Computer Concepts in Action

Unit 1: Technology in Your Life

History of Computers

Introduction:
Learn about the history of computers.

Directions:
Read the information below.
Click the Destination Site link(s) to find out more about the topic.
Apply what you learn to answer the questions.
Check your work carefully, and click Submit.

History of Computers
"Who invented the computer?" is not a simple question. The computer is a complex piece of machinery made possible by contributions throughout history.

1200 A.D.The Chinese used the abacus, a hand-held wooden device with rows of beads, to add, subtract, divide, and multiply.
1834Charles Babbage invented his Analytical Engine in 1834, a large device that used memory, programming, and stored data by way of punched cards to calculate numbers.
1920sExpanding on many of Babbage’s concepts, Herman Hollerith founded International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924.
1930sA wave of research produced an electronic computer that could store data digitally as 0s and 1s, a vast improvement over mechanical machines that operated on gears.
1940sSecond-generation computers operated via transistors, which were much smaller and energy efficient than vacuum tubes.
1950sASCII was established as the first standard industry computer language.
1960sThe integrated circuit became the standard computer technology, using many transistors and electronic circuits on a single semi-conducting chip. This led to smaller, faster, and more powerful computers, as well as the first network and initial Internet concepts. In 1965, Lawrence Roberts of MIT connected a computer in Massachusetts to a computer in California using a dial-up telephone connection.
1970s —presentThe modern era of the microprocessor – a phenomenal breakthrough first used in the Apple II and Commodore personal computers. Further advancements on the microprocessor (CPU) and the Internet have brought about a world powered and connected by computer technology.
The FutureThree areas of new technology are artificial intelligence (machines that imitate human thinking and behavior), nanotechnology (cell-sized computer processors), and membrane technology &data processed within organic, living tissue cells).

Destination Site:www.computerhistory.org

Note: If this link is inactive or to find other Internet sites with similar information, use a search engine. Here are some keywords you might use: history of technology, computers, technology timeline.

1.
What simple device did the Chinese use in the twelfth century to perform mathematic calculations?
2.
What was the first standard industry computer language?
3.
What was the technology that incorporated many transistors and electronic circuits on a single chip?
4.
What are two important upcoming technologies?
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