History of Computers

Week 1
Definition of a Computer

A computer is defined in
the following ways
 By the work it does
 By the kind of
information it handles
 By its size and price
Particulars are Moving
Targets
 Technology advances at
exponential rates
 Computer memory capacity
quadruples every 3 years?
 Computer processor speed
doubles every 3 years?
 Computer networks - number of
hosts doubles every year
Computer Networks
 Network - two or more
connected computers
 Purpose - sharing or exchange
of information and/or
resources
 Benefits
 improved efficiency
 reduces need for travel…
Computers and Networks
 Facilitate
 Concentration of knowledge and
control
 Distribution of knowledge and control
 Have the power to
 Amass and interrogate enormous
volumes of data
 Process data at enormous rates for
real systems and simulations
Computers and Networks
Challenge:

Constitutional definitions
Social structures
Lifestyle options
What is a Society?
 A voluntary association of
individuals for common ends
 An enduring and cooperating social
group whose members have
developed organized patterns of
relationships through interaction
with one another
 A companionship with one’s
fellows
What is a Society?
 A part of a community that is a unit
distinguishable by particular aims
or standards of living or conduct
 The sum of human conditions and
activity regarded as a whole
functioning interdependently
 The customs and organization of
an ordered community
How have Computers
Affected Society?

What are the parts of a

society?
What has been the affect of
computers on these parts?
 What are the benefits?
 What are the problems?
 What will happen next?
What about the Internet?

In recent years this one

area has affected society
more than any other
How?
What are the issues here?
The Parts of a Society

Education
Transportation
Private Sector
Business
Government
Entertainment
Housing
The Parts of a Society

Currency (banking)
Jobs
Space
Medicine
Anything else?
Technological Revolutions

Agricultural Revolution
Industrial Revolution
Computational Revolution
Revolution Comparison

Workforce distribution
Productivity benefits
Breadth of impact
Early Calculating
Machines

Abacus
Slide rule
Mechanical calculator
Stepped reckoner
Textile industry - Jacquard
Loom
Difference engine
Early Calculating
Machines through those
of today

Analytical engine
The 1890 Census machine
ENIAC
The transistor
The Personal Computer
(PC)
The Internet
5 Generations of Modern
Computers
 1st Generation 1945 - 1956
 Made to order operating
instructions
 Different binary coded programs
told it how to operate
 Difficult to program and limited
versatility and speed
 Vacuum tubes
 Magnetic drum storage
2nd Generation 1955-
1963

Transistors
Memory - magnetic core
Assembly language
Printers and memory
Programming languages
Careers
3rd Generation 1964 -
1971

Quartz clock
Integrated circuit
Operating systems
4th Generation 1971 -
now

LSI - Large Scale

Integration
VLSI- Very Large Scale
Integration (ULSI)
Chip
General consumer usage
Networks
5th Generation

This is the future

What will it be like?
What changes will be big
enough to create this new
generation?
Pioneers of Computing
 Charles
Babbage
 Konrad Zuse
 John von
Neumann
 Alan Turing
 Steve Jobs
Important Machines
 IBM 700 Series
 IBM 360/370
Series
 CDC star
 Cray 1
 DEC VAX
 IBM PC
 Apple McIntosh
Taxonomy of Computers

Mainframes
Minis
Micros
Supercomputers
Embedded
Don’t Forget the Chip
 Computers are used in many
different technologies
 For example: bread
machine, ATM, cars, TV,
microwave, cash register,
…..
 How has this utilization
affected society?
Wirth’s Law

The software gets slower

faster than the hardware
gets faster
What does this mean?
How Society Reacts to
Revolutions

Incorporate benefits
Civilize change
Compensate injured
Regain balance
ATM Example

 Positive
 CONVENIENCE
 Negative
 Unemployment
 Alienation and customer service
 Crime
 Loss of privacy
 Errors
Reconsider the Problems

 Unemployment -> more computer

jobs
 Alienation -> go during business
hours
 Crime -> add lights, change
angle,etc.

Weigh the positive against the

negative
Solutions to Problems

Technical
Managerial
Legal
Market mechanisms
Education
Issues to be Studied Due
to Computers in Society
Privacy of communications
Intellectual property
Constitutional issues
General social issues
Professional ethics