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Holes in Cards
Joseph Marie Jacquard invented a power loom that could read punch cards. The loom would change the way it weaved and the design on the fabric based on the patterns of the punch cards. -
Analytical Machine
Charles Babbage created the analytical machine, which was the first device to use the four main parts of a modern digital computer- he called them the mill, the store, the reader, and the printer. It used punched cards, could do basic arithmetic functions, and had many forms of output. -
von Neumann architecture
Von Neumann architecture allows for computers to store both the data (results of computation) and the instructions that led to the results. With von Neumann architecture, memory is a single memory and is one-dimensional. Also, the meaning of the data is not stored with the data. -
ENIAC
John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert invented the ENIAC for primarily for military purposes in World War II. ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. Its main job was to calculate artillery-firing tables to determine target accuracy for different weapons. -
UNIVAC
UNIVAC is the nickname for the Universal Automatic Computer and was created by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly. It was room-sized and it was known for inputting data through punch cards that could then be stored as data or output. -
High-level Programming Language
The first high-level programming language was Fortran (formula translation) or Speedcoding. This programming language was close to human sounding words, but at some point it still had to be translated to the machine code of 0’s and 1’s so the computer could use the data. -
UNIX Operating System
The UNIX operating system is a system of programs with graphical user interface. It allows for multiple users and multi-tasking on servers and computers. -
Cray-1
The Cray was a “C” shaped computer, which allowed for integrated circuits to be closer together. It had the world-record speed at the time it was created and had an 8 megabyte main memory. -
Altair
The Altair 8800 was the first computer that was easily affordable and obtainable for the average person. It was sold in kits that contained assembly instructions and all the parts needed that the owner would then have to put together. -
Apple
In 1976, Apple introduced its first computer, the Apple I, which only included a circuit board. Only around 200 Apple I computers were sold before the Apple II came out and increased demand for the computer. The Apple II included color graphics and came in its own case, plus it came pre-assembled, which had not happened before. -
First Electronic Spreadsheet
Daniel Bricklin created a spreadsheet made of 5 columns and 20 rows that allowed users to better organize their data. Later, with the help of Bob Frankston, the system was improved so it was faster, did better arithmetic, and scrolling. -
PC
IBM introduced the PC, which used a 16-bit microprocessor. This encouraged the development of faster and more powerful micros. The PC also demonstrated that computers would become a necessity in the business world. -
Windows
Microsoft introduced Windows 1.0 in 1983, which was a new system where a mouse could be used to click through windows, or screens instead of typing commands. This brought with it drop-down menus, scroll bars, icons, and dialog boxes and allowed for easy access to more than one program at once. -
Macintosh
The Macintosh computer was the first successful computer to be released that uses a mouse. It is considered one of the first commercially successful computers to use a Graphical User Interface; however, it does not allow for any additional programs to be installed or upgraded on the computer.
