Computer History Timeline

This History Timeline has been developed to provide a 'snapshot' of the famous people and
events during this historical time period. Important dates in a fast, comprehensive,
chronological, or date order providing an actual sequence of important
past events which were of considerable significance to the
famous people involved in this time period.
A full History Timeline...

2400 BC Abacus: The abacus, the first known calculator, was invented in Babylonia

500 BC Panini: Introduced the forerunner to modern formal language theory

300 BC Pingala: Pingala invented the binary number system

87 BC Antikythera Mechanism: Built in Rhodes to track movement of the stars

60 AD Heron of Alexandria: Heron of Alexandria invents machines which follow a series of

instructions
724 Liang Ling-Can: Liang Ling-Can invents the first fully mechanical clock

1492 Leonardo da Vinci: Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci depict inventions such as flying
machines, including a helicopter, the first mechanical calculator and one of the first
programmable robots

1614 John Napier: John Napier invents a system of moveable rods (Napier's Rods) based on
logarithms which was able to multiply, divide and calculate square and cube roots

1622 William Oughtred: William Oughtred develops slide rules

1623 Calculating Clock: Invented by Wilhelm Schickard

1642 Blaise Pascal: Blaise Pascal invents the the "Pascaline", a mechanical adding machine

1671 Gottfried Leibniz: Gottfried Leibniz is known as one of the founding fathers of calculus

1801 Joseph-Marie Jacquard: Joseph-Marie Jacquard invents an automatic loom controlled by

punched cards

1820 Arithmometer: The Arithmometer was the first mass-produced calculator invented by
Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar

1822 Charles Babbage: Charles Babbage designs his first mechanical computer

1834 Analytical Engine: The Analytical Engine was invented by Charles Babbage

1835 Morse code: Samuel Morse invents Morse code

1848 Boolean algebra: Boolean algebra is invented by George Boole

1853 Tabulating Machine: Per Georg Scheutz and his son Edvard invent the Tabulating
Machine
1869 William Stanley Jevons: William Stanley Jevons designs a practical logic machine

1878 Ramon Verea: Ramon Verea invents a fast calculator with an internal multiplication table

1880 Alexander Graham Bell: Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone called the
Photophone
1884 Comptometer: The Comptometer is an invention of Dorr E. Felt which is operated by
pressing keys

1890 Herman Hollerith: Herman Hollerith invents a counting machine which increment
mechanical counters

1895 Guglielmo Marconi: Radio signals were invented by Guglielmo Marconi

1896 Tabulating Machine Company: Herman Hollerith forms the Tabulating Machine
Company which later becomes IBM

1898 Nikola Tesla: Remote control was invented by Nikola Tesla

1906 Lee De Forest: Lee De Forest invents the electronic tube

1911 IBM: IBM is formed on June 15, 1911

1923 Philo Farnsworth: Television Electronic was invented by Philo Farnsworth

1924 John Logie Baird: Electro Mechanical television system was invented by John Logie
Baird

Walther Bothe: Walther Bothe develops the logic gate

1930 Vannevar Bush: Vannevar Bush develops a partly electronic Difference Engine

1931 Kurt Godel: Kurt Godel publishes a paper on the use of a universal formal language

1937 Alan Turing: Alan Turing develops the concept of a theoretical computing machine

1938 Konrad Zuse: Konrad Zuse creates the Z1 Computer a binary digital computer using
punch tape

1939 George Stibitz: George Stibitz develops the Complex Number Calculator - a foundation
for digital computers

Hewlett Packard: William Hewlett and David Packard start Hewlett Packard

John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry: John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry
develop the ABC (Atanasoft-Berry Computer) prototype

1943 Enigma: Adolf Hitler uses the Enigma encryption machine

Colossus: Alan Turing develops the the code-breaking machine Colossus

1944 Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper: Howard Aiken and Grace Hopper designed the MARK
series of computers at Harvard University

1945 ENIAC: John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly: John Presper Eckert & John W.
Mauchly develop the ENIAC ( Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)

Computer Bug: The term computer ‘bug’ as computer bug was first used by Grace Hopper

1946 F.C. Williams: F.C. Williams develops his cathode-ray tube (CRT) storing device the
forerunner to random-access memory (RAM)

1947 Pilot ACE: Donald Watts Davies joins Alan Turing to build the fastest digital computer in
England at the time, the Pilot ACE

William Shockley: William Shockley invents the transistor at Bell Labs

 Douglas Engelbart: Douglas Engelbart theorises on interactive computing with keyboard
and screen display instead of on punchcards

1948 Andrew Donald Booth: Andrew Donald Booth invents magnetic drum memory

Frederic Calland Williams & Tom Kilburn: Frederic Calland Williams & Tom Kilburn
develop the SSEM "Small Scale Experimental Machine" digital CRT storage which was
soon nicknamed the "Baby"

1949 Claude Shannon: Claude Shannon builds the first machine that plays chess

Howard Aiken: Howard Aiken develops the Harvard-MARK III

1950 Hideo Yamachito: The first electronic computer is created in Japan by Hideo Yamachito.

Alan Turing: Alan Turing publishes his paper Computing Machinery and Intelligence
which helps create the Turing Test.

1951 LEO: T. Raymond Thompson and John Simmons develop the first business computer, the
Lyons Electronic Office (LEO) at Lyons Co.

UNIVAC: UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer I) was introduced - the first

commercial computer made in the United States and designed principally by John Presper
Eckert & John W. Mauchly

EDVAC: The EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) begins

performing basic tasks. Unlike the ENIAC, it was binary rather than decimal

1953 The IBM 701 becomes available and a total of 19 are sold to the scientific community.

1954 John Backus & IBM: John Backus & IBM develop the FORTRAN Computer
Programming Language

1955 Bell Labs introduces its first transistor computer.

1956 Optical fiber was invented by Basil Hirschowitz, C. Wilbur Peters, and Lawrence E.
Curtiss

1957 Sputnik I and Sputnik II: Sputnik I and Sputnik II are launched by the Russians

1958 ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) and NASA is formed

Silicon chip: The first integrated circuit, or silicon chip, is produced by the US Jack Kilby
& Robert Noyce

1959 Paul Baran: Paul Baran theorises on the "survivability of communication systems under
nuclear attack", digital technology and symbiosis between humans and machines

1960 COBOL: The Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL) programming language is

invented.

1961 Unimate: General Motors puts the first industrial robot, Unimate, to work in a New Jersey
factory.

1962 The first computer game: The first computer game Spacewar Computer Game invented
BY Steve Russell & MIT

1963 The Computer Mouse: Douglas Engelbart invents and patents the first computer mouse
(nicknamed the mouse because the tail came out the end)

The American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) is developed to

standardize data exchange among computers.
1964 Word processor: IBM introduces the first word processor

BASIC: John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz develop Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic
Instruction Language (BASIC)

1965 Hypertext: Andries van Dam and Ted Nelson coin the term "hypertext"

1967 Floppy Disk: IBM creates the first floppy disk

1969 Seymour Cray: Seymour Cray develops the CDC 7600, the first supercomputer

Gary Starkweather: Gary Starkweather invents the laser printer whilst working with
Xerox

ARPANET: The U.S. Department of Defense sets up the Advanced Research Projects
Agency Network (ARPANET ) this network was the first building blocks to what the
internet is today but originally with the intention of creating a computer network that could
withstand any type of disaster.

1970 RAM: Intel introduces the world's first available dynamic RAM ( random-access memory)
chip and the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004.

1971 E-mail: E-mail was invented by Ray Tomlinson

Liquid Crystal Display ( LCD ): Liquid Crystal Display ( LCD ) was invented by James
Fergason

Pocket calculator: Pocket calculator was invented by Sharp Corporation

Floppy Disk: Floppy Disk was invented by David Noble with IBM - Nicknamed the
"Floppy" for its flexibility.

1972 First Video Game: Atari releases Pong, the first commercial video game

The CD: The compact disc is invented in the United States.

1973 Robert Metcalfe and David Boggs: Robert Metcalfe creates the Ethernet, a local-area
network (LAN) protocol

Personal computer: The minicomputer Xerox Alto (1973) was a landmark step in the
development of personal computers

Gateways: Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn develop gateway routing computers to negotiate
between the various national networks

1974 SQL: IBM develops SEQUEL (Structured English Query Language ) now known as SQL

WYSIWYG: Charles Simonyi coins the term WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You
Get) to describe the ability of being able to display a file or document exactly how it is
going to be printed or viewed

1975 Portable computers: Altair produces the first portable computer

Microsoft Corporation: The Microsoft Corporation was founded April 4, 1975 by Bill
Gates and Paul Allen to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800

1976 Apple: Apple Computers was founded Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs
1977 Apple Computer’s Apple II, the first personal computer with color graphics, is
demonstrated

MODEM: Ward Christensen writes the programme "MODEM" allowing two

microcomputers to exchange files with each other over a phone line

1978 Magnetic tape: The first magnetic tape is developed in the US

1979 Over half a million computers are in use in the United States.

1980 Paul Allen and Bill Gates: IBM hires Paul Allen and Bill Gates to create an operating
system for a new PC. They buy the rights to a simple operating system manufactured by
Seattle Computer Products and use it as a template to develop DOS.

1981 Microsoft: MS-DOS Computer Operating System increases its success

1982 WordPerfect: WordPerfect Corporation introduces WordPerfect 1.0 a word processing

program

Commodore 64: The Commodore 64 becomes the best-selling computer of all time.

SMTP: SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is introduced

1983 More than 10 million computers are in use in the United States

Domain Name System (DNS): Domain Name System (DNS) pioneered by Jon Postel,
Paul Mockapetris and Craig Partridge. Seven 'top-level' domain names are initially
introduced: edu, com, gov, mil, net, org and int.

Windows: Microsoft Windows introduced eliminating the need for a user to have to type
each command, like MS-DOS, by using a mouse to navigate through drop-down menus,
tabs and icons

1984 Apple Macintosh: Apple introduces the Macintosh with mouse and window interface

Cyberspace: William Gibson coins the word cyberspace when he publishes Neuromancer

1985 Paul Brainard: Paul Brainard introduces Pagemaker for the Macintosh creating the
desktop publishing field.

Nintendo: The Nintendo Entertainment System makes its debut.

1986 More than 30 million computers are in use in the United States.

1987 Microsoft introduces Microsoft Works

Perl: Larry Wall introduces Perl 1.0

1988 Over 45 million PCs are in use in the United States.

1990 The Internet, World Wide Web & Tim Berners-Lee: Tim Berners-Lee and Robert
Cailliau propose a 'hypertext' system starting the modern Internet

Microsoft and IBM stop working together to develop operating systems

1991 The World Wide Web: The World Wide Web is launched to the public on August 6, 1991

1993 At the beginning of the year only 50 World Wide Web servers are known to exist
1994 The World Wide Web Consortium is founded by Tim Berners-Lee to help with the
development of common protocols for the evolution of the World Wide Web

YAHOO: YAHOO is created in April, 1994.

1995 Java: Java is introduced

Amazon: Amazon.com is founded by Jeff Bezos

EBay: EBay is founded by Pierre Omidyar

Hotmail: Hotmail is started by Jack Smith and Sabeer Bhatia.

1996 WebTV: WebTV is introduced

1997 Altavista introduces its free online translator Babel Fish

Microsoft acquires Hotmail

1998 Google: Google is founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page on September 7, 1998

PayPal is founded by Peter Thiel and Max Levchin

2001 Xbox: Bill Gates introduces the Xbox on January 7th 2001.

2002 Approximately 1 billion PCs been sold

PayPal is acquired by eBay

2005 September 12: eBay acquires Skype

2006 Skype announces that it has over 100 million registered users.
The Five Generations of Computers
Each generation of computer is characterized by a major technological development that
fundamentally changed the way computers operate, resulting in increasingly smaller,
cheaper, more powerful and more efficient and reliable devices.
The history of computer development is often referred to in reference to the different generations of computing
devices. Each generation of computer is characterized by a major technological development that fundamentally
changed the way computers operate, resulting in increasingly smaller, cheaper, more powerful and more
efficient and reliable devices. Read about each generation and the developments that led to the current devices
that we use today.

First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes

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The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous,
taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity,
generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions.

First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language understood by
computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time. Input was based on punched
cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts.

The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices. The UNIVAC was
the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951.

Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. The transistor was
invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late 1950s. The transistor was far
superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and
more reliable than their first-generation predecessors. Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat
that subjected the computer to damage, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second-generation
computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output.

Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or assembly,
languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-level programming languages
were also being developed at this time, such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN. These were also the
first computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic
core technology.

The first computers of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry.

Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated Circuits

The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers. Transistors
were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and
efficiency of computers.

Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through keyboards and
monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to run many different applications
at one time with a central program that monitored the memory. Computers for the first time became accessible
to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.
Fourth Generation (1971-Present) Microprocessors
The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated circuits were built
onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the
hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the components of the computer—from the central
processing unit and memory to input/output controls—on a single chip.

In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh.
Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many areas of life as more and
more everyday products began to use microprocessors.

As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks, which
eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw the development of
GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices.

Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond) Artificial Intelligence

Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are
some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel processing and
superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computation and molecular and
nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years to come. The goal of fifth-generation
computing is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-
organization.

Data Processing

EDP (electronic data processing)

EDP (electronic data processing), an infrequently used term for what is today usually called "IS" (information
services or systems) or "MIS" (management information services or systems), is the processing of data by a
computer and its programs in an environment involving electronic communication. EDP evolved from "DP"
(data processing), a term that was created when most computing input was physically put into the computer in
punched card form and output as punched cards or paper reports.

ELECTRONIC DATA PROCESSING

There are different types of data processing systems and each performs one or more required operation(s) on
data by means of various devices. When a machine performs most of the required operation, the system is
called an automatic data processing (ADP) system. More particularly, when that machine is an electronic
digital computer, the system is described as an electronic data processing (EDP) system or simply as a
computer system.

In the broadest terms, an electronic data processing consist of ; hardware, software, and people ware.

In electronic data processing, a user does not have to deal directly with the physical devices( hardware of the
EDP system. Instead a special service programs, stored in the computer memory, provide an interface
between the user and the equipment . These programs, called systems software, simply the task of the
programmer and. the applications software control the use of the hardware.
CATEGORIES OF DATA PROCESSING

Modern data processing employing machines and other devices falls into two basics categories, mechanical
data processing and electronic data processing. In some data processing operations, all work is still done
using manual procedures.

A major difference between the two categories is that the mechanical system usually require constant manual
intervention between the different data processing operations, whereas in an electronic system the different
operations are performed automatically with a minimum manual intervention.

The types of machine employed in either system usually vary from one user to another. However most of the
general concepts in data processing still remain applicable.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Data is processed to get the required results. Different operations may be performed on data. Therefore, data
processing is defined as:
"A sequence of operations on data to convert it into useful information is called data processing". The important
operations that can be performed on data are:

 Arithmetic and logical operations on data to get required results.

 To send and receive data from one location to another.
 Classification of data.
 Arranging data into a specific order etc.

The data processing is divided into three categories or levels.

1. Manual Data Processing

In manual data processing, data is processed manually without using any machine or tool to get required result. In
manual data processing, all the calculations and logical operations are manually performed on the data. Similarly, data is
manually transferred from one place to another. This method of data processing is very slow and errors may occur in the
output.
In Pakistan, data is still processed manually in many small business firms as well as government offices & institutions.

2. Mechanical Data Processing

In mechanical data processing, data is processed by using different tools like calculators or other mechanical devices.
This method of data processing is faster and more accurate than manual data processing.

3. Electronic Data Processing

It is the modern technique to process data. The data is processed through computer. Data and set of instructions are
given to the computer as input and the computer automatically processes the data according to the given set of
instructions.
The computer is also known as electronic data processing machine. This method of processing data is very fast and
accurate. Now-a-days, the data is processed and analyzed through computers. For example, the results of students are
prepared through computer; in banks accounts of customers are processed through computers etc.
DATA PROCESSING CYCLE

Regardless of the kind of data processed or the kind of device or equipment used, all data processing systems involve at
least three basic steps : Input, Processing, and Output. These three steps constitute the data processing cycle.

1. INPUT=In this steps the initial data, or input data, are prepared in some convenient form of processing. The form will
defend on the processing machine.

For example, when electromechanical devises are used.

2. PROCESSING= In this step the input data are changed, and usually combined with other information, to produce data
is more useful form. Thus, paychecks may be calculated from the time cards, or a summary of sales for the month maybe
calculated from the sales orders. The processing step usually involves a sequence of certain basic processing operations.

3. OUTPUT= Here the results of the preceding processing steps are collected. The particular form of the output data
depends on the use of data.

Classification Of Computer
Posted on February 7, 2010 by Kishore

Until recently computers were classifieds as microcomputers, super minicomputers, mainframes, and supercomputers.
Technology, however, has changed and this classification is no more relevant. Today all computers used microprocessors
as their CPU. Thus classification is possible only through their mode of use. Based on mode of use we can classify
computers as Palms, Laptop PCs, Desktop PCs and Workstations. Based on interconnected computers we can classify
computers we can classify them as distributed computers and parallel computers.

Palm PCs or Simputer

With miniaturization and high-density packing of transistor on a chip,

computers with capabilities nearly that of PCs which can be held in a palm
have emerged. Palm accept handwritten inputs using an electronic pen which
can be used to write on a Palm’s screen (besides a tiny keyboard), have small
disk storage and can be connected to a wireless network. One has to train the
system on the user’s handwriting before it can be used as a mobile phone, Fax,
and e-mail machine. A version of Microsoft operating system called
Windows-CE is available for Palm.An Indian initiative to meet the needs of rural population of developing
countries is called Simputer. Simputer is a mobile handheld computer with input through icons on a touch
sensitive overly on the LCD display panel. A unique feature of Simputer is the use of free open source OS
called GNU/Linux. The cost of ownership is thus low as there is no software cost for OS. Another unique
feature of Simputer not found in Palm, is a smart card reader/writer, which increases the functionality of the
Simputer including possibility of personalization of a single Simputer for several users.

Laptop PCs:

Laptop PCs (also known as notebook computers) are portable computers weighing around 2 kgs. They have a
keyboard, flat screen liquid crystal display, and a Pentium or Power PC processor. Colour displays are
available. They normally run using WINDOWS OS. Laptops come with hard disk (around 40 GB), CDROM
and floppy disk. They should run with batteries and are thus designed to conserve energy by using power
efficient chips. Many Laptops can be connected to a network. There is a trend towards providing wireless
connectivity to Laptops so that they can read files from large stationary computers. The most common use of
Laptop computers is used for word processing, and spreadsheet computing. As Laptops use miniature
components which have to consume low power and have to be packaged in small volumes.

Personal Computers (PCs)

The most popular PCs are desktop machines. Early PCs had Intel 8088 microprocessors as their CPU. Currently
(2004), Intel Dual Core is the most popular processor. The machines made by IBM are called IBM PCs. Other
manufacturers use IBM’s specifications and design their own PCs. They are known as IBM compatible PCs.
IBM PCs mostly use MS-Windows, WINDOWS –XP or GNU/Linux as Operating System. IBM PCs,
nowadays (2004) have 64 to 256 MB main memory, 40 to 80 GB of Hard Disk and a floppy disk or flash ROM.
Besides these a 650 MB CDROM is also provided in PCs intended for multimedia use. Another company called
Apple also makes pCs. Apple PCs are known as Apple Macintosh. They use Apple’s proprietary OS, which is
designed for simplicity of use. Apple Macintosh machines used Motorola 68030 microprocessors but now use
Power PC 603 processor. IBM PCs are today the most popular computers with millions of them in use
throughout the world.

Workstations:

Workstations are also desktop machines. They are, however, more powerful providing processorspeeds about
10 times that of PCs. Most workstations have a large colour video display unit (19 inch monitors). Normally
they have main memory of around 256 MB to 4 GB and Hard Disk of 80 to 320 GB. Workstations normally use
RISC processors such as MIPS (SIG), RIOS (IBM), SPARC (SUN), or PA-RISC (HP). Some manufacturers of
Workstations are Silicon Graphics (SIG), IBM, SUN Microsystems and Hewlett Packard (HP). The standard
Operating System of Workstations is UNIX and its derivatives such as AIX (IBM), Solaris (SUN), and HP-UX
(HP). Very good graphics facilities and large video screens are provided by most Workstations. A system called
X WINDOWS is provided by Workstations to display the status of multiple processes during their execution.
Most Workstations have built-in hardware to connect to a Local Area Network (LAN). Workstations are used
for executing numeric and graphic intensive applications such as those, which arise in Computer Aided Design,
simulation of complex systems and visualizing the results of simulation.

Servers

While manufacturers such as IBM, SUN and Silicon Graphics have been manufacturing high performance
workstations the speed of Intel Pentium Processors has been going up. In 2004, Pentium with clock speed 3
GHz are available. They can support several GB main memories. Thus the difference between high end PCs and
Workstations is vanishing. Today companies such as SUN make Intel based workstations.While Workstations
are characterized by high performance processors with large screens for interactive programming, servers are
used for specific purpose such as high performance numerical computing (called compute server), web page
hosting, database store, printing etc. interactive large screens are not necessary. Compute servers have
performance processors with large main memory, database servers have big on-line disk storage (100s of GB)
and print servers support several high speed printers.

Mainframes Computers

There are organizations such as banks and insurance companies process large number of transactions on-line.
They require computers with very large disks to store several Terabytes of data and transfer data from disk to
main memory at several hundred Megabytes/sec. The processing power needed from such computers is hundred
million transactions per second. These computers are much bigger and faster than workstations and several
hundred times more expensive. They normally use proprietary operating systems, which usually provide high
expensive services such as user accounting, file security and control. They are normally much more reliable
when compared to Operating System on PCs. These types of computers are called mainframes. These are a few
manufacturers of mainframes (e.g., IBM and Hitachi). The number of mainframe users has reduced as many
organizations are rewriting their systems to use networks of powerful workstations.

Supercomputers

Supercomputers are the fastest computers available at any given time and are normally used to solve problems,
which require intensive numerical computations. Examples of such problems are numerical weather prediction,
designing supersonic aircrafts, design of drugs and modeling complex molecules. All of these problems require
around 10^16calculations to be performed. These problems will be solved in about 3 hours by a computer,
which can carry out a trillion floating point calculations per second. Such a computer is classifieds as
supercomputer today (2004). By about the year 2006 computers which can carry out 10^15 floating point
operations per second on 64 bit floating point numbers would be available and would be the ones which be
called supercomputers. Interconnecting several high speed computers and programming them to work
cooperatively to solve problems build supercomputers. Recently applications of supercomputers have expanded
beyond scientific computing, they are now used to analyze large commercial database, produced animated
movies and play games such as chess.Besides arithmetic speed, a computer to be classified as a supercomputer
should have a large main memory of around 16 GB and a secondary memory of 1000 GB. The speed of transfer
of data from secondary memory to the main memory should be at least a tenth of the memory to CPU data
transfer speed. All supercomputers use parallelism to achieve their speed. In Sec. 12.9 we discuss the
organization of parallel computers.

Peopleware
Peopleware is a term used to refer to one of the three core aspects of computer technology, the other two being
hardware and software. Peopleware can refer to anything that has to do with the role of people in the
development or use of computer software and hardware systems, including such issues as developer
productivity, teamwork, group dynamics, the psychology of programming, project management, organizational
factors, human interface design, and human-machine-interaction.
What are the capabilities of the computer?
Computer Capabilities are:

1. Can solve complex calculations quickly which takes a long time to solve manually

2. Capable of handling and processing large calculations at a single time

3. All Electronic Items have some form of Computing functions.

4.It works faster than a man.

5.computer and man are capable in giving data and information.

What Are The Limitations Of A Computer ?

The computer can outperform human beings in speed, memory and accuracy but still the computer has
limitations. There are following limitations of a computer.

Programmed by human:
Though computer is programmed to work efficiently, fast and accurately but it is programmed by human
beings to do so. Without a program, computer is nothing. A program is a set of instructions. Computer only
follows these instructions. If the instructions are not accurate the working of computer will not accurate.

Thinking:
The computer can not think itself. The concept of artificial intelligence shows that the computer can think. But
still this concept is dependent on set of instructions provided by the human beings.

Self Care:
A Computer can not care itself like a human. A computer is dependent still to human beings for this purpose.

Retrieval of memory:
A computer can retrieve data very fast but this technique is linear. A human being's mind does not follow this
rule. A human mind can think randomly which a computer machine can not.

Feelings:
One of the main limits in the computer is of feeling. A computer can not feel about some like a human. A
computer can not meet human in respect of relations.

Human can feel, think and caring but a computer machine itself can not.

A computer can not take place of human because computer is always dependent of human.

Reasons Why Computer Sometimes Fail

There are plenty of reasons why computers sometimes fail:

1. The most common reason why this happens is due to the failure of a particular computer
component, such as a monitor, processor, or power cord. Any part of a computer may
break down and need to be repaired or replaced. Often, computers seem to last a few years,
and then begin to malfunction more and more often. For this reason, many people replace their
computers every 2-3 years, or at least have them refurbished.

2. Another reason why a computer can fail (or slow down) is due to the unwanted presence of
computer viruses. These nasty digital infections can cause a plethora of unpleasant side
effects - they may, for example, stop your computer from loading web pages in a timely
 manner.

Some viruses, such as the Trojan worm virus, are actually able to "live" in a Word document,
where they are secretly embedded into text. Often, these viruses wreak havoc by replicating as
.tmp files, and make it difficult for computer owners to use a Word program normally. Many of
these viruses seem to defy anti-malware, anti-spyware, and anti-virus programs. Viruses and
malware are one reason why computers fail...and viruses are sometimes quite difficult to get
rid of.

3. Laptops have their own set of problems, which are usually related to overheating of the
laptop unit, or failure of the power cord. Laptops need to be properly cooled through fans or
other built-in devices - if these devices are not configured properly in the laptop system, or they
fail for some other reason, a laptop can get dangerously hot. When a laptop overheats, it may
shut off spontaneously, and never start up again.

A good computer repair person may be able to put your computer back into working order,
without charging you too much money. An IT whiz could also be an asset, as he or she could
check your system for viruses, and then eradicate them by deleting them from system files.

4. Computers can also fail if there is a physical problem with the computer, for instance if
someone breaks it or bangs into it. Computers are delicate machines and a knock can cause
them to fail. Be careful of them and try and prevent banging them or spilling liquids on them.

5. One of the other ways a computer can fail is if it gets a shock through a phone connection
during a lightning storm, this can destroy a computer and fry its insides. To prevent this
unplug computers during storms ad ensure you have a surge protector.

Sometimes computers fails to meet its objectives of increased speed, accuracy, and meaningful
information.

There are some common errors:

1. Input Errors: when data is entered into a computer it must be relatively error-free in order to
process it correcty.
2. Errors in Instructing a Computer: Computers operate on data using a set of instructions
prepared by a programmer which are used to read data, process it, and produce output. Some
programs contain errors and they call it "bugs" that do not become evident until a specific set
of circumstance arises.
3. The Communication Gap: One main reason why computerized procedures frequently fail to
meet their required objectives is because computer professionals and the people who actually
utilize the information, called "users" do not understand each other’s needs or have not
communicated successfully. Users do not really understand what computers can and can't do.
4. Improper Controls: The need of computers increase rapidly and need proper control and
security measures. The need for such control and security is even greater but most
organizations neglect this area.
5. Lack of Standards: Lack of standards results in problems when an organization obtains new
equipment, hires new computer professionals and attempts to provide some consistent set of
procedures.
6. Lack of Adequate Manufacturer Support