My Personal PC by Noel Allen Computer Science Project Instructor: Dr. Marko Puljic

Objectives To create my very own personal computer Understand the components of every mechanism that makes a computer run Understand the history of computers and get a better insight on the future of computers.

History of Computers "Who invented the computer?" is not a question with a simple answer. The real answer is that many inventors contributed to the history of computers and that a computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, each of which can be considered a separate invention. It is difficult to identify any one device as the earliest computer, partly because the term "computer" has been subject to varying interpretations over time. Originally, the term "computer" referred to a person who performed numerical calculations (a human computer), often with the aid of a mechanical calculating device. The history of the modern computer begins with two separate technologies - that of automated calculation and that of programmability.

Major Accomplishments Computer History Year/Enter Computer History Inventors/Inventions Computer History Description of Event 1936Konrad Zuse - Z1 Computer First freely programmable computer John Atanasoff & Clifford Berry ABC Computer Who was first in the computing biz is not always as easy as ABC Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper Harvard Mark I Computer The Harvard Mark 1 computer John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly ENIAC 1 Computer 20,000 vacuum tubes later Frederic Williams & Tom Kilburn Manchester Baby Computer & The Williams Tube Baby and the Williams Tube turn on the memories. 1947/48 John Bardeen, Walter Brattain & Wiliam Shockley The Transistor No, a transistor is not a computer, but this invention greatly affected the history of computers John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly UNIVAC Computer First commercial computer & able to pick presidential winners International Business Machines IBM 701 EDPM Computer IBM enters into 'The History of Computers' John Backus & IBM FORTRAN Computer Programming Language The first successful high level programming language (In Use 1959) Stanford Research Institute, Bank of America, and General Electric ERMA and MICR The first bank industry computer - also MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) for reading checks Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce The Integrated Circuit Otherwise known as 'The Chip' 1962 Steve Russell & MIT Spacewar Computer Game The first computer game invented Douglas Engelbart Computer Mouse & Windows Nicknamed the mouse because the tail came out the end. 1969ARPAnetThe original Internet Intel 1103 Computer Memory The world's first available dynamic RAM chip Faggin, Hoff & Mazor Intel 4004 Computer Microprocessor The first microprocessor Alan Shugart &IBM The "Floppy" Disk Nicknamed the "Floppy" for its flexibility Robert Metcalfe & Xerox The Ethernet Computer Networking Networking. 1974/75 Scelbi & Mark-8 Altair & IBM 5100 Computers The first consumer computers. 1976/77 Apple I, II & TRS-80 & Commodore Pet Computers More first consumer computers Dan Bricklin & Bob Frankston VisiCalc Spreadsheet Software Any product that pays for itself in two weeks is a surefire winner Seymour Rubenstein & Rob Barnaby WordStar Software Word Processors IBM The IBM PC - Home Computer From an "Acorn" grows a personal computer revolution 1981 Microsoft MS-DOS Computer Operating System From "Quick And Dirty" comes the operating system of the century. 1983Apple Lisa Computer The first home computer with a GUI, graphical user interface Apple Macintosh Computer The more affordable home computer with a GUI. 1985Microsoft Windows Microsoft begins the friendly war with Apple. SERIESTO BECONTINUED

What You Need The first step to building a computer is acquiring the parts. The next step is to start price gauging. Find a company that will produce & distribute your operating system. The last step is your satisfaction of your product.

Components/Terms Power Supply/PSU – power supply unit, converts outlet power, which is alternating current (AC), to direct current (DC), which is what the internal components require, as well as providing appropriate voltages and currents for the various internal components. Motherboard/mainboard – As the name indicates, this is the electronic centerpiece of the computer, everything else connects to the motherboard. Processor/CPU – central processing unit, the "brain" of the computer, most actual computation takes place here. RAM – random access memory, the "short-term memory" of a computer, used by the CPU to store program instructions and data upon which it is currently operating. Data in RAM is lost when the computer is powered off, thus necessitating a hard drive. Hard Drive/Hard Disk – the "long-term memory" of the computer, used for persistent storage – i.e. the things stored on it remain even when the computer is powered down. The operating system, and all your programs and data are stored here. Optical Drive – device for reading/writing optical disks. May read CDs, DVDs, or other optical media, depending on the type. It is essential for installing many operating systems and programs. It may be able to write some of these discs, as well. Some people like to have two such drives for copying disks. Video Card/Graphics Card/GPU – does processing relating to video output. Some motherboards have an "onboard" GPU built in so you don’t need (but may add) a separate video card. Otherwise, you will need a video card. These plug into a slot on the motherboard and provide a place to connect a monitor to your computer. On top of the internal components listed above, you will also need these external components: Keyboard – for typing on. Many motherboards won't even boot without a keyboard attached. Mouse – for pointing and clicking. Unless you chose a text-based operating system, you will likely want one of these. Monitor – This is where the pretty pictures go. They come in many forms, the most common being CRT and LCD.

Source htm htm al al