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Questions and Answers
Which of the following was the first real mainstream personal computer?
What year was the Apple Macintosh released?
Which device was known for being an independent keyboard, printer, and monitor package?
What year did the Commodore 64 first appear on the market?
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Which of the following computers was produced by DEC as a minicomputer?
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Which computer is recognized as the first stored program digital computer?
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Who is credited with defining the stored-program computer architecture that influenced the Manchester Mark I?
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What was the primary purpose of the SAGE system introduced in 1954?
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Which computer was developed as a prototype for the Ferranti Mark I?
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What significant milestone did EDSAC achieve on May 6, 1949?
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What does UNIVAC stand for?
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What was a notable feature of SAGE regarding its physical structure?
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Which team constructed the EDSAC computer?
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What feature made the Apple II an instant success upon its release?
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Which computer was known as the fastest computing machine in the world at the time of its release?
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What was the initial market target for the Atari Model 400 computer?
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What was a significant memory feature of the VAX 11/780?
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What was a key feature of the IBM PC introduced in 1981?
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How did the Apple II compete in the market upon its release?
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Who was the designer associated with the development of supercomputers like the CRAY-1?
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What marketing challenge did the Atari Model 400 and 800 face despite their initial sales success?
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What was significant about the NEAC 2203?
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Who designed the Control Data Corporation 6600?
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What was the initial investment amount for the IBM System/360?
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How many units of the PDP-8 were sold upon its release?
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What was a main feature of the Apollo Guidance Computer used during the Apollo 11 mission?
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What transition was IBM making when they released the System/360?
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Which of the following is true about the price of the PDP-8 compared to the IBM 360 mainframe?
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What was one application of the NEAC 2203 computer?
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Who is known as the first computer programmer?
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What machine did Herman Hollerith develop?
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In what year did Alan Turing write his influential paper?
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What is the primary function of the Turing Machine?
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Which of the following best describes Lady Ada Lovelace?
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What technological advancement did the Tabulating Machine utilize?
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Which field did Alan Turing NOT contribute to?
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What did Turing's paper address that influenced computer science?
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Study Notes
Early Computing Pioneers
- Ada Lovelace (1815-1852): English mathematician considered the first computer programmer, known for her work on the Analytical Engine.
- Herman Hollerith (1860-1929): American businessman, inventor, and statistician who developed an electromechanical tabulating machine used in the 1890 US census.
The Turing Machine and Early Computers
- Alan Turing (1912-1954): English mathematician, computer scientist, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist who wrote a paper in 1936, "On Computable Numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem", which paved the way for the invention of the Turing Machine.
- The Turing Machine: An abstract computing machine that encapsulates the fundamental logical principles of the digital computer.
- Manchester Mark I (1949): The first stored program digital computer. It was a prototype for the Ferranti Mark I.
- John von Neumann (1903-1957): Hungarian-born American mathematician credited with defining the stored-program computer architecture, on which the Manchester Mark 1 was based.
- EDSAC (1949): An early British computer considered the second usefully operational electronic digital stored-program computer. It was constructed by Maurice Wilkes and his team at the University of Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory in England.
The Dawn of Commercial Computing
- UNIVAC (1951): The first general-purpose computer for commercial use. Its descendants, the UNIVAC line, continue today as products of the Unisys company.
The Evolution of Computers
- Transistors: A significant advancement in computing technology that replaced vacuum tubes, leading to smaller, faster, and more reliable computers.
- SAGE (1954): A gigantic computerized air defense system designed to track radar data in real-time. It weighed 300 tons and occupied one floor of a concrete blockhouse.
- NEAC 2203 (1960): One of the earliest transistorized Japanese computers, manufactured by the Nippon Electric Company (NEC). It was used for business, scientific, and engineering applications.
- CDC 6600 (1964): Designed by Seymour Cray, it was one of the fastest computers in the world at the time of its release.
- IBM System 360 (1964): A family of six mutually compatible computers and 40 peripherals that could work together. It represented a shift from discrete transistors to integrated circuits.
- Integrated Circuit (chip): A significant technological advancement that enabled smaller, faster, and more complex computers.
- DEC PDP-8 (1965): The first successful commercial minicomputer, it sold more than 50,000 units, making it the most successful computer at the time.
- Apollo Guidance Computer (1968): Used in the Apollo space missions, it allowed astronauts to communicate with it by punching two-digit codes into the display and keyboard unit.
Personal Computers
- Apple II (1977): An instant success with its printed circuit motherboard, switching power supply, keyboard, case assembly, manual, game paddles, A/C powercord, and cassette tape with the computer game "Breakout."
- Cray-1 (1976): A supercomputer that was one of the fastest computing machines in the world at the time of its release, designed by Seymour Cray.
- TRS-80 (1977): A popular personal computer that faced competition from the Apple II and Commodore PET.
- VAX 780 (1978): A minicomputer from Digital Equipment Corp. that featured the ability to address up to 4.3 gigabytes of virtual memory, providing hundreds of times the capacity of most minicomputers.
- Atari 400 and Atari 800 (1979): Two microcomputers designed with game capabilities, with the 400 serving primarily as a game console and the 800 as a home computer.
- IBM PC (1981): A major milestone in personal computing that helped push the technology into the corporate and consumer mainstream. It used Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system.
- Osborne 1 (1981): Considered the first true portable computer, it was a significant development in portable computing
The Rise of Microcomputers
- Commodore 64 (1982): A popular home computer that became one of the best-selling computers of all time.
- Hewlett Packard 150 (1983): A portable computer that was one of the first to use a graphical user interface.
- Apple Lisa (1983): A personal computer that featured a graphical user interface and a mouse, but it was expensive and did not sell well.
- Apple Macintosh (1984): A successful personal computer that popularized the graphical user interface.
Further Developments
- IBM PS2 (1987): A line of personal computers that featured improved technology and faster processing speeds.
- NeXT (1988): A computer made by Steve Jobs' company that was ahead of its time in some ways, but it was not commercially successful.
- Deep Blue (1997): A chess-playing computer that defeated Garry Kasparov, the world chess champion.
The Mobile Revolution
- iPhone (2007): A revolutionary smartphone that changed the way people interact with technology.
- iPad (2010): A tablet computer that became extremely popular due to its versatility and portability.
- Google Glass (2013): A wearable computer that was designed to be hands-free, but it did not achieve widespread adoption.
- Apple Watch (2014): A smartwatch that offers various features like fitness tracking, communication, and app support.
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Description
Explore the groundbreaking contributions of early computing pioneers like Ada Lovelace, Alan Turing, and John von Neumann. This quiz covers essential inventions such as the Turing Machine and the Manchester Mark I, highlighting their roles in shaping modern computing. Test your knowledge on these influential figures and concepts.
