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Evolution of Computer

• 1600s : John Napier discovers logarithm
• 1642 : Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and philosopher, invents the first mechanical digital calculator using gears, called the Pascaline
• 1804 : Joseph Marie Jacquard used punch cards to automate a weaving loom Charles Babbage is considered the father of modern ditial computers in 1812.Babbage designed “Difference Engine”
• 1840s: Augusta Ada. "The first programmer"
• 1850s : George Boole developed Boolean logic which would later be used in the design of computer circuitry
• 1890: Dr. Herman Hollerith introduced the first electromechanical, punched-card data-processing machine which was used to compile information for the 1890 U.S.census. Hollerith's tabulator became so successful that he started his own business to market it. His company would eventually become International Business Machines (IBM).
• 1906 : The vacuum tube is invented by American physicist Lee De Forest.
• 1939 : Dr. John V. Atanasoff and his assistant Clifford Berry build the first electronic digital computer. Their machine, the Atanasoff-Berry-Computer (ABC) provided the foundation for the advances in electronic digital computers
• 1941 : Konrad Zuse (recently deceased in January of 1996), from Germany, introduced the first programmable computer designed to solve complex engineering equations. This machine, called the Z3, was also the first to work on the binary system instead of the decimal system.
• 1943 : British mathematician Alan Turing developped a hypothetical device, the Turing machine which would be designed to perform logical operation and could read and write.
• 1944 : Howard Aiken, in collaboration with engineers from IBM, constructed a large automatic digital sequence-controlled computer called the Harvard Mark I.
• Mark I is also known as Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator.
• 1947 : The giant ENIAC (Electrical Numerical Integrator and Calculator) machine was developped by John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, Jr. at the University of Pennsylvania. It used 18, 000 vacuums, punch-card input, weighed thirty tons and occupied a thirty-by-fifty-foot space.
• 1949 : Maurice V. Wilkes built the EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Computer), the first stored-program computer. EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer), the second stored - program computer was built by Mauchly, Eckert, and von Neumann.

Generation of Computers

The First Generation

Characteristics of First Generation Computers Use of vacuum tubes in electronic circuits, Magnetic drum, Limited main-storage capacity, Slow input/output, punched-card-oriented, Low level symbolic-language programming, Heat and maintenance problems

UNIVAC, EDSAC, ENIAC, EDVAC and IB 701 computers are from 1 st Generation (1951). The first generation of computers started with the UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer) built by Mauchly and Eckert 

• 1951: Mauchly and Eckert built the UNIVAC I, the first computer designed and sold commercially, specifically for business data-processing applications.
• In 1952, Dr. Grace Hopper (University of Pennsylvania) developed a symbolic language called mnemonics (instructions written with symbolic codes). Dr. Hopper developed the first set of programs or instructions to tell computers how to translate the mnemonics
• 1950s : Dr. Grace Murray Hopper developed the UNIVAC I compiler.
• 1957 : The programming language FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslator) was designed by John Backus, an IBM engineer.
• 1959 : Jack St. Clair Kilby and Robert Noyce of Texas Instruments manufactured the first integrated circuit, or chip, which is a collection of tiny little transistors.

Second Generation Computers (1959-1964)

Characteristics of Second Generation Computers, Use of transitors , Magnetic core as primary internal-storage medium, Magnetic disks were also developed that stored information on circular tracks that looked like phonograph records, Use of High-level programming , languages (COBOL,FORTRAN,ALGOL,SNOBOL),Increased speed and reliability

• 1960s : Gene Amdahl designed the IBM System/360 series of mainframe (G) computers, the first general-purpose digital computers to use intergrated circuits.
• 1961: Dr. Hopper was instrumental in developing the COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) programming language.
• 1963 : Ken Olsen, founder of DEC, produced the PDP-I, the first minicomputer (G).
• 1965 : BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) programming language developped by Dr. Thomas Kurtz and Dr. John Kemeny.

Third Generation Computers (1965-1974)

Characteristics of Third Generation Computers: Use of integrated circuits, Magnetic core and solid-state main storage, Smaller size and better performance and reliability, Emergence of minicomputers, Remote processing and time-sharing through communication

• 1969 : The Internet is started.
• 1970 : Dr. Ted Hoff developed the famous Intel 4004 microprocessor (G) chip.
• 1971 : Intel released the first microprocessor, a specialized integrated circuit which was ale to process four bits of data at a time. It also included its own arithmetic logic unit. PASCAL, a structured programming language, was developed by Niklaus Wirth.

Fourth Generation (1975-)

Characteristics of Fourth Generation Computers: Use of large scale integrated circuits, Increased storage capacity and speed, Modular design and compatibility between equipment, Special application programs Versatility of input/ output devices, Increased use of minicomputers, Introduction of microprocessors and microcomputers

1975 : Ed Roberts, the "father of the microcomputer" designed the first microcomputer, the Altair 8800, which was produced by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS). The same year, two young hackers, William Gates and Paul Allen approached MITS and promised to deliver a BASIC compiler. So they did and from the sale, Microsoft was born.

• 1976 : Cray developed the Cray-I supercomputer (G). Apple Computer, Inc was founded by Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak.
• 1977 : Jobs and Wozniak designed and built the first Apple II microcomputer.
• 1970 : 1980: IBM offers Bill Gates the opportunity to develop the operating system for its new IBM personal computer. Microsoft has achieved tremendous growth and success today due to the development of MS-DOS. Apple III was also released.
• 1981 : The IBM PC was introduced with a 16-bit microprocessor.
• 1982 : Time magazine chooses the computer instead of a person for its "Machine of the Year."
• 1984 : Apple introduced the Macintosh computer, which incorporated a unique graphical interface, making it easy to use. The same year, IBM released the 286-AT.
• 1986 : Compaq released the DeskPro 386 computer, the first to use the 80036 microprocessor.
• 1987 : IBM announced the OS/2 operating-system technology.
• 1988 : A nondestructive worm was introduced into the Internet network bringing thousands of computers to a halt.
• 1989 : The Intel 486 became the world's first 1,000,000 transistor microprocessor.
• 1993s: The Energy Star program, endorsed by the Environmental Protection Agency  (EPA)