Computer

computers

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  • first computer

    first computer
    We could argue that the first computer was the abacus or its descendant, the slide rule, invented by William Oughtred in 1622. But the first computer resembling today's modern machines was the Analytical Engine, a device conceived and designed by British mathematician Charles Babbage between 1833 and [1871.http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/who-invented-the-computer.htm]

  • Curt Herzstark designs Curta calculator

    Curt Herzstark designs Curta calculator
    [http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/1943/#169ebbe2ad45559efbc6eb35720dd5ad]Curt Herzstark was an Austrian engineer who worked in his family’s manufacturing business until he was arrested by the Nazis in 1943. While imprisoned at Buchenwald concentration camp for the rest of World War II, he refines his pre-war design of a calculator featuring a modified version of Leibniz’s “stepped drum” design. After the war,

  • Project Whirlwind begins

    Project Whirlwind begins
    [http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/1943/#169ebbe2ad45559efbc6eb35720dd5ad] During World War II, the US Navy approached the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) about building a flight simulator to train bomber crews. The team first builds a large analog computer, but found it inaccurate and inflexible.

  • Whirlwind core memory

    Whirlwind core memory
    [http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/1953/#169ebbe2ad45559efbc6eb357208c601]
    Detail of Whirlwind core memory
    Memory & Storage
    In 1953, MIT’s Whirlwind becomes the first computer to use magnetic core memory.

  • Direct keyboard input to computers

    Direct keyboard input to computers
    [http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/#169ebbe2ad45559efbc6eb35720ba5f3]At MIT, researchers begin experimenting with direct keyboard input to computers, a precursor to today´s normal mode of operation. Typically, computer users of the time fed their programs into a computer using punched cards or paper tape.

  • Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)

    Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
    [http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/1957/#169ebbe2ad45559efbc6eb357204b23d]8,680 square foot leased space in a nineteenth century mill that once produced blankets and uniforms for soldiers who fought in the Civil War.

  • Wesley Clark with LINC MIT LINC introduced

    Wesley Clark with LINC MIT LINC introduced
    The LINC is an early and important example of a ‘personal computer,’ that is, a computer designed for only one user. It was designed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory engineer Wesley Clark. Under the auspices of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, LINCs[http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/1962/#169ebbe2ad45559efbc6eb35720090f4]

  • Minuteman Guidance computer Minuteman I missile guidance computer developed

    Minuteman Guidance computer Minuteman I missile guidance computer developed
    [Minuteman Guidance computer
    Minuteman I missile guidance computer developed]
    Minuteman missiles use transistorized computers to continuously calculate their position in flight. The computer had to be rugged and fast, with advanced circuit design and reliable packaging able to withstand the forces of a missile launch.

  • English Electric DEUCE introduced

    English Electric DEUCE introduced
    [http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/1955/#169ebbe2ad45559efbc6eb3572065c9c]A commercial version of Alan Turing's Pilot ACE, called DEUCE—the Digital Electronic Universal Computing Engine -- is used mostly for science and engineering problems and a few commercial applications. Over 30 were completed, including one delivered to Australia.

  • IBM 650

    IBM 650
    [http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/1954/]IBM establishes the 650 as its first mass-produced computer, with the company selling 450 in just one year. Spinning at 12,500 rpm, the 650´s magnetic data-storage drum allowed much faster access to stored information than other drum-based machines.