1. Computer History

2. Objectives
Identify the hardware components of the four generations of computer technology.
Define Moore's Law.
Explain the difference between digital and analog.
Name the five generic components of any computer system.
Define software .

3. How did we get here? Computer applications today: ...
Word processing (Word)
Spreadsheets (Excel)
Presentation software (PowerPoint)
Communication ( , Internet)
Games
Databases
...

4. Way Back: Babbage’s “Difference Engine”
At the British Museum

5. Difference Engine Close-up

6. The Difference Engine in Action
Difference Engine (video)
Difference Engine (article)

7. One-of-a-kind computers: The Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC)

8. ABC Links Pictures and Drawings Court Trial
Reconstructing the ABC Computer
ABC part 1 (video, 10 min)
ABC part 2 (video, 10 min)
ABC part 3 (video, 10 min)

9. One-of-a-kind computers: ENIAC
18,000 vacuum tubes
80 ft long x 3 ft deep by 8 ft tall
$500,000 ($6M in today’s dollars)
30 tons
150 kilowatts
ENIAC (Wikipedia article)

10. ENIAC

11. ENIAC

12. Which was the first computer?
ABC was the first electronic, digital computer.
ENIAC was the first electronic, digital, general-purpose computer.

13. Commercial Computers Generation 1: Early 1950s
UNIVAC 1, More UNIVAC

14. Generation 1 Hardware: Vacuum Tubes
Big
Slow
Hot
Expensive
Unreliable

15. UNIVAC

16. UNIVAC
1952 election
Nobody believed the prediction! They sat on the prediction for over 2 hours.

17. Commercial Computers Generation 2: Late 50s-mid 60s

18. Generation 2 Hardware: Transistors
Smaller
Faster
Cooler
Cheaper
More reliable

19. Generation 2
IBM 7030

20. Generation 2
IBM 1620

21. Generation 2
IBM 1401

22. Generation 2
IBM 1401

23. Commercial Computers Generation 3: Mid 60s to mid 70s
IBM 360

24. Generation 3 Hardware: “Integrated” Circuits

25. Generation 3
IBM 360

26. Minicomputers
A “mini” computer was about the size of a refrigerator. They could be made this small because of integrated circuits.
PDP 8

27. Commercial Computers Generation 4: Mid-70s to Today
The “micro” computer.
The Apple ][ Plus
Apple II

28. Generation 4 Hardware: Large-scale Integrated Circuits
A 4th generation computer uses large-scale integrated circuits (silicon chips) for its circuitry.

29. Generation 4
Apple IIc Plus

30. Generation 4
IBM PC
August, 1981

31. Generation 4
iMac

32. Trends SMALLER CHEAPER FASTER MORE RELIABLE MORE POWERFUL
The trend has continually been:
SMALLER
CHEAPER
FASTER
MORE RELIABLE
MORE POWERFUL
MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT

33. Large-scale integrated circuits
Hardware Summary
Gen
Dates
Hardware 1
Early 50s-Late 50s
Vacuum tubes 2
Late 50s-Mid 60s
Transistors 3
Mid 60s-Mid 70s
Integrated Circuits 4
Mid 70s-Present
Large-scale integrated circuits
Objective 2: Identify the hardware components of the four generations of computer technology.

34. Moore’s Law
Moore's Law (1965): The number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit is doubling approximately every 2 years.

35. Objective 3: Define Moore's Law.

36. Moore’s Law

37. Analog vs. Digital
Analog: Continuous, with an infinite number of “states”.

38. Analog vs. Digital
Digital: Discrete, with a finite number of “states”.
Objective 4: Explain the difference between digital and analog.

39. Analog vs. Digital
When discussing computers, digital means made up of 0s and 1s

40. The End