Petersen 1

Adam Petersen
Vanderslik
Eng 100-15
December 4, 2014
The History of Computers
Computer. A electronic device for storing and processing data. Computers are digital so
all data is recorded in 1s and 0s which stand for on and off respectively, as opposed to analog
which would be something that can have more than 2 or varying answers such as measurements
like the temperature. Lets put it this way, digital is like asking is there snow, either a yes or no
answer on or off, analog would be asking how much snow is there. Atanasoff was declared the
originator of several basic computer ideas but the concept of the computer can not be patented
(Timeline of computer history). However a certain design of a computer can be patented.
Before getting too much into a full computer it would be nice for you to know the basic
components/parts that make it up. First is the resistor, resistors act to reduce current flow, and, at
the same time, act to lower voltage levels within circuits, a resistors effectiveness is measured in
ohms. A capacitor is two conductors separated by an insulator, a capacitor is used to store
energy, capacitors are measured in farads. An inductor is a conductor wound into a coil which
resists changes in an electrical current, it is measured in henries. A transistor is used to amplify
and change electronic signals, some are still packaged individually but most are made in
integrated circuits. Integrated circuits are sets of circuits on a small chip. The width between
each conducting line shrinks as we get better technology, as of the time of this writing it is in the
tens of nanometers.

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As technology gets better and better we are able to make parts smaller and smaller. Every
part is able to be smaller. The Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) had a proof of concept
prototype made in 1939, but wasnt completed till 1942, could be considered the first computer,
having a patent dispute in 1973 where Atanasoff was declared the originator of several computer
ideas. However in 1941 Konrad Zuse, a German engineer, created the Z3, a 2,300 relay computer
that was destroyed in a bombing raid of Berlin in 1943 (Timeline of computer history).
The first computers where the size of large bookshelves if not bigger.
In 1950 the National Bureau of Standards created a computer (SEAC) to standardize and
test computer components. Later in the same year they created (SWAC) to test already created
parts.
The first Personal Computer (PC) was made in 1971 by Kenbak corp. called the Kenbak
1. Only selling 40 computers Kenbak corp. closed down. The first U.S. commercially advertised
computer based on a microprocessor was the 8H from Scelbi. The Apple II was Apples first
consumer friendly PC in 1977. 1977 is sometimes referred to as 1977 trinity because along with
the Apple II came the Commodore PET and the TRS-80. The 3 first truly successful commercial
PCs, selling millions.
In 1983 Apple introduced the first PC with a graphical user interface (GUI), Lisa. Lisa
made a huge step for PCs because before then PCs were text based where you had to memorize
commands. The big reason Lisa was not successful was because of the $10,000 price tag. The
next year Apple released the Macintosh which was a lot like the Lisa but with a lower price of
$2,500.

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From then on the biggest advancements for PCs have been faster processing and better
graphics, all while making everything smaller.
Work Cited
Timeline of Computer History, Computer History Museum, Web, 12-1-14,
http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/?category=cmptr