A Short History Lesson Regarding The Computer And How It Has Progressed Through Time

A working laptop or computer is an electronic machine that has the capability to accept input, store, recall and process information to give an output in a readable format. But in earlier times, a working laptop or computer meant an individual carrying out mechanical calculations under the supervision of a mathematician.

So as to understand the future, we have to examine the history. The history of computers can be traced back in Babylonia where the abacus was born about 200 centuries ago. The abacus can be described as wooden frame holding two parallel rods wherein the beads are strung. It had been used like a calculating tool by the ancient society. In the year 1642, Blaise Pascal built the initial digital computer. He created his calculator to assist his father who was a tax collector at the time. Numbers were entered using dials and it was able to provide an answer as precisely as when calculated by using mathematics. Today, the fundamental theory of Pascal’s computer continues to be being used in various applications such as odometers and water gauges.

In 1822, an English mathematician known by the name of Charles Babbage was able to design the very first programmable computer. He had a theory that arithmetic tables could be computed and programmed mechanically. He built a computing machine and called it the difference engine. Babbage’s difference engines were among the very first in its category of mechanical computers. Although his machine was unwieldy, its construction was analogous to a modern computer. It could follow instructions; there was a separate data and program storage, and also it had a detached input and output unit. However, Babbage’s machine was not really finished because of financial problems as well as a few other issues. You can find a recently constructed version of the difference engine in the Science Museum in London.

The evolution of punched cards provided an awesome leap towards computing automation. In 1890, Herman Hollerith and James Powers used these cards with computers. They had made improvements on devices which could interpret the data contained inside the cards with little intervention from humans. As a result, work efficiency increased and reading mistakes were greatly reduced. Additionally, these punched cards can be utilized as a storage memory of nearly infinite range.

World War II produced a need for greater computer power which was to become utilised in military applications. John Eckert and his colleagues in Pennsylvania built an increased capacity electronic computer to serve this purpose. This computer was called the Electrical Numerical Integrator and Calculator or ENIAC. It was an all-purpose computer but of nonflexible construction.

Of course, Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman, Max Newman and Tommy Flowers were key individuals in the development of the computer at Bletchley Park. Colossus was created for code breaking but greatly progressed the advancement of the modern PC as we know it these days.

Computer designs of the 50’s were mostly valve-driven (vacuum tube). They were much better in performance than their earlier predecessors but they were bulky and expensive to produce. Transistor-driven computers were developed in the 60’s which successfully replaced the valve-driven computers. These transistorized computers were faster, smaller in size and more importantly, less expensive.

In the 1970’s, the integrated circuit became widespread and was widely used as the first electronic component for computers. It paved the way for mass production of computers, thus making them affordable not only for companies but for personal individuals as well. This led towards the birth of personal computers. Since then computer technology has developed exponentially to the point where we now have powerful computers in the palm of our hands. The smart phone, of course! But they still break down, and when that happens we call on a competent IT support service. They may not have the ability to mend Colossus though...

By: Saen Ansellt

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Naturally, this really is only my own opinion and you can find numerous ebooks and such stuff on the subject that you can find on the internet. I do find the history of electronic gadgets interesting. For an organization who is up to speed with such things I always go to IT support london. They do not just repair computers. They are always helpfull if you get stuck on any computer problems as well.