Introduction to Computing: ICT Basics and Evolution

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the definitions of ICT, components of a computer system, and a detailed timeline of computing history and milestones.

Information

Processed, organized, or meaningful data that helps people understand something or make decisions.

Communication

The process of sending, receiving, and sharing information between people or devices.

Technology

The tools, machines, systems, and techniques developed to solve problems and make tasks easier.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

The use of digital technologies, such as computers, software, and communication networks, to collect, process, store, retrieve, and share information efficiently.

Digital (Nature of ICT)

Characteristic of ICT that uses electronic data to store, process, and transmit information.

Connected (Nature of ICT)

Characteristic of ICT that links people and devices through communication networks.

Interactive (Nature of ICT)

Characteristic of ICT that enables two-way communication and user interaction.

Dynamic (Nature of ICT)

Characteristic of ICT that continuously evolves with new technologies and innovations.

Interdisciplinary (Nature of ICT)

Characteristic of ICT that combines computing, telecommunications, and information systems.

User-Centered (Nature of ICT)

Characteristic of ICT designed to meet user needs and improve productivity.

Pervasive (Nature of ICT)

Characteristic of ICT being integrated into nearly every aspect of daily life and society.

Hardware

The physical components of a computer that process, store, and display data.

Software

The programs and instructions that tell the computer how to perform specific tasks.

Peopleware

The users who operate, manage, and maintain the computer system to accomplish tasks.

Premechanical Period

The era from $3000\,\text{BCE} - 1450\,\text{CE}$ when humans first recorded information through writing, symbols, and early tools like the abacus.

Abacus

Developed in ancient China, a manually-operated device considered the first device to process information.

Mechanical Period

The era from $1450 - 1840$ marked by the transition to using machines to automate mathematical operations.

Pascaline

Invented by Blaise Pascal in $1642$, it is the first successful mechanical calculator designed for automatic addition and subtraction.

Analytical Engine

Designed by Charles Babbage in the $19^{\text{th}}$ century, it is considered the first programmable mechanical computer.

Charles Babbage

The individual known as the "Father of the Computer."

Electromechanical Period

The era from $1840 - 1940$ that introduced electricity into communication and combined mechanical devices with electrical technology.

Telegraph

Invented by Samuel Morse, a device enabling long-distance communication using electrical signals encoded as Morse code.

Electronic Period

The era from $1940 - \text{Present}$ characterized by vacuum tubes, transistors, integrated circuits, and microprocessors.

ENIAC

Standing for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, it was the first general-purpose electronic computer, completed in $1945$.

Transistor

Invented in $1947$ at Bell Laboratories to replace vacuum tubes; it is smaller, faster, and more reliable.

Integrated Circuits

Electronic components that combine multiple transistors onto a single semiconductor chip, making systems smaller and cheaper.

Microprocessors

A single integrated circuit containing an entire CPU, which enabled the development of personal computers.

Ready Reckoner

Books containing pre-calculated mathematical tables used by professionals for quick calculations in the $1570\text{s}$.

Napier's Bones

A device developed by John Napier in $1617$ consisting of numbered rods for efficient multiplication and division.

Slide Rule

Developed by William Oughtred in the $1620\text{s}$ based on logarithmic scales for multiplication, division, and roots.

Schickard's Calculating Machine

A machine designed by Wilhelm Schickard in $1623$ using wheels and gears to assist with arithmetic.

Stepped Reckoner

Invented by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in $1673$, it used a stepped-drum mechanism to perform the four basic arithmetic operations.

Jacquard Loom

Developed by Joseph-Marie Jacquard in $1801$, it used punched cards to control fabric patterns.

Arithmometer

Developed by Thomas de Colmar in $1820$, it was the first commercially successful mechanical calculator.

Ada Lovelace

Published notes on Babbage's Analytical Engine in $1843$ and is recognized as the First Computer Programmer.

Hollerith's Punch-Card Machine

Developed by Herman Hollerith for the $1890$ U.S. Census; it is the first automatic data processing system.

Differential Analyzer

Developed by Vannevar Bush in $1931$, the first large-scale automatic general-purpose mechanical analog computer.

Turing Machine

A theoretical model described by Alan Turing in $1936$ that provided a mathematical model of computation.

Z1 Computer

The first freely programmable computer in the world, developed by Konrad Zuse in $1938$ using binary floating-point numbers.

Atanasoff-Berry Computer

Developed in $1942$, it was the first computer able to store information on its main memory.

Colossus

Built in $1943 - 1944$ by Tommy Flowers to help analyze encrypted German communications during World War II.

Harvard Mark I

An electromechanical computer developed in $1944$ under Howard Aiken for scientific and military calculations.

UNIVAC I

Introduced in $1951$ by Remington Rand, it was the first computer mass-produced for general use.

FORTRAN

The first high-level programming language, developed at IBM in $1957$ for scientific and mathematical computing.

The Mother of All Demos

A $1968$ demonstration by Douglas Engelbart showing the mouse, hypertext, and graphical interfaces.

ARPANET

A network funded by the U.S. Department of Defense in $1969$ and a predecessor to the modern Internet.

Intel 4004

Released in $1971$, it was one of the first commercially available microprocessors.

Ethernet

A key technology for Local Area Networks (LANs) developed at Xerox PARC in $1973$.

TCP/IP

The standard networking protocol adopted by ARPANET in $1983$ for cross-network communication.

World Wide Web

Proposed by Tim Berners-Lee in $1989$, it introduced HTML, HTTP, and URLs.

Frontier

The first publicly announced supercomputer to achieve exascale performance ($10^{18}$ calculations per second) in $2022$.

Generative AI

AI that creates new content from patterns learned from large datasets, popularized in $2022$.

Qubits

The basic units used in Quantum computers that can exploit superposition and entanglement, representing $0$, $1$, or both concurrently.