CSE 301
History of Computing
Introduction
Who am I?
Richard McKenna
E-mail: richard@cs.stonybrook.edu
Work phone: 631-632-9564
Office Location: CS Room 1436
Fall 2011 Office hours:
MW
12 pm – 2 pm,
and by appointment
Home page: http://www.cs.stonybrook.edu/~richard
Course Homepages
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http://www.cs.stonybrook.edu/~cse301
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Announcements
Syllabus
Schedule (lecture slides, hw, etc …)
Etc …
http://blackboard.stonybrook.edu
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Message Board
Grades
Textbook
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Computer: A History of the Information Machine
(2nd Edition) by Martin Campbell-Kelly and
William Aspray
Published by HarperCollins, 2004,
ISBN 0813342643
CSE 301 Registration Issues
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For U2, U3 or U4 students
Cannot be used to satisfy a technical elective
requirement for CSE and ISE majors.
Cannot be used to satisfy the upper-level course
requirement for CSE minors.
Can be used to satisfy DEC H requirements
Can be used to satisfy a free elective requirement for
CSE and ISE majors.
Can be used to satisfy the minimum number of upperlevel courses required by the university for graduation.
Course Components
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Quizzes
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Different assigned reading each week
A quiz each Monday on these readings
Lectures will follow quiz on topics from reading
Lowest quiz grade dropped
No make-up quizzes
Course Components
(continued)
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Mid-Semester Computing Topic Web Page
 ~ 1500 words.
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End of Semester Video
 1 minute
 Tutorials will be provided
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Topics to be provided by the instructor
Course Components
(continued)
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Midterm Exam
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Final Exam
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based on lectures & readings
sample exam will be provided
second half material only
sample exam will be provided
Note: Both exams will have essay questions
How are grades computed?
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Quizzes
Web Page
Video
Written Midterm Exam
Final Exam
30 %
15 %
15 %
20 %
20 %
100 %
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
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All work you submit for homework, projects, or
exams MUST be your own work.
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If you cheat or aid someone in cheating, you
will automatically fail this course and be brought
up on charges of academic dishonesty without
warning.
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NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE!
Special Assistance
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If you have a physical, psychological, medical or
learning disability that may impact on your ability to
carry out assigned course work, I would urge that you
contact the staff in the Disabled Student Services
office (DSS) in the ECC building (where the Computer
Store used to be), 632-6748v/tdD. DSS will review
your concerns and determine with you what
accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All
information and documentation of disability are
confidential.
Reading Assignments
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Quiz # 1 on Monday, 9/12
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Aspray book, chapters 1,2
Quiz # 2 on Monday, 9/19
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Aspray book, chapter 3
Course Description
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A study of the history of computational devices
from the early ages through the end of the
twentieth century. Needs for computation in
ancient times, development of computation
through the 1800s, development of the first
modern computer and its early uses. Creation
of programming languages. Development of the
microcomputer, emergence of the Internet and
the World Wide Web.
Course Topics
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Early Computational Devices
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Charles Babbage
Computing in the 1800s
Analog computing
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Computing in the early 1900s
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World War II and the Advent of Modern Computers
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Computers become a Business Tool
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Mainframe Computing in the 1950s
Early history of software and programming languages
The computing industry in the 1960s
The rise of IBM.
Course Topics (continued)
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The impact of the microprocessor
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The personal computer
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Moore's Law
Modern input devices
The Graphical User Interface
The rise of Microsoft
The Wired World
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Development of the Internet and the World Wide Web
Mobile and wireless computing emerges
Legal and Social Impacts of Modern Computing
Course Goals
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To study the historical, political, and social events that
led to the development of modern computational
devices
To examine the lives of some of the most influential
inventors, thinkers and entrepreneurs of the computer
revolution
To understand how computer hardware and software
evolved based on social and economic forces in the
20th century
To consider current social, legal and ethical issues in
computer science and determine the factors that led to
these modern problems
My Goals
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To help make you an informed decision maker
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To nurture your critical thinking
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To help you make yourself a more interesting
person
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To inspire you to create
What do these things all have in common?
Why even study the history of
computing? Who cares?
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Learn relevant modern lessons
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learn from the past
business & technology
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Make better professional decisions
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Be a better citizen
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Be a better nerd
A start of semester pub quiz
(for fun, not points)
• Divide up into teams of 5
• Have one person write down all names on a page
• Each team choose a name
• Answer the following questions as best you can
Question 1
a)
World War II began when Germany invaded
what neighboring country?
b)
In what year did this invasion take place?
c)
Who declared war on Germany as a result of
this invasion?
Question 2
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World War II was fought between the Axis and
Allies powers
a)
Name the 3 leading nations from the Axis side
b)
Name the 3 leading nations from the Allies side
Question 3
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The Cold War lasted almost 50 years and was
fought in pitched battles on a global scale.
a.
What two nations fought each other in the Cold
War?
b.
The first pitched battle started in 1950 in a war
in which almost 50,000 Americans were killed.
What war was this?
Question 4
a.
Other than the USSR and it’s components,
name 5 nations that were behind the Iron
Curtain.
b.
Name 10 nations today that were once part of
the USSR.
c.
Under what Soviet premier did the USSR
break up?
Question 5
Who was:
a) infamously fired from Apple Computers in
1985 due to the sluggish sales of the Mac?
b) the second man to walk on the moon?
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c)
d)
Where was:
the first video game invented?
the first transistor invented?
Question 6
a)
Social Media Websites have helped spread
the Arab Spring this year. Name 3 Arab
nations whose governments have been
overthrown this year.
b)
What nickname is used for the technology the
Chinese government uses to monitor Internet
users and suppress Web site access and free
speech online?
Question 7
• In what year was:
a) the first digital electronic computer invented?
b) the first programming language invented?
c) the Internet invented?
d) the first personal computer available?
• NOTE
• in the history of computing, many times being the one
who invents the “first so and so” is not as significant as
being the one who invents the “first successful so and
so”
• by successful I mean widely appreciated
Question 1
a)
World War II began when Germany invaded
what neighboring country? Poland
b)
In what year did this invasion take place?
1939
c)
Who declared war on Germany as a result of
this invasion?
Great Britain
Question 2
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World War II was fought between the Axis and
Allies powers
a)
Name the 3 leading nations from the Axis side
Germany, Japan, Italy
b)
Name the 3 leading nations from the Allies side
US, UK, USSR
Question 3
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The Cold War lasted almost 50 years and was
fought in pitched battles on a global scale.
a.
What two nations fought each other in the Cold
War?
US, USSR
b.
The first pitched battle started in 1950 in a war
in which almost 50,000 Americans were killed.
What war was this?
Korean War
Question 4
a.
Other than the USSR and it’s components,
name 5 nations that were behind the Iron
Curtain. Poland, East Germany, Romania,
Bulgaria, Hungary, Czecheslovakia
b.
Name 10 nations today that were once part of
the USSR. Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgystan,
Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan
c.
Under what Soviet premier did the USSR
break up? Mikhail Gorbachev
Question 5
Who was:
Steve Jobs
a) infamously fired from Apple Computers in
1985 due to the sluggish sales of the Mac?
b) the second man to walk on the moon?
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Buzz Aldrin
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c)
d)
Where was:
the first video game invented? BNL
the first transistor invented? AT&T Bell Labs - NJ
Question 6
a)
Social Media Websites have helped spread
the Arab Spring this year. Name 3 Arab
nations whose governments have been
overthrown this year. Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen
b)
What nickname is used for the technology the
Chinese government uses to monitor Internet
users and suppress Web site access and free
speech online? The Great Firewall of China
Question 7
• In what year was:
a) the first digital electronic computer invented?
b) the first programming language invented?
c) the Internet invented?
d) the first personal computer available?
• NOTE
• in the history of computing, many times being the one
who invents the “first so and so” is not as significant as
being the one who invents the “first successful so and
so”
• by successful I mean widely appreciated
Computing Timeline
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
a) 1939-1949
digital electronic stored
program computer emerges
b) 1957 – FORTRAN released,
first significant high-level
programming language
c) 1969 – DOD launches Internet at
UCLA, Stanford, UCSB, & Utah
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
d) 1975 – MITS releases
Altair 8800 computer
kit, commonly called
the first personal
computer