1. LIVING IN THE IT ERA
(History of Computer: Basic computing Period)
Earliest Computers (Before Machines)
- Originally, the term "computer"
referred to people who performed
complex mathematical calculations
by hand, often working in teams.
- Their work required years of training,
was highly specialized, and often
expensive.
- The first recorded use of the word
"computer" was in 1613, and it
referred to a person who performed
computations.
Middle of 20th
Century
1. Tally Stick
- A tally stick was an ancient tool used
as a memory aid to record numbers,
quantities, or messages by making
marks on sticks or bones.
- People used tally sticks for counting,
keeping financial records, and
tracking goods or debts, especially
before writing systems were
developed.
2. Abacus
- The abacus was first invented in
Babylonia around 2400 B.C., with
the more familiar form developed in
China around 500 B.C.
- The abacus is a mechanical
counting device used to help people
perform basic arithmetic operations
like addition and subtraction.
3. Napier’s Bones (John Napier, 1614)
- A manual calculating tool made of
rods used to simplify arithmetic
operations.
- It allowed users to easily multiply,
divide, and find square and cube
roots by arranging the rods on a
specially designed board.
4. Slide Rule (William Oughtred, 1622)
- A mechanical analog device
based on Napier's logarithms.
- It was mainly used for
multiplication, division, roots,
logarithms, and trigonometry, but
not for addition or subtraction.
5. Pascaline (Blaise Pascal, 1642)
- It was a mechanical calculator
invented by Blaise Pascal to help his
father with tax calculations.
- It could only perform addition and
subtraction, making it one of the
earliest tools used to automate basic
arithmetic.
6. Stepped Reckoner (Gottfried Wilhelm
Leibniz, 1672)
- It could automatically add, subtract,
multiply, and divide using a stepped
drum mechanism.
7. Jacquard Loom (Joseph-Marie
Jacquard, 1801)
- it was a mechanical loom for
weaving patterns into fabric.
- It used punched cards to control the
weaving process, making it one of
the first examples of programmable
machines.
8. Arithmometer (Thomas de Colmar,
1820)
- It was the first practical and reliable
mechanical calculator.
- It was mass-produced and could
perform addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division, making it
useful for business and government
work.
9. Difference Engine (Charles Babbage,
1822)
- The Difference Engine is an
automatic, mechanical calculator
designed to solve and tabulate
polynomial equations.
- it marked an early step toward
modern computing.
10. Analytical Engine (Charles Babbage,
1834)
The Analytical Engine is considered the first
mechanical computer, capable of
performing any calculation using punched
cards, memory, and a central processing
unit.
___________________________________
Ada Lovelace (Augusta Ada Byron)
- A mathematician who wrote the first
algorithm intended for a machine
(Analytical Engine) making her the
first to recognize that computers
could do more than just calculations.
- In 1840, she suggested to Charles
Babbage the use of the binary
system and wrote detailed notes
2. and programs for his proposed
Analytical Engine.
___________________________________
11, Scheutzian Calculation Engine (Per
Georg Scheutz, 1843)
- A mechanical calculator based on
Charles Babbage’s difference
engine.
- It was used to automate
mathematical tables and was the
first calculator that could print
results.
12. Harvard Mark I (Howard H. Aiken,
1943)
- Also called the IBM Automatic
Sequence Controlled Calculator.
- It was the first electro-mechanical
computer, used for automatic and
sequential math operations.
13. Z1
- Built by Konrad Zuse in Germany
between 1936–1938, the Z1 was the
first programmable computer.
- It was programmed using punched
tape and used for performing basic
calculations automatically.
14. Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC)
- Invented by John Atanasoff and
Clifford Berry between 1939–1942,
the ABC was the first electronic
digital computer.
- It was designed to solve linear
algebra problems and marked a
move away from mechanical
computation.
15. ENIAC
- Developed by John Presper Eckert
and John Mauchly, ENIAC was
completed in 1946 as the first
electronic general-purpose
computer.
- It was used mainly for military
calculations, such as artillery firing
tables.
16. UNIVAC I
- Created by Eckert and Mauchly, was
the first commercial computer,
released in 1951.
- It was used by government and
businesses for data processing and
large-scale calculations.
17. EDVAC
- Designed by John von Neumann
and built in 1952, EDVAC stands for
Electronic Discrete Variable
Automatic Computer.
- It was the first stored-program
computer, capable of holding both
data and instructions in memory.
18. Osborne 1 – The First Portable
Computer
- Released in 1981 by Osborne
Computer Corporation, the Osborne
1 was the first portable computer.
- It was used for business and word
processing tasks and could be
carried like a suitcase.
Basic Computing Periods – Ages
1. Premechanical (3000 B.C. – 1450 A.D.)
The premechanical age was the beginning
of information technology, marked by the
use of language, petroglyphs, and early
alphabets like the Phoenician script.
Writing tools such as clay tablets, papyrus,
and paper were developed, along with early
storage methods like scrolls, books, and
libraries.
Number systems were created in India (1–9
around 100 A.D., and 0 by 875 A.D.),
leading to the invention of early calculators
like the abacus.
2. Mechanical Age (1450–1840)
This marked the beginning of technology
that resembles modern devices. Important
inventions included the:
a. Slide rule
b. Pascal’s Pascaline
c. Babbage’s Difference Engine.
At the time, these inventions were seen as
revolutionary even if they were large and
limited compared to modern devices.
3. Electromechanical Age (1840–1940)
3. This age marked the beginning of modern
technology and telecommunications.
Inventions include:
a. Telegraph
b. Morse code (1835)
c. Telephone (1876)
d. Radio (1894)
These technologies paved the way for
smaller, more practical computers used in
businesses and eventually in homes.
4. Electronic Age (1940 – Present)
It started with the ENIAC, the first fast and
reprogrammable digital computer, originally
built for the U.S. Army to calculate artillery
data.
This era is marked by the use of electronics
(like vacuum tubes) instead of mechanical
parts, allowing computers to become faster
and more powerful.
History of Computer: Generations of
Computer
1. First Generation Computers (1940s–
1950s)
Developed in the late 1940s, these
computers used vacuum tubes for
processing and magnetic drums for
memory, making them large, costly, and
heat-producing.
They relied on machine language, took
input from punched cards or paper tape,
and produced output via printouts—only
able to solve one task at a time.
2. Second Generation Computers (1956–
1963)
Developed in the late 1950s, these
computers used transistors instead of
vacuum tubes, making them smaller,
faster, more reliable, and more energy-
efficient, though they still generated heat.
They introduced assembly language, used
punched cards for input, printouts for output,
and stored instructions in magnetic core
memory instead of magnetic drums.
3. Third Generation Computers (1964–
1971)
Developed in the mid-1960s, these
computers used integrated circuits (ICs)
which placed many transistors on a single
chip, making them much faster, smaller, and
more efficient.
They were used in business, government,
and scientific applications for faster data
processing at a lower cost.
4. Fourth Generation Computers (1971–
Present)
Started in 1971 with the invention of the
microprocessor, which placed thousands
of integrated circuits on one chip.
These computers became powerful and
affordable, leading to personal computers,
networking, the Internet, graphical user
interfaces (GUIs), and mobile devices.
5. Fifth Generation Computers (Present
and Beyond)
The fifth generation, based on Artificial
Intelligence (AI), aims to create machines
that can think, learn, and understand natural
language.
Though still in progress, AI features like
voice recognition, smart assistants, and
machine learning are already being used
today.
