II - HISTORY OF COMPUTER: BASIC COMPUTING PERIODS

Computer

A programmable machine. An electronic device that manipulates information, or data, and has the ability to store, retrieve, and process data.

Computer

Any device which aids humans in performing various kinds of computations or calculations.

Program

A list of instructions according to which a machine manipulates data.

Business

Computers are used to store and maintain accounts, manage personnel records and projects, track inventory, and create presentations or reports. They also facilitate internal and external communication through technologies like e-mail and enable direct customer interaction for business promotion.

Education

ICT provides audio-visual packages, interactive exercises, and remote learning options, including online tutoring. Students can access information via the internet, intranet, or e-books, while teachers use it to monitor performance through online exams and project creation.

Healthcare

Computerization has revolutionized this sector by digitizing medical information for easier storage and access. Software helps analyze complex data for diagnoses and disease risk assessment, and computers directly control critical equipment like lab tools and heart rate monitors.

Retail and Trade

Online platforms enable buying and selling to a wider market with low overheads. Consumers can compare prices and read reviews, while sites like eBay and social media facilitate direct trading and advertising.

Government

Departments utilize computers for city planning, law enforcement, traffic management, and tourism. They improve service efficiency through better information storage, internal communication, and routine administrative functions.

Marketing

Data analysis and manipulation allow for more precise marketing campaigns. Computers are used to create websites, generate social media campaigns, and communicate directly with customers via chat or email.

Science

Scientists use computers for research, data collection, and sharing information globally. Computers also play a vital role in advanced technologies like launching and controlling spacecraft.

Publishing

Almost any publication, including newsletters, fashion magazines, novels, and newspapers, is designed using computers. They are used for both hard-copy and e-books, as well as for tracking sales and marketing.

Arts and Entertainment

Computers are used to create graphic designs, edit photographs, write literature, and record or play music and videos.

Communication

Real-time interaction is made easy through software and video conferencing services like Skype, allowing families and businesses to connect remotely.

Banking and Finance

Most banking now occurs online, allowing users to check balances, transfer money, pay credit cards, and manage stock market investments.

Transport

Many vehicles are automated with computer-based safety and navigation systems, and increasingly to drive, fly or steer. They can also highlight problems that require attention, such as low fuel levels, oil changes, or a failing mechanical part.

Navigation

Combined with GPS and satellites, computers help pinpoint exact locations and provide information on nearby amenities.

Working from Home

Workers can access necessary data, communicate, and share information without commuting to a traditional office.

Military

Computers are used for training, analyzing intelligence data, and controlling smart technology like drones and guided missiles.

Social and Romance

Social media, dating apps, and online forums provide various ways to chat, share media, and connect with others based on interests or for romance.

Booking Vacations

Travelers use computers to study timetables, buy tickets, and book accommodation through services like AirBnB.

Security and Surveillance

Computer technology is used in biometric passports, face-recognition systems, and auto-scanning for license plates to identify criminals and improve public safety.

Weather Forecasting

Computers process the vast amounts of meteorological data required to perform complex calculations for predicting future weather patterns.

Robotics

This field combines computers with engineering to create machines that can replace humans in manufacturing or perform jobs in conditions too harsh for people.

Tally Sticks

Used as an ancient memory aid device to record and document numbers, quantities, or messages.

Abacus

A mechanical device used to aid an individual in performing basic arithmetic operations. It was invented in Babylonia (2400 B.C.) and later used in its familiar form in China (around 500 B.C.).

Napier’s Bones

Allowed the operator to multiply, divide, and calculate square and cube roots by moving rods on specially constructed boards.

Slide Rule

Invented by William Oughtred (1622); used primarily for multiplication, division, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry.

Pascaline

A mechanical computer, its limitation was that it could only perform addition and subtraction.

Stepped Reckoner

Invented by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1672); a machine designed to add, subtract, multiply, and divide automatically

Jacquard Loom

An automatic mechanical loom controlled by punched cards.

Arithmometer

Invented by Thomas de Colmar (1820); the first mass-produced, reliable, and commercially successful calculating machine that performed the four basic mathematic functions.

Difference Engine

Designed by Charles Babbage (1822); an automatic mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions.

Analytical Engine

Designed by Charles Babbage (1834); considered the first mechanical computer.

Scheutzian Calculation Engine

Based on Babbage's difference engine, it was the first printing calculator.

Tabulating Machine

Invented by Herman Hollerith (1890); designed to assist in summarizing information and accounting.

Harvard Mark 1 aka ASCC (Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator)

The first electro-mechanical computer.

Z1

The first programmable computer, which used punch tape for input and output.

ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer)

The first electronic digital computing device.

ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)

The first electronic general-purpose computer, Developed by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly in 1946.

UNIVAC 1 (Universal Automatic Computer 1)

The first commercial computer, designed by Eckert and Mauchly.

EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer)

The first stored program computer, designed by Von Neumann in 1952.

Osborne 1

The first portable computer, released in 1981.

Electronic Controls Company

The first computer company. It was founded in 1949 by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.

Premechanical Age (3000 B.C. – 1450 A.D.)

The earliest age of information technology characterized by language, petroglyths (rock carvings), and early alphabets.

Mechanical Age (1450 – 1840)

The period where connections between current technology and its ancestors first appear; saw inventions like the slide rule and Pascaline.

Electromechanical Age (1840 – 1940)

Characterized by the beginnings of telecommunication, including the telegraph, Morse code, telephone, and radio.

Electronic Age (1940 – present)

The current era of computing, starting with high-speed digital computers like the ENIAC.

First Generation (1946–1958)

Used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory; relied on machine language. Could only solve one problem at a time.

Second Generation (1959–1964)

Used transistors, which were smaller, faster, and more reliable than vacuum tubes; introduced symbolic/assembly languages and magnetic core memory.

Third Generation (1965–1970)

Characterized by the development of the integrated circuit and the use of semiconductors (silicon chips).

Fourth Generation (1971–Today)

Characterized by the microprocessor, where thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip; saw the development of GUIs (Graphical User Interface), the mouse, and handheld devices.

Fifth Generation (Today–Future)

Based on Artificial Intelligence (AI); goals include parallel processing, superconductors, and devices that respond to natural language input.