The Dark Ages
The world today is very reliant on technology as a whole,
ranging from the use of computers and technology in medicine and in the military
to general office use and entertainment for all ages. Everyone is using
computers so it’s hard to imagine a time when we lived without them, but
surprisingly computers haven’t been around for long.
Computers, or what we believe to be conceptual computers
date back to the industrial revolution, which is when the computer era really
took off, but these ‘computers’ were not like the computers we know today.
The Analytical Engine
Charles Babbage conceived the idea of The Analytical Engine in 1834, during the industrial revolution. The Analytical Engine dwarfs the Difference Engine which Babbage designed a few years earlier. This machine is regarded as an ancestral computer of modern electronic computers as the design on this machine possesses many of the essential features of the modern general purpose computer.
Charles Babbage conceived the idea of The Analytical Engine in 1834, during the industrial revolution. The Analytical Engine dwarfs the Difference Engine which Babbage designed a few years earlier. This machine is regarded as an ancestral computer of modern electronic computers as the design on this machine possesses many of the essential features of the modern general purpose computer.
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Sadly Babbage never completed building the machine, mainly
due to Victorian engineering and their lack of development in producing parts
with sufficient precision. However in 1985 the Science Museum launched a
project to build The Analytical Engine from the original designs.
Colossus
World War II greatly increased the production and invention
of computers. The need for intelligent
computers for code breaking meant that the development of machines was greatly
improved. Developed and used by British codebreakers in 1944 Colossus was the world’s
first electronic digital computer that was programmable. This huge computer was
used to decipher German messages in WWII.
A massively important and influential machine impressively helped win the war against Hitler by breaking the Enigma code, due to its innovative design and programmable system.
SAGE
After the Second World War, new technology was still being invented and used. In 1954 SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) a computerised air defense system was designed to track radar data in realtime.
After the Second World War, new technology was still being invented and used. In 1954 SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) a computerised air defense system was designed to track radar data in realtime.
IBM system/360
In 1964 the IBM system/360 was created. A machine that took
up a whole office space was part of a family of interchangeable computers was
the first to complete a range of applications, small to large, commercial to
scientific. Users were able to change features without having to make software
updates.
Higher end models were used in NASA’s Apollo missions aswell as air traffic control systems.
DEC PDP-8
1965 brought the production of the first minicomputer. A very important invention as the transiston
from room sized computers to something that would fit on a desk in an office
brings about the development of the modern computer.
Needless to say this computer was very successful and sold over 50,000 units upon its release.
References:
Babbage: Analytical Engine
- http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/onlinestuff/stories/babbage.aspx
- http://www.computerhistory.org/babbage/history/
Colossus
- http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Colossus_computer.html
- http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/lorenz/colossus.htm
SAGE
IBM system/360
DEC PDP-8