History of Computing Flashcards
Name the 1st computer made and what it does?
- Abacus
- A finger-powered pocket calculator
Who came up with algorithms?
Muhammad ibn Musa
What can algorithms be used for?
Greatest common divisor of two numbers
In the early calculating machines, what is an example of a manual or mechanical calculator?
slider ruler
What is a punch card?
complex pattern in woven textiles
Who were the punch cards named after?
Jacquard loom
What is the logical foundation of digital circuitry?
Boolean Algebra
Who is Boolean Algebra named after?
George Boole, a mathematician
When were electrical computers born?
1930-1951
Who is the father of modern technology and the information age?
Claude Shannon
Claude Shannon used what kind of logic in creating digital computing machines?
Boolean logic
Who is Von Neumann?
Architect who created computers that can store programs, binary and internal coding
What is the fetch-decode-execute?
The idea of how a computer stores memory
What did Alan Turing do?
He broke the encrypted messages from the Germans
What did Alan Turing devise?
turning test for AI
What does the Enigma machine do?
Decodes encrypted messages
ENICA stands for what?
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer
What is ENICA?
The first electronic general-purpose computer
Who commissioned ENICA?
The United States Army for computing ballistic firing tables
What are vacuum tubes?
used to control the flow of electrical signals when dealing with a massive scale
What is a consquence for ENICA?
- Large
- Generate lots of heat
- Prone to failures
What year did computers get smaller?
1950s
What is Grace Hopper known for?
creating the first complier
What were the positive effects of a compiler?
greatly improved programming speed and efficiency
What is a compiler?
a software program that allows for a high-level language to be translated into a low-level language
True or False
With the use of a compiler code would be like this:
Source code-Complier-Executable code
True
What was the most important invention of the 20th century?
transistors
What replaced vacuum tubes?
transistors
What is an integrated circuit?
allowed for many transistors on a small surface
What were the advantages of integrated circuits overall?
- lowered the cost
- decreased the space compared to using an individual transistor
- allowed computers to be smaller and cheaper to build
Today, we exceed how many transistors are in a single package of 25 square centimetres?
10 billion
What was the first device built with transistors?
Hearing aid
True or False
Hearing aids were the prehistoric iPod
True
What is the IBM System/360?
family computer with a compatible architecture, covering a wide price range
Punch cards were developed using what?
IBM 026 keypunch
Margaret Hamilton did what?
lead the team that coded the programming for the guidance computer
- Apollo space programs depended on computers to calculate trajectories and control guidance
How were trajectories calculated?
IBM mainframes
What is a pro of the guidance computer?
autopilot capabilities
What is a con of the guidance computer?
less programming power than modern appliances
Gordon Dell is known for creating what?
minicomputer
What does DEC stand for?
Digital Equipment Corporation
True or False
Gordon Dell created DEC, which created major competition for IBM, Univac
True
What did the DEC PDP series offer?
Mainframe performance at a fraction of the cost
What can specialized supercomputers do?
- weather forecasting
- code breaking
What are examples of specialized supercomputers?
- IBM
- NRCPC
- NUDT
- Dell
- EMC
- Cray
- NEC
What is the 5 IBM Summit supercomputer used for?
- Hydrodynamic
- Quantum chemistry
- Molecular dynamics
- Climate
- Financial modelling
What is the age of personal computers?
1970’s
What was the 1st microprocessor?
Intel 4004 microprocessor
What was the Intel 4004 microprocessor first used for?
In a programmable calculator
What made the personal computer possible?
Intel 4004 microprocessor
How many transistors are used in the a
Intel 4004 microprocessor?
2300
Altair was the 1st what?
Microcomputer by MITS
Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded what?
microsoft
Who did Microsoft pair up with for the use of a compiler for basic knowledge?
Ed Roberts of MITS
Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs made what?
1st apple computer
Radio Shack TRS-80 was the 1st what?
plug and play personal computer available at retail
True or False
The Radio Shack personal computer was programmed in BASIC and was very affordable
True
Osborne is known for what?
creating the 1st portable computer
How much did the 1st portable computer weigh and cost?
- 20 kilos
- $1795
True or False
IBM came out with a personal computer, which was operated by Microsoft
True
What does Xeror PARC stand for?
Palo Alto Research Center
How did PARC contribute to computing?
- Ethernet networking technology
- Laser printers/copiers
- Object-Oriented Programming paradigm
Which 2 companies were the 1st to use a window-based Graphical User Interface
- Alto
- Star
What does OOP stand for?
Object-Oriented Programming
Apple Macintosh created what with a GUI interface?
2nd personal computer
Apple Macintosh adapted the work done where?
Xerox
Who was the Apple Macintosh made for?
Real people
What does ARPANET stand for?
Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
What is ARPANET?
- Large computer networks
- Allowed for universities to share data
- Allowed for the basis of the internet
What is Moore’s law in action?
- Every couple of years, computers will get twice as powerful and less expensive
- Due to transistors getting smaller and allowing for more of them to be compacted together
What is memory measured in?
Gigabytes
What is the secondary storage measure in?
terabytes
