The History of Computing: 1940 to Present

Matthew Jones

1940s
1941: Konrad Zuse builds the worlds first
program-controlled calculator, the Z3. 1946: ENIAC, first electronic, digital, reprogrammable computer, turned on. 1947: Brittain, Bardeen, and Shockley invent the transistor, igniting the microprocessor revolution.

The Turing Test

Developed in 1950 by Alan Turing. Attempts to determine if a computer can
produce humanlike output. States that if a human has a conversation between himself and a person, and himself and a computer, and cannot tell the difference, the computer can perform humanlike conversation. Forms the basis for Artificial Intelligence.

1950s
1951: EDVAC, first binary digital
computer, turned on. 1956: Reynold Johnson developes the first hard disk.

1960s
1961: First operating system, CTSS, is
developed. 1962: First computer game developed. 1964: First computer mouse developed.

Moores Law
Published by Gordon E. Moore in 1965. States that the number of transistors one
can place on silicon for minimum cost doubles every two years. Subsequently, the speed of processors will double every two years.

Datapoint 2200
Developed by Computer Terminal
Corporation in 1970. Originally designed to interface with several mainframes. Enterprising companies realized it functioned well on its own, and used it as a standalone computer. First resemblance of a home computer.

1970s
1970: Development of Unix started. 1971: Gary Starkweather modifies a Xerox
copier and creates the first laser printer. 1971: Intel releases the worlds first commercial microprocessor, the 4004. 1977: There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. 1979: The compact disc is invented.

Honeywell v. Sperry Rand

Suit-countersuit attempting to determine if
Sperry Rand could keep the patent on the digital computer it had since ENIAC. Eventually determined the patent, infirm, and placed the invention of the computer in public domain.

1980 1990
1981: Microsoft buys exclusive rights to
DOS operating system. 1984: Apple Computer markets the Macintosh, the first successful home computer. 1985: CD-ROM produced by Sony and Phillips jointly. 1990: Microsoft releases Windows 3.0, the first true multitasking operating system.

1991 Present
1991: Linus Torvalds releases the LINUX
operating system. 1993: Intel releases the Pentium. 1993: Doom releases. First consideration of the PC as a gaming platform. As of 2004, a chip of silicon measuring 0.02 inches holds about the same data as the ENIAC, which was the size of a large room.

References

Gordon Moore Photo: VIP Host System. 2004. <www.viphostsystem.com/glossario/moore.jpg> Intel Pentium Photo: Know-Library.net <http://www.know-library.net/images/thumb/9/91/180px-Pentium133vorn.jpg> Konrad Zuse Photo: Lee, J. A. N. 1994. <http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Zuse.GIF> ENIAC Photo: Lindsay, Don. 1997. <http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/talk/eniac.jpg> EDVAC Photo: <http://lieuxdits.free.fr/edvac.jpg> Alan Turing Photo: Russell, Stuart, and Peter Norvig. AI: A Modern Approach. Jan. 30, 2003. http://aima.cs.berkeley.edu/graphics/turing.jpg Early Mouse Photo: Wikipedia Foundation. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2d/Firstmouseunderside.jpg> Datapoint 2200 Photo: Old-Computers.com. <http://old-computers.com/museum/photos/ctc_datapoint2200_1.jpg> Gary Starkweather Photo: Fluxgold, Howard. Laser printer inventor aims for paperless newspaper. 2003. <http://www.sfu.ca/mediapr/files/starkweather.g.jpg> 4004 Microprocessor Photo: Davidson, Michael W. Intel 4004 Microprocessor. 2007. <http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/micro/gallery/computers/4004.jpg> Apple Macintosh Photo: History of Microcomputers. 2002. <http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/reach/435/mac.jpg> Linus Torvalds Photo: <http://www.granneman.com/images/linus_torvalds.jpg> 1971: Microprocessor taken from: White, Stephen. A Brief History of Computing. Copyright 1996. Accessed on January 25, 2007. <http://trillian.randomstuff.org.uk/~stephen/history/> "Timeline of computing." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 5 Jan 2007, 17:10 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 25 Jan 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Timeline_of_computing&oldid=98674580>. "Moore's Law." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 Jan 2007, 16:32 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 25 Jan 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moore%27s_Law&oldid=103165746>.