Explanation of the Keys on a Windows QWERTY Keyboard

Q W E R T Y

"The name "QWERTY" for our computer keyboard comes from the
first six letters in the top alphabet row (the one just below the
numbers). It is also referred to as the "Universal" keyboard. It was
the work of inventor C. L. Sholes, who put together the prototypes
of the first commercial typewriter in a Milwaukee machine shop
back in the 1860's."
Return to Keyboard

Esc

Equivalent to clicking the Cancel button. In PowerPoint the Esc

key will stop a running slide show. On a web page with
animations, the Esc key will stop the animations. On a web page
that is loading, the Esc key will stop the page from loading. The
keyboard combination Ctrl + Esc will open the Start Menu.
Return to Keyboard

F1

While working in an application, depressing this key will bring up

the applications help menu. If there is no open application F1 will
open Windows Help.
Return to Keyboard

F2

Choose this key to rename a selected item or object.

Return to Keyboard

F3

Depressing this key will display the Find: All Files dialog box.
Return to Keyboard

F4

Selects the Go To A Different Folder box and moves down the

entries in the box (if the toolbar is active in Windows Explorer)
Return to Keyboard

F5

Refreshes the current window. In Internet Explorer, F5 will

Refresh the web page.
Return to Keyboard

F6

Moves among panes in Windows Explorer.

Return to Keyboard

F7
Return to Keyboard

F8
Return to Keyboard

F9
Return to Keyboard

F10

Activates menu bar options. Use right and left arrows to select
menus and down arrows to display pull down menus.
Return to Keyboard

F11

In Internet Explorer this key will allow you to toggle between full
screen viewing mode and normal viewing mode.
Return to Keyboard

F12
Return to Keyboard

Print Screen/SysRq

Usually located at the upper right hand corner of your keyboard

next to the Scroll Lock and Pause/Break keys. Often
abbreviated PrtScr, the Print Screen key is a useful key
supported on most PCs. In DOS, pressing the Print Screen key
causes the computer to send whatever images and text are
currently on the display screen to the printer. Some graphics
programs and Windows, use the Print Screen key to obtain
Screen Captures.
Return to Keyboard

Tab

This key can be used to move forward through options in a dialog

box.
Ctrl + Shift + Tab can be used to move backward through the
options.
Ctrl + Tab allows movement from one open window to the next in
an application with more than one open window.
Alt + Tab displays a list of open application windows. Keeping Alt
depressed and selecting Tab cycles through the list. Releasing
selects the highlighted application window.
Return to Keyboard

C
a
p
s

L
o
c
k

Locks the keyboard in "Capitals" mode (only applies to Alpha

keys). The Caps Lock key should be used with caution. Using ALL
CAPS is a usability no-no as many have difficulty scanning text
that is ALL CAPS. Also, when sending email in ALL CAPS, THIS
COULD BE MISCONSTRUED AS SHOUTING AT SOMEONE.
Return to Keyboard

Shif
t

The obvious use of this key is to allow selection of capital letters

when depressing the alphabet characters, or selecting the
characters above other non-alpha keys.
 Depressing the Shift key while inserting a CD-ROM will bypass
auto play.
Shift + Delete to permanently delete a selected item, bypasses the
Recycle Bin.
Return to Keyboard

Control Key

Ctrl

Depressing the Ctrl key while clicking allows multiple selections.

Holding the Ctrl key down and pressing other key combinations
will initiate quite a few actions. Some of the more common ones
are listed below.
Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + A

Select All items

Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + B

Add or remove Bold formatting

Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + C

Copy, places the selected/highlighted copy on the clipboard.

Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + C + C

Opens the clipboard.

Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + F

Opens the Find what: dialog box. Great for finding references on
a web page while using your favorite web browser.
Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + H
Replace, brings up the Find and Replace dialog box. Great for
global find and replace routines while working in normal and html
views in your favorite WYSIWYG editors like FrontPage. You can
also use this to find and replace content within your Word
Documents, Excel Spreadsheets, etc...
Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + I

Add or remove Italic formatting.

Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + N

Window, In Internet Explorer, opens a New Window. In

Outlook, opens a New Mail Message. In most publishing
programs like Word, opens a New Document.
Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + O

Open, brings up a browse dialog and allows you to select a file to

open.
Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + P

Print
Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + S

Save
Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + U

Add or remove Underline formatting.

Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + V
Paste, inserts the copy on the clipboard into the area where your
flashing cursoris positioned or the area you have
selected/highlighted.
Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + W

Close, will close the document currently open.

Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + X

Cut, removes the selected/highlighted copy and places it on

the clipboard.
Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + Y

Redo last command. Many software programs offer multiple

Redo's by pressing Ctrl + Y + Y + Y...
Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + Z

Undo last command. Many software programs offer multiple

Undo's by pressing Ctrl + Z + Z + Z...
Return to Keyboard

Ctrl
+
Esc

Open the Start menu (or use the Windows Key if you have one).
Return to Keyboard

C
t
r
l
+

Spell checker (pre WinXP).

 Return to Keyboard

Ctrl

While dragging a file to copy the file.

Return to Keyboard

Ctrl +
Shift

While dragging a file to create a shortcut.

Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + Tab

Allows movement (toggle) from one open window to the next in an

application with more than one open window.
Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + F4

Close a window in an application without closing the application.

Return to Keyboard

Ctrl + F5

In Internet Explorer, Ctrl + F5 will Refresh the web page

bypassing cache (all images and external file references will be
reloaded).
Return to Keyboard

Windows Key

Windows Key

On either side of the spacebar, outside the Alt key, is a key with
the Windows logo. Holding the Windows key down and pressing
another key will initiate quite a few actions. Some of the more
common are listed below.
Return to Keyboard
Displays the Start Menu.
Return to Keyboard

+D

Minimizes all windows and shows the Desktop.

Return to Keyboard

+D

Opens all windows and takes you right back to where you were.
Return to Keyboard

+E

Opens a new Explorer Window. Probably one of the hottest

Windows keyboard shortcuts. This one gets a lot of hoorahs!
Return to Keyboard

+F

Displays the Find all files dialog box.

Return to Keyboard

+L

Lock your Windows XP computer. Logoff in Windows Pre-XP.

Return to Keyboard

+M

Minimizes all open windows.

Return to Keyboard

+ Shift + M

Restores all previously open windows to how they were before

you Minimized them.
Return to Keyboard
 +R

Displays the Run command.

Return to Keyboard

+ F1

Displays the Windows Help menu.

Return to Keyboard

+ Pause/Break

Displays the Systems Properties dialog box.

Return to Keyboard

+ Tab

Cycle through the buttons on the Task Bar.

Return to Keyboard

Alt

Alt

Located on either side of the space bar. Holding the Alt key down
and pressing another key will initiate various actions. Some of the
more common ones are listed below:
Return to Keyboard

Alt + F4

Closes the current active window. If there is no active window this

opens the Shut Down dialog box.
Return to Keyboard

Alt + underlined letter in menu

To carry out the corresponding command on the menu.

Return to Keyboard

Alt + left/right arrows

In a browser moves forward or back through the pages visited in a
window.
Return to Keyboard

Alt + Space Bar

Displays the current window's system menu. This is the same as

left clicking on the application icon at the top left of the window.
Return to Keyboard

Alt + Enter

Displays a selected items properties. This can also be done with Alt
+ double-click.
Return to Keyboard

Alt + PrtScn

Captures the top window of the active application.

Return to Keyboard

Alt + Space Bar

Displays the main window's system menu. This is the same as

clicking on the application icon at the left end of the title bar.
Return to Keyboard

Alt + Space Bar + C

After the system menu is displayed (see above), this combination

will close a window. This works the same way as Alt + F4 but
requires less stretch.
Return to Keyboard

Alt + - (hyphen)

Displays the current window's system menu. This is the same as

left clicking on the application icon at the top left of the window.
Return to Keyboard

Alt + Tab
Displays a list of open application windows. Keeping Alt depressed
and selecting Tab cycles through the list. Releasing selects the
highlighted application window.
Return to Keyboard

Alt Ctrl

The Application key has an image of a mouse pointer on a menu

(between the Alt and Ctrl keys () to the right of your Space Bar).
Depressing this key will display the selected item's shortcut
window. This is the menu that is displayed by right-clicking.
Return to Keyboard

Space Bar

Insert a space between words. It is suggested that you utilize Tabs

(or other formatting commands) to put distance between
elements. Using the space bar to insert visual space works but
would not be considered a best practice in page design. Double
spaces between sentences are no longer required. This is a
carryover from the days of fixed width fonts on a typewriter such
as Courier, Orator, Prestige Elite, etc.
Pressing the Space Bar while viewing a web page in Internet
Explorer will scroll the page downwards. Shift + Space Bar will
scroll the page upwards.
Return to Keyboard

Enter

Creates a new Paragraph <p> () or what is referred to as a Hard

Return. In any dialog box a selected button or command can be
selected by depressing this key. Selected buttons can be
recognized by their darker (dotted) borders, or what is referred to
as Focus.
Return to Keyboard

Shift + Enter

Creates a new Line Break <br> () or what is referred to as a Soft

Return.
Return to Keyboard
 Shift + Arrow

Shift + Arrow Up, Down, Left or Right. Position your cursorat

the beginning of the area you wish to highlight for copying. Now
use the up, down, left or right arrow keys to select areas of
content to be highlighted, copied, pasted, etc.
Return to Keyboard

Backspac
e

While working with text, use this key to delete characters to the
left of the insertion point.
Return to Keyboard

Inser
t
Return to Keyboard

H
o
m
e

Depress and hold the Ctrl key as you select Home to go to the first
line of a document.
Return to Keyboard

Pag
e
Up

In a browser window use the Page Up key to move up one full

screen on a web page.
Return to Keyboard

Delete

While working with text, use this key to delete characters to the
right of the insertion point. This key can also be used to delete
selected files. If you use the keyboard combination Shift + Delete
the item is permanently deleted, bypassing the Recycle Bin.
Return to Keyboard
 End

Depress and hold the Ctrl key as you select End to go to the last
line of a document.
Return to Keyboard

Page Down

In a browser window use the Page Down key to move down one
full screen on a web page.
Return to Keyboard

Up Arrow

Navigate in a document to the line above. Hold the Ctrl key down
as you press this key to move to the beginning of the second line
above.
Return to Keyboard

Right Arrow

Navigate in a document one character to the right. Hold the Ctrl

key down as you press this key to move one word to the right.
Return to Keyboard

Down Arrow

Navigate in a document to the line below. Hold the Ctrl key down
as you press this key to move to the beginning of the second line
below.
Return to Keyboard

Left Arrow

Navigate in a document one character to the left. Hold the Ctrl key
down as you press this key to move one word to the left.
Return to Keyboard

Keypad Keys
Num Lock

If you want to use the numeric keypad on the right end of the
keyboard to display numbers, the Num Lock key must be selected
(usually a light above the Num Lock will indicate that it is on). If
 you want to use the keypad to navigate within a document, turn
off Num Lock by pressing the key (the light will go off).
Return to Keyboard

* (Asterisk)

In Windows Explorer this expands everything under the current

selection. Caution: do not try this with the C Drive icon selected.
Return to Keyboard

- (Minus Sign)

In Windows Explorer this collapses the current selection.

Return to Keyboard

+ (Plus Sign)

In Windows Explorer this expands the current selection.

Return to Keyboard

• Windows Print Screen Key

• Alt Print Screen Key

• Windows Keyboard Picture

• Keyboard Shortcuts

• Windows Key

Here is a link to a picture of a clickable Windows Keyboard with detailed

explanations of each key. Use your back button to return to this page.
Who is the inventor of computer?
The first computer was invented by Charles Babbage in the year 1822. Ada Lovelace,
was the first programmer for this computer. The first patent for working computers
was done by ENIAC in 1952.

Who is the inventor of laptop?

Adam Osborne is invented the laptop in 1981 and the first one released was Osborne 1
under Osborne Computer Corporation.

Who is the inventor of microprocessor?

The functions of a computer's CPU on a single integrated circuit are incorporated as
micro processor. The very first micro processor was invented in 1970 for the use in the
electronic calculators. The first microprocessor was Intel 4004 and was developed by
Ted Hoff.

Who is the inventor of mouse?

A pointing device used in computer which functions by detecting the motion,
consisting of one or more buttons was invented by Douglas Engelbart at the Stanford
Research Institute in 1963.

Who is the inventor of printer?

The first printer was developed by Remington Rand.

Who is the inventor of the internet?

In 1973, internet was developed by American scientist V. Cerf, who was assigned a
project by ARPA. He needed to link the ARPAnet to link their Universities and
research labs.

Who is the inventor of www?

The inventor of www is Tim Berner Lee as well as Robert Cailliau in the year 1990. It
is the most popular service on the internet. It is a system for organizing as well as
linking internet files, resources, and services and providing access to them.

Who is the inventor of Microsoft?

Bill Gates and Paul Allen are the founders of Microsoft. It was founded in the year
1975 at Albuquerque, New Mexico. Microsoft was founded to develop BASIC
interpreters for the Altair 8800

Who is the inventor of c language?

C programming language was developed by Dennis Ritchie in 1972 at Bell Telephone
laboratories to use in Unix operating system. Basically it was developed for the
implementation of system software, it has been used even in developing application
software.

Who is the inventor of email?

Email which stands for Electronic Mail was invented by Ray Tomlinson in the year
1971 and initiated in using “@” sign for separating user name and machine.

Who is the inventor of eBay?

EBay managed by an American company was started by Pierre Omidyar, on
September 3, 1995. The main purpose of this website was for an online auction and
shopping option to the buyers and sellers across the world. The headquarters is in San
Jose, CA, USA.

Who is the inventor of facebook?

Facebook, a social networking site was started by Mark Zuckerberg with his
roommates and friends while he was studying in Harvard University. Initially, they
started the site only for the university people but later on made it open throughout the
world to join.

Who is the inventor of wikipedia?

Wiki, as the name suggests, is an online guide or dictionary for anyone to access
information online. Wikipedia was invented by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in the
year 2001 and previously known Nupedia from 1996-97. This is online free content
portal for all information.

Who is the inventor of myspace?

MySpace is a social networking website is invented by Tom Anderson. It was
launched in August 2003 and the headquarters is based in Beverly Hills, California,

Who is the inventor of Google?

Google was founded by Lawrence E. Page and Sergey M. Brin while they were
students at Stanford University. Google Inc was incorporated on September 4, 1998.
Within no time, Google turned out to be the top most browsed site specializing in
internet search.

Who is the inventor of apple computers?

The first Apple computer, Apple-I was invented by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in
the year 1976 under the company name Apple Computers Inc. Later, the name was
changed to Apple Inc with effect from January 9, 2007. A year later Apple-II was
introduced.

Who is the inventor of Bluetooth?

Bluetooth is transferring data from one device to other using a wireless protocol
technology; it uses a radio technology in exchanging. This Bluetooth technology was
firstly introduced by telecommunication manufacturer Ericsson, based in Sweden in
1994. Jaap Haartsen and Sven Mattisson are said to be the developers.
The invention of the computer

There is not just one inventor of the computer, as the ideas of many scientists and engineers led to its
invention. These ideas were developed in the 1930s and 1940s, mostly independently of each other, in
Germany, Great Britain and the USA, and were turned into working machines.

In Germany, Konrad Zuse hit upon the idea of building a program-controlled calculating machine when he
had to deal with extensive calculations in statics. In 1935, he began to design a program-controlled
calculating machine in his parents' home in Berlin. It was based on the binary system and used punched
tape for the program input. The Z1, which was built between 1936 and 1938, was a purely mechanical
machine which was not fully operational. In 1940, Zuse began to build a successor to the Z1 based on relay
technology. In May 1941, he finished the Z3 - worldwide the first freely programmable program-controlled
automatic calculator that was operational.

Several similar developments were in progress in the USA at the same time. In 1939, IBM started to build a
program-controlled relay calculator on the basis of a concept that Howard H. Aiken had put forward in 1937.
This machine - the IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (Mark I) - was used on production work
from 1944.

However, it was not Aiken's and Stibitz's relay calculators that were decisive for the development of the
universal computer but the ENIAC, which was developed at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at
the University of Pennsylvania. Extensive ballistic computations were carried out there for the U.S. Army
during World War II with the aid of a copy of the analog Differential Analyzer, which had been designed by
Vannevar Bush, and more than a hundred women working on mechanical desk calculators. Nevertheless,
capacity was barely sufficient to compute the artillery firing tables that were needed. In August 1942, John
W. Mauchly, a physicist, presented a memo at the Moore School for a vacuumtube computer that was
conceived as a digital version of the Differential Analyzer.

Mauchly had adopted John Vincent Atanasoff's idea for an electronic computer. Atanasoff had developed
the ABC special-purpose computer at the Iowa State College (now Iowa State University) to solve systems
of linear equations. Mauchly had viewed the ABC in June 1940. John Presper Eckert, a young electronic
engineer at the Moore School, was responsible for the brilliant engineering of the new ENIAC. The work
began on 31 May 1943 with funding from the U.S. Army. In February 1946, successful program runs were
demonstrated.

At almost the same time, the Model I to Model VI relay calculators were built at Bell Laboratories in New
York following a suggestion by George R. Stibitz.
John von Neumann, an influential mathematician, turned his attention to the ENIAC in the summer of 1944.
While this computer was being built, von Neumann and the ENIAC team drew up a plan for a successor to
the ENIAC. The biggest problem with the ENIAC was that its memory was too small. Eckert suggested a
mercury delay-line memory which would increase memory capacity by a factor of 100 compared with the
electronic memory used in the ENIAC.
An equally big problem was programming the ENIAC, which could take hours or even days.

In meetings with von Neumann, the idea of a stored-program, universal machine evolved. Memory was to
be used to store the program in addition to data. This would enable the machine to execute conditional
branches and change the flow of the program. The concept of a computer in the modern sense of the word
was born.

In spring 1944, von Neumann wrote his "First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC" (Electronic Discrete Variable
Computer) which described the stored-program, universal computer. The logical structure that was
presented in this draft report is now referred to as the von Neumann architecture. This EDVAC report was
originally intended for internal use only but it became the "bible" for computer pioneers throughout the world
in the 1940s and 1950s.

The first two computers featuring the von Neumann architecture were not built in America but in Great
Britain. On 21 June 1948, Frederic C. Williams of the University of Manchester managed to run the
prototype of the Manchester Mark I, and thus proved it was possible to build a stored-program, universal
computer. The first really functional von Neumann computer was built by Maurice Wilkes at Cambridge
University. This machine called EDSAC first ran a program on 6 May 1949 computing a table of square
numbers.

Different eras of political history are frequently identified with royal dynasties, or
great wars and revolutions.

Eras in the history of art and architecture may be distinguished by styles such as
Renaissance, Gothic, Impressionist or Surrealist, and so on.

Techniques too have marked different eras over the centuries: from the primitive
tools of the Stone Age, to the Industrial Age marked by steam and electrical power
and the discovery of turbines, and engines.

Today, we have entered a new era: the computer age – an age which owes
everything to inventors.

Charles Babbage, an English mathematician, is considered to be the great-

grandfather of the computer. Over 150 years ago, in 1840 to be exact, he invented a
sophisticated calculating machine, and called it the "Analytical Engine." As with many
inventions, his creation was far in advance of its time.

It took another 100 years before the first computers were built, and as you know,
they were huge and incredibly heavy. Take, for instance, the famous Mark I. It was
the world’s first electro-mechanical computer and was used during World War 2 by
the U.S. Navy. In comparison to 20th-century systems, it could be likened to a
battleship: 2.6 meters high, 16 meters wide, 2 meters deep, and weighing a massive
5 tons!
The machine – the hardware – could not develop without the software to match, of
course. In this respect, two women mathematicians played key roles.

Ada Lovelace Byron, daughter of the poet Lord Byron, wrote in 1843 what today
we'd call programs for Charles Babbage’s "Analytical Engine." She was a pioneer and
is considered to be the very first programmer in history. That's why 130 years later,
the U.S. Department of Defence gave her forename – Ada – A-D-A – to one of the
most important computer programs in the world. It is used not only by the U.S.
Army, Navy and Air Force but also by big industry, universities, and other centers of
research.

Grace Hopper, an American woman, invented in 1952 the very first compiler of all
times, a program which translates a programming language so that it can be
understood by computers. It was a sensational breakthrough which opened doors to
automatic programming and thus directly to contemporary personal computers
(PCs).

Today, computers are at the center of thousands upon thousands of other

inventions. They are the heartbeats of the modern world. Computers are every-
where – from kitchens to concrete mixers, from planes to pockets. They listen. They
speak. They act. Never in world history has one invention had such an influence on
humanity as a whole. Without the computer age, there would be no global
awareness.

Internet, in particular, has created a brand new environment. A new culture has
been born – free, rapid, and universal – where people share their knowledge and
expertise. Information and communication techniques have been turned upside
down, distance has been eliminated, frontiers abolished. A tremendous interactive
potential is burgeoning on our planet Earth today. Like it or lump it – none can stop
it!

I would like to mention something concerning Internet. The inventors in 1990 of the
World Wide Web (WWW), which revolutionized the contemporary computer world,
did not become millionaires. British Tim Berners-Lee and Belgian Robert Caillau, both
researchers at European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, did not
make any money through their invention of the WWW. They refused to patent it.
They feared that in so doing, the use of the Web would prove prohibitively expensive
preventing its use worldwide. Thus, they passed up a fortune so that our world can
learn and communicate today, and we should be grateful to them for their foresight.

The invention of the computer with its multitude of programs and new information
technologies is transforming the traditional perception of an inventor. A more
positive image is emerging. No longer personified by an eccentric crackpot, a
crackpot male genius working alone in attic, garage or basement, today's inventors
resemble more and more millions of other scientists, industrial researchers and
entrepreneurs in workshops or laboratories surrounded by a computer station. All
use the "mouse" instead of a pencil, and their drawing boards are computer screens.
Women inventors have also contributed to this change in the traditional image of
the inventor, particularly in certain fields such as chemistry, pharmaceuticals,
biotechnology, not to speak of computer software.

In the USA, for instance, the number of women inventors with patents in the field
of chemistry increased three-and-half times during the period from 1977 (2.8%) to
1988 (9.9%). It would be interesting indeed to see what further increases have
taken place over the past 10 years.

Another popular fallacy is not only that the large majority of inventors are eccentric
and male, but they are also perceived as being rather ancient! The truth is that,
thanks to the computer, people are actually inventing more and more at an
increasingly youthful age. In Silicon Valley, a 30-year old inventor is considered
already long in the tooth, and many newcomers to the inventive world are in their
20s. Some predict that in a few years time, there'll be a new generation of 14-year-
old millionaire inventors appearing in Silicon Valley!

Unfortunately, this new generation of inventors – women and very young people – is
insufficiently present among representatives of most inventor associations
worldwide. These are still run by people who, although totally dedicated to their
work, were neither born nor grew up in the computer age. Therefore they find
adaptation difficult. Information technology frequently passes them by. This is often
a cause of very real problems.

Let's now consider some of the ways inventors can make use of the new
technologies of the computer age.

We all know that inventors need a lot of information. Technological information

contained in patent documents is essential at the very earliest stages of invention. It
can avoid duplication in research work. It can provide ideas for further development
of existing technology. It can also give a glimpse of the technological activities of
competitors. That is why Patent Offices have put their patent documentation
databases on the Internet. Access is not only fast, but easily accessible, and
available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

It's also free in the sense that it doesn’t cost the inventor a single cent to consult
such documentation! Time-consuming travel to Patent Offices or libraries storing
patent documents is a thing of the past. The inventor also has access to much more
data than through a single database. Obviously, the ideal is one huge library,
containing millions of patent documents from all over the world.

The European Patent Office (EPO) has tried to create this world library of patent
documents. I am glad to inform you that IFIA Web site allows surfers to visit this
EPO site, and through it, to jump to the major providers of patent information in the
world, whether they be Patent Offices or private enterprises, such as IBM. A further
advantage is the constant updating of all these databases by each of the providers.
In brief, it's sufficient to click on one address, the EPO address, to access millions of
documents: <http:www.european-patent-office.org/online/index.htm>.
For many inventors, the marketing stage often starts with a prototype to prove that
the product works satisfactorily, and what's more, works safely. The greater a
model's perfection, the greater the chances of selling a license to a manufacturer.
But a professional prototype, as close to the final product as possible, can rapidly
become extremely expensive.

One fantastic and inexpensive alternative to a physical prototype is a computerized

model. Basically, it amounts to modelling the invention from all angles on a
computer, with self-running commentary, demonstrations and animation of all the
invention’s functions. The diskette or ZIP disk can be duplicated in as many copies
as necessary, and sent via regular mail.

The computerized prototype can also be loaded onto a video tape and copies made.
Busy executives – prospective investors, licensees or buyers – seem, however, to
prefer a diskette which is easy to put into the computer, in addition to the fact that
most offices do not have a TV and VCR. The video tape would seem more
appropriate when presenting an invention at an exhibition or fair.

On the subject of invention shows, let me stress in passing that virtual exhibitions
exist already. One of IFIA's members, the Hungarian Association of Inventors, even
launched an international competition of inventions last March with a virtual jury,
each member sitting serenely in front of his/her computer screen, somewhere
around the world.

With the computer age upon us, we are also moving slowly but surely away from the
traditional paper system of filing patent applications to the new electronic filing
system – a rapid and cheap transmission system of text and image data.

Patent Offices are now engaged in preparing the necessary tools to assist inventors
and other applicants in this form of electronic commerce. Naturally, their Web
sites will have to provide links to reference material, technical guidelines and
instructions on filing applications.

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), administered by the World Intellectual

Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, provides inventors and industry with an
advantageous route for obtaining patent protection worldwide. Starting from January
1, 1999, the PCT is offering a reduction of US$ 200 (two hundred) for every
electronic filing. That's quite an encouragement to use this system!

However, no system is perfect. It still remains a fact that Patent Offices are faced
with serious technical issues related to information security. Namely: How to
ensure the security and authenticity of the transmission and exchange of
unpublished – therefore confidential – data? The next question to arise is: Who will
be responsible in case of third-party intrusions? The Patent Office? – or the
applicant?
Because of the international nature of the patent system, it has been decided
recently that all information security issues will be examined in the framework of
WIPO.

To better understand some of the many issues involved, I would like to give two
examples as described in a WIPO document discussed a few days ago in Geneva:

" ... any exchange between applicants and examiners requires excellent levels of
security and data privacy. Furthermore, many of these activities require some
assurance of the identity of one party or another. For example, if an applicant is
exchanging information with an examiner, the examiner needs to know that the
individual is indeed authorized to provide information, (e.g. proof of identity), and
the applicant needs to be confident that he or she is indeed in contact with a patent
examiner and not a clever hacker. [...]"

"The exchange of priority documents provides another interesting example. If a

priority document is to be exchanged in electronic form, it needs to be validated by
the originating party. In other words, the document needs to be signed to
demonstrate its authenticity, it needs to have a guaranteed time stamp associated
with the transaction, preferably by a third party (to prevent presumed or actual
forgery of dates and times), and it needs to have some guarantee of accuracy, so
that a party obtaining the document can tell if tampering occurred..."

Every now and then we hear some people say, "There's hardly anything left to
invent. Everything has been invented already!". What a silly remark! You can be
certain that inventors will continue inventing, and new discoveries will be made,
right up to the very last minute before the world comes to an end! But to return to
today, with the computer age, the possibilities of invention are endless and in all
possible fields.

It has also been said that the computer will eventually invent the inventor. By that I
mean that one day, the computer will replace the inventor. Up to a point, I must
agree – but only to a certain extent. You can feed the computer with billions of data.
One has even beaten a world chess champion. Nevertheless, the computer has no
humanity, no imagination, no sensitivity or affectivity, and no inherent wisdom. Can
it smell the perfume of a rose? ...interpret the color of a sunrise? Can it caress the
cheek of a child? ...or savor the taste of Hong Kong's dim sum?! Above all it's a
machine – a fantastic machine – but remember, it’s only a machine.

So let's not make a new god out of the computer, as some tend to do. But rather use
its possibilities to a maximum ... and through it, try quite simply to build a better
world. That should be our motto.
 Jürgen Schmidhuber's page on
KONRAD ZUSE (1910-1995)
Inventor of first working 1935-1938: Konrad Zuse builds Z1, world's
programmable computer first program-controlled computer. Despite
(Z3, 1941) certain mechanical engineering problems it
had all the basic ingredients of modern
Pronounce: machines, using the binary system and
`Conrud today's standard separation of storage and
Tsoosay' control. Zuse's 1936 patent application
(Z23139/GMD Nr. 005/021) also suggests a
von Neumann architecture (re-invented in
1945) with program and data modifiable in
storage.
1941: Zuse completes Z3, world's first
fully functional programmable computer.
1945: Zuse describes Plankalkuel, world's
first higher-level programming language,
containing many standard features of
today's programming languages.
FORTRAN came almost a decade later.
Zuse also used Plankalkuel to design
world's first chess program.
1946: Zuse founds world's first computer
startup company: the Zuse-Ingenieurbüro
Hopferau. Venture capital raised through
ETH Zürich and an IBM option on Zuse's
patents.
Z3
Note: Babbage (UK, around
1840) planned but was
unable to build a non-binary,
decimal, programmable
machine. The binary ABC
(US, 1942) of Atanasoff (of
Bulgarian origin) and Eckert
and Mauchly's decimal
ENIAC (US, 1945/46) were
special purpose calculators,
in principle like those of
Schickard, (1623), Pascal
(1640) and Leibniz (1670),
though faster (with tubes
instead of gears; today we
use transistors). None of
these machines was freely
programmable. Neither was
Turing et al.'s Colossus (UK,
1943-45) used to break the
Nazi code. The first
programmable machine built
by someone other than Zuse
was Aiken's MARK I (US,
1944) which was still
decimal, without separation
of storage and control.
In 1970, Peter's renowned
atlas of world history
already listed Zuse among
the century's 30 most
important figures, along with
Einstein, Gandhi, Hitler,
Lenin, Roosevelt, Mao,
Picasso, etc. A fairly
complete collection of
computer
Zuse's writings and pictures
history
of his machines can be found
speedup
in this online archive.
page:
omega
point
by
2040?

Berlin not only was the
unfortunate center of two
world wars and the cold war
(1914-1989), but also the
origin of quantum physics
(Planck, 1900), general
relativity (Einstein, 1915),
transistor (Lilienfeld,
1920s), and program-
controlled computer (Zuse,
1935-1941).
1949: Wilkes und Renwick complete EDSAC
(Cambridge, UK). Program and data both
modifiable in storage, as suggested in Zuse's
1936 patent application, but not implemented
in Z1-Z3.
1950: Despite having lost many years of
work through the destruction of Berlin,
Zuse leases world's first commercial
computer (the Z4) to ETHZ, several
months before the sale of the first
UNIVAC.
.
1967: Zuse is the first to
suggest that the universe
itself is running on a grid of
computers (digital physics);
1969 he publishes the book
"Rechnender Raum"
(Computing Space); in the
new millennium such wild
ideas have suddenly started
to attract a lot of attention
(e.g., see the "everything"
archive).
Who Invented the First Computer?
The answer to this question depends of your definition of a computer.

The first known counting devices or tools were Tally Sticks from about 35,000 BC.

The Abacus was then invented by the Babylonians in 2400 BC.

In 1837, Charles Babbage, a British professor of mathematics described his idea

for the Analytical Engine, the first stored-program mechanical computer. The
Analytical Engine was designed to be powered by a steam engine and was to use
Punched Cards, which was used to program mechanical looms at the time.

What made the Analytical Engine unique was that it was designed to be
programmed.

It was because of this and the fact that it would be more than 100 years that any
similar devices would be constructed, Charles Babbage, would be considered by
many as the “father of computing”. Because of legal, financial, and political
obstacles, the Analytical Machine would never be completed. Charles Babbage
was also difficult to work with and alienated the supporters of his work.

In 1939, John V. Atanasoff and Clifford Berry developed the Atanasoff-Berry

Computer (ABC) at Iowa State University, which was regarded as the first
electronic digital computer. The ABC was built by hand and the design used over
300 Vacuum Tubes and had capacitors fixed in a mechanically rotating drum for
memory.

The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical

Integrator and Computer), constructed
in the US in 1943, is widely regarded
as the first functionally useful
electronic general-purpose computer.
Influenced by the ABC, it was a turning
point in the history of computing and
was used to perform ballistics
trajectory calculations and used 160
kW of power. World War II is known to be the driving force of computing hardware
development and one of such use of computers was in communications
encryption and decryption.

The UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer) was the first commercially

available, “mass produced” electronic computer manufactured by Remington
Rand in the USA and was delivered to the US Census Bureau in June 1951. It
used 5,200 vacuum tubes and consumed 125 kW of power. 46 machines were
sold at more than $1 million each.

The microprocessor eventually led to the development of the microcomputer,

small, low-cost computers that individuals and small businesses could afford.

By the 1990s, the microcomputer or Personal Computer (PC) became a common

household appliance, and became even more widespread with the advent of the
Internet.