History of Computing 1

1. History of Computing 1 Foundation Computing If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside. Robert X. Cringely

2. Quiz • What is the difference between Insert and Overstrike modes?

3. Quiz (2) • Which shortcut combination should be used to cut and paste text? • Ctrl-Alt-Del • Ctrl-x followed by Ctrl-v • Ctrl-c followed by Ctrl-v • Win-e

4. Quiz (3) • What should you do if you’ve accidentally deleted highlighted text? • Panic • Call Microsoft for help • Post a message to the bulletin board • Use the shortcut Ctrl-z or the undo command immediately

5. History of Computing • Why should we study the history of computing? • The past shapes the present and the present will affect the future. • Studying the history of computing gives an appreciation of what technology we have now, and what may come in the future.

6. Hist. of Computing Timeline • Generations • Mechanical (Before 1945) • Vacuum Tubes (1945 – 1954) • Transistors (1954 – 1963) • Integrated Circuits (1963 - 1973) • Personal Computers (1973 – ???) • Parallel Computers, Networking • Mobile Computing

7. Quote of the day If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside. Robert X. Cringely

8. Mechanical Computers • Counting Boards • Grooved wooden boards with pebbles • Oldest 300BC • Abacus • Used in ancient Rome and Greece • Modern abacus used in Asia after 1200AD • Slide Rule • John Napier (1600s)

9. Mechanical Computers (2) • Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) • French mathematician, physicist and religious philosopher • Probability theory, Pascal’s Triangle • Pascaline (1642) – he was very young! • Adding/subtracting machine with automatic carry • failed to be a great commercial success • Improved the design, built total of 50 of these • Unit of pressure (Pa) named after him and a programming language!!! • Animation of the Pascaline: http://perso.orange.fr/therese.eveilleau/pages/truc_mat/textes/pascaline.htm

10. Mechanical Computers (3) • Joseph-Marie Jacquard (1752-1834) • French silk weaver and inventor • Jacquard Loom • Weaving machine • Controlled by recorded patterns of holes in a string of cards • Invention was fiercely opposed by the silk-weavers • Loom was declared public property in 1806 • He was rewarded with a pension and a royalty on each machine

11. Mechanical Computers (4) • Charles Babbage (1792-1871) • English mathematician • Sought to eliminate the high error rate in the calculation of mathematical tables (human error) • Idea of a programmable computer • Difference Engine (1823) • Programmable calculator • Calculated polynomials • Produced table of logarithms 1 -108 000

12. Mechanical Computers (5) • Analytical Engine • With store (modern memory) and mill (modern CPU) • Not completed until after his death – lack of funding • Could perform any kind of calculation • Punch cards similar to Jacquard Loom • "The Father of Computing"

13. Mechanical Computers (6) • Augusta Ada King (1815-1852) • Ada Lovelace (Countess) • Worked with Babbage, wrote notes on how to calculate Bernoulli numbers with the Analytical Engine • These notes are recognized as world’s first computer program • Controversial: Who wrote these notes – Babbage or Lovelace? • Programming language ADA named after her

14. Mechanical Computers (7) • George Boole (1815-1864) • English/Irish mathematician • Creator of Boolean logic (basis of all modern computer arithmetic) • His work was obscure outside philosophical circles

15. Mechanical Computers (8) • 70 years after his death, an MIT master’s student read about his work • He wrote in his thesis about utilizing the properties of electrical switches to do logic • Became the basic concept that underlies all modern electronic digital computers • Possibly the most important, and also the most famous, Master's thesis of the century

16. Mechanical Computers (9) • Herman Hollerith (1860-1929) • American statistician • Created the punched cards and associated machinery used for the 1890 US census. (based on Jacquard’s method) • Founded Hollerith Tabulating Company which later became IBM

17. More information • Read more here: • http://www.computerhistory.org • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

18. Quiz • What is the first thing you should do before searching for information on the WWW?

19. Quiz (2) • How would you exclude a keyword from a search on the WWW?

20. Quiz (3) • How would you start an efficient search for the fixed expression what a nice day using a search engine? • “what” a “nice day” • “what a nice day” • “a nice day what” • what a nice day

21. Quiz (4) • Name 4 people who influenced the mechanical era of computers/computing machines

22. Hist. of Computing Timeline • Generations • Mechanical (Before 1945) • Vacuum Tubes (1945 – 1954) • Transistors (1954 – 1963) • Integrated Circuits (1963 - 1973) • Personal Computers (1973 – ???) • Parallel Computers, Networking

23. Relays • Relays (electromagnetic switches) • Faster than cranking gears • Mechanical, could Jam

24. Relays (2) • Relays can be combined to create complex logic circuitry (on/off, true/false) • Z3 (1941), first relay calculator, built by Konrad Zuse (German engineer) • Programmed using punched tape

25. Relays (3) • The first computer bug”: moth stuck in a relay • Mechanical parts, not very reliable, alternative sought

26. Vacuum Tubes • Vacuum Tubes (Valves) • Invented 1906 • Used in audio devices (to amplify a signal) • Expensive, large • Used as switches • Faster and more reliable than relays • Produced heat and wore out

27. Transistors • Transistors • Invented by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain at Bell Labs (1948) • Works as a switch • Made from silicon (cheap to produce from sand) • Smaller, more reliable • More energy efficient • Breakthrough: Made computers more affordable!

28. Integrated Circuits • Integrated Circuits (1958) • Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments • Simplest calculator requires several thousand transistors • Transistors joined on silicon plates with metallic connectors • modern processor contains millions of transistors

29. Innovators • Alan Turing (1912-1954) • British mathematician, cryptographer • Theoretical computer (Turing Machine) • Tape to store data and instructions • WWII Cryptography

30. Q: Innovators (2) • Turing Test for Machine Intelligence A: A: ?

31. Mark I Mark II Mark III Mark IV Design Begins Complete Retired Data Word Slow Mem Fast Mem Instructions Mem Basic Add Time Basic Multiply Time 1939 1944 1958 23 dd+s 72 words 0 words Paper Tape 300ms 6000ms 1945 1948 1956 10 dd+s+e 96 words 0 words Paper Tape 200ms 1000ms 1948 1950 1956 16 dd+s 4000 words 360 words 4000 words 4 ms 12 ms 1950 1952 1962 16 dd+s 4000 words 230 words 10 000 words 1.2ms 12ms Innovators (3) • Howard Aiken (1900-1973) • Large scale relay calculators (US)

32. Innovators (4) • John von Neumann (1903-1957) • ENIAC (1946) • 18,000 Vacuum Tubes • 30 tons • 5000 additionsper sec • Von Neumann Architecture for single processor computers • Memory and processing unit are separate

33. Personal Computers • Altair 8800 (1975) • First PC • Kit form • Less than $500 • Sold very well

34. Personal Computers (2) • No keyboard, monitor, permanent storage provided • Programmed by flicking switches on the front, output through lights

35. Personal Computers (3) • The Apple Computer (1976) • Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs • Met while working for HP • Built and sold Blue Box (which could be used to misuse the telephone system) • Were found out

36. Personal Computers (4) • Built first prototype in Job’s garage • Apple II: First pre-assembled PC (1977) • Monitor • Keyboard • Graphics • Sound

37. Personal Computers (5) • IBM PC and Compatibles • Special IBM team to create affordable PC (1981) • Use parts from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) • IBM compatible computer • IBM expected benefit from royalties and sales of superior product • IBM out-competed by cheaper computers built on generic parts

38. Personal Computers (6) • William H. Gates III and Paul Allen • BASIC programming language compiler for Altair • MicroSoft (1975) • Contracted to writesoftware forIBM PC (1981) • MS DOS, Windows • Richest in worldby mid 1990s (Gates), 7th richest (Allen)

39. Famous quotes • “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” • Thomas J. Watson, Chairman IBM, 1943 • “Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and weigh only 1½ tons.” • Popular Mechanics, 1949 • “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” • Ken Olson, Chairman DEC, 1977

40. Future? • Wireless computers • “mobile computing” • PDAs and Smart Phones • Parallel Processing and Optical Circuitry • Quantum Computers

41. Moore’s Law • Gordon Moore (1965) • Co-founder of Intel • At our rate of technological development, the complexity of an integrated circuit, with respect to minimum component cost will double in about 18 months. • The law has largely held the test of time to date

43. Moore’s Law • Moore’s Law first published in "Cramming more components onto integrated circuits", Electronics Magazine 19 April 1965

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46. Read the study book • Please read module 3 of the Study Book • For more information, • read the corresponding chapter in the text “Foundation Computing” (if you have purchased a copy) • Surf the web – Google or Wikipedia are a good start • or ask us for help on the Bulletin Board! • You should now be ready to attempt the first part of Assignment 3!!!