History-of-Information-Technology.pdf

CCE 101L - History of Information Technology Abacus - The abacus is likely the earliest known calculator. It has been in use since at least 1100 BCE and is still prevalent today, especially in Asia. It typically consists of a rectangular frame with skinny parallel rods strung with beads now as it d...

CCE 101L - History of Information Technology Abacus - The abacus is likely the earliest known calculator. It has been in use since at least 1100 BCE and is still prevalent today, especially in Asia. It typically consists of a rectangular frame with skinny parallel rods strung with beads now as it did then. Analog Calculators - John Napier, a Scotsman, invented logarithms which use lookup tables to find the solution to otherwise tedious and error-prone mathematical calculations. He discoverer of logarithms, designed this popular calculating tool known as Napier's cylindrical 'rods' or 'bones'. The 'bones' consist of a set of rectangular rods, each marked with a counting number at the top, and the multiples of that number down their lengths. Digital Calculators - Calculating Clock. The first calculator was created in 1623 by the German mathematician and astronomer Wilhelm Schickard. He spoke about it in a letter to his friend, the astronomer Johannes Kepler, and then wrote again in 1624 to explain that a machine he had paid someone to build for Kepler had probably been destroyed in a fire along with the prototype. The Jacquard Loom - Calculators such as the Arithmometer remained a fascination after 1820, and their potential for commercial use was well understood. Many other mechanical devices built during the 19th century also performed repetitive functions more or less automatically, but few had any application to computing. The Difference Engine - Charles Babbage was an English mathematician and inventor: he invented the cowcatcher, reformed the British postal system, and was a pioneer in the fields of operations research and actuarial science. The Analytical Engine - While working on the Difference Engine, Babbage began to imagine ways to improve it. Chiefly he thought about generalizing its operation so that it could perform other kinds of calculations. Differential Analyzer - In 1930 an engineer named Vannevar Bush at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed the first modern analog computer. The Differential Analyzer, as he called it, was an analog calculator that could be used to solve certain classes of differential equations, a type of problem common in physics and engineering applications that is often very tedious to solve. Turing Machine - Alan Turing, while a mathematics student at the University of Cambridge, was inspired by German mathematician David Hilbert’s formalist program, which sought to demonstrate that any mathematical problem can potentially be solved by an algorithm—that is, by a purely mechanical process. Turing interpreted this to mean a computing machine and set out to design one capable of resolving all mathematical problems, but in the process he proved in his seminal paper “On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the [‘Halting Problem’]” (1936) that no such universal mathematical solver could ever exist. The Atanasoff-Berry Computer - It was generally believed that the first electronic digital computers were the Colossus, built in England in 1943, and the ENIAC, built in the United States in 1945. However, the first special-purpose electronic computer may actually have been invented by John Vincent Atanasoff, a physicist and mathematician at Iowa State College (now Iowa State University), during 1937–42. Colossus - The exigencies of war gave impetus and funding to computer research. For example, in Britain the impetus was code breaking. The Ultra project was funded with much secrecy to develop the technology necessary to crack ciphers and codes produced by the German electromechanical devices known as the Enigma and the “Secret Writer”. ENIAC - ENIAC was something less than the dream of a universal computer. Designed for the specific purpose of computing values for artillery range tables, it lacked some features that would have made it a more generally useful machine. Like Colossus but unlike Howard Aiken’s machine (described in the section Early experiments), it used plugboards for communicating instructions to the machine; this had the advantage that, once the instructions were thus “programmed,” the machine ran at electronic speed. Computers are used in various fields as well as in teaching and learning. Some of the major computer application fields are listed below. An aid to management: The computer can also be used as a management tool to assist in solving business problems. Banking: Branches are equipped with terminals giving them an online accounting facility and enabling them to information as such things as current balances, deposits, overdrafts and interest charges. Industrial Application: In industry, production may be planned, coordinated and controlled with the aid of a computer. Engineering Design: Computer help in calculating that all the parts of a proposed design are satisfactory and also assist in the designing. Meteorology: Data is recorded at different levels of atmosphere at different places, using remote sensors carried on a satellite. Air Travel: Small computers are installed as a part of the plane's equipment. Road Traffic Control: Computers assist with the control of traffic lights. Telephones: Computerized telephone exchanges handle an ever-increasing volume of calls very efficiently. Medicine: Computers are widely used in hospitals for such task as maintaining drugs, surgical equipment and linen, for payroll and also for checkup and treatment of diseases. Positive Impact of Computer The work can be done in very less time. More information can be stored in small space. Multitasking and multiprocessing capabilities of data. Easy to access data. Impartiality. Documents can be kept secret. Error free result. It can be used for various purposes. i.e. It can be used in any type of work. Negative Impact of Computer Highly expensive. Accidents. Data piracy. Increased Unemployment. Huge data and information can be lost sometimes. Fast changing computer technology. Service distribution. Illiteracy of computing and computers. Computer - is an electronic device, operating under the control of instructions stored in its own memory, that can accept data (input), process the data according to specified rules, produce information (output), and store the information for future use. Hardware - Computers contain many electric, electronic, and mechanical components known as hardware. Electronic components in computers process data using instructions, which are the steps that tell the computer how to perform a particular task. Software - A collection of related instructions organized for a common purpose is referred to as software or a program. Using software, you can complete a variety of activities, such as search for information, type a paper, balance a budget, create a presentation, or play a game. Personal Computer - A personal computer (PC) is a computer that can perform all of its input, processing, output, and storage activities by itself and is intended to be used by one person at a time. Most personal computers today also can communicate with other computers and devices. Types of personal computers include laptops, tablets, and desktops, with the first two sometimes called mobile computers. Mobile Computer - A mobile computer is a portable personal computer, designed so that a user can carry it from place to place. User - A user is anyone who interacts with a computer or mobile device or utilizes the information it generates. Laptop - A laptop, also called a notebook computer, is a thin, lightweight mobile computer with a screen in its lid and a keyboard in its base. Designed to fit on your lap and for easy transport. Tablets - Usually smaller than a laptop but larger than a phone, a tablet is a thin, lighter-weight mobile computer that has a touch screen. A popular style of tablet is the slate, which does not contain a physical keyboard. All-in-ones - Another type of desktop called an all-in-one does not contain a tower and instead uses the same case to house the display and the processing circuitry. Some desktops and all-in-ones have displays that support touch. Server - A server is a computer dedicated to providing one or more services to other computers or devices on a network. A network is a collection of computers and devices connected together, often wirelessly. Terminal - Terminal is a computer, usually with limited processing power, that enables users to send data to and/or receive information from a server, or host computer. The host computer processes the data and then, if necessary, sends information (output) back to the terminal. Terminals may include a monitor and/or touch screen, keyboard, and memory. Supercomputer - A supercomputer is the fastest, most powerful computer — and the most expensive. Supercomputers are capable of processing many trillions of instructions in a single second. With weights that exceed 100 tons, these computers can store more than 20,000 times the data and information of an average desktop. Cloud Computing - Cloud computing refers to an environment that provides resources and services accessed via the Internet. Resources include email messages, schedules, music, photos, videos, games, websites, programs, web apps, servers, storage, and more. Services include accessing software, storing files online, and configuring an environment of servers for optimal performance. Embedded Computers - An embedded computer is a special-purpose computer that functions as a component in a larger product. Embedded computers are everywhere — at home, in your car, and at work. The following list identifies a variety of everyday products that contain embedded computers.