History of Computers

By Akshay Mishra
Generation One: 1940-1956
Until 1951 any form of computer was inaccessible to the general public (primarily
used in military)
The first commercially available computer UNIVAC was created by the
Pennsylvanian duo John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckret
UNIVAC utilized Vacuum Tubes to store memory
Due to the Vacuum Tubes overall heat they would fail frequently
UNIVAC is known as the first successful general purpose computer
UNIVAC is the first computer to be programed in a machine language known as
Binary
In response to UNIVACs success IBM released their own general purpose
computer the IBM 701
UNIVAC
Vacuum Tube
Generation Two: 1956-1963
People became tired of the unreliable vacuum tubes and began to search for an
alternative
A new invention known as the Transistor, became the backbone of the second
generation of computers
Transistors, like vacuum tubes could control the flow of electricity in the
computer, but utilized less power, heat and space
With the removal of vacuum tubes computers became faster, smaller and much
more reliable than the previous generation
Added support for printers, tape storage and disk-storage
In the later years, they combined both scientific and business computers merged
as computers as demand grew
Generation Three: 1964 1971
Introduced Timesharing, allowing multiple people to use a computer
simultaneously
Integrated circuits incorporated multiple transistors and electronic circuits on a
single chip, significantly lowering production costs
Large-scale integration was possible allowing 5000 transistors to fit on a single
chip
Utilizing integrated circuits DEC created the first minicomputer, able to fit in the
corner of a room at one-fourth of the price
Companies began to sell their software separately from their hardware
Minicomputers promoted the use of open architecture, giving consumers more
freedom when purchasing peripherals
Generation Four: 1971-Present
With advances in integrated circuit technology came the first microprocessor
A small chip containing the core processing units of a computer
Intel made the first microprocessing unit, the Intel 4004
The Apple I was released
Microcomputers became a huge thing of convenience and helped smaller
companies
Introduced the idea of a GUI (Graphic User Interface)
PARC scientists developed laser printers, ethernet and LAN networks
Generation Five: Present-Future
The fifth generation of computers is centered around Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Progress towards improving AI is very slow
Large strides are being made in networking, increasing speeds and access across
the globe
Virtual Reality (VR) is also a huge part of the fifth generation
More and more companies investing in VR most notably HTC and Facebook
The Laws of Computing
Moores Law: In the foreseeable future transistors on a chip will be doubled.
Metcalfes Law: The value of a system is dependent upon the amount of users it
has.
 Shakey The Robot

My Visit to the Museum

Holds history of computers from 500 AD and onwards
Charles Babbage created Babbage Difference Engine an automatic calculator
ENIAC was the first large scale computing unit, used in WWII
The RAMAC was the first disk drive
CRAY-1 was the world's first supercomputer
Shakey the Robot was the first robot is act without human control (AI)
Kitchen Computers were made to allow housewives to store their recipes (none
were sold)
DEC-PDP was the first full minicomputer for consumers
The first mouse was introduced in 1964
 The First Mouse

Cray-1: The First Supercomputer

 Apple II
By Apple Computers
Approximately when was the machine built/in production?
The Apple II was released June 10, 1977
Production must have started at least 1 year prior to the release
Who was responsible for designing it?
The Apple II was primarily designed by Steve Wozniak the co-founder of Apple
Jerry Manock created the case for the Apple II
Was the machine successful? Why or why not?
The Apple II was extremely successful
Selling over 5 million units in its 16 year run from 1977-1993
One of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputers
What new technologies did it implement (use)?
Full colour display
Case with a built in keyboard
Eight internal expansion slots
Allowed for immense customization options, jumpstarting other companies to
follow suit
Where did the name of the machine come from?
The second series of Apple computers
Steve Jobs spent time working on apple orchards and thought the name Apple
was fun, spirited, and not intimidating
Was the machine user-friendly? Why or why not?
The Apple II was extremely user-friendly
Very easy to use keyboard and paddle controls
BASIC programming language built-in
Full colour display
What level of computer knowledge did you need to be able to use it?

The Apple II was very accessible as it was designed for the everyday person
Had a very polished, yet simple integrated user interface
About how much did it cost?
On release the Apple II sold for $1,298 USD
That is approximately $5,258.81 USD today (6493.37 CAD)
How big was it? What did it look like?
The Apple II was advertised as a small, reliable and convenient personal computer
Bibliography
http://lam-ictx.weebly.com/uploads/2/3/3/2/23323570/computer_history_and_developm
ent_textbook.pdf