Computer History Flashcards
Computer History
1890 - Hollerith’s Tabulating Machine
At the end of the 19th century, the population of the United States was rapidly growing. Because there were so many people, the 1880 census took seven years to compile, and it was predicted that the 1890 census would take nearly twice as long. To solve this problem, the government hired Herman Hollerith to devise a solution. Hollerith created an electromechanical tabulating machine to process the census data. It worked by punching data into paper cards, then inserting them into the machine. Inside the machine, small metal pins would pass through the holes into a vial of mercury, completing an electrical circuit. This in turn powered an electric motor, which turned the appropriate gear in the machine to keep track of the count. Using this machine, the entire census was compiled in two and a half years.
1944 - Harvard Mark 1 Completed
Working together, engineers from Harvard University and IBM created the Harvard Mark 1, which at the time was the most powerful computing machine ever built. It was fifty feet long, weighed five tons, and was built from about 750,000 individual mechanical parts. The Mark 1 was used by the Allies during World War II and assisted in creating simulations for the Manhattan Project. It could perform three additions or subtractions every second and one multiplication every six seconds.
1947 - First Transistor Developed
Early computers sent signals via mechanical relays. Relays were metal switches that would physically move to make and break electrical circuits, representing 1s and 0s. Because the parts had to physically move, they were slow and tended to wear down over time. In 1947, scientists at Bell Laboratories invented the transistor. Transistors contain silicon, a semiconductor that can be made to sometimes conduct electricity and sometimes not. Because they didn’t have any moving parts, silicon transistors were smaller, faster, cheaper, and more durable than mechanical relays.
1959 - Invention of the Microchip
Throughout the 1950s, computers were large and expensive. Most computers were owned by governments, universities, and businesses - they had no place in the typical home. Then, in 1959, researchers at Texas Instruments developed an integrated circuit, or microchip. This new technology allowed an entire computer to be built into a single board, rather than needing large modules for each part of the computer. Microchips paved the way for personal computer ownership.
1977 - The Personal Computer Revolution
In 1977, three successful personal computers were released to the public: The Apple II, the TRS-80 Model 1, and the Commodore Pet 2001. These three computers became known as the “1977 trinity.” 1977 also saw the release of the Atari 2600, the first popular home video game console. For the first time, computers were marketed to the general public rather than just businesses and hobbyists. Four years later, IBM followed up with the IBM PC, giving birth to the PC/Apple rivalry that still exists today.
1994 - The World Wide Web
Personal computer ownership began to skyrocket in the mid-nineties with the advent and rise of the World Wide Web, which began in 1991. In 1994, the web became public, and the world got a lot smaller. With new technology like email and chatrooms, computers became a viable way of communicating with other people and thus became more popular. In the early 2000s, social media sites like MySpace and Facebook were launched.
2007 - Smart Phones
Through the mid 2000s, Internet access was mostly limited to computers and laptops. Then, in 2007, Apple unveiled the iPhone, the world’s first smartphone. Now, people could access the Internet anywhere. Smartphones are now extremely common in the developed world, almost completely replacing other kinds of personal telephones.
