, modern computers would forever be associated with digital intelligence.


ENIAC

1946

Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator

Under the leadership of J. Presper Eckert(1919 - 1995) and John W. Mauchly (1907 -1980) the team produced a machine that computed at speeds 1,000 times faster than the Mark I was capable of only 2 years earlier.

Using 18,00-19,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors and 5 million soldered joints this massive instrument required the output of a small power station to operate it.


ENIAC

1946

It could do nuclear physics calculations (in two hours) which it would have taken 100 engineers a year to do by hand.

The system's program could be changed by rewiring a panel.


ENIAC

1946


TRANSISTOR

1948

In the laboratories of Bell Telephone, John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockleydiscovered the "transfer resistor"; later labelledthe transistor.

Advantages:

increased reliability

1/13 size of vacuum tubes

consumed 1/20 of the electricity of vacuum tubes

were a fraction of the cost


TRANSISTOR

1948

This tiny device had a huge impact on and extensive implications for modern computers. In 1956, the transistor won its creators the

Noble Peace Prize for their invention.


ALTAIR

1975

The invention of the transistor made computers smaller, cheaper and more reliable. Therefore, the stage was set for the entrance of the computer into the domestic realm. In 1975, the age of personal computers commenced.Under the leadership of Ed Roberts the Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Company (MITS) wanted to design a computer 'kit' for the home hobbyist.


ALTAIR

1975

Based on the Intel 8080 processor, capable of controlling 64 kilobyes of memory, the MITS Altair - as the invention was later called - was debuted on the cover of the January edition of Popular Electronicsmagazine.Presenting the Altair as an unassembled kit kept costs to a minimum. Therefore, the company was able to offer this model for only $395. Supply could not keep up with demand.


ALTAIR

1975

ALTAIR FACTS:No KeyboardNo Video DisplayNo Storage Device


IBM (PC)

1981

On August 12, 1981 IBM announced its own personal computer.Using the 16 bit Intel 8088 microprocessor, allowed for increased speed and huge amounts of memory. Unlike the Altair that was sold as unassembled computer kits, IBM sold its "ready-made" machine through retailers and

by qualified salespeople.


IBM (PC)

1981

To satisfy consumer appetites and to increase usability, IBM gave prototype IBM PCs to a number of major software companies.For the first time, small companies and individuals who never would have imagined owning a "personal" computer were now opened to the computer world.


MACINTOSH

(1984)

IBM's major competitor was a company lead by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs; the Apple Computer Inc.

The "Lisa" was the result of their competitive thrust. This system differed from its predecessors in its use of a "mouse" - then a quite foreign computer instrument - in lieu of manually typing commands.However, the outrageous price of the Lisa kept it out of reach for many computer

buyers.


MACINTOSH

(1984)

Apple's brainchild was the Macintosh. Like the Lisa, the Macintosh too would make use of a graphical user interface. Introduced in January 1984 it was an immediate success. The GUI (Graphical User Interface) made the system easy to use.


MACINTOSH

(1984)

The Apple Macintosh debuts in 1984. It features a simple, graphical interface, uses the 8-MHz, 32-bit Motorola 68000 CPU, and has a built-in 9-inch B/W screen.



FIRST GENERATION

(1945-1956)

First generation computers were characterized by

the fact that operating instructions were made-to-

order for the specific task for which the computer was

to be used. Each computer had a different binary-

coded program called a machine language that told it

how to operate. This made the computer difficult to

program and limited its versatility and speed. Other

distinctive features of first generation computers were

the use of vacuum tubes (responsible for their

breathtaking size) and magnetic drums for data

storage.


SECOND GENERATION

(1956-1963)

Throughout the early 1960's, there were

a number of commercially successful second

generation computers used in business,

universities, and government from

companies such as Burroughs, Control Data,

Honeywell, IBM, Sperry-Rand, and others.

These second generation computers were

also of solid state design, and contained

transistors in place of vacuum tubes.


SECOND GENERATION

(1956-1963)

They also contained all the components we

associate with the modern day computer: printers,

tape storage, disk storage, memory, operating systems,

and stored programs. One important example was the

IBM 1401, which was universally accepted throughout

industry, and is considered by many to be the Model T

of the computer industry. By 1965, most large business

routinely processed financial information using second

generation computers.


THIRD GENERATION

(1965-1971)

Though transistors were clearly an improvement

over the vacuum tube, they still generated a great deal

of heat, which damaged the computer's sensitive

internal parts. The quartz rock eliminated this

problem. Jack Kilby, an engineer with Texas

Instruments, developed the integrated circuit (IC) in

1958. The IC combined three electronic components

onto a small silicon disc, which was made from quartz.

Scientists later managed to fit even more components

on a single chip, called a semiconductor.


THIRD GENERATION

(1965-1971)

As a result, computers became ever smaller as

more components were squeezed onto the chip.

Another third-generation development included the

use of an operating system that allowed machines to

run many different programs at once with a central

program that monitored and coordinated the

computer's memory.


FOURTH GENERATION

(1971-Present)

In 1981, IBM introduced its personal

computer (PC) for use in the home, office

and schools. The 1980's saw an expansion in

computer use in all three arenas as clones of

the IBM PC made the personal computer

even more affordable. The number of

personal computers in use more than

doubled from 2 million in 1981 to 5.5 million

in 1982.


FOURTH GENERATION

(1971-Present)

Ten years later, 65 million PCs were being used.

Computers continued their trend toward a smaller

size, working their way down from desktop to laptop

computers (which could fit inside a briefcase) to

palmtop (able to fit inside a breast pocket). In direct

competition with IBM's PC was Apple's Macintosh

line, introduced in 1984. Notable for its user-friendly

design, the Macintosh offered an operating system

that allowed users to move screen icons instead of

typing instructions


FIFTH GENERATION

(Future)

Many advances in the science of computer design

and technology are coming together to enable the

creation of fifth-generation computers. Two such

engineering advances are parallel processing, which

replaces von Neumann's single central processing

unit design with a system harnessing the power of

many CPUs to work as one. Another advance is

superconductor technology, which allows the flow of

electricity with little or no resistance, greatly

improving the speed of information flow.


FIFTH GENERATION

(Future)

Computers today have some attributes of

fifth generation computers. For example,

expert systems assist doctors in making

diagnoses by applying the problem-solving

steps a doctor might use in assessing a

patient's needs. It will take several more

years of development before expert systems

are in widespread use.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Information was gathered from the following sites:http://www.pbs.org/nerds/timeline/micro.html (Triumph Of The Nerds)http://www.digitalcentury.com/encyclo/update/comp_hd.html(Digital Century)http://humlink.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~dalberto/comweb.htm(History of Computers)

http://www.pbs.org/nerds/timeline/micro.html

http://www.digitalcentury.com/encyclo/update/comp_hd.html

http://humlink.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~dalberto/comweb.htm


Computer History


Charles Babbage• English inventor

• 1791-1871

• taught math at

Cambridge University

• invented a viable

mechanical computer

equivalent to modern

digital computers


Babbage’s first computer

difference engine

built in early 1800’s

special purpose calculator

naval navigation charts


Babbage’s second computer• Analytical engine

– general-purpose

– used binary system

– punched cards as input

– branch on result of

previous instruction

– Ada Lovelace (first

programmer)

– machined parts not

accurate enough

– never quite completedanalytical engine, 1834


invention of the light bulb, 1878• Sir Joseph Wilson Swan

– English physicist and electrician

– first public exhibit of a light bulb in 1878

• Thomas Edison

– American inventor, working independently of Swan

– public exhibit of a light bulb in 1879

– had a conducting filament mounted in a glass bulb

from which the air was evacuated leaving a vacuum

– passing electricity through the filament caused it to

heat up, become incandescent and radiate light

– the vacuum prevented the filament from oxidizing and

burning up


Edison’s legacy• Edison continued to experiment with light

bulbs

• in 1883, he detected electrons flowing through

the vacuum of a light bulb

– from the lighted filament

– to a metal plate mounted inside the bulb

• this became known as the Edison Effect

• he did not develop this any further


invention of the diode (late

1800’s)• John Ambrose Fleming

– an English physicist

– studied Edison effect

– to detect radio waves and to convert them to

electricity

• developed a two-element vacuum tube

– known as a diode

• electrons flow within the tube

– from the negatively charged cathode

– to the positively charged anode

• today, a diode is used in circuits as a rectifier


the switching vacuum tube, 1906

• Lee de Forest introduced a third electrode into the vacuum tube

– American inventor

• the new vacuum tube was called a triode

– new electrode was called a grid

• this tube could be used as both an amplifier and a switch

many of the early radio transmitters were built by de Forest using triodestriodes revolutionized the field of broadcastingtheir ability to act as switches would later be important in digital computing


on/off switches in digital

computers• earliest:

– electromechanical relays

• solenoid with mechanical contact points

• physical switch closes when electricity animates magnet

• 1940’s:

– vacuum tubes

• no physical contacts to break or get dirty

• became available in early 1900’s

• mainly used in radios at first

• 1950’s to present

– transistors

• invented at Bell Labs in 1948

• John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley

• Nobel prize, 1956


electromechanical relay


photo of an electromechanical

relay


transistor evolution• first transistor made from

materials including a paper clip

and a razor blade

later packaged in small IC’s

eventually came VLSI

Very Large Scale Integration

millions of transistors per chip


the integrated circuit (IC)

• invented separately by 2 people ~1958

– Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments

– Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor

(1958-59)

• 1974

– Intel introduces the 8080 processor

– one of the first “single-chip”

microprocessors


IC’s are fabricated many at a

time


functional view of transistor

contents


a TTL chip


Moore’s law• deals with steady rate of miniaturizion of

technology

• named for Intel co-founder Gordon Moore

• not really a law

– more a “rule of thumb”

• a practical way to think about something

• observation that chip density about

doubles every 18 months

– also, prices decline

– first described in 1965

– experts predict this trend might continue until


transistors - building blocks of computers

• microprocessors contain many transistors

– (ENIAC): 19,500 vacuum tubes and relays

– Intel 8088 processor (1st PC): 29,000 transistors

– Intel Pentium II processor: 7 million transistors

– Intel Pentium III processor: 28 million transistors

– Intel Pentium 4 processor: 42 million transistors

• logically, each transistor acts as an on-off switch

• transistors combined to implement logic gates

– AND, OR, NOT

• gates combined to build higher-level structures

– adder, multiplexor, decoder, register, …


Electrical Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), 1940’s

• an early

computer

• developed at

UPenn

• Size: 30’ x 50’

room

• 18,000 vacuum

tubes

• 1500 relays

• weighed 30 tons

• designers


Intel 8088 microprocessor (single

chip)

• used in first IBM personal computer

• IBM PC released in 1981

• 4.77 MHz clock

• 16 bit integers, with an 8-bit data bus

– transfers took two steps (a byte at a time)

– 1 Mb of physical memory address limitation

• 8-bit device-controlling chips

• 29,000 transistors

• 3-micron technology

electrical paths nowas small as .13 micron

Pentium 4 chip has42 million transistors


Moore’s Law example

DECPDP-11,mid 1970’s

DECLSI-11,

Early 1980’s

These 2 computers were functionally equivalent.


the end

Computer history

Technology

cost j wagner

mark i

general purpose machine

aikens colossal machine

howard aiken

modern computers

philosopher blaise pascal

charles babbages creation