CHAPTER 1: COMPUTER EVOLUTION
1.1 COMPUTING DEVICES I (PRE-COMPUTING AGE – 19TH CENTURY)
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| Device | Inventor/Era | Features and Components | Contributions to Computing |
| Abacus | Ancient (3000 BC) | A frame with rods and beads. Users manipulate beads to count and calculate. | The first known manual calculating device for basic arithmetic (addition, subtraction). |
| Slide Rule | William Oughtred (17th Century) | Two sliding rulers marked with logarithmic scales. | Used for complex multiplication, division, roots, and logarithms. Used widely until the advent of pocket calculators. |
| Napier’s Bone | John Napier (1617) | Set of numbered rods made of bone or wood. | Used primarily for multiplication and division based on lattice multiplication principles. |
| Pascal’s Calculator (Pascaline) | Blaise Pascal (1642) | Gear-driven mechanical device with dials. | The first true mechanical calculator capable of performing addition and subtraction automatically. |
| Leibnitz Multiplier (Stepped Reckoner) | Gottfried Leibniz (1673) | Mechanical machine using a ‘stepped drum’ (Leibnitz wheel). | Enhanced the Pascaline to perform all four arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). |
| Jacquard Loom | Joseph Marie Jacquard (1801) | Automated textile loom controlled by a series of punched cards. | Introduced the concept of programmable memory using punched cards to store a sequence of instructions (patterns). |
| Charles Babbage’s Engines | Charles Babbage (19th Century) | The Difference Engine (calculated polynomial functions) and the Analytical Engine. | The Analytical Engine contained the key architectural elements of a modern computer: ALU, Control Unit, Memory (Store), and Input/Output, making Babbage the “Father of the Computer.” |
| Hollerith Census Machine | Herman Hollerith (1890) | Used punched cards and an electrical sensing mechanism. | Used for the US census, proving that electricity and punched cards could process large volumes of data rapidly. |
| Burrough’s Machine | William S. Burroughs (1888) | A commercial adding and listing machine. | Commercialized the use of calculating machines in offices and businesses. |
- Trends in Development: Computing evolved from manual devices (Abacus) to mechanical devices (Pascaline) to electro-mechanical devices (Hollerith) to electronic programmable machines (ENIAC).
1.2 COMPUTING DEVICES II (20TH CENTURY TO DATE)
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| Device | Generation/Key Technology | Feature/Size (Comparative Study) | Uses |
| ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) | First Generation (Vacuum Tubes) | Massive size, consumed immense power, generated high heat. Not stored program. | Used for calculating artillery firing tables for the US Army. |
| EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) | First Generation (Stored Program) | Implemented the Von Neumann Architecture (stored program concept), allowing instructions and data to reside in the same memory. | Scientific calculations. |
| UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer I) | First Generation (Commercial) | The first commercial computer produced in the US. | Primarily used for general business data processing and the US Census Bureau. |
| Desktop Personal Computers | Fourth Generation (Microprocessors) | Standard size, separated I/O devices (Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse) and CPU tower. | General home, office, and educational use. |
| Laptop / Notebook Computers | Fourth Generation | Integrated components (screen, keyboard, trackpad), smaller, lighter, rechargeable battery. Highly portable. | Mobile productivity, fieldwork, and travel. |
| Palmtop Computers | Fourth Generation | Handheld, extremely small, often stylus/touch-based input (e.g., PDAs). Lowest processing power among PCs. | Scheduling, note-taking, and simple applications. |
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