MODULE 2:

HISTORY OF COMPUTER:
BASIC COMPUTING
PERIODS
WHAT IS COMPUTER?
• Computer is a programmable machine.
• Computer is an electronic device that manipulates
information, or data. It has the ability to store, retrieve,
and process data.
• Computer is a machine that manipulates data
according to a list of instructions (program).
• Computer is any device which aids humans in
performing various kinds of computations or calculations.
Three principal characteristics of
computer:

• It responds to a specific set of instructions in a

well-defined manner.
• It can execute a pre-recorded list of instructions.
• It can quickly store and retrieve large amounts of
data.
Applications of ICT (Computers)
in Our Daily Lives
1. BUSINESS
Almost every business uses computers nowadays. They can be
employed to store and maintain accounts, personnel records,
manage projects, track inventory, create presentations and
reports. They enable communication
with people both within and outside
the business, using various
technologies, including e-mail. They
can be used to promote the
business and enable direct
interaction with customers.
2. EDUCATION
Computers can be used to give learners audio-
visual packages, interactive exercises, and
remote learning, including tutoring over the
internet. They can be used to access
educational information from intranet and
internet sources, or via e-books. They can be
used to maintain and monitor student performance, including through the
use of online examinations, as well as to create projects and
assignments.

3. HEALTHCARE
Healthcare continues to be revolutionized by computers. As well as
digitized medical information making it easier to store and access patient
data, complex information can also be analyzed by software to aid
discovery of diagnoses, as well as search for risks of diseases.
Computers control lab equipment, heart rate
monitors, and blood pressure monitors. They
enable doctors to have greater access to
information on the latest drugs, as well as the
ability to share information on diseases with other
medical specialists.

4. RETAIL AND
TRADE
Computers can be
used to buy and sell
products online - this
enables sellers to
reach a wider market
with low overheads,
and buyers to
compare prices, read reviews, and choose
delivery preferences. They can be used for
direct trading and advertising too, using
sites such as eBay, Craigslist, or local
listings on social media or independent
websites.

5. GOVERNMENT
Various government
departments use computers
to improve the quality and
efficiency of their services.
Examples include city
planning, law enforcement,
traffic, and tourism.
Computers can be used to store information, promote services,
communicate internally and externally, as well as for routine
administrative purposes.

6. MARKETING
Computers enable marketing campaigns to be more
precise through the analysis and manipulation of data.
They facilitate the creation of websites and promotional
materials. They can be used to generate social media
campaigns. They enable direct communication with customers through
email and online chat.

7. SCIENCE
Scientists were one of the first groups to adopt computers as a work
tool. In science, computers can be used for research,
sharing information with other specialists both
locally and internationally, as well as collecting,
categorizing, analyzing, and storing data.
Computers also play a vital role in launching,
controlling, and maintaining space craft, as well
as operating other advanced technology.
8. PUBLISHING
Computers can be used to design pretty
much any type of publication. These
might include newsletters, marketing
materials, fashion magazines, novels, or
newspapers. Computers are used in the
publishing of both hard-copy and e-
books. They are also used to market
publications and track sales.
9. ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Computers are now used in virtually every branch of the arts, as well as
in the wider entertainment industry. Computers can be used to create
drawings, graphic designs, and paintings. They can be used to edit, copy,
send, and print photographs. They can be used by writers to create and
edit. They can be used to make, record, edit, play, and listen to music.
They can be used to capture, edit and watch videos. They can be used
for playing games.

10. Communication
Computers have made real-time
communication over the internet easy,
thanks to software and videoconferencing
services such as Skype. Families can
connect with audio and video, businesses
can hold meetings between remote participants, and news organizations
can interview people without the need for a film crew. Modern computers
usually have microphones and webcams built-in nowadays to facilitate
software like Skype. Older communications technologies such as email
are also still used widely.

11. BANKING AND FINANCE

Most banking in advanced countries now takes place online. You can use
computers to check your account balance, transfer money, or pay off
credit cards. You can also use computer technology to access
information on stock markets, trade stocks,
and manage investments. Banks store
customer account data, as well as detailed
information on customer behavior which is
used to streamline marketing.
12. TRANSPORT
Road vehicles, trains, planes, and boats
are increasingly automated with computers
being used to maintain 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. Computers can be used
to customize settings for individuals, for
example, seat setup, air-conditioning
temperatures.
13. NAVIGATION
Navigation has become increasingly computerized, especially since
computer technology has been combined with GPS technology.
Computers combined
with satellites mean that
it's now easy to pinpoint
your exact location, know
which way that you are
moving on a map, and
have a good idea of
amenities and places of
interest around you.
14. WORKING FROM HOME
Computers have made working from
home and other forms of remote
working increasingly common.
Workers can access necessary data,
communicate, and share information
without commuting to a traditional office. Managers are able to monitor
workers' productivity remotely.
15. MILITARY
Computers are used extensively by the military.
They are use for training purposes. They are used
for analyzing intelligence data. They are used to
control smart technology, such as guided missiles
and drones, as well as for tracking incoming
missiles and destroying them. They work with other technologies such as
satellites to provide geospatial information and analysis. They aid
communications. They help tanks and planes to target enemy forces.

16. SOCIAL AND ROMANCE

Computers have opened up many
ways of socializing that didn't
previously exist. Social media enables
people to chat in text or audio in real
time across large distances, as well as
exchange photographs, videos, and
memes. Dating sites and apps help
people to find romance. Online groups
help people to connect with others
who have similar interests.
Blogs enable people to post a variety of views, updates, and
experiences. Online forums enable discussions between people on
specialist or general topics.
17. BOOKING VACATIONS
Computers can be used by travelers to
study timetables, examine route
options, and buy plane, train, or bus
tickets. They can be used to explore
and book accommodation, whether
traditional hotels, or through newer
services, such as Air BnB. Guided
tours, excursions, events, and trips can
also be explored and booked online
using computers.
18. SECURITY AND SURVEILLANCE
Computers are increasingly being combined with other technologies to
monitor people and goods. Computers combined with biometric
passports make it harder for people to fraudulently enter a country or
gain access to a passenger airplane. Face-recognition makes it easier to
identify terrorists or criminals in public
places. Driver plates can be auto
scanned by speed cameras or police
cars. Private security systems have
also become much more
sophisticated with the introduction of
computer technology and internet
technology.
19. WEATHER FORECASTING
The world's weather is complex and depends upon a multitude of factors
that are constantly changing. It's impossible for human beings to monitor
and process all the information coming in from satellite and other
technologies, never mind perform the complex calculations that are
needed to
predict what is
likely to happen
in the future.
Computers can
process the
large amounts of
meteorological
information.
20. ROBOTICS
Robotics is an expanding
area of technology which
combines computers with
science and engineering to
produce machines that can
either replace humans, or
do specific jobs that humans
are unable to do.
One of the first use of robotics was in manufacturing to build cars. Since
then, robots have been developed to explore areas where conditions
are too harsh for humans, to help law enforcement, to help the military,
and to assist healthcare professionals.
HISTORY OF COMPUTER:
BASIC COMPUTING PERIODS
Earliest Computers originally calculations were computed by
humans, whose job title was computers.

• These human computers were typically engaged in the

calculation of a mathematical expression.
• The calculations of this period were specialized and expensive,
requiring years of training in mathematics.
• The first use of the word "computer" was recorded in 1613,
referring to a person who carried out calculations, or
computations,
a) TALLY STICKS

A tally stick was an ancient memory aid device to record and document
numbers, quantities, or even messages.
b) ABACUS
An abacus is a mechanical device used to aid an individual in
performing mathematical calculations.
• The abacus was invented in Babylonia in 2400 B.C.
• The abacus in the form we are most familiar with was first
used in China in around 500 B.C.
• It used to perform basic arithmetic operations.
c) NAPIER’S BONES
• Invented by John Napier in 1614.
• Allowed the operator to multiply, divide and calculate
square and cube roots by moving the rods around and
placing them in specially constructed boards.
d) Slide Rule
Invented by William Oughtred in 1622.
• Is based on Napier's ideas about logarithms.
• Used primarily for – multiplication – division – roots – logarithms –
Trigonometry
• Not normally used for addition or subtraction.
e) PASCALINE
• Invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642.
• It was its limitation to addition and subtraction.
• It is too expensive.
f) Stepped Reckoner
• Invented by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in 1672.
• The machine that can add, subtract, multiply and
divide automatically.
g) JACQUARD LOOM
• The Jacquard loom is a mechanical loom, invented by Joseph-Marie
Jacquard in 1881.
• It is an automatic loom controlled by punched cards.
h) ARITHMOMETER
• A mechanical calculator invented by Thomas de Colmar in 1820,
• The first reliable, useful and commercially successful calculating machine.
• The machine could perform the four basic mathematic functions.
• The first mass-produced calculating machine.
i) Difference Engine and Analytical Engine
• It’s an automatic, mechanical calculator designed to tabulate
polynomial functions.
• Invented by Charles Babbage in 1822 and 1834
• It is the first mechanical computer.
j. First Computer Programmer
• In 1840, Augusta Ada Byron suggests to Babbage that he use the
binary system.
• She writes programs for the Analytical Engine.

Augusta Ada Byron

k. SCHEUTZIAN CALCULATION ENGINE

• Invented by Per Georg Scheutz in 1843.

• Based on Charles Babbage's difference engine.
• The first printing calculator.
l. TABULATING MACHINE
• Invented by Herman Hollerith in 1890.
• To assist in summarizing information and accounting.
m. Harvard Mark 1
Also known as IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled
Calculator (ASCC).
• Invented by Howard H. Aiken in 1943
• The first electro-mechanical computer.
n. Z1
• The first programmable computer.
• Created by Konrad Zuse in Germany from 1936 to 1938.
• To program the Z1 required that the user insert punch tape into a
punch tape reader and all output was also generated through punch
tape.
o. ATANASOFF-BERRY COMPUTER (ABC)

• It was the first electronic digital computing device.

• Invented by Professor John Atanasoff and graduate student Clifford
Berry at Iowa State University between 1939 and 1942.
p. ENIAC
• ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer.
• It was the first electronic general-purpose computer.
• Completed in 1946.
• Developed by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.
q. UNIVAC 1
• The UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer 1) was the first
commercial computer.
• Designed by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.
r. EDVAC
• EDVAC stands for Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer
• The First Stored Program Computer
• Designed by Von Neumann in 1952.
• It has a memory to hold both a stored program as well as data.
s. THE FIRST PORTABLE COMPUTER
• Osborne 1 – the first portable computer.
• Released in 1981 by the Osborne
Computer Corporation.
t. THE FIRST COMPUTER COMPANY
• The first computer company was the Electronic
Controls Company.
• Founded in 1949 by John Presper Eckert and John
Mauchly.
BASIC COMPUTING PERIODS - AGES
a. PREMECHANICAL --The premechanical age is the earliest age of
information technology. It can be defined as the time between
3000B.C. and 1450A.D. We are talking about a long time ago.
When humans first started communicating they would try to use
language or simple picture drawings known as petroglyths which
were usually carved in rock. Early alphabets were developed such
as the Phoenician alphabet.

Petroglyth
As alphabets became more popular and more people were writing
information down, pens and paper began to be developed. It started off as
just marks in wet clay, but later paper was created out of papyrus plant. The
most popular kind of paper made was probably by the Chinese who made
paper from rags.
Now that people were writing a lot of information down, they needed ways to
keep it all in permanent storage. This is where the first books and libraries
are developed. You’ve probably heard of Egyptian scrolls which were
popular ways of writing down information to save. Some groups of people
were actually binding paper together into a book-like form. Also, during this
period were the first numbering systems. Around 100A.D. was when the first
1-9 system was created by people from India. However, it wasn’t until
875A.D. (775 years later) that the number 0 was invented. And yes, now
that numbers were created, people wanted stuff to do with them, so they
created calculators. A calculator was the very first sign of an information
processor. The popular model of that time was the abacus.
b. MECHANICAL
The mechanical age is when we first start to see connections between
our current technology and its ancestors. The mechanical age can be
defined as the time between 1450 and 1840. A lot of new technologies
are developed in this era as there is a large explosion in interest with this
area. Technologies like the slide rule (an analog computer used for
multiplying and dividing) were invented.
Blaise Pascal invented the Pascaline
which was a very popular mechanical
computer. Charles Babbage developed
the difference engine which tabulated
polynomial equations using the method
of finite differences.

Difference Engine
There were lots of different machines created during this era
and while we have not yet gotten to a machine that can do
more than one type of calculation in one, like our modern-day
calculators, we are still learning about how all of our all-in-one
machines started. Also, if you look at the size of the machines
invented in this time compared to the power behind them it
seems (to us) absolutely ridiculous to understand why anybody
would want to use them, but to the people living in that time
ALL of these inventions were HUGE.
c. ELECTROMECHANICAL
Now we are finally getting close to some technologies that resemble our
modern-day technology. The electromechanical age can be defined as the
time between 1840 and 1940. These are the beginnings of telecommu-
nication. The telegraph was created in the early1800s. More code was
created by Samuel Morse in 1835. The telephone (one of the most popular
forms of communication ever) was created by Alexander Graham Bell in
1876. The first radio developed by Guglielmo Marconi in 1894. All of these
were extremely crucial emerging technologies that led to big advances in the
information technology field. The first large-scale automatic digital computer
in the United States was the Mark 1 created by Harvard University around
1940. This computer was 8ft high, 50ft long, 2ft wide, and weighed 5 tons -
HUGE. It was programmed using punch cards. It was from huge machines
like this that people began to look at downsizing all the parts to first make
them usable by businesses and eventually in your own home.
d. ELECTRONIC
The electronic age is what we
currently live in. It can be defined as
the time between 1940 and right now.
The ENIAC was the first high-speed,
digital computer capable of being
reprogrammed to solve a full range of
computing problems. This computer Harvard Mark 1
was designed to be used by the U.S. Army for artillery firing tables. This
machine was even bigger than the Mark 1 taking up 680 square feet and
weighing 30 tons - HUGE. It mainly used vacuum tubes to do its
calculations. There are 4 main sections of digital computing. The first was
the era of vacuum tubes and punch cards like the ENIAC and Mark 1.
Rotating magnetic drums were used for internal storage.
The second generation replaced vacuum tubes with transistors, punch
cards were replaced with magnetic tape, and rotating magnetic drums
were replaced by magnetic cores or internal storage. Also during this
time high-level programming languages were created such as
FORTRAN and COBOL. The third generation replaced transistors with
integrated circuits, magnetic tape was used throughout all computers,
and magnetic core turned into metal oxide
semiconductors. An actual operating system showed
up around this time along with the advanced
programming language BASIC. The fourth and latest
generation brought in CPUs (central processing
units) which contained memory, logic, and control
circuits all on a single chip. The personal computer
was developed (Apple II). The graphical user
interface (GUI) was developed.
HISTORY OF COMPUTER:
GENERATIONS OF COMPUTER

There are five generations of computer:

• First generation – 1946 to 1958
• Second generation – 1959 to 1964
• Third generation – 1965 to 1970
• Fourth generation – 1971 to Today
• Fifth generation – Today to future
A. THE FIRST GENERATION
The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic
drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms.
They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great
deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause
of malfunctions. First generation computers relied on machine language,
the lowest-level programming language understood by computers, to
perform operations, and they
could only solve one problem at
a time. Input was based on
punched cards and paper tape,
and output was displayed on
printouts. Examples: – ENIAC –
EDSAC – UNIVAC I, UNIVAC II,
UNIVAC 1101
B. THE SECOND GENERATION
Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second
generation of computers. One transistor replaced the equivalent of 40
vacuum tubes. Allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper,
more energy-efficient and more
reliable. Still generated a great deal
of heat that can damage the
computer. Second-generation
computers moved from cryptic binary
machine language to symbolic, or
assembly languages, which allowed
programmers to specify instructions
in words. Second generation
computers still relied on punched
cards for input and printouts for output. These were also the first
computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved
from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.
Examples: UNIVAC III, RCA 501, Philco Transact S-2000, NCR 300
series, IBM 7030 Stretch, IBM 7070, 7080, 7090 series

C. THE THIRD GENERATION

The development of the integrated circuit was
the hallmark of the third generation of computers.
Transistors were miniaturized and placed on
silicon chips, called semiconductors, which
drastically increased the speed and efficiency of
computers. It could carry out instructions in
billionths of a second. Much smaller and cheaper
compare to the second-generation computers.
D. THE FOURTH GENERATION
The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as
thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. As
these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked
together to form networks, which
eventually led to the development
of the Internet. Fourth generation
computers also saw the
development of GUIs, the mouse
and handheld devices.
E. THE FIFTH GENERATION
Based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Still in development. The use of
parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial
intelligence a reality. The
goal is to develop devices
that respond to natural
language input and are
capable of learning and
self-organization. There
are some applications,
such as voice recognition,
that are being used today.