Summer Lesson 01

A Brief History of Computers

How Old are
Computers?

The word computer refers to any device that
processes information.

When we consider this definition, the first known
computer was the abacus, which dates back nearly
5,000 years!

https://levvvel.com/computer-history-timeline/

Computer Timeline
- Pre 20th Century

●2700-2300 BCE: The abacus is invented

●1502 CE: Leonardo da Vinci invents the first mechanical
calculator

●1617 CE: Napier’s Bones mechanical calculating device
is invented and performed calculations using the lattice
multiplication method

●1620-1630 CE: William Oughtred invents the slide rule,
an analog calculator based on the logarithmic scale.

●1642 CE: Blaise Pascal completes the Pascaline which
performs addition and subtraction.

●1672 CE: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz invents the stepped
reckoner, which can perform all 4 basic arithmetic
operations.

●1820 CE: Thomas de Colmar develops the Arithmometer

●1820 CE: Boolean logic is introduced by George Boole

●1865 CE: Invention of the first commercial typewriter

●1890 CE: Herman Hollerith invents the tabulating
machine. An electromechanical machine used for data
processing.

https://levvvel.com/computer-history-timeline/

Computer Timeline
- Start of the
Electronic
Computer

●1904 - 1907 CE: John Ambrose Fleming invented
the diode(vacuum tube) and Lee De Forest invented
the triode (first electronic amplifier)

●1911 CE: Charles Ranlett Flint and Thomas J.
Watson Sr. found IBM.

●1937 CE: Claude E. Shannon completes his thesis
that proves that Boolean algebra could be used in
electrical switches which is the basic concept used
in all electronic digital computer designs.

●1939 CE: The ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer) is
invented. It is capable of completing 1 calculation
every 15 seconds

●1943 - 1945 CE: The Colossus Computer is built and
used by British Codebreakers to break the
encryption of Germany’s military communications

●1945 CE: The ENIAC, the first American made
electronic computer is invented. It is used to
calculate ballistic trajectories for the U.S. Army. It
takes up the entire basement of a building on the
campus of the University of Pennsylvania. It is
designed by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert

https://levvvel.com/computer-history-timeline/

Computer Timeline
- Miniaturization
of Computers

●1947 CE: The transistor is invented by John
Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley
at Bell Labs in NJ.

●1949 CE: The EDVAC is invented and is capable
of storing program instructions in its memory

●1950s CE: Birth of High-Level Programming
Languages based on the work of Grace Hopper.

●1951 CE: The UNIVAC is invented and is the first
computer used in business applications.

●1953 CE: IBM releases the IBM 701 the first
mass-produced computer, designed by
Nathaniel Rochester

●1956 CE: IBM creates the first commercial hard
drive

●1958 CE: The first integrated circuit is invented
by Jack Bilby and Robert Noyce with theoretical
contributions by G.W.A. Dummer.

●1963 CE: The computer mouse is invented

●1968 CE: Intel is founded

https://levvvel.com/computer-history-timeline/

Computer
Timeline: Home
Computing

●1970 CE: The first commercial microprocessor
is released

●1971 CE: IBM releases the first commercial
floppy-disk (Storage device)

●1973 - 1974 CE: Development of the ethernet a
wired network that allows computers to
communicate with each other.

●1973 CE: The Xerox Alto is introduced as the
first commercially available computer to
support a Graphical User Interface (GUI)

●1975 CE: Microsoft is founded

●1976 CE: Apple is founded

●1976 CE: The first word processor is released
commercially.

●1977 CE: Apple releases the Apple II

●1981 CE: IBM releases its first personal
computer, the Acorn.

●1981 CE: First commercial laptop is unveiled.

●1984 CE: First Macintosh computer

https://levvvel.com/computer-history-timeline/

Computer
Timeline: Portables

●1984 CE: The first PDA (Personal Data Assistant
is released by Psion

●1984 CE: The first smartwatch with a small LCD
screen is released

●1985 CE: Microsoft unveils Windows 1.0

●1985 CE: Intel releases its first 32 bit processor

●1989 CE: The first tablet computer is released

●1990 CE: HTML is invented

●1990 CE: The first web-browser is launched

●1991 CE: The first SSD is released.

●1992 CE: The first smartphone, the Simon
Personal Calculator, is released.

●1997: Google Search is launched.

●2003: First 64-bit processor is released.

●2006 - Present: proliferation of smartphones,
tablets, and laptop computers for personal at
home use.

https://levvvel.com/computer-history-timeline/

Discussion:

What do you notice about the amount of time between
major events in this timeline?

Hardware Vs. Software

Parts of a Computer

There are 4 main parts to every computer. Each one
has a purpose that allows the computer to perform its
task and interact with the user.

The 4 parts are:

●Output Devices

●Input Devices

●Processor

●Storage

These and other physical parts make up a computer’s
hardware

Output Devices

Any device that allows the computer to communicate
with the user is an output device.

Examples include:

●Monitor/Screen

●Speakers

●Vibration Motor

●Printer

Input Devices:

Any device that allows the user to communicate with
the computer is considered an input device.

Examples Include:

●Mouse/Trackpad

●Keyboard

●Joystick

●Game Controller

Processor:

Any component that changes, processes, or evaluates
data is a processor.

Examples include:

●Central Processing Unit (CPU)

●Graphical Processing Unit (GPU)

Storage:

Any device that saves data (temporarily or
permanently) for the computer to perform its task or
for later use by the user.

There are 2 types of storage devices:

1.Primary storage:

a.RAM - temporary storage that holds the current
tasks that are running and files that are being
worked on

2.Secondary storage:

a.Hard Drive/Flash Drive/Solid State Drive -
permanent storage that holds onto data long
term until the user decides to delete it.

Software:

Software refers to the lines of code and instructions
that tell the computer how to operate and how each of
the devices works and interacts. Software is
constantly being developed for new applications. In
this class you will be developing software whenever
you write a program.

The most common types of software that we see
everyday are the Operating System (OS) and
Application Software (App).

Operating Systems
(OS):

Different brands of computers use different operating
systems. Apple uses the MacOS operating system,
PCs use the Windows operating system, and
Chromebooks use the Chrome OS operating system.

Smartphones and tablets also have their own
operating systems. iPhones and iPads use iOS, while
others use either the Android operating system or the
Windows Mobile operating system.

Application
Software (App):

We use apps all the time. Every time you write a text
message, type out a word doc, call your friend, go on
social media, etc you are using an app.

The best apps are ones that are easy to use, fulfill a
desired purpose, and are unique.