The Evolution of Technology: The History of Computers

While computers are now an important part of human life, there was a time when computers didn’t exist. Knowing the history of computers and how much progress has been made can help you understand how complicated and innovative creating computers really is.

Unlike most devices, the computer is one of the few inventions that does not have a specific inventor. Throughout the development of the computer, many people have added their creations to the list necessary for a computer to function. Some of the inventions have been different types of computers, and some of them were necessary parts to allow computers to develop further.

The beginning

Perhaps the most significant date in the history of computers is the year 1936. It was in this year that the first “computer” was developed. It was created by Konrad Zuse and nicknamed Computer Z1. This computer is the first, as it was the first system to be fully programmable. There were devices before this, but none had the computing power that sets it apart from other electronic devices.

It wasn’t until 1942 that no company saw profit and opportunity in computers. This first company was called ABC Computers, owned and operated by John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry. Two years later, the Harvard Mark I computer was developed, promoting computer science.

In the course of the following years, inventors around the world began to do more research on the study of computers and how to improve them. The next ten years say the introduction of the transistor, which would become a vital part of the internal workings of the computer, the ENIAC 1 computer, as well as many other types of systems. The ENIAC 1 is perhaps one of the most interesting, as it required 20,000 vacuum tubes to function. It was a huge machine and the revolution to build smaller and faster computers started.

The computer age was forever altered by the introduction of International Business Machines, or IBM, into the computing industry in 1953. This company, throughout the history of computing, has been a major player in the development of new systems and servers for the public. and private use. This introduction sparked the first real signs of competition in the history of computing, helping to drive faster and better development of computers. His first contribution was the IBM 701 EDPM computer.

A programming language evolves

A year later, the first successful high-level programming language was created. This was a programming language not written in ‘assembler’ or binary, which are considered very low-level languages. FORTRAN was written so that more people could easily start programming computers.

The year 1955, the Bank of America, along with the Stanford Research Institute and General Electric, saw the creation of the first computers for use in banks. MICR, or Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, along with the actual computer, ERMA, was a breakthrough for the banking industry. It was not until 1959 that the pair of systems was put into use in royal banks.

During 1958 there was one of the most important advances in the history of computing, the creation of the integrated circuit. This device, also known as a chip, is one of the basic requirements for modern computer systems. On every motherboard and card within a computer system, there are many chips that contain information about what the motherboards and cards do. Without these chips, systems as we know them today cannot function.

Games, mice and the Internet

For many computer users, games are a vital part of the computing experience. 1962 saw the creation of the first computer game, which was created by Steve Russel and MIT, which was nicknamed Spacewar.

The mouse, one of the most basic components of modern computers, was created in 1964 by Douglass Engelbart. It got its name from the “queue” coming out of the device.

One of the most important aspects of computers today was invented in 1969. The ARPA network was the original Internet, which laid the foundation for the Internet we know today. This development would lead to the evolution of knowledge and business across the globe.

It wasn’t until 1970 that Intel came on the scene with the first dynamic RAM chip, resulting in an explosion of innovation in computer science.

Immediately after the RAM chip was the first microprocessor, which was also designed by Intel. These two components, in addition to the chip developed in 1958, would be found among the core components of modern computers.

A year later, the floppy disk was created, earning its name for the flexibility of the storage drive. This was the first step in allowing most people to transfer bits of data between disconnected computers.

The first network card was created in 1973, allowing data transfer between connected computers. This is similar to the Internet, but allows computers to connect without using the Internet.

Home PCs emerge

The next three years were very important for computers. It was then that companies began to develop systems for the average consumer. The Scelbi, Mark-8 Altair, IBM 5100, Apple I and II, TRS-80 and Commodore Pet computers were the forerunners in this area. Although expensive, these machines started the trend for computers within ordinary homes.

One of the most important advances in computer software occurred in 1978 with the launch of the VisiCalc Spreadsheet program. All development costs were paid over a two-week period, making it one of the most successful programs in the history of computing.

1979 was perhaps one of the most important years for the home computer user. This is the year that WordStar, the first word processing program, was released to the public for sale. This drastically altered the usefulness of computers to the everyday user.

The IBM Home computer quickly helped revolutionize the consumer market in 1981 as it was affordable for homeowners and standard consumers. 1981 also saw the mega-giant Microsoft come onto the scene with the MS-DOS operating system. This operating system completely changed computing forever as it was fairly easy for everyone to learn.

The competition begins: Apple vs. Microsoft

Computers saw another vital change during the year 1983. The Apple Lisa computer was the first with a graphical user interface, or GUI. Most modern programs contain a GUI, which allows them to be easy to use and easy on the eyes. This marked the beginning of the obsolescence of most text-only programs.

Beyond this point in the history of computers, there have been many changes and alterations, from the Apple-Microsoft wars, to the development of microcomputers and a variety of computing advancements that have become an accepted part of our daily lives. . Without the first steps in the history of computing, none of this would have been possible.