Evolution of Computing Technologies - Assignment Example

Task 1 Evolution of Computing Technologies 1. Introduction The current era is known as the technological era that has leaped mankind to a new level of communication, business, education etc. Computing technologies have brought about continuous improvement in the way of life of humans in every field. However, this improvement and progression has not been sudden, rather it has taken hundreds of years to be accomplished. 2. Timelines of Computing Technologies 2.1 Abacus Science in History: From the Abacus to the Modern Computer (2004) defined abacus as the first form of computing device since it addressed the foremost need of the ancient man - counting. Timeline of Computing History (1995) provided the information that it was invented in Babylonia in 3000 B.C. Josh and Patrick (n.d.) highlighted the structure of the device and stated that 10 beads were strung onto the wires which were fixed in a wooden frame. It was considered to the first manual device to perform arithmetic operations, such as addition and subtraction. It stored the results on an extreme end of the device. Figure 1: Abacus (Timeline of Computing History, 1995) 2.2 Mechanical Calculator Blaise Pascal is considered to be the inventor of the first mechanical calculator that performed addition operations. White (2005) stated that this machine was invented in 1642 and became known as the “Pascaline”. The machine had metal wheels that could be turned to denote desired digits. The answers of the addition operation used to appear at the top of the calculator. Figure 2: Pascaline (Blaise Pascal 1623 – 1662, 2004) 2.3 Analytical Engine Charles Babbage invented the analytical engine that is considered to be one of the most remarkable contributions in the evolution of computing technologies. Josh and Patrick (n.d.) stated that he simplified arithmetic operations by breaking them into two parts; ‘arithmetic unit’ performed the calculations and ‘store’ recorded the intermediate and final results of the calculations. Such sequenced form of operations forms the basis of modern computers. According to Copeland (2000), he designed the analytical engine in 1833 that read the instructions from punched cards. 2.4 First Generation of Computers The first generation of computers was witnessed from 1941 to 1958. According to History of Computers: 3000 BC to Present (n.d.); Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC) was invented during this era. It is considered to be the first successful commercial computer. These computers were designed to only perform the functions for which they had been made, for example this machine was only capable of handling business data processing. Copeland (2000) provided the information that this machine was sold to the US census bureau. Gray (2001) stated that the size of UNIVAC was about 14 feet by 8 feet by 8.5 feet high. Figure 3: UNIVAC (Timeline of Computer history, 2006) 2.5 Second Generation of Computers White (2005) explained that second generation computers constitute of the machines that were invented during the years 1959 to 1964. More powerful, efficient and smaller computers were witnessed in these years; this progress marked the initial years of a remarkable industry. This phase saw increasing interest in the formulation of different types of programming languages like COBOL and FORTRAN. 2.6 Third Generation of Computers Third generation computers were able to address many of the prevailing issues in computing machines. Josh and Patrick (n.d.) explained that they were able to offer greater storage capacity, time sharing between processes (multiple tasks could be performed at the same time) and communication with a central computer. Computers were no longer restricted to perform the same time of functions on a single machine; scientific, as well as business oriented functions could be performed. 2.7 Fourth Generation of Computers The concept of integrated circuits (ICs) became common in this era; due to which a sudden growth of computers was witnessed. The year 1971 marked the invention of the first microprocessor, Intel 4004. The article titled ‘Marcian Ted Hoff’ (1999) contained the information that it was invented by Marcian Hoff and it became known as the ‘microchip’. This was the stepping stone of the exponential growth of microchip technology that took place in the years ahead. Cruz (2009) gave the information that the first personal computer was invented by IBM in 1981- IBM 610. It was considered to be the first personal computer since it could be used by a single person at home or in an office. It was controlled by a keyboard. The price of this computer was $55,000. According to Short History of MS-DOS (n.d.), IBM had approached Bill Gates to develop an operating system for their personal computer. Microsoft (that was founded by Bill Gates) launched MS-DOS which served as the operating system in IBM. This operating system was based on commands and did not have a graphical interface. Figure 4: IBM 610 (History of Computers: 3000 BC to Present, n.d.) Wilson (2006) stated that Osborne 1 is considered to be the first laptop that was launched in 1981. It was about the size of a sewing machine. Figure 5: Osborne 1 (Wilson, 2006) 2.8 Microsoft Windows Apple launched a computer, Lisa, that displayed the power of the graphical interface with icons, menus etc. It was launched in the early 1980s. According to White (2005), Lisa did not become successful due to its high price. Later in 1985, Microsoft launched Windows that provided the first user friendly graphical interface. It made computer operations easier than the command based operations. The advent of World Wide Web in 1989 enabled the computers to communicate with each other. 2.9 Decade of 1990s Apple released their PowerBook series in 1991 that made revolutionary changes in the field of laptop technology. This series launched new models at frequent intervals and captured the markets to a great extent. The positioning of the keyboard was innovative with respect to the inventions in those days since the palm could rest on the empty spaces near the mouse pad. This structure became famous with the masses and thus became the standard layout of a laptop. Figure 6: PowerBook 100 (Block, 2006) The first Intel Pentium was released in 1993. Pentium Processor consisted of 3.1 million transistors that would have taken ample space in the previous decades. The release of Pentium processor marked the beginning of continuous improvements in computers in terms of performance, storage capacity and multitasking. Microsoft released Windows 95 in 1995 that remained as the most reliable operating system for years to follow. The following years witnessed the release of Pentium II and Pentium MMX. 2.10 21st Century Apple launched various other PowerBook series models till the year 2006 thereby improving the design and performance in each one. In 2003, Apple launched the widest screen (17.1 inch) and the smallest notebook (12.1 inch screen)- PowerBook G4. Figure 7: PowerBook G4 (Block, 2006) After some years, consumer became smart and realized that they did not always need the most efficient machine that would be coupled with the greatest storage capacity; machines with sufficient memory storage and power would be suitable for their minimum computing needs. It is due to this realization that companies began investing their efforts in the production of ‘netbooks’. Netbook is a machine that is smaller than a laptop, less powerful and costs far lesser than others. Nichols (2009) explained that their screen size is smaller than 12.1 inch and do not weigh more than a couple of pounds. Their functionality is limited to browsing on the web, e-mailing, word applications, chatting on the internet and viewing online videos. Asus launched the first netbook in 2007 with the name of ‘Eee PC’; it had a 7 inch screen. Figure 8: Netbook by different companies (Knight, 2008) Task 2 Lady Ada Lovelace- First Computer Programmer 1. Introduction There have been numerous researchers and inventors in the history of mankind; however only few have been able to influence humans even after hundred years of their published work. Lady Ada Lovelace is one of such remarkable people. Lady Ada Lovelace was born in 1815 in the house of a poet. Bellis (n.d.) stated that her mother was involved in the field of mathematics and contributed valuable work in the respective field. In those days, women usually acquired education at home; her mother was able to give her valuable knowledge about the field of mathematics. Due to the valuable foundation of her academic concepts, she was able to contribute valuable work in the field of computers and artificial intelligence. 2. Contributions In 1834, Charles Babbage expressed his inclination towards making an analytical engine that would have the capability to act upon its foresight. Lady Ada was highly fascinated with his ideas and began work on the formulation of the analytical engine. In 1842, an Italian researcher and mathematician wrote a paper related to the analytical engine. This paper bore great relevance for Charles Babbage; therefore he approached Lady Ada for the translation of the respective paper. She translated the paper and added numerous personal notes to the content of the paper during the process. Her contribution to the paper was so ingenious that Charles Babbage encouraged her to write her own paper. Toole (n.d.) stated that she published her paper in 1843 that is still considered as one of the foundations of the field of computer software and artificial intelligence. Her predictions included the possibility of the machine producing complex music and creation of graphics. Her vision revolved around the possibility of making the machine act upon symbols, rather than just numbers. She proposed that symbols should be interpreted on the basis of some rules and numbers should be able to denote entities rather than just figures. It is due to these contributions that computers have progressed to serve different needs of the humans, instead of only mathematical purposes. 3. Recognition of Her Work Lady Ada gave an idea to Charles Babbage that he should devise a plan for the handling of the Bernoulli numbers by the analytical engine. This idea was innovative and was unexplored at the time of its initiation. As a result of this innovative thinking, she was able to devise a mechanism to handle Bernoulli numbers by the usage of punch cards. Bellis (n.d.) provided the information that this is considered to the first program written for any machine. This endeavour granted her the status of being the first female programmer in the history of computers. Analyst, Metaphysician, and Founder of Scientific Computing (n.d.) provided the information that she is even known as the “Enchantress of Numbers”. Her work and efforts are greatly recognized even after a century; Riddle (2001) stated that United Stated Department of Defense developed a software language that was named “Ada” in 1979 as recognition of her work. Lady Ada saw a very short life since she fell severely ill at the age of 37. She was diagnosed with cancer that had very slim survival rates in those days. 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