Chronology of a Computer

Many of us think only in terms of “electronic” computers. (If you can’t plug it in, is it a computer?) The truth (according to Funk & Wagnall’s Standard College Dictionary) is that to “compute” is to “ascertain (an amount or number) by calculation or reckoning.” In fact, the Chinese about 2500 years ago invented the first computers. They are called abacuses and are still used throughout Asia today.

The Abacus

The abacus is a calculator; its first recorded use was circa 500 B.C. The Chinese used it for addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. However, the abacus was not unique to the continent of Asia; archeological excavations have revealed an Aztec abacus in use around 900 or 1000 A. D.

The first mechanical computer was the analytical engine, conceived, and partially constructed by Charles Babbage in London between 1822 and 1871. It was designed to receive instructions from punched cards, make calculations with the aid of a memory bank, and print out solutions to math problems. Although Babbage lavished the equivalent of $6,000 of his own money—and $17,000 of the British government’s money—on this extraordinarily advanced machine, the precise work needed to engineer its thousands of moving parts was beyond the technology of the day. It is doubtful whether Babbage’s brilliant concept could have been realized using the available resources of his own century. If it had been, it seems likely that the analytical engine could have performed the same functions as many of the early electronic computers.

The First Electrically-Driven Computer

Dr. Herman Hollerith of New York patented the first computer, designed expressly for data processing, on January 8, 1889. The prototype model of this electrically operated tabulator was built for the U.S. Census Bureau and computed results in the 1890 Census. Using punch cards containing information submitted by respondents to the Census questionnaire, the Hollerith machine was able to make instant tabulations from electrical impulses actuated by each hole. It then printed out the processed data on tape. Dr. Hollerith left the Census Bureau in 1896 to establish the Tabulation Machine Co. to manufacture and sell his equipment. The company eventually became IBM, and the 80- column punch card used by the company is still known as the Hollerith card.

The first electronic digital computer was built in the basement of a building on the Iowa State campus. This project took place between 1939 and 1942 and was led by John Atanasoff and a graduate student. This machine had many firsts, including binary arithmetic, parallel processing, regenerative memory, separate memory and computer functions, just to mention a few. When completed, it weighed in at 750 pounds and could store 3,000 bits (0.4K) of data. The name given to this computer was ABC (Atanasoff – Berry Computer).

The technology developed for the ABC machine was passed from Atanasoff to John W. Mauchly who is responsible for the first large-scale digital electronic computer. This project, called ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was built at the University of Pennsylvania - Moore School of Electrical Engineering. ENIAC began as a classified military project and was designed to prepare firing and bombing tables for the US Army. When finally assembled in 1945 it consisted of thirty separate units, plus power supply and forced air-cooling. ENIAC weighed in at thirty tons, used 19,000 vacuum tubes, 1,500 relays, and hundreds of thousands of resistors, capacitors and

inductors. It required 200 kilowatts of electrical power to operate.

Although programming of ENIAC was a mammoth task requiring manual switches and cable connections, it became the workhorse for the solution of scientific problems from 1949 to 1952. ENIAC is considered the prototype from which most of today’s computers evolved.

Another early digital electronic computer that played an important part in history was called Colossus I. It was built at a secret government research establishment at Bletchley Park, Hertz, England, under the direction of Professor Max Newman. Colossus I was built for a single purpose: crypto analysis—the cracking of codes. Working from an input of punched paper tape, it was capable of scanning and analyzing 5,000 characters a second. Colossus became operational in December 1943, and proved to be one of the most important technological aids to victory in World War II. It enabled the British to break the otherwise impenetrable German “Enigma” series of enemy codes. The sixties and seventies were the age of the mainframes. Using the technology of ABC, ENIAC, and Colossus, large computers and emerging companies were the norm for the industry.

As these highlights show, the concept of the computer has indeed been with us for quite a while. The following table provides an overview of the evolution of modern computers—it is a timeline of important events. As you read this timeline for the first time, you will no doubt encounter unfamiliar terminology. For now, don’t worry about it; just experience the history of computers. Also, keep in mind that the timeline you are

about to read does not include everything about the history of computers and the computer industry. After completing this course, you should come back and read this timeline again. It will most likely make more sense.

Note: You may not be familiar with some of the terms in this timeline, but all will be explained in the as we go through the course. The good news is you will not be required to memorize any of this for the A+ test; however, it is an important part of understanding why computers are what they are today.

The Evolution of the Computer:

1971: The 4004—the first 4-bit microprocessor is introduced by Intel. It boasts 2000 transistors with a clock speed of up to 1 MHz (megahertz).

1972: The first 8-bit microprocessor—the 8008—is released. It runs at 200 KHz and can access up to 16 KB of memory.

1974: The 8080 microprocessor is developed. This improved version of the 8008 became the standard from which future processors were designed.

1975: Digital Research introduces CP/M—an operating system for the 8080. The combination of software and hardware becomes the basis for the standard computer.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen license their newly written BASIC to MITS. This is the first computer language for a personal computer.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen found Micro-Soft (hyphen is later dropped).

MITS delivers the first generally available Altari 8800. It sold for $375 with 1 KB of memory.

1976: Zilog introduces the Z80—a low-cost microprocessor (equivalent to the 8080).

The Apple I comes into existence, although it is not yet very popular.

Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs finish work on a computer circuit board. It is called the Apple I computer.

Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs form the Apple Computer Company (on April Fool’s Day).

1977: The Apple II and the Commodore PET are introduced. These two products use Z80 technology and become the basis for the home computer. Apple’s popularity begins to grow.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen sign a partnership agreement to officially create the Microsoft Company.

Radio Shack announces the TRS-80 microcomputer.

1978: Intel introduces a 16-bit processor (the 8086 and the math coprocessor 8087). It uses 16-bit registers, a 1-bit data bus, and 29,000 transistors. The price was $350.

Intel also introduces the 8088 (similar to the 8086, but it transmits 8 bits at a time).

Atari announces the Atari 400 and 800 personal computers.

1979: Apple Computer introduces the Apple II Plus with 48 KB of memory.

Motorola introduces the 68000 16-bit microprocessor. It uses 68,000 transistors.

1980: Motorola 68000—a 16-bit processor is important to the development of Apple and Atari. Motorola becomes the processor of choice for Apple.

Seagate Technology announces the first Winchester 5.25-inch hard disk drive. It uses four platters, holds 5 MB of data, and costs $600.

Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80 Color Computer and the TRS-80 Pocket Computer.

1981: The IBM personal computer is born; it contains a 4.7 MHz 8088 processor with 64 KB (kilobytes) of RAM (Random Access Memory) and MS-DOS 1.0 (three files and some utilities).

Microsoft begins work on a graphical user interface for MS-DOS. It was called Interface Manager, because it would effectively hide the interface between programs and devices like printers and video cards. This marked the beginning of Windows.

1982: Intel completes development of the 80286 processor—a 16-bit data bus, with 134,000 transistors. It could address 16 MB of memory. You could purchase them for $350 (in quantities of 100 or more).

MS-DOS 1.1 now supports double-sided disks that hold 360 kilobytes of data.

Shugart Associates introduces half-sized (1.5 inch high) floppy disk drives.

Hercules Computer Technology announces the Hercules Graphics Card, with monochrome graphics at 720x348 resolution.

1983: IBM introduces the XT with a 10MB hard drive. MS-DOS 2.0 arrives—it features a tree-like structure.

Apple Computer unveils the Lisa computer. It featured a 5 MHz 68000 processor.

Microsoft releases MS-DOS 2.0.

Microsoft gives a demonstration of Interface Manager. It consists entirely of overlapping windows appearing to be running programs simultaneously.

Microsoft introduces it first “Mouse.”

The one millionth Apple II is made.

Iomega introduces the Bernouli Box storage device.

Novell introduces the NetWare network operating system.

Interface Manger officially changes to Windows. It is formally announced and promised for release by April.

1984: The first computer with the 80286 chip—the IBM AT—is sold. It is a 6 MHz machine with a 20MB hard drive and high-density 1.2MB floppy disk drive.

Motorola introduces the 68020 processor, a 32-bit version of the 68000.

Microsoft releases MS-DOS 3.0 - It includes support for 1.2 MB floppy disk and hard drives up to 10 MB.

1985: MS-DOS 3.2, which supports networks, is released.

CD-ROM drives are introduced for use on computers.

Intel introduces the 16 MHz 80386DX processor with 32-bit registers and a 32-bit (16 MHz) data bus. It has 275,000 transistors and sells for $299.

At last, Microsoft ships Windows 1.0 at a cost of $100 per copy.

1986: Not much happened this year.

The Intel 80386 market is growing but not many applications can take advantage of its capabilities. Compaq releases a computer with a 386 chip, but software is not yet available to take advantage of the 32-bit instructions.

1987: MS-DOS 3.3 allows operation of 1.44 MB 3.5-inch disk drives and hard drives larger than 32 MB.

Apple introduces the Macintosh II and the Macintosh SE.

IBM introduces the Personal System/2 (PS/2), Video Graphics Array, and Micro Channel Architecture. A complete departure from previous machines, it does not support the hardware and software available on IBM personal computers or clones.

The one-millionth copy of Windows ships.

1988: Microsoft, (with the help of IBM) develops OS/2 (Operating System 2), which allows genuine multitasking and full MS-DOS compatibility. Microsoft also releases MS-DOS 4.0, which boasts a graphical interface.

Intel introduces the 80386SX processor. It is similar to the 80386DX but runs on a 16-bit bus. It was a low cost alternative to the 80386DX and was compatible with older hardware. It filled a market niche until software and hardware became available to match 32-bit processing.

1989: Intel introduces the 80486; it contains a 386, a 387 (math coprocessor), and an internal cache controller (offering 2.5 times the performance of a 386 with a coprocessor).

Apple introduces the Apple Portable.

1990: Motorola announces the 32-bit 25 MHz 68040 (12 million transistors).

Microsoft ships Windows 3.0.

Microsoft ships the 50 millionth copy of BASIC.

1991: MS-DOS 5.0 offers a significantly improved DOS shell.

Intel introduces the 20 MHz i486SX. Just like the 486DX, but no built in math coprocessor.

1992: The Intel i486DX2 processor is introduced, offering 2.5 times the performance of a 486. This marked the beginning of the race for the fastest clock speed.

Intel introduces the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) local-bus standard for personal computers.

IBM expands OS/2. Windows enters the scene and grows in popularity.

IBM introduces the ThinkPad.

1993: MS-DOS 6.0 is released.

IBM releases OS/2 2.21.

Intel announces the DX4 (tripling the clock speed).

Intel introduces the Pentium processor; it contains over 3 million transistors (a 486 has 1.2 million transistors). The term “multimedia” (the inclusion of CD-ROMs, sound cards, speakers, and so forth, as more or less standard equipment on new personal computers) appears on the scene.

Microsoft launches the Windows NT operating system.

1994: Intel delivers the first 100 MHz processor.

COMPAQ Computer Corporation becomes the largest producer of computers.

Dr. Thomas R. Nicely of Lynchburg College notes that the Pentium processor sometimes produces flawed floating-point results, yielding only 4-8 decimals of precision.

Digital Equipment Corporation formally introduces it next generation Alpha AXP processor (300 MHz).

Iomega introduces the ZIP disk.

1995: Microsoft introduces Windows 95, originally code-named Chicago. It features 32-bit architecture.

IBM has shipped over 1 million OS/2 Warp software packages.

The Internet evolves from its predominate use by government and educational institutions to everyday use by anyone who has a modem.

Computer prices continue to drop!

IBM purchases LOTUS (maker of the popular spreadsheet 1-2-3).

1995 – 1996: Software manufacturers scramble to make their products compatible with Windows 95.

1996: Intel introduces the 200 MHz Pentium.

Microsoft introduces Windows NT 4.0 and the CE operating system for hand-held PCs.

CD-ReWritable (CD-RE) is announced.

1997: Microprocessor speeds exceed the 200 MHz mark. Hard drive and memory prices fall while sizes continue to increase.

CD-ROM drives and Internet connections are considered standard equipment for computers.

1998: Processing speeds continue to soar. CPU speeds exceed 450 MHz and Motherboard speeds reach 100 MHz. Multimedia and Internet connections have become the de facto standard for new personal computers. Prices continue to fall towards the $500 mark. USB (Universal Serial Bus) is introduced. Windows 98 becomes the standard operating system for most new personal computers.

1999: Release of Pentium III with processor speeds in excess of 500 MHz. Microsoft introduces Windows 2000 operating system. Multimedia and Internet is considered standard equipment.

Cyrix releases the MII Processor.

Advanced Micro Devices releases the Athlon processor produce line.

2000: AMD (Athlon) and Intel release the first 1 GHz processors.

IBM ships the 10 millionth ThinkPad.

Apple introduces the iMac and the G4 Cube.

2001: Intel Pentium 4 is released and reaches speeds up to 1.5 GHz with a 400 MHz system base.

2002: Tablet PCs are introduced into the market place.

2003: Intel P4 is made available at speeds over 3 GHz.