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Evolution of Computing: From Mechanical Calculators to Home Computers and Beyond

Explore the rich history of computing from Babbage's "Difference Engine" to modern GPUs, covering analog and digital computers, key figures like Alan Turing, and the rise of home computers. Discover how technology advanced rapidly, leading to innovations like integrated circuits and transistors. Learn about significant developments such as the ENIAC and the Commodore 64, as well as the future of computing with Moore’s Law and graphics cards. Dive into the past to understand the present and look ahead to the exciting possibilities in the world of computing.

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Evolution of Computing: From Mechanical Calculators to Home Computers and Beyond

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  1. Computer History CS 110 Fall 2005

  2. Homework • TA Office hours • Sunday, Sept 4th from 3-5 • Thornton Hall Stacks Computer Lab

  3. Review of HTML / Homedir • Connect using Homedir • Explain the parallel between public_html on Homedir (as observed using Windows Explorer) and www.people.virginia.edu (as observed using Internet Explorer) • Visit http://www.people.virginia.edu/~dcb8j • This page is found in my public_html folder • Note the default is to display index.htm • Demonstrate IP/URL parallels • http://128.143.22.98/~dcb8j • To find IP address, use http://www.dnsstuff.com/ • Demonstrate subdirectories • http://www.people.virginia.edu/~dcb8j/Daughter • Note the link to an image (Rotunda) on the web • Demonstrate access to specific web page (not default index.htm) • http://www.people.virginia.edu/~dcb8j/Daughter/keene2.htm • Note the reference to an image stored in a folder other than the folder in which the web page is found (“..” indicates the image is found in the parent folder) http://128.143.22.98/

  4. What is a computer? Babbage’s “Difference Engine” for computing polynomials (1822) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Difference_engine

  5. Mechanical Calculators • 1623 – first mechanical calculators • Add, subtract, multiply, divide • 1800s – computers that are powered by steam and programmed by punch cards • Babbage and Ada Lovelace (Lord Byron’s daughter) • IBM’s roots in 1890 census

  6. Analog Computers • 1900s - use a continuouslyvariable physicalquantity to storevalues • Require “plumbing”to be adapted to new problems The Soviet Water Integrator (1936) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

  7. Digital Computers • 1940s – WW II • Electronic circuits, vacuum tubes, etc. • Mercury tube and TV tube memory • Computer control over telephone lines • Parallel developments in Germany, England, and the US

  8. The British War Effort • Colossus • Crack German encryption codes • Made Normandya success(18,000 messagesper day) • Churchill ordered it to be destroyed“in pieces no larger than a man’s hand” Colossus (1944) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Colossus.jpg

  9. Alan Turing • The creator of Colossus • The father of modern computer science • The inventor of the Turing Test • The discoverer of computability through the Turing Machine • “Outed” as a homosexual in 1952 andforced to undergo hormone therapy • Committed suicide in 1954

  10. The US War Effort • ENIAC • Used for Army ballistics • The first computer known to becompletely generalizable(Turing Complete)

  11. The German War Effort • Zuse • Turing-Complete computer • Switched numeric representation from decimal system to binary • Utilized Von Neumann architecture where program is stored in same place as data • First high-level programming language

  12. Transistors • 1947 – Bell Labs • Electronic switches • On the same order as printing press and the telephone • Present in nearly*all* electronicdevices • Desktop computerswere possible

  13. Integrated Circuits • 1956 –Texas Instruments and Fairchild Semiconductor • Layers of semiconductorspermit complex lattices ofdigital switches • Semiconductors changeconductivity in responseto light (CCDs) or electricity (ICs)

  14. 1960 - 1980 • Things moved quickly • Mainframe computer designs were adapted to the new hardware • New uses for computers were discovered (supercomputers) • Simplicity and affordability made computing available for home use

  15. Home Computers • 1974 – Intel 8080 IC • 1975 – Altair is first mass-produced • 1977 – Apple II • 1981 – IBM PC • 1982 – Commodore 64 • Specs: 64,000 bytes of RAM (vs 1 trillion)5,000 Hz (vs 4,000,000 Hz) Commodore 64 (1944)

  16. Home Computers • Critical features • Operating Systems • CP/M  Microsoft copied to create MS-DOS • Kill Apps • MacWrite and MacPaint • People started to need computers

  17. Home Computers • Graphical User Interface (GUI) • Apple Lisa (1983) • Apple Macintosh (1984 Superbowl) • Microsoft Windows (1985)

  18. The Future • The number of transistors incorporated in a chip will approximately double every 24 months Gordan Moore’s Law, 1965 ftp://download.intel.com/museum/Moores_Law/Printed_Materials/Moores_Law_Poster_Ltr.pdfs.jpg

  19. The Future • Graphics Cards • Surpassing Moore’s Law • Much faster than CPUs (Why?) • Frequently the most expensive part on a computer (Why?) • What are game consoles?

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