History of Computer

How Tablet Computers are Replacing the PC

In the 1980s computers were bulky and rather unstylish. The 90s is considered the dawn of the information age and laptop computers became the next big thing. Now in the new millennium, computers are smaller than ever before and tablet computers like the iPad are becoming increasingly popular. Here are some ways tablet computers are replacing the traditional PC.

Gaming

Gaming is currently the number one activity performed on tablet computers. In a March 2011 tablet survey conducted by Google Admob, 84 percent of consumers use their tablet computer for gaming. With the explosion of apps, developers are constantly unleashing new games, such as the popular Angry Birds. With so many tablet gamers, playing games on a traditional PC is becoming outdated.

Email Usage & Web Browsing

Emailing and web browsing currently holds the second and third spot respectively for tablet activity. The 2011 Google Admob survey revealed that 78 percent of consumers use their tablet for emailing and 74 percent use for surfing the Internet. The survey also revealed that personal PC usage declined 77 percent after purchasing a tablet computer.

Home Usage

More and more people are moving away from use of a desktop computer at home and are using their tablet instead. The Google Admob survey reported that 82 percent of consumers are using their tablets primarily at home. Another tablet study conducted by Nielsen reported that 51 percent of tablet owners use their device in bed. The top three reasons why people like using their tablet computers at home as reported by Nielsen includes, ease of carrying, ease of interface and fast start-up.

Filed Under: Computer, History of Computer, Internet, Software Tagged With: Computers, PC, tablet survey

From an Industrial Park to a Thriving Valley of Technology

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In Santa Clara County, located just 45 miles below San Francisco, sits the 10-mile wide Silicon Valley. The history of this high-tech town begins with Stanford University and one of its professors and former students, Frederick Terman. Stanford administrators brought Terman in from MIT to help boost the school’s prominence with the addition of East Coast faculty, a move that proved monumental for the future of the area.

Terman was also tasked with finding a solution to alleviate some of the financial woes Stanford incurred after World War II. Terman’s scheme was to lease some of Stanford’s land to technology companies in what he called the Stanford Industrial Park. This park, established in 1954, was the beginning of what’s known as Silicon Valley today. An important supplement to leasing land was Terman’s encouragement for students to begin their own companies in the park as well. But there was one condition: high-tech companies only!

Soon after the park was formed, companies began filing in. The first, Varian Associates, built military radar parts. Others, such as Hewlett Packard, went on to great success after setting up shop in the park.

But why is the area called Silicon Valley? Who came up with the name? Businessman Ralph Vaerst coined Silicon Valley as the name for the Stanford Industrial Park and the land surrounding it. The term was printed in articles starting in 1971. The reason the Santa Clara Valley is referred to as “silicon” is due to the number of companies there that worked with semiconductors, which are made with silicon, as well as the growing number of computer companies. The computer boom, in many ways, has Terman to thank.

Silicon Valley remains a hotbed of innovation. Some of the companies currently located in the valley include the following:

Apple
Google
Cisco
Intel
HP
Yahoo!
Pixar
Mozilla

Filed Under: History of Computer, Software Tagged With: Hewlett Packard, Santa Clara Valley, Silicon Valley

Remember the Floppy Disk?

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It’s no longer standard for computers to include a floppy disk drive. This, for most users, renders the use of the floppy disk obsolete. But the memory device with a peculiar name has a long and storied narrative within the history of computers. As a memory storage instrument, the floppy disk could be used to transfer data between computers, serve as backup and store a computer’s operating system. Often a number of disks were used for varying purposes, as they were not able to hold a substantial amount of information. There were five main iterations of the floppy disk:

1. 8-inch: The first of the floppies was developed by IBM in 1967 with the ability to hold 80 kilobytes. It had a few issues in the beginning, and it wasn’t until 1971 that the 8-inch floppy was available for the general public. Its functions were limited â€” it could only read and load data â€” until Memorex created the first floppy that could both read and write.

2. 5 1/4-inch: In 1976, it was decided that eight inches was too large for optimal usage. The 5 1/4-inch quickly became popular. There were two choices for the smaller disk: hard and soft. But it wasn’t long before the soft won out.

3. Twiggy: Apple launched a 5 1/4-inch disk for its Macintosh computers, but the format did not last.

4. 3-inch: As many had with the 8-inch disk, people began to complain that the 5 1/4-inch disk was too large. The 3-inch disks, generated in the early 1980s, were encased in a hard material to protect the data. The 3-inch disks did not hold any more information than its immediate predecessor, however.

5. 3 1/2-inch: Introduced by Sony, these disks were the most reliable and easy to use of all the formats. This specimen went through iterations of its own but was replaced with the compact disk in the early 1990s.

Filed Under: Hardware, History of Computer Tagged With: Apple, Floppy disk, IBM

The Green Computer of the Future?

Photosynthesis is a process wherein plants take energy from the sun in order to convert carbon dioxide in the air into food. So what the heck does photosynthesis have to do with computers? Enter Luis Lunaâ€™s â€œOâ€ Project. Inspired by the natural process of photosynthesis, industrial designer Luna fashioned an idea for a sustainable personal computer that would help offset the carbon dioxide exhausted by the manufacturing of computers. Less about actually reducing carbon dioxide emissions than raising awareness about its harm, the â€œOâ€ Project is one of the first steps toward a greener world. The following bullets are some of the aspects of the project:

Round shape with a place to grow a plant inside
Biodegradable skin made of bamboo and cornstarch polymers
Completely recyclable components with the ability to turn into a flowerpot
Visually pleasing design, constructed to block out the unpleasant facet of computer noise pollution

Dell has had ideas for more sustainable computers in the past. The Studio Hybrid computer already claims a â€œgreenâ€ attitude without sacrificing style. Its design is smaller and declares itself more efficient than most computer models. Luna took the idea of the Studio Hybrid and exaggerated it. There’s no doubt the design is captivating, but it raises questions of style over substance. While the â€œOâ€ Project is clearly innovative, it may take more than just he ability to grow flora within the apparatus to counterbalance the incredible amount of energy and carbon dioxide drained in the creation of such products.

Ultimately, the project is just a concept for now. Luna designed”O for Dell’s green computer contest, but there is currently no sign that Dell plans to manufacture the machine any time soon. Despite its possible flaws and misguiding, companies are realizing the importance of considering greener options in all fields, and computers are no exception.

Filed Under: History of Computer Tagged With: Carbon dioxide, Dell, Green computing

Above All, an Innovator: A Look at Steve Jobs

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Steve Jobs, the 42nd richest man in America, co-founder and CEO of Apple Computers, is a college dropout. If he had not stopped attending Reed College in 1972, though, it’s hard to say he’d have become the same innovator that he did. Jobs’ biography includes tales of eccentricity, cleverness, brilliance and, of course, controversy.

Life Before Apple

Jobs was born in 1955 and grew up in Mountain View, California. After dropping out of Reed College, he moved home and began attending a computer club with eventual co-found of Apple Steve Wozniak. During that time, Jobs worked at Atari, setting aside money for an illuminating trip to India with a college friend. Jobs returned a Buddhist and full of ideas for creating a personal computer. Jobs wasn’t a good computer engineer, but he knew Wozniak was, so he enticed him to aid him in creating a company.

Company Startup

Apple was founded in a garage in 1976. Together, Jobs and Wozniak developed the Apple I. It sold for $666.66. The following year, the Apple II was introduced, changing the market for computers entirely. Once Apple began to thrive, and throughout his time as director, Jobs was characterized by his employees as somewhat testy and easily irritated. He stepped down as chairman in 1985 and began work on a new venture.

Jobs’ “Next” Steps

Jobs started a company called NeXT Computer, but it didn’t pan out as he expected. Jobs bought the company that would later be known as Pixar in 1986, which proved to be a very lucrative move. In 1996, Apple purchased NeXT and Jobs returned to the company. Since then he has created the hugely successful iPod and iTunes Store, followed by the equally successful iPhone and iPad. Many have criticized him for his lack of charity and his sizable ego. As the CEO of Apple today, he makes $1 a year.

Filed Under: History of Computer, Software Tagged With: Apple, iPhone, Steve Jobs

The Necessary Invention of the Computer Mouse

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When you want to select something on a computer screen, you hardly even think about moving the mouse around and clicking – you just do it, and it just works. Somehow it has become natural to connect moving a device with your hand to the movement of a cursor elsewhere. It’s such an abstract concept, but it’s one that has become so ingrained into our everyday actions. Who invented the computer mouse, and how did it become as ubiquitous as it is?

The mouse was invented fairly early in the history of computers. It was an inventor at the Stanford Research Institute named Douglas Engelbart who, in 1963, first came up with the design. He developed other mouse-like devices, some of which were attached to the user’s head, but the original hand mouse proved to be the easiest to operate. The first mouse was just a box with two wheels and electronics inside. Xerox was the first company to include a mouse with its computers. This particular pairing did not make the mouse popular – that credit belongs to the Apple Macintosh.

Even after the Macintosh, the growth of the pointing instrument was slow. As time went on, more and more computers were coming packaged with a mouse, but most computers were built so that the use of a mouse wasn’t needed. By the 1990s, most computers came with mice, and the look of the mice varied. There were one-button mice, two-button mice and even three-button mice. But by the mid-1990s, the two-button mouse was claiming victory.

Innovation within mouse technology includes the invention of optical mice (mice without wheels or balls) and 3-D mice. These days, most people using a desktop computer, and even some who utilize laptops, use a mouse. It would be very difficult to manage a computer without one, as most applications, such as the Internet, require a great deal of clicking.

Filed Under: Hardware, History of Computer Tagged With: Douglas Engelbart, Macintosh, Mouse

Apple II: The Superstar Personal Computer

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Apple Computers, currently Apple Inc., has been a successful company for many years, and while not every product has been a mega hit, every successful company has its first major triumph. For Apple, that first commercial success was the Apple II.

The Apple II was launched in 1977, mostly a result of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak’s designing, and it was, in many ways, very similar to its Apple I predecessor. It ran at the same speed and included the same processor as the Apple I, but the Apple II had a multitude of advancements. Included below are some of the Apple II’s features:
A keyboard within the case
A color display
BASIC programming language already incorporated
Eight slots for expansion on the motherboard
Ability to hold as much as 48 kilobytes of memory

Despite its assorted similarities to its ancestor, the Apple II became the prototype for the user-friendly design and interface. Not only was it one of the first profitable personal computer, it allowed users to personalize and expand the computer to their own liking and needs. Access to the motherboard involved simply taking the top off the case, and Apple made a number of additional expansion cards to sweeten the deal even more. For example, users could add a floppy disk card, video cards and could even upgrade the processor fairly easily.

The Apple II was improved throughout the years by subsequent models. Some of these models include the Apple II Plus in 1979, the Apple IIe in 1983, the Apple IIc in 1984, the Apple IIgs in 1986 and the Apple IIc Plus in 1988. The Apple II series was discontinued in the early 1990s. It had proven to be Apple’s breadwinner for many years and was the factor that launched the company into what it is today.

Filed Under: History of Computer Tagged With: Apple, Apple I, Apple IIc

The Horror and History of Computer Viruses

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Even if you don’t know exactly what it is, you know something with the name “computer virus” can’t be a good thing. A computer virus is a program that, when in contact with a computer, contaminates that computer by attacking its components. Usually these viruses spread from computer to computer, and the user often is unaware of the infection. Although many might think of computer viruses as a more modern hassle, the aggravating intruder has existed nearly since the start of computer technology.

In 1971, a researcher at BBN Technologies wrote a program that would reproduce itself. Called “Creeper” the experimental virus was spotted on ARPANET, infecting the computers connected. The first computer virus to attack outside a laboratory setting was “Elk Cloner.” It was 1982, and the creator was a high school student named Richard Skrenta. The first virus on a personal computer was the (c)Brain in 1986.

The “Creeper” virus was implanted through use of a floppy disk, which became a common way for viruses to spread before the Internet was popular. It was normal activity to share information with others on floppies, but once infected, a floppy disk could become a carrier of the virus, spreading it to each computer it contacted.

As the Internet became more predominant, viruses were able to contaminate through links that send the user to download the infection on a website or even sit dormant in favored websites. Macro viruses gained prevalence in the 1990s. Macro viruses use software programs such as Microsoft Word to hide, running and spreading when the applications are opened.

Luckily there is anti-virus software available, and most users take advantage of the option. Although the software does not detect everything, if used correctly and updated often, the risk of becoming infected by a computer virus lessons dramatically. Despite all efforts to terminate them, viruses have a long history with computers and probably will exist as long as they have a host.

Filed Under: History of Computer Tagged With: Anti-Virus, Computer virus, Virus

Are Quantum Computers the Future of Technology?

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The word â€œquantumâ€ is intimidating. It represents something you’d be lucky to fully understand after years of research and study. Quantum is scientific; it’s mathematical; it’s overwhelming. But as computer power continues to surge, duplicating nearly every year and a half, quantum computers are becoming less a science fiction fantasy and much closer to reality. Current technology isn’t able to handle the decreasing size and increasing speed computers demand. Once computer transistors reduce to the size of atoms, quantum computing has to take over.

Quantum computing would require a new kind of transistor. This transistor, called a qubit, would be able to execute a number of tasks concurrently while the transistors of current technology can only engage in one chore at a time. This, obviously, speeds up the action of computing drastically. As we wonâ€™t likely reach the point where quantum computers are needed for another 10 to 20 years, itâ€™s hard to say what they would be used for, but thereâ€™s no doubt as to their rapidity in computing.

Research is under way at IBM, Yale and UCSB on quantum computing, but the assignment is difficult even for computer scientists. Quantum qubits are finicky. As soon as they are observed, the act can minimize the bit’s potential for computing. The researchers have come up with a way of entangling the particles to lesson the chance of computing loss, but the process is formidable.

Although quantum computers don’t currently exist in the marketplace, the company D-Wave Systems has built one that can perform small pattern tasks. It will be some time still before we understand the inner-workings of qubits in order to utilize them in a workable way, but scientists are busy figuring it out. As soon as the first quantum computer hits the market, though, it can be expected that others will follow with further innovation, as that is the nature of commercial technology.

Filed Under: History of Computer Tagged With: IBM, Quantum computer, Qubit

The Grandfather of Computers Who Never Built One

One of the oldest fathers of the computer, Charles Babbage, died before the 20th century began. How is it possible that a man who lived in the 19th century could have had an impact on the modern computer? In short, Babbage was no ordinary man. He studied mathematics in school, but he was also a philosopher, a scientist and, most importantly, he devised the earliest notion of a programmable computer.

He had worked with logarithmic tables and calculating devices, but Babbage wanted to find a way these tools could function mechanically. Not only would mechanical math tables work more quickly than humans, they would lesson the possibility for human error. His sentiments on the subject were documented in a letter written in 1822 to Sir Humphrey Davy.

That same year, Babbage submitted a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society. The paper introduced his idea of the difference engine, which allowed for values to be calculated mechanically. He was granted government money to develop the engine, but Babbage was unable to complete the project due to the death of his father and one of his sons.

With his difference engine essentially a failure, Babbage started work on his new idea: the analytical engine. Unlike the difference engine, this machine would be complex and programmable. He worked on the analytical engine for nine years starting in 1833, although it was never fully built during Babbageâ€™s lifetime. Although it wasnâ€™t fully constructed, there was no dearth of blueprints of the analytical engine.

Despite never actually seeing his concepts in action, his ideas proved to be brilliant. With the analytical engine he had outlined a mechanical device that was basically the first general-purpose computer. Babbage was very accomplished in his time as an inventor and academic, but it wasnâ€™t until later that it was understood how innovative and before-their-time his computer concepts were.

Filed Under: History of Computer, Software Tagged With: Analyticalengine, Charles Babbage, Difference engine