The History of Computers

THE HISTORY OF COMPUTERS

In 500 B.C. the abacus was first used by the Babylonians as an aid to simple arithmetic. In 1623 Wihelm Schickard (1592 - 1635) invented a "Calculating Clock". This mechanical machine could add and subtract up to 6 digit numbers, and warned of an overflow by ringing a bell. J. H. Mueller comes up with the idea of the "difference engine", in 1786. This calculator could tabulate values of a polynomial. Muellers attempt to raise funds fails and the project was forgotten. Scheutz and his son Edward produced a 3rd order difference engine with a printer in 1843 and their government agreed to fund their next project.

In 1886 Dorr D. Felt (1862 - 1930) invented the "comptometer". This was the first calculator where the operands are entered by just pressing keys. In 1889 in also invents the first printing desk calculator.

Herman Hollerith (1860 - 1929) founded IBM ( as the Tabulating Machine Company ) in 1896. The company renames known as IBM in 1924. In 1906 Lee D. Forest in America developed the electronic tube (an electronic value). Before this it would have been impossible to make digital electronic computers. In 1919 W. H. Eccles and F. W. Jordan published the first flip-flop circuit design.

George Stibitz constructed a 1-bit binary adder suing relays in 1937. This was one of the first binary computers. In the summer of 1941 Atanasoff and Berry completed a special purpose calculator for solving systems of simultaneous linear equations, later called "ABC" ( Atanasoff Berry Computer). In 1948 Mark I was completed at Manchester University. It was the first to use stored programs. In 1951 whirlwind was the first real-time computer was built for the US Air Defense System.

In 1953 it was estimated that there were 100 computers in the world. Computers built between 1959 and 1964 are often regarded as the "second generation" computers, based on transistors and printed circuits - resulting in much smaller computers. 1964 the programming language PL/1 released by IBM. 1964 the launch of IBM 360. These first series of compatible computers. In 1970 Intel introduced the first RAM chip. In 1975 IBM 5100 was released. In 1976 the Apple Computer Inc. was founded, to market Apple I Computer. Designed to Stephen Wozinak and Stephan Jobs. In 1979 the first compact disk was released around 1981 IBM announced PC, the standard model was sold for $2,880.00.

In 1994 according