Podcast
Questions and Answers
Who were the founders of Hewlett-Packard?
Who were the founders of Hewlett-Packard?
What was the first product of Hewlett-Packard?
What was the first product of Hewlett-Packard?
Which computer is considered the first electronic digital computer?
Which computer is considered the first electronic digital computer?
What year was the Colossus operational?
What year was the Colossus operational?
Signup and view all the answers
What was the significant characteristic of ENIAC when it was announced in 1946?
What was the significant characteristic of ENIAC when it was announced in 1946?
Signup and view all the answers
Which computer was designed after ENIAC and by the same designers?
Which computer was designed after ENIAC and by the same designers?
Signup and view all the answers
What was the primary purpose for which ENIAC was initially commissioned?
What was the primary purpose for which ENIAC was initially commissioned?
Signup and view all the answers
What was the Manchester Mark I primarily known for?
What was the Manchester Mark I primarily known for?
Signup and view all the answers
Who is credited with defining the stored-program computer architecture on which the Manchester Mark I was based?
Who is credited with defining the stored-program computer architecture on which the Manchester Mark I was based?
Signup and view all the answers
What significant contribution did the EDSAC make in 1949?
What significant contribution did the EDSAC make in 1949?
Signup and view all the answers
What does UNIVAC stand for?
What does UNIVAC stand for?
Signup and view all the answers
Which system was designed to help track radar data in real-time for the Air Force?
Which system was designed to help track radar data in real-time for the Air Force?
Signup and view all the answers
What significant contribution did Alan Turing make during World War II?
What significant contribution did Alan Turing make during World War II?
Signup and view all the answers
What was the Harvard Mark-1 primarily used for?
What was the Harvard Mark-1 primarily used for?
Signup and view all the answers
What year did EDSAC first run its initial programs?
What year did EDSAC first run its initial programs?
Signup and view all the answers
What was the purpose of the 'Alan Turing law' enacted in 2016?
What was the purpose of the 'Alan Turing law' enacted in 2016?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following computers is known as the prototype for the Ferranti Mark I?
Which of the following computers is known as the prototype for the Ferranti Mark I?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following is NOT associated with Alan Turing's legacy?
Which of the following is NOT associated with Alan Turing's legacy?
Signup and view all the answers
What technological features did SAGE include?
What technological features did SAGE include?
Signup and view all the answers
What was one of the main reasons Konrad Zuse began creating his computers?
What was one of the main reasons Konrad Zuse began creating his computers?
Signup and view all the answers
What role did Winston Churchill credit Turing with in World War II?
What role did Winston Churchill credit Turing with in World War II?
Signup and view all the answers
Which computing machine did Howard Aiken conceive?
Which computing machine did Howard Aiken conceive?
Signup and view all the answers
What notable event occurred involving Alan Turing in 2009?
What notable event occurred involving Alan Turing in 2009?
Signup and view all the answers
What was the primary function of the Interface Message Processor (IMP) in the development of the ARPANET?
What was the primary function of the Interface Message Processor (IMP) in the development of the ARPANET?
Signup and view all the answers
Which characteristic was notable about the Kenbak-1?
Which characteristic was notable about the Kenbak-1?
Signup and view all the answers
What was the original selling price of the Altair 8800?
What was the original selling price of the Altair 8800?
Signup and view all the answers
What was the significance of the Apple I in the personal computer market?
What was the significance of the Apple I in the personal computer market?
Signup and view all the answers
What was the notable feature of the Altair 8800's memory?
What was the notable feature of the Altair 8800's memory?
Signup and view all the answers
Which person is generally credited with inventing the term 'personal computer'?
Which person is generally credited with inventing the term 'personal computer'?
Signup and view all the answers
How many units of Kenbak-1 were sold before the company closed in 1973?
How many units of Kenbak-1 were sold before the company closed in 1973?
Signup and view all the answers
What innovative aspect did the IMP contribute to computer networking?
What innovative aspect did the IMP contribute to computer networking?
Signup and view all the answers
What was significant about the IBM System/360 released in 1964?
What was significant about the IBM System/360 released in 1964?
Signup and view all the answers
Which computer was noted as the fastest machine in the world for a period in the 1960s?
Which computer was noted as the fastest machine in the world for a period in the 1960s?
Signup and view all the answers
What was a key feature of the DEC PDP-8 released in 1965?
What was a key feature of the DEC PDP-8 released in 1965?
Signup and view all the answers
How did the Apollo Guidance Computer interact with astronauts during missions?
How did the Apollo Guidance Computer interact with astronauts during missions?
Signup and view all the answers
Which statement correctly describes the initial investment for the IBM System/360?
Which statement correctly describes the initial investment for the IBM System/360?
Signup and view all the answers
What technological transition did IBM undergo when releasing the System/360?
What technological transition did IBM undergo when releasing the System/360?
Signup and view all the answers
What was a primary use case for the PDP-8 minicomputer?
What was a primary use case for the PDP-8 minicomputer?
Signup and view all the answers
Which company manufactured the NEAC 2203 computer?
Which company manufactured the NEAC 2203 computer?
Signup and view all the answers
Study Notes
Early Computing
- Alan Turing was a British mathematician who played a pivotal role in breaking the Enigma code during World War II
- Turing is considered the father of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence
- Turing was persecuted for his homosexuality, received an apology from then Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009, and a posthumous pardon from Queen Elizabeth II in 2013
- The "Alan Turing Law" was passed in 2016, pardoning thousands posthumously who had been convicted of offenses related to same-sex relationships before homosexuality was decriminalized in England and Wales in 1967
- Konrad Zuse (1910-1995), was a German civil engineer, inventor and computer pioneer
- Zuse created Z1-Z4 computers between 1936 and 1943
- Zuse was motivated to create computing machines because of the difficulties of using mechanical calculators for building and road construction calculations
- Charles Babbage is associated with the Analytical Engine
- Konrad Zuse is associated with Z1-Z4 computers
- Herman Hollerith is associated with the Tabulating Machine
- The Harvard Mark 1 was a room-sized, relay-based calculator, completed in 1937, and was made possible by collaboration between Harvard Professor Howard Aiken and IBM
- The Harvard Mark 1 was used for calculating mathematical tables
- Hewlett-Packard was founded in 1939 by David Packard and Bill Hewlett
- The first Hewlett-Packard product was the HP 200A Audio Oscillator, used for engineering test equipment
- Eight HP 200B oscilloscopes were used for sound effects in the 1940 Walt Disney film "Fantasia"
First Electronic Computers
- John Vincent Atanasoff and graduate student Cliff Berry built the Atanasoff Berry Computer (ABC) between 1939 and 1942 at Iowa State College (now University)
- The ABC is considered the first electronic digital computer
- The ABC was the subject of a patent dispute with the ENIAC designers, which was resolved in 1973 in favor of the ABC
- The Colossus was designed by British Engineer Tommy Flowers, and was used to break the Lorenz cipher used by the Nazis during World War II
- The first Colossus became operational in 1943 at Bletchley Park, a British code-breaking center during World War II
ENIAC and its Successors
- The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was initially commissioned for wartime use, but was not completed until 1946
- John Mauchly and J.Presper Eckert designed the ENIAC
- ENIAC contained vacuum tubes, diodes, relays, resistors, capacitors, and hand-soldered joints
- The ENIAC weighed more than 30 tons, and consumed 150 KW of power
- The ENIAC was significantly faster than electro-mechanical machines of the time (around one thousand times faster)
- The Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC) was a successor to the ENIAC, designed by Mauchly and Eckert
- The EDVAC was designed to utilize a high-speed serial access memory
Early Stored-Program Computers
- The Manchester Mark I was the first stored-program digital computer, released in 1949
- The Manchester Mark I was a prototype for the Ferranti Mark I
- John von Neumann (1903-1957) was a Hungarian-born American mathematician credited with defining the stored-program computer architecture on which the Manchester Mark I was based
- The Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC) was the second successfully functional electronic digital stored-program computer
- The EDSAC was built by Maurice Wilkes and a team at the University of Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory in England
- The EDSAC ran its first programs on May 6, 1949, which calculated a table of square numbers and identified prime numbers
Early Mainframes
- The UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was the fist general-purpose computer for commercial use
- The UNIVAC was released in 1951
- The UNIVAC was used to tabulate the results of the 1952 US presidential election
- The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE), released in 1954, was a large computerized air defense system used by the US Air Force to track radar data in real time
- SAGE utilized technical advances including modems and graphical displays
- The NEAC 2203 was released in 1960 by the Nippon Electric Company (NEC)
- The NEAC 2203 was one of the earliest transistorized Japanese computers
- The NEAC 2203 was used for business, scientific, and engineering tasks
- Control Data Corporation's CDC 6600, designed by Seymour Cray, was considered the fastest computer in the world for a time
- The CDC 6600 was released in 1964
The Rise of IBM
- IBM announced the System/360 in 1964
- The IBM System/360 was a family of six computers and 40 peripherals that could work together, with a $5 billion investment
- The IBM System/360 was very popular, receiving around 1000 orders per month in the first two years after release
- The release coincided with a transition from discrete transistors to integrated circuits, and a shift from punched-card equipment to electronic computer systems for IBM
- The development of integrated circuits led to the development of the chip, which enabled the shrinking of computers into smaller and smaller sizes
Early Minicomputers
- Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) released the PDP-8 in 1965
- The PDP-8 was the first successful commercial minicomputer
- Over 50,000 PDP-8 units were sold, more than any other computer at the time
- The PDP-8 was relatively inexpensive ($18,000), making it more accessible to smaller businesses and laboratories
- The PDP-8 was designed to be small in size and capable of high speeds
- The Apollo Guidance Computer was introduced with the Apollo 7 mission in 1968
- The Apollo Guidance Computer was used for the Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969
- Astronauts communicated with the Apollo Guidance Computer using a display and keyboard, entering two-digit codes for instructions
- The Interface Message Processor (IMP) was a critical component of the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network)
- The IMP was the first generation of gateways, which are today known as routers
- The IMP was released in 1969
- The ARPANET was the world's first operational packet switching network, a predecessor to the modern Internet
Early Personal Computers
- The Kenbak-1, released in 1971, was often considered the first personal computer
- The Kenbak-1 was marketed as an educational tool, but was commercially unsuccessful, selling only 40 units
- The Kenbak-1 used a simpler computer design that lacked a microprocessor, and had limited capabilities
- The Altair 8800, released in 1975, was a more successful personal computer
- Bill Gates and Paul Allen licensed the BASIC software language for the Altair 8800
- The Altair 8800 was designed by Ed Roberts
- The Altair 8800 included 256 bytes of memory, expandable to 64K
- The Apple 1, released in 1976, was initially conceived by Steve Wozniak as a build-it-yourself computer kit
- The Apple 1 was initially rejected by Wozniak's bosses at Hewlett-Packard
- Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak sold 50 pre-built Apple 1 computers to The Byte Shop in Mountain View, California
- The suggested retail price of the Apple 1 was $666
- The Apple 1 sold around 200 units
Studying That Suits You
Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.
