Computing in the Modern World
Ms. Stewart
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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The evolution of modern computers is
divided into a few "distinct" generations.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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Each generation is characterized by extreme
improvements over the prior era in the
technology used in the:
 manufacturing process,
 the internal layout of computer systems, and
 programming languages.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1945-1956
Computers were mainly used by the government
for use in war and designing strategies.
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Konrad Zuse (1941) used computers to design
airplanes and missiles.
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The British designed a computer to decode
secret messages (1943).
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1945-1956
Aiken created an electronic calculator (1944) to
create charts for the Navy. It was half as long as
a football field.
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ENIAC computer (1945) was a general purpose
computer used to design the hydrogen bomb.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1945-1956
Neumann designed the EDVAC computer (1945),
which was able to store a program as well as
data. The computer could also be stopped and
re-started – a first for this time period.
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Key development was the Central Processing
Unit (CPU).
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1945-1956
Eckert and Mauchly developed the UNIVAC I
(1951). It was the first commercially successful
computer.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1956 – 1963
The invention of the
transistor greatly
changed the
computer's
development. The
transistor replaced the
large, cumbersome
vacuum tube in
televisions, radios and
computers.
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As a result, the size of
electronic machinery
has been shrinking ever
since.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1956 – 1963
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Transistors led to second generation
computers that were smaller, faster, more
reliable and more energy-efficient than their
ancestors.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1956 – 1963
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The Stretch by IBM and LARC by Sperry-Rand were
supercomputers developed for atomic energy
laboratories and could handle an enormous amount of
data.
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The machines were costly, however, and tended to be
too powerful for the business sector's computing
needs, thereby limiting their attractiveness.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1956 – 1963
Throughout the early 1960's, there were a
number of commercially successful second
generation computers used in businesses,
universities, and government.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1956 – 1963
They contained all the components we
associate with the modern day computer:
printers, tape storage, disk storage, memory,
and stored programs.
An example was the IBM 1401.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1956 – 1963
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It was the stored program and programming
language that gave computers the flexibility
to finally be cost effective and productive for
business use.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1956 – 1963
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The stored program concept meant that instructions
to run a computer for a specific function (known as a
program) were held inside the computer's memory,
and could quickly be replaced by a different set of
instructions for a different function.
 For example, print one minute, then design documents
the next.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
1956 – 1963
 More sophisticated high-level languages such as COBOL
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(Common Business-Oriented Language) and FORTRAN
(Formula Translator) came into common use during this
time, and have expanded to the current day.
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These languages replaced cryptic binary machine code
with words, sentences, and mathematical formulas,
making it much easier to program a computer.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1956 – 1963
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New types of careers (programmer, analyst,
and computer systems expert) and the entire
software industry began with second
generation computers.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1964 – 1971
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Transistors, when first created, generated
massive amounts of heat.
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Kilby (1958) developed an
integrated circuit to use
in the place of transistors.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1964 – 1971
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The IC combined three electronic components onto a
small silicon disc, which was made from quartz.
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Scientists later managed to fit even more components
on a single chip, called a semiconductor.
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As a result, computers became ever smaller as more
components were squeezed onto the chip.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1964 – 1971
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Another development was
 Windows
 Vista
 MAC
the use of an operating
system that allowed
machines to run many
different programs at once
with a central program that
monitored and coordinated
Operating Systems
(examples)
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Programs (examples)
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Word
Excel
Access
PowerPoint
Windows Media Player
Skype
the computer's memory.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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Thompson and Ritchie (1969) developed the
UNIX operating system. UNIX was the first
modern operating system that provided a
sound intermediary between software and
hardware.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm
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1971 – present
The next step in the computer design process
was to reduce the overall size.
Hundreds of thousands of components were
squeezed onto a chip.
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Computers/comp3.htm