Unit 4:
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
“ A History of Personal Computing”
by Mrs. Ogletree
EVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGY
v Technology changes…
… constantly!
COMPUTER HISTORY
v  Computers have been around for a
very, very, very, long time!
v  Computers were first known as humans
that would perform calculations.
The world’s first computers!
Photo: http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp2.htm
ABACUS 4th Century B.C.
v The abacus, a simple counting aid, may
have been invented in Babylonia (now
Iraq) in the fourth century B.C.
v This device allows users to make
computations using a system of sliding
beads arranged on a rack.
BLAISE PASCAL (1623 - 1662)
v In 1642, the French mathematician
and philosopher Blaise Pascal
invented a calculating device that
would come to be called the
"Adding Machine".
First Functional Computer
v Designed for Navigational Calculation
for ships. Very Impractical to use!
Charles Babbage
(1791 – 1871)
Differential Engine
Charles Babbage
v Born in 1791, Charles Babbage was an
English mathematician and professor. v In 1822, he persuaded the British
government to finance his design to
build a machine that would calculate
tables for logarithms.
v With Charles Babbage's creation of the
"Analytical Engine", (1833) computers
took the form of a general purpose
machine.
HOWARD AIKEN
(1900 - 1973)
v Aiken thought he could create a modern
and functioning model of Babbage's
Analytical Engine.
v He succeeded in securing a grant of 1
million dollars for his proposed Automatic
Sequence Calculator; the Mark I for short.
From IBM.
v 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
component.
HOWARD AIKEN
(1900 - 1973)
v The Mark I did transform Babbage's dream
into reality and did succeed 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.
The Eniac
1943
Short for Electrical Numerical Integrator and
Calculator, was developed by the US Government to
fill the increasing need for computer capacity to
calculate trajectory tables and other essential data.
ENIAC
v It could do nuclear physics
calculations (in two hours) which it
would have taken 100 engineers a year
to do by hand.
v The system's program could be
changed by rewiring a panel. The Univac
v Inspired by the
ENIAC
v Was used by the
US census to
calculate
population data
Grace Murray Hopper
(1906-1992)
v  Invented the first Computer Language:
Common Business- Oriented Language (COBOL)
DeBugging!
Grace Murray Hopper found the first computer bug while
working in a temporary World War I building at Harvard
University on the Mark I computer where a moth had been
beaten to death in the jaws of a relay. She glued it into the
logbook of the computer and thereafter when the machine
stops, the phrase that is commonly used is "debugging" the
computer.
TRANSISTOR
1948
v In the laboratories of Bell Telephone,
John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and
William Shockley discovered the
"transfer resistor"; later labeled the
transistor.
v Advantages of the transistors:
v increased reliability
v 1/13 size of vacuum tubes
v consumed 1/20 of the electricity of
vacuum tubes
v were a fraction of the cost
TRANSISTOR
1948
The birth of this tiny device had such a huge impact on
and extensive implications for modern computers. In
1956, the transistor won its creators the Noble Peace
Prize for their invention.
BASIC was well… Basic
v Developed in 1964 by 2 grad students
at Dartmouth
v First mainstream computer language
10 print"Hello World!"
20 goto 10
“Hello World”
ALTAIR
1975
v The invention of the transistor
made computers smaller, cheaper
and more reliable.
v Therefore, the stage was set for
the entrance of the computer into
the domestic realm.
v In 1975, the age of personal
computers commenced.
ALTAIR
1975
Under the leadership of Ed Roberts the
Instrumentation and Telemetry
Micro
Company
(MITS) wanted to design a
computer 'kit' for the home hobbyist.
ALTAIR
1975
What did the Altair do?
Nothing!
It gave computers enthusiasts something to
do!
MICROSOFT
v In 1974 Bill Gates and Paul Allen
developed Basic code that could be used
to install programs on the Altair
v Remember BASIC had already been
developed
v Gates and Allen revolutionized a way for
the Altair to read BASIC programs from a
tape code format
APPLE I
1976
v Ed Roberts’ Altair inspired computer
enthusiasts to experiment with creating
their own computers
v Steve Wozniac and Steve Jobs began to
develop the Apple I and started a company
called Apple Computer Co. in 1976
APPLE I
v The Apple I was
created in Steve
Jobs’ Garage
v First one was
built with a
wooden case
v Sold for $600
APPLE II
v  Steve Jobs decided to
take the Apple to the
market in 1977
v  Jobs and Steve Wozniac
recreated the Apple for
consumers with a new
case
v  Selling price base model:
$598 (no monitor or
keyboard)
IBM (PC)
1981
v On August 12, 1981 IBM announced its own
personal computer.
v Using the 16 bit Intel 8088 microprocessor,
allowed for increased speed and huge
amounts of memory.
v Unlike the Altair that was sold as
unassembled computer kits, IBM sold its
"ready-made" machine through retailers and
by qualified salespeople.
MACINTOSH
v Created by Apple
v Introduced in January 1984 it was an
immediate success.
v The Graphical User Interface (GUI) made the
system easy to use.
FROM THE APPLE TO THE PC…
v As you can see from this point on,
personal computers would flourish
v By 2001, computers were in 51% of
homes
v The computer revolution has occurred
Last thoughts…
v Think about all the ways the computers
have bettered our world
v What are some disadvantages of the
Information/Digital age?
v Look around you and list all the things in
your house that run on computers. (I bet
there are more things than you think!)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Information
was gathered from the following sites:
http://www.pbs.org/nerds/timeline/micro.html
(Triumph Of The Nerds)
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp2.htm
(The Early History of Computers)
http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/?year=1948
(Computer History Timeline)
Emerging Technology
THE END