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Period: to
Evolution of Computer Technology
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Cash Register; James Ritty
This was the date James Ritty and his brother John patented the "Ritty's Incorruptible Cashier."
My experiences with cash registers started back in 1990 when I got my first job at sixteen years old. I worked at Roy Rogers. The cash register I worked on looked nothing like the one in the picture but it performed the same function...keeping cashiers honest and the businesses money safe! -
Atanasoff-Berry computer; John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry
First automatic electronic digital computer.
This is amazing to think about. My first experience with a computer was the Atari 800. My brother and I would use it to program simple Basic programs back in the early and mid-1980s, forty years after the invention of this non-programmable machine. Just think the invention of this machine launched the world of computers. -
UNIVAC - Universal Automated Computer; J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly
The most famous version (UNIVAC I mainframe computer) predicted the outcome of the 1952 U.S. Presidental election.
This a key step in the progression of computers. My next experience with computers was the Commodore 64 a friend of mine had. We had such a good time playing games on this early computer. If I look back at the technology now, what I thought was awesome then, pales in comparison to today's technology. -
Integrated Circuit; Robert Noyce (Fairchild Semiconductors) and Jack Kilby (Texas Instruments)
Both men credited with developing the first integrated circuit independently.
The integrated circuit changed the world of computing. It has only gotten smaller and faster over time. I do not know much about integrated circuits and how they work. I know that they play a huge role in my life, however. Whether it is on my computer for work, my computer at home, or my cell phone this invention has changed my life for the better mostly, but sometimes for the worse! -
Intel 4004; Marcian Hoff, Ferderico Faggin, Masatoshi Shima
The first microprocessor.
This has changed the world of computers. I remember how slow my first experience with computers was. I did not know at the time how slow it was, because I did not have a reference. The computing power today, made possible by this first microprocessor is amazing. I was one of those people that did not want to text when I got my first cell phone. Now I carry around a computer in my hand that can outperform so many other devices, it is amazing. -
VisiCalc; Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston
The first spreadsheet.
When I look at Microsoft Excel today and think about everything it can do I can thank VisiCalc. Excel is such a powerful program and without this pioneering program who knows if it would be that way today. I used to be afraid of Excel. It was too complex for me until I took an introductory Microsoft Office class as a requirement for my Associate's degree at Germanna. That class brought Excel down to earth for me. I still consider myself a novice but I get better each day. -
Sources
1879:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ritty
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash_register#:~:text=An%20early%20mechanical%20cash%20register%20was%20invented%20by,the%20revolutions%20of%20the%20propeller%20on%20a%20steamship.
1941:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atanasoff%E2%80%93Berry_computer
1950:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIVAC
1958:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_circuit
1971:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_4004
1979:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VisiCalc
