1. History of Computers
Past and Present

2. 1954: "Scientists from the RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a 'home computer' could look in the year However the needed technology will not be affordable for the average home. Also, the scientists admit that the computer will require not yet invented technology to actually work, but 50 years from now scientific progress is expected to solve these problems."
This is a news article from the 1950’s. The picture shows what people thought the computer would look like in the year Obviously, they were wrong. The computer has come a long way since it became an idea in the mind of inventors and scientists. It has a long history with many major milestones.

3. The “Analytical Engine" Charles Babbage
One of first ideas that helped lead to the invention of the computer was created by Charles Babbage in This "machine" did not run on electricity. He called it an "analytical engine". Even though he didn't finish his work, a lot of his ideas were used later.
The “Analytical Engine"
Charles Babbage

4. Ada Lovelace is also an important part of the history of the computer
Ada Lovelace is also an important part of the history of the computer. During the time that Charles Babbage was doing his work on the analytical engine, she was reading about it in local articles. The two eventually exchanged ideas with each other through letters. Ada decided that Babbage needed a plan for how his machine could calculate numbers. Her work on the plan eventually became known as the first computer program. The U.S. Department of Defense named one of their software programs "Ada" in honor of her work in 1979.
Ada Byron Lovelace

5. The next important step in the invention of the computer was made by a German man named Konrad Zuse. He is often called the "inventor of the modern computer" because of the work he accomplished. He is credited for creating the worlds first fully electronic digital computer. He actually only invented a machine used as a calculator in his work as an engineer for an aircraft company.
"The Z3"
Konrad Zuse

6. The "ENIAC" is another important invention in the history of the computer. It was built by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert. This machine was 1,000 times faster than any machine built before it. It could do 5,000 operations per second. It was also very large. It took up over 1,000 square feet. That's about the size of a small house.
ENIAC

7. A 1950’s transistor A Modern Transistor
The next important step in the history of the computer was the transistor. The transistor replaced the vacuum tube which was used to save data much like RAM does today. It was invented by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley. They won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their invention. Transistors made it possible to build smaller and faster computers.
A 1950’s transistor
A Modern Transistor

8. The First Integrated Circuit Modern Integrated Circuit
One of the most important inventions in the history of the computer was the Integrated Circuit (IC) or micro-chip. It was actually invented by two different people at the same time. Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce were unaware of each other, yet they both completed their own version of an integrated circuit at the same time in This invention replaced the transistor and many other parts to make computers run much faster and take up less space.
The First Integrated Circuit
Modern Integrated Circuit

9. The next important step in the history of the computer was taken by Steve Jobs. Jobs and his partner Steve Wozniak started the company Apple Computers. In 1976, the pair released their first computer called the "Apple I". Since then, Apple has been a leading producer of computers and accessories.
Jobs and Wozniak display their Apple I (in the wood box) and Apple II computers

10. This man is most known for the company he started back in 1975
This man is most known for the company he started back in His name is Bill Gates and the name of his company is "Microsoft". Microsoft has worked hard to create software that makes computers easier and more fun to use. It's most famous product, "Windows", is the most popular software made by Microsoft. Today the company's product is used all over the world in homes and businesses.
Bill Gates

11. One of the latest inventions in computing is the Internet
One of the latest inventions in computing is the Internet. The Internet was not invented by one individual. It got it’s start more than 50 years ago. Scientists used it to share data and other information. Over time the Internet evolved into what we use today. Today the Internet is used by many people for a variety of reasons such as gaming, research, shopping, or social media.

12. The computers we use today look much different than what scientists predicted more than 50 years ago. They are much smaller and faster than anyone ever imagined back then. Considering how much has changed over the past 50 years, think about what we might accomplish in the future!