History Section 2 Flashcards
Why was the ENIAC first developed?
to efficiently create lots of firing tables
why could the differential analyzer not be used in making firing tables?
they broke down too much
Who proposed the ENIAC?
Goldstein, Mauchly, and Eckert
what does ENIAC stand for?
Electronic numerical integrator and computer
was the Eniac a computer or a calculator?
computer. it had decision branching
Who later became the lead team for the ENIAC/EDVAC?
Jon von Neumann
what were the three goals for the EDVAC?
- larger memory, store numbers, and perform arithmetic in binary
- store programs and data in one memory
- instructions in binary
Who gained credit for the “first draft of a report on the EDVAC”
Jon von Neumann
what was the name of the Pennsylvania University summer school?
Moore School Lectures
what computer did von Neumann make at IAS?
the IAS computer
what is von Neumann architecture?
the basis of modern computers (from ENIAC/EDVAC and Moore school lectures)
where were the first two von Neumann architecture computers built?
England
What did Fredrick Williams invent?
Williams tubes
what computer did Fredrick Williams and Max Newman make?
the Manchester Baby
what was the significance of the Manchester Baby?
first successful stored-program computer (not really functional beyond that tho)
What did the EDSAC use (as opposed to Williams tubes)?
mercury delay lines
who made the EDSAC?
Maurice Wilkes
what does EDSAC stand for?
electronic delay storage automatic computer
what business did Eckert and Mauchly make?
EMCC
what machine did EMCC develop?
UNIVAC
how much did the first UNIVAC cost?
$900,000
why did EMCC make BINAC?
to quickly make a small computer that could raise more money for the UNIVAC
who bought EMCC?
Remington Rand (got them into computers)
What did the UNIVAC use for programmability?
magnetic tapes
