History of Computers

The Uses of Computers

-Development Of Computers Over The Decades

What is a computer? A Computer is an electronic device that can receive a set of instructions, or program, and then carry out this program by performing calculations on numerical data or by compiling and correlating other forms of information.

The modern world of high technology could not have come about except for the development of the computer. Different types and sizes of computers find uses throughout society in the storage and handling of data, from secret governmental files to banking transactions to private household accounts.

Computers have opened up a new era in manufacturing through the techniques of automation, and they have enhanced modern communication systems. They are essential tools in almost every field of research and applied technology, from constructing models of the universe to producing tomorrow's weather reports, and their use has in itself opened up new areas of conjecture.

Database services and computer networks make available a great variety of information sources. The same advanced techniques also make possible invasions of privacy and of restricted information sources, but computer crime has become one of the many risks that society must face if it would enjoy the benefits of modern technology.

Imagine a world without computers. That would mean no proper means of communicating, no Internet, no video games. Life would be extremely difficult. Adults would have to store all their office work paper and therefore take up an entire room. Teenagers would have to submit course-works and projects hand-written. All graphs and diagrams would have to be drawn neatly and carefully. Youngsters would never have heard of 'video-games' and will have to spend their free time either reading or playing outside with friends.

But thanks to British mathematicians, Augusta Ada Byron and Charles Babbage, our lives are made a lot easier. Later, on my investigation about the growth of computers over the decades, I will be talking about types of computers, how and when computers were first being developed, the progress it made, computers at present and plans for the future. In types of computers, I will be talking about analogue and digital computers and how they function. In the development of computers, I will be mentioning about the very first electronic calculator and computer. Under progress made, I will only be mentioning about circuits. For computers of the present, I will be talking about networking, telecommunications and games. And finally, as for planning for the future, I will mention about new and recent ideas, research and development of new computers heard and talked about in newspapers and on television.

Where It All Began

a)The Mother of all Calculators

The first adding machine, a precursor of the digital computer, was devised in 1642 by the French philosopher Blaise Pascal. This device employed a series of ten-toothed wheels, each tooth representing a digit from 0 to 9. The wheels were connected so that numbers could be added to each other by advancing the wheels by a ...