#1 History of Computing

Question 1

what is ICT?

Answer 1

Information and Communications Technology

Question 2

what are the 4 basic periods?

Answer 2

pre-mechanical, mechanical, electromechanical and electronic

Question 3

pre-mechanical age

Answer 3

3000 BC to 1450 AD

Question 4

who devised writing system? when? what was it called?

Answer 4

Sumerians, in 3000 BC, Cuneiform

Question 5

who created symbols? when?

Answer 5

Phoenicians, in 2000 BC

Question 6

who adopted Phoenicians alphabet and added vowels?

Answer 6

greeks

Question 7

what did romans do to the alphabet?

Answer 7

gave them latin names

Question 8

why is it difficult to tell which language the first tablets were written in?

Answer 8

they were purely pictographic

Question 9

who wrote on papyrus plant? when?

Answer 9

the egyptians in 2600 BC

Question 10

who made paper from rags? when?

Answer 10

the Chinese in 100 AD

Question 11

who kept earliest books?

Answer 11

religious leaders in Mesopotamia

Question 12

who kept scrolls?

Answer 12

egyptians

Question 13

who/how/when were books made

Answer 13

600 BC, greeks, folded papyrus sheet vertically and bound them together

Question 14

_ to _ as vertical lines

Answer 14

1 - 9

Question 15

10 as a _____ or _____

Answer 15

U or circle

Question 16

____ as a coiled rope

Answer 16

100

Question 17

1,000 as a ______

Answer 17

lotus blossom

Question 18

nine digit numbering system - when and who

Answer 18

between 100 and 200 AD by Hindus in India

Question 19

concept of zero

Answer 19

around 875 AD

Question 20

first calculator

Answer 20

the abacus

Question 21

mechanical age

Answer 21

1450 AD to 1840

Question 22

who invented the first printing process? where was he from? what was it made of?

Answer 22

Johann Gutenberg from mainze, germany. it was a movable metal-type printing process

Question 23

factors that led to printing process

Answer 23

facilitated wide circulation of information and ideas, acted as an agent of change, need for religious literature

Question 24

who invented the first mechanical computer? what is he known as?

Answer 24

Charles babbage also known as the father of computers

Question 25

electromechanical age

Answer 25

1840 to 1940

Question 26

voltaic battery, when

Answer 26

late 18th century

Question 27

telegraph, when

Answer 27

early 1800’s

Question 28

morse code, who and when using what

Answer 28

Samuel morse, in 1835 using dots and dashes

Question 29

telephone, who and when

Answer 29

Alexander graham bell in 1876

Question 30

pony express, when

Answer 30

1860’s

Question 31

electronic age

Answer 31

1940 to present

Question 32

first generation computers

Answer 32

1951 - 1958

Question 33

second generation computers

Answer 33

1959 - 1964

Question 34

third generation computers

Answer 34

1965 - 1971

Question 35

fourth generation computers

Answer 35

1971 - 1990

Question 36

qualities of 1st generation computers

Answer 36

univac-1, vacuum tubes, magnetic drums, software was a symbolic language, machine language programs were used by binary forms

Question 37

qualities of 2nd generation computers

Answer 37

transistors replaced vacuum tubes, magnetic tape replaced the need for punch cards, COBOL and FORTRAN programming languages introduced

Question 38

qualities of 3rd generation computers

Answer 38

integrated circuits, nanoseconds, IBM’a computers, online computers, and increase in business applications

Question 39

1970’s security issues

Answer 39

military applications: MLS and Anderson’s report

Question 40

what are PCs

Answer 40

major advancement especially with user friendly software and graphic terminals, modifies entire computer industry, interface led to the fifth generation, processing power costed millions of dollars and is now available for less than 1000 dollars

Question 41

what is a computer?

Answer 41

data processing device that has 4 main functions: input, process, output and storage.

Question 42

what makes a cell phone a smartphone?

Answer 42

use of a CPU and a powerful interface; it can take on many of the same tasks as much more expensive computers

Question 43

what is a tablet?

Answer 43

it is a portable computer integrated with a multitouch sensitive screen, it also has an on-screen keyboard, an external keyboard can be connected

Question 44

criteria when choosing a laptop

Answer 44

power, screen size and resolution, style of keyboard, battery life, weight and number of devices

Question 45

what does a desktop desktop computer consist of?

Answer 45

it consists of a separate case or tower called the system unit or CPU that houses the main components of the computer. peripheral devices can be attached to it.

Question 46

what is a peripheral device?

Answer 46

it is a component such as a monitor or a keyboard that can be connected to the computer

Question 47

what is a mainframe?

Answer 47

it is a large, expensive computer that supports many users simultaneously. often used in business that manage large amounts of data. used where people are working at the same time on similar operations. mainframes excel at executing many computer programs at the same time.

Question 48

what is a supercomputer?

Answer 48

a specially designed computer that can perform complex calculations very quickly. it is used when complex models require intensive mathematical calculations are needed. eg: weather forecasting

Question 49

diff b/w mainframes and supercomputers

Answer 49

mainframes: designed to handle many programs running at the same time, at a slow pace.
supercomputers: designed to execute few programs as quickly as possible.

Question 50

what is an embedded computer?

Answer 50

a specially designed computer chip that resides in other devices such as cars, drones and electronic thermostats. they are self-contained devices and have their own programming. typically don’t receive input from users or interact with other systems