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Jan 1, 1500
The Abacus
The abacaus was invented in Asia but was used in Ancient Babylon, China and Europe until the late middle ages. -
The Pascaline
The French philosopher and mathmatician named Balise Pascal invented this calculating device which had 8 dial wheels and could calculate figures up to eight figures long. -
Gottfried Invention
This invention was a step up from the pascaline as instead of adding and subtracting only it now multiplies and divides. -
Joseph Jacquard Discovery
A French weaver who discovered that the weaving instructions for his looms could be stored on cards with hoels punched in them. The idea or storing information bu punching holes on a card proved to be of great importance in the later development of computers. -
Difference/Analytical Engines
Charles Babbage designed these two calculating machines. The "Difference Engine" could perform complex operations such as squaring numbers automatically. The "Analytical Engine" design included input devices, data storage, a control unit that allowed processing instructions in any sequence , and output devices. -
The Mark I
The Mark I is the world's first computer-like machine. It was built jointly by IBM and Harvard Universtiy under the leadership of Howard Aiken. Punched cards were used to feed data into the machine. -
The Design Rules of Computers
The rules were given by John von Neuman. His design included components such as arithmetic logic unit, a control unit, memory, and input/ouput devices. This design makes it possible to store the programming instructions and the data in the same memory space. -
Transistors\Chips
The invention of transistors reesulted in smaller, faster, more reliable, and more engery-efficiant computers. These were later replaced with tiny intergrated circuit, or "chips". Chips are smaller and cheaper than transistors and can contain thousands of circuits on a single chip. -
The Microprocessor
An entire CPU on a single chip. -
Apple
Stephen Wozniak and Steven Jobs designed and built the first Apple computer in their garage. -
IBM Computer
IBM introduced their own personal computer. -
Clones
Clones of the IBM PC made the personal computer more affordable.
