MAXimum POtentail Leaders
Salima Popat
Caleb Fearing
A Computer Fairytale
Once upon a time in the land fancasia, which is a million light years away from the
planet earth lived a beautiful fairy princess Zaia. Zaia was the only daughter of King Xaia
who ruled the kingdom of Fancasia. The King loved his daughter so much that he would not
allow anyone including his wife to care for her. This really enraged the Queen Rene because
she loved the king so much and after Zaia was born she felt that he had stopped loving her.
Out of jealousy and bitterness the Queen went to the wicked witch who lived on the other
side of the kingdom to put a curse on Zaia. She put a curse that no man would ever love the
beautiful fairy princess. The curse could only be broken if she could make a man love her
without seeing her beauty or hearing her voice.
1
The King made sure as Zaia grew that she would have the best education and hired the most
famous scholars of the kingdom to teach her. Zaia was very curious and loved to learn about
the Universe and the planets that existed. One day Zaia’s teacher told her stories about his
travel to the plant earth and about this magical box that connected people a thousand miles
away. The Princess was so intrigued and wanted to learn how this magic box came into
existence. She asked everyone and since no one knew she was sure she could find something
at the library. Finally, she found the answer in an old dusty book about the history of the
magic box that was called a “computer”.
The history of the computer is a very interesting story. Computers started out only
being able to do very basic calculations, and have become increasingly powerful over time
Today they are used in just about everything we do.
In 1936, a German engineer named Konrad Zuse invented the first freely
programmable computer called the Z1. This device was a large machine that was essentially
just a mechanical calculator. From 1939 to 1942 Professor John Atanasoff and a graduate
student named Clifford Berry worked together at Iowa State University developing the
first electric-digital computer. This computer had an assortment of new features including
parallel processing, a binary system, and the separation of memory and computing functions.
(Don’t worry about what that is just know that they were great innovations!)
The next big breakthrough in the computer world came between 1943 and 1945 with the
creation of the ENIAC. (Which stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator)
This was a massive computer whose development was funded by the military. It used 18,000
vacuum tubes, and took up a huge amount of space. It needed its own air conditioning system
just to keep it from overheating.
In 1962, a man called Steve Russell invented the first computer game. This game
was called Spacewars, and in this game your job was to destroy asteroids as they came at
you. Today we have very complex video games that blow Spacewars out of the water. In
1981 IBM released a new computer called a PC (personal computer) today that is a very
popular term for windows based computers, and is the most popular household computer. In
1983 apple released a computer called Lisa. This computer was the first personal computer
to use a GUI. It cost apple a whopping 50 million to too develop the Lisa, and 100 million to
write the software for it. That was a lot of money considering they only sold 100,000
2
machines. And then began the ongoing competition between the PC (Microsoft based
computer) and the Macintosh (Apple based computer).
They computer has gone through some miraculous changes over the years. It started
out as a big bulky machine that was less sophisticated then a modern day calculator, and now
has turned into an awesome machine that can connect millions of people to each other
worldwide.
Zaia spent hours in the library trying to learn all about the magical “secrets” that
the books in the library had about the fascinating universe and its planets. The King started
getting worried seeing that Zaia was getting older and showed no interest in becoming a
wife or Queen. The King felt that it was now time that Zaia gets married and starts a
family. So, on her 18th birthday the King invited all the princes from the nearby kingdoms to
catch a glimpse of his beautiful daughter, and find the right prince to marry his daughter.
On Zaia’s birthday the King arranged for a lavish ball and princes from thousands of miles
came to celebrate and hoped to capture the beautiful princesses heart. When Princess Zaia
entered the ball everyone stopped in silence to view the most beautiful person they had
ever seen.
As the music started the most powerful and handsome prince asked the princess to dance.
When the prince asked Zaia to dance she said yes but instead of her voice she croaked like
a frog in answer. The prince was horrified and ran away. As other princes approached Zaia
to talk to her she would croak in answer. One by one each prince ran away in fear and all
that was left at the ball was the King and Princess.
The next morning the King called on the royal doctor to check what happened to his
daughter. Doctors from everywhere came and went but no one could understand why every
time a bachelor would ask her a question she would croak like a frog in response. The King
became very sad and worried in fear that his daughter would never marry so he spent a year
travelling to find the answer to this problem. He tried all different types of treatments on
Zaia but there was no luck and everyone he asked had no answer to why Zaia had this
problem.
One day the King was on his way back to his kingdom he heard a voice of someone crying. As
he approached the crying voice he found an old women stuck underneath a tree. Zaia and the
King quickly helped remove the tree to free the old woman. The old woman was very grateful
and thanked the King and Princess. The old woman looked at the beautiful princess and
realized that this was the sweet girl she helped put the curse on. The old woman cried in
3
apology to the king and said what she had done. The King was forgiving and asked the old
woman to remove the curse. The old woman said that the only way that the curse could be
broken was if a man would fall in love with the Princess without seeing her or hearing her
voice.
As the King and Princess sadly went back to the kingdom they learned that the Wizard Cola
had just returned from his journey to “Earth”. Cola was Zaia’s best friend since childhood
and the moment Zaia learned about his return she flew as fast as possible to see him.
She told him what had happened to her. He was very sad but realized that he may
have the answer to help remove the curse. He took out a big box from his travels and in it
were small and big parts, papers with instructions and weird looking objects. Zaia was
confused but realized that this box full of objects was the “computer” that she had read
about many years before and may be the key to reveal the secrets in breaking the curse.
As Zaia had the knowledge of how the “computer” came into existence, now she had to
figure out how the pieces like a puzzle fit to make it come alive. She found a paper deep in
the box that revealed what each part did and how each fit. THE PARTS OF THE
COMPUTER:
A computer is a system of parts that work together as a “unit”. The computer consists of
hardware and software. The parts that can be seen or touched are hardware AND the
software is the program that tells the computer hardware what to do.
The System unit is a box that is placed besides or underneath the desk. Inside the box
there are electronic components that process the information.
The CPU is a small electronic device that is in the system unit acts as the “brain” of the
computer. The computer is made up of the Hardware which is the physical components of
4
the computer system and the Software which is the programs or instructions that tell the
computer what to do. The computer has permanent memory ROM (Read only) that is built in
the computer and RAM is the computer’s working memory called at times random-accessed
memory. The Computer monitor is similar to a TV monitor but instead it uses video signals
created by the electronics of the computer. The monitor is a screen that the user can “see”
the workings of the computer.
The Keyboard which is similar to a typewriter except it has additional keys to feed
information to the computer. The keyboard is used to type text to communicate to the
computer.
The Mouse is used to point to and select items on the computer screen.
The Floppy disk a portable magnetic storage that stores computer data and users can
retrieve information any time from the disk.
The Hard disk is a fixed large–capacity magnetic storage for computer data. It stores
information containing almost all programs and files. The CD drive is a driver that uses
laser to read and retrieve data from the disk
Hard Disk
Mouse
Floppy Disk
CD
The Computer peripherals are electronic devices that are hooked up to the computer which
require software packages called drivers. The peripheral device consists of speakers,
microphone, printers, scanners, cameras, and other hardware that can be connected.
Princess Zaia finally set up the computer but still the “secret” of how to make
someone fall in love with her through the computer still puzzled her. She sat down on the
5
floor and started to think while going through a book with colorful pictures. She came
across this picture of a man and woman holding hands and on the picture it said fall in love
from thousands of miles. It was an advertisement of an online dating agency. Zaia wondered
what was the Internet? And how did it come to existence? She returned to the library and
searched for days till she came across a huge old book on the history of the Internet.
HISTORY OF THE INTERNET:
The Internet was first developed in the 1960’s by the United States military during
the cold war to help communication if there was a nuclear attack. The U.S. department of
defense formed ARPA to help them be ahead of the rest of the world in military science
and technology. There was a paper written by Leonard Kleinrock from MIT on the packetswitching theory which became important in the function of the internet. This led to more
research and other articles that helped give more insight in how the internet technology
could possibly work. In 1969 the foundation for the internet technology was strong enough
that the US commissioned ARPANET to research how the networking could be done. Four
“nodes” (hosts) were set up and the first node to node message was sent in 1969 between
UCL and SRI. In the 1970’s the knowledge on networking grew very fast. By 1971, 15 nodes
were attached to ARPANET and a basic e-mail program was created. In 1972 the
InterNetworking Group was created for the standard for networking. In 1973 ARPNET
became connected to other international companies. In the 1980’s people had access to
personal desktop computers and modem the internet started to develop. In 1982 the loose
connections of the network which was made up of ARPANET referred to the “internet” for
the first time. Also, other networks started up which allowed gateways between different
networks around the world. In 1982, TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/ internet
protocol) was developed. The architecture of the internet started to take shape. The
general public gained access to the internet on July 16, 1986. Rapid expansion occurred in
the 1990’s with the World Wide Web. It became easier for users to access the information
on millions of websites. Countries around the world joined the internet and registered their
domain name. Today the internet continues to grow and connects millions worldwide.
Finally, Zaia figured out with the help of Cola how to get connected to the internet.
She had to learn the etiquette and safety before she could open any accounts.
Saftey on the internet is very important. A firewall is a crucial program on
computers that helps prevent unauthorized acess from other people electronically. It is a
barrier that protects your computer form others online. Another computer program that is
important to operating safley online is a Content filter. A content filter is a program that
blocks out website that have crude, nasty, or vulgar material. Content filters are also
reffered to as parental controls. While on the internet it is important to not give away any
personal information, like where you live to strangers. Because sometimes people pretend to
be harmless people when actually they’re out to harm you in some way.
6
It is important to have a good understanding about the proper etiquette to use while
online. The first and number one rule would be to hold yourselves to the same standards as
you would in a real life situation. Below is a list of some of the other rules of etiquette you
should fallow
You should know what your doing at all times – Its important to atleast have a good
understanding of what you looking to accompolish while online.
 Share any specialized knowledge – Ths will help others out, and they might help you
in return.
 Keep arguments under control
 Do not type in caps – this is considered yelling, and offends some people.
 Don’t abuse your power
Fallowing these simple rules will help make you time in cyberspace more pleasant.

Once the Princess followed the rules she set up a profile without a picture in a
dating service and started meeting eligible bachelors after a few weeks she met Kazim
online, they seemed to share the same “vision” in life and after a few months of typing long
e-mails they fell in love. They decided to meet and so she asked the wizard cola to take her
on his magic ship to earth. When they landed on earth the princess was very afraid that she
would croak once she met her internet love. They arranged to meet at a coffee shop and
when she entered the coffee shop the minute their eyes met it was love at first sight. They
immediately flew back to the kingdom Fancasia to meet the king and marry and live happily
ever after.
The moral of this story kids is that by being curious people can create magnificent things
such as the computers and the internet. Learn and read as much as you can because you will
always find the answer to what you’re looking for. It takes time but the more you learn you
will become successful…. Now turn on your computer and get connected.
7
Citations:
windowshelp.microsoft.com
http://www.fayette.k12.il.us/99/Intro2Comp/parts.html
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/pc.htm
http://www.quia.com/jg/65620.html
Copyright 2000 Word Crunchers, Etc.
Copyright © 2007 Internet Society
2006-2009 Learning for Sustainability
A brief history of the internet by the internet society
http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml
http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/
http://www.pbs.org/opb/nerds2.0.1/
http://www.computerhistory.org/exhibits/internet_history/
http://w3.aces.uiuc.edu/AIM/scale/nethistory.html
http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html
http://inventors.about.com/library/blcoindex.htm
http://www.computersciencelab.com/ComputerHistory/HistoryPt4.htm
8