Evolution of Computers

Babbage (1791–1871) was ahead of his time. The designs that he created for the difference engine and analytical engine required extremely precise metalworking that was not available to him in this era, and his designs were never realized.

Hollerith (1860–1929) invented the Tabulating Machine to process the data for the US 1890 census. He went on to be the founder of the Tabulating Machine Company, which later merged with multiple companies and is now known as IBM. 

Before the Tabulating Machine could start counting, information from census takers had to be transferred from census schedules to punch cards. The Pantographic Card Punch machine allowed a skilled operator to punch 700 cards a day.

The Turing Machine, designed in 1936, is a concept by Alan Turing, an accomplished WWII cryptographer. It can emulate any algorithm by reading and writing symbols, storing instructions as memory in the machine. Future computers are based on it. 

Lisa (1983) was the first computer that is most similar to what we use today. It was the first desktop computer with a graphical user interface (GUI), which allows users to interact with graphics instead of just text. Lisa also had sound. 

The advent of the 21st century brought about new developments and improvements to computers that are unfathomable to the people of the last century. Computers now are faster, hold more memory, cost less, and are much smaller than their predecessors.

The difference and progress between computers within a few decades is truly astounding. This panorama will detail some major differences between the UNIVAC 1101, one of the early modern computers from the 1950’s, and a modern computer platform.

While the UNIVAC 1101 used bulky vacuum tubes to process and create data, the modern computer uses a smaller and faster silicone chip with transistors. With this change in technology, the weight and size of computers plummeted.  

Perhaps the most mind-boggling device of this century to the eyes of someone from the last century is the smartphone. Besides the fact that it is connected to the internet — something that people back then had not even thought about — it is...

Besides the fact that it is connected to the internet — something that people back then had not even thought about — it is technologically far advanced compared to even the most expensive and impressive computers in the middle of the century, like the Apollo Guidance Computer. All this can be attributed to the conception of the integrated circuits and Moore’s Law. 

The iPhone 6 measures about 5 x 2 inches  and weighs 5 ounces. In comparison, early computers with vacuum tubes like ENIAC and UNIVAC filled out 40-ft. x 20-ft. rooms and weighed tons with significantly less power than the computer that took man to the Moon.

Finally, a hallmark of the computer’s advancement is its modern use for recreation in addition to professional and business purposes that prevailed early in its inception. Computers now can be used to watch movies and videos, as well as to listen to music.

Of particular interest is its usage for video games, a phenomenon that was birthed from computer advancement itself. Just like the medium, video games have undergone a drastic transformation in just several decades.