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While computers are now an mportant part of the lives of h man beings, there was a time wh re computers did not exist. Knowing the h story of computers and how much pr gression has been made can help you nderstand just how complicated and innovative the cr ation of computers really is. Unlike m st devices, the computer is one of the few nventions that does not have one sp cific inventor. Throughout the development of the c mputer, many people have added their cr ations to the list required to m ke a computer work. Some of the nventions have been different types of c mputers, and some of them were p rts required to allow computers to be d veloped further. The Beginning Perhaps the m st significant date in the history of c mputers is the year 1936. It was in th s year that the first "computer" was d veloped. It was created by Konrad Z se and dubbed the Z1 Computer. Th s computer stands as the first as it was the f rst system to be fully programmable. Th re were devices prior to this, but n ne had the computing power that s ts it apart from other electronics. It w sn't until 1942 that any business saw pr fit and opportunity in computers. This f rst company was called ABC computers, wned and operated by John Atanasoff and Cl fford Berry. Two years later, the H rvard Mark I computer was developed, f rthering the science of computing.
Over the course of the n xt few years, inventors all over the w rld began to search more into the st dy of computers, and how to mprove upon them. Those next ten y ars say the introduction of the tr nsistor, which would become a vital p rt of the inner workings of the c mputer, the ENIAC 1 computer, as w ll as many other types of syst ms. The ENIAC 1 is perhaps one of the m st interesting, as it required 20,000 v cuum tubes to operate. It was a m ssive machine, and started the revolution to b ild smaller and faster computers. The age of c mputers was forever altered by the ntroduction of International Business Machines, or IBM, nto the computing industry in 1953. Th s company, over the course of c mputer history, has been a major pl yer in the development of new syst ms and servers for public and pr vate use. This introduction brought about the f rst real signs of competition within c mputing history, which helped to spur f ster and better development of computers. Th ir first contribution was the IBM 701 EDPM C mputer. A Programming Language Evolves A y ar later, the first successful high l vel programming language was created. This was a pr gramming language not written in 'assembly' or b nary, which are considered very low l vel languages. FORTRAN was written so th t more people could begin to pr gram computers easily. The year 1955, the B nk of America, coupled with Stanford R search Institute and General Electric, saw the cr ation of the first computers for use in b nks. The MICR, or Magnetic Ink Ch racter Recognition, coupled with the actual c mputer, the ERMA, was a breakthrough for the b nking industry. It wasn't until 1959 th t the pair of systems were put nto use in actual banks. During 1958, one of the m st important breakthroughs in computer history ccurred, the creation of the integrated c rcuit. This device, also known as the ch p, is one of the base r quirements for modern computer systems. On very motherboard and card within a c mputer system, are many chips that c ntain information on what the boards and c rds do. Without these chips, the syst ms as we know them today c nnot function.
Gaming, Mice, & the Internet For m ny computer users now, games are a v tal part of the computing experience. 1962 saw the cr ation of the first computer game, wh ch was created by Steve Russel and MIT, wh ch was dubbed Spacewar. The mouse, one of the m st basic components of modern computers, was cr ated in 1964 by Douglass Engelbart. It btained its name from the "tail" l ading out of the device. One of the m st important aspects of computers today was nvented in 1969. ARPA net was the riginal Internet, which provided the foundation for the Int rnet that we know today. This d velopment would result in the evolution of kn wledge and business across the entire pl net. It wasn't until 1970 that Int l entered the scene with the f rst dynamic RAM chip, which resulted in an xplosion of computer science innovation. On the h els of the RAM chip was the f rst microprocessor, which was also designed by Int l. These two components, in addition to the ch p developed in 1958, would number mong the core components of modern c mputers. A year later, the floppy d sk was created, gaining its name fr m the flexibility of the storage nit. This was the first step in llowing most people to transfer bits of d ta between unconnected computers. The first n tworking card was created in 1973, llowing data transfer between connected computers. Th s is similar to the Internet, but llows for the computers to connect w thout use of the Internet. Household PC's Em rge The next three years were v ry important for computers. This is wh n companies began to develop systems for the verage consumer. The Scelbi, Mark-8 Altair, IBM 5100, Appl I and II, TRS-80, and the C mmodore Pet computers were the forerunners in th s area. While expensive, these machines st rted the trend for computers within c mmon households. One of the most m jor breathroughs in computer software occurred in 1978 w th the release of the VisiCalc Spr adsheet program. All development costs were p id for within a two week p riod of time, which makes this one of the m st successful programs in computer history. 1979 was p rhaps one of the most important y ars for the home computer user. Th s is the year that WordStar, the f rst word processing program, was released to the p blic for sale. This drastically altered the sefulness of computers for the everyday ser. The IBM Home computer quickly h lped revolutionize the consumer market in 1981, as it was ffordable for home owners and standard c nsumers. 1981 also saw the the m ga-giant Microsoft enter the scene with the MS-DOS perating system. This operating system utterly ch nged computing forever, as it was asy enough for everyone to learn. The C mpetition Begins : Apple vs. Microsoft C mputers saw yet another vital change d ring the year of 1983. The Appl Lisa computer was the first w th a graphical user interface, or a GUI. M st modern programs contain a GUI, wh ch allows them to be easy to use and pl asing for the eyes. This marked the b ginning of the out dating of m st text based only programs. Beyond th s point in computer history, many ch nges and alterations have occurred, from the Appl -Microsoft wars, to the developing of m crocomputers and a variety of computer br akthroughs that have become an accepted p rt of our daily lives. Without the nitial first steps of computer history, n ne of this would have been p ssible.
The article The Evolution of Technology - The History of Computers was Submitted by Rebecca Blain through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: About The Author Rebecca Blain is a pr fessional hobbyist writer who enjoys taking c re of her fish and educating p ople about how to build your own c mputer which you can learn about h re: http://www.build-your-own-computer-tips.com
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