History and Architecture of Computers

• The lecture covers the history and architecture of computers, from early beginnings to modern PC architecture.

Early Beginnings

• The Abacus, an early computing tool, dates back to approximately 500 BCE.
• The Antikythera mechanism, another early device, originated around 100 BCE.
• Mechanical calculators appeared in the 1600s.
• Blaise Pascal's Pascaline was created in 1642.
• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz invented the Step Reckoner in 1672.

The 1800s

• The Jacquard Loom used punched paper to write a "program".
• The Hollerith punch card system processed census results and eventually became IBM.

Charles Babbage

• Charles Babbage designed the Difference Engine in 1822.
• Babbage conceptualized the Analytical Engine in 1837.
• Babbage is known as the 'father of the computer'.

Ada Lovelace

• Ada Lovelace collaborated with Babbage on the Analytical Engine.
• Lovelace wrote the first algorithm intended for a machine.
• She is regarded as the first computer programmer.

World War 2 Innovations

• Hedy Lamarr pioneered frequency hopping in 1941 for torpedoes.
• Frequency hopping is now used in GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth technologies.
• Lamarr's contributions were not initially recognized or encouraged.
• Alan Turing developed the concept of the Turing Machine in 1936.
• Turing was a key figure in breaking the Enigma code during WWII.
• Turing is considered a pioneer in theoretical computer science.
• Colossus is regarded as the first programmable digital computer.
• The first Colossus was functional in 1943, with 10 built during World War 2.
• It was used in Bletchley Park to break the Lorenz cipher for German High Command.
• Vannevar Bush headed the Office of US Scientific Research and Development during World War II.
• Bush's office had around 6,000 staff.
• He developed the hypothetical Memex (Memory Expansion) in 1945.
• The Memex concept led to Hypertext and Tim Berners Lee's World Wide Web.
• ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer.
• It was the first general-purpose electronic digital computer.
• ENIAC was completed in 1945 and used for calculations in the US Army.
• The Von Neumann Architecture was proposed by John von Neumann in 1945.
• It is the basis of most modern computers.
• It features a stored-program concept.
• It consists of a CPU, memory, and I/O devices.

Other Computer Systems

• UNIVAC stands for Universal Automatic Computer.
• UNIVAC was the first commercial computer.
• It was delivered to the US Census Bureau in 1951.
• It could handle both numerical and textual data.
• The IBM 701 was IBM's first commercial scientific computer.
• It was introduced in 1952 as the Defence Calculator.
• It helped establish IBM as a major player in computing.

The 1960s

• Mainframes became widespread.
• Minicomputers were developed.
• The decade saw the introduction of time-sharing systems.
• The software industry rose.
• Intel was created in 1968, and AMD founded in 1969.

The 1970s

• The microprocessor was introduced.
• The Intel 4004 (1971) was the first microprocessor.
• Early personal computers were developed.
• Computer networking was introduced.

Development of Operating Systems

• System software manages hardware and how other software interacts with it.
• Early operating systems were for mainframes.
• UNIX was introduced in 1969.
• CP/M was developed for microcomputers in 1974.
• MS-DOS emerged in 1981, previously 86-DOS, referred to as QDOS (Quick & Dirty).

Windows and macOS

• Windows 1.0 was introduced in 1985.
• Windows 95 had a GUI and Start menu in 1995.
• Windows XP focused on stability and user-friendliness (2001).
• Windows 10 created a unified platform (2015).
• Apple introduced Macintosh in 1984.
• System 1 to Mac OS 9.
• macOS X uses UNIX-based architecture in 2001.
• macOS Big Sur had modern features in 2020.

Linux

• Linux was created by Linus Torvalds in 1991.
• It is open source and community-driven.
• It is widely used in servers and supercomputers.
• Popular distributions are Ubuntu, Red Hat, and Debian.

Apple and IBM Personal Computers

• Apple I was introduced in 1976 by Steve Wozniak.
• Apple II was released in 1977.
• It featured colour graphics and a basic programming language.
• It had a significant impact on the personal computer market.
• IBM PC was released in 1981.
• It became the standard for business computing.
• The open architecture encouraged third-party development.
• It paved the way for widespread PC adoption.

The 1980s and 1990s

• The 1980s saw a rise of graphical user interfaces (GUIs).
• The Apple Macintosh was introduced in 1984.
• Computer networking expanded.
• Desktop publishing was developed.
• ARM and QualComm were developed.
• The 1990s experienced proliferation of the Internet.
• The World Wide Web was introduced in 1991.
• Laptops and portable computing rose.
• Multimedia applications grew.

The 2000s

• Mobile computing emerged.
• The cloud computing industry grew.
• Wireless technologies expanded.
• Social media platforms developed.
• Artificial Intelligence rose.