the history of computers and computing: part ii
DESCRIPTION
The history of computers and computing: Part II. The computers of the 20 th century and the people behind those machines. Konrad Zuse. Developed a series of mechanical calculating machines (Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4). He was the first person to construct a calculator that could run automatically. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
James Tam
The history of computers and computing: Part II
The computers of the 20th century and the people behind those machines.
James Tam
Konrad Zuse
Developed a series of mechanical calculating machines (Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4).
He was the first person to construct a calculator that could run automatically
James Tam
The Bell Complex Number Calculator
The Bell Computer could add, subtract, multiply and divide complex numbers
Employed simple switches and flash bulbs
James Tam
The Bell Complex Number Calculator (continued)
It was the first machine to:
•handle multiple terminals
•be operated remotely
Photos courtesy of Bell Technologies Inc.
James Tam
The Bell Complex Number Calculator (continued)
The computer used it’s own form of binary, Binary Coded Decimal (BCD).
Decimal value BCD value
0 0011
1 0100
2 0101
3 0110
4 0111
5 1000
6 1001
7 1010
8 1011
9 1100
James Tam
The Harvard Mark I
Manufactured by IBM and was donated to Harvard University.
Extremely accurate
Used by the U.S. navy (bureau of ordinance)
Frequently used as a design model in subsequent machines.
James Tam
John Atanasoff, Clifford Berry, and the ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer)
Atanasoff needed a computer to perform specialized calculations
He got his inspiration for the ABC in a bar.
A photo of Clifford Berry and the ABC, courtesy of Dr. Atanasoff
James Tam
The ENIAC
Developed for the U.S. army at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering (University of Pennsylvania)
Picture from the History of Computing Technology by Michael R. Williams
James Tam
The ENIAC (continued)
Used vacuum tubes to store information
It was huge, complex and extremely expensive
All this could store one digit!
James Tam
Alan Turing
A British Mathematician
He worked at Bletchley Park as a code-breaker (contributed to the design of the machinery as well as applying his Mathematical knowledge)
An Enigma encoding machine
Pictures from the History of Computing Technology by Michael R. Williams
James Tam
The EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator)
The first reliable computer to actually incorporate memory
(The first computer design conceived that incorporated memory was the EDVAC/Electronic Discrete Variable Arithmetic Computer but it was completed after the EDSAC).
Picture from the History of Computing Technology by Michael R. Williams
James Tam
EDSAC (continued)
First demonstrated in 1949 (ran at 500,000 Hz / 0.5 MHz)!
A spin-off of the EDSAC (called LEO / Lyons Electric Office) was the first computer to be used for commercial data processing.
James Tam
The Stretch
One of the first super computers
Pictures from the History of Computing Technology by Michael R. Williams
The whole “Stretch” Control panel for the Stretch
James Tam
Summary
Some of the more ground breaking computer systems and personalities of the 20th century.
•Konrad Zuse and the “Z” series of computers.
•The Bell Complex Number Calculator
•The Harvard Mark I
•Atanasoff, Berry and the ABC
•The ENIAC
•Alan Turing
•The EDSAC
•The Stretch