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500 BCE
500 BC: ABACUS
The first mechanical-type calculator was devised in Babylon around 500 B.C. This mechanical device called abacus consisted of a system of bars and pulleys with which different types of arithmetic calculations could be carried out. -
1622: Oughtred introduces the slide rule
Around 1622, the English mathematician William Oughtred used the newly invented logarithms to make a device that simplified multiplication and division. It consisted of two joined graduated rulers sliding one over the other. -
1642: First adding machine
The French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal was 19 years old when he built the world's first adding machine in 1642. He used cogwheel gear as counters. The device carried 1 automatically when reaching the tens and could also be used to subtract. -
1834: First programmable digital computer
In 1834 the English scientist and inventor Charles Babbage made the schematics of a device which he called the analytical engine, which was actually a general purpose computer. This machine was programmed by a series of punched cards that contained data or instructions which passed through a reading device, were stored in a memory and the results were reproduced by molds. This machine far exceeded the technology of its time and was never finished. -
1850: First keyboard adder
The keyboard appeared on a machine invented in the United States in 1850. A sequence of digits could be added by pressing successive keys. Each key raised a vertical axis to a certain height and the sum was indicated by the total height. -
First generation: C. 1940 - 1955
Physical endowment
Empty tubes
Magnetic drums
Magnetic tape (near the end of the build)
Logic software
Computer terminology programs
Assembly language programs (near the end of generation) -
Second generation: C. 1955 - 1964
Physical endowment
Transistors
1947 - Converted
1955 - IBM's Transistor Calculator
Minicomputers
Magnetic discs
Printed circuit boards
Logic software
High-level languages
1956 - FORTRAN
1959 - COBOL
Special Machines
1963 - PDP 8 (1st minicomputer) -
Third generation: C. 1964 - 1971
Physical endowment
Integrated circuits (c. Developed 1958)
Computer families (1964 - IBM 360)
1970 - Floppy disk
Logic software
Programs went directly into computers
Higher level languages (1965 - BASIC)
Operating systems
Timesharing
Special Machines
1964 - IBM System 360 Series (1st Family of Computers) -
Fourth generation: C. 1971 - PRESENT
Physical endowment
1971 - Microprocessor chip introduced in the US by Intel
Microcomputers (Personal Computers)
Large Scale Integration (LSI)
Very Large Scale Integration (Vlsi)
Logic software
Structured programming
Application sets
Windowing systems (graphical user interfaces - GUIs)
Convivial programs
Special Machines
1971 - (1st pocket calculator)
1975 - Altaír 8800 (1st PC)
1977 - Apple I (do it yourself kit)
1978 - Apple II (pre-assembled)
1981 - IBM PC
1984 - Waterproof -
Future evolution
A constant trend in the development of computers is microminiaturization, an initiative that tends to compress more circuit elements into an increasingly smaller chip space. In addition, the researchers are trying to speed up the operation of circuits by using superconductivity, a phenomenon of decreased electrical resistance that is observed when objects are cooled to very low temperatures.