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Calculating Clock
Wilhelm Schickard designs the first known mechanical calculator to multiply large numbers. -
Calculating Clock
Wilhelm Schickard designs the first known mechanical calculator to multiply large numbers. People needed to calculate numbers faster than counting or with an abacus, and this was what they produced to satisfy that need. Even though da Vinci had similar designs a hundred years earlier, this was the first one to be physically crafted. I chose this because it was the first calculator in existence, aside from the abacus, and Timetoast wouldn't let me put BC in the year. -
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Mechanical Computer
Charles Babbage invented his first mechanical computer. -
Difference Engine
Charles Babbage invented his first mechanical computer. This invention takes the mechanical clock a step further. Babbage's machine used more complex equations and celestial calculations and ejected answers on a punch card. I chose this because I'm trying to follow a system of only computer advances, not really stuff like printers, calculators, etc. This advancement I believe was one of the next big steps following the calculating clock -
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Computer Language
Kurt Godel publishes a paper on the use of a universal formal language -
Computer Language
Kurt Godel publishes a paper on the use of a universal formal language. Godel discussed in his paper that machines that can do simple math are incomplete because there are true statements that can be expressed in the notation of the system, but not the system itself. I chose this because computer language is important to computers. It's how it communicates with others, with it's add-ons, and even within itself. Theorizing about computer language is the first step to writing it. -
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Z1 Computer
Konrad Zuse creates the Z1 Computer a binary digital computer using punch tape. -
Z1 Computer
Konrad Zuse creates the Z1 Computer: a binary digital computer using punch tape. It was the first freely programable computer in the world which used Boolean logic and binary floating point numbers. I chose this milestone because it was the first actual modern computer: it was programable. -
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Input and Output Advancements
Douglas Engelbart theorises on interactive computing with keyboard and screen display instead of on punchcards -
Input and Output Advances
Douglas Engelbart theorises on interactive computing with keyboard and screen display instead of on punchcards. I chose this because people needed a more efficient way to communicate with computers and for computers to communicate with them. An interactive keyboard to input informantion and a screen for output was the new idea. This is also a large part of our evolving computers. The keyboard is even on the screen now! -
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Silicon Chip
The first integrated circuit, or silicon chip, is produced by the US Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce by using a sliver of germanium with five components linked by wires. -
Silicon Chip
The first integrated circuit, or silicon chip, is produced by the US Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce by using a sliver of germanium with five components linked by wires. The first silicon chip was important to the evolution of computers because it allowed more information to be stored in a smaller space, allowing for the downsizing of computers. -
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Floppy Disk
IBM creates the first floppy disk -
Floppy Disk
IBM creates the first floppy disk. Even though I said I'd stick to mainly computers, this is important because it is the first computer storage BREAKING AWAY FROM a computer. Now computers could share information by way of a relatively small disk (depending on what generation you're from). -
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First Supercomputer
Seymour Cray develops the CDC 7600, the first supercomputer. -
Super Computer
Seymour Cray develops the CDC 7600, the first supercomputer. The first supercomputer allowed for several small computers to connect together in a way they never had before. Now they could all run off of the same system and make synchronization simpler. I chose this because now computers are branching out to become different types, eg: supercomputers, mainframes, microcomputers, etc. -
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The World Wide Web
Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau propose a 'hypertext' system starting the modern Internet. -
The World Wide Web
Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau propose a 'hypertext' system starting the modern Internet. The Internet began as an Allies defense against Russia in the Cold War. To defend themselves against a missle attack from Russia by gathering information, they created a system of computers: ARPANET, the beginning of the modern Internet. I chose this because of the gargantuan impact the Internet has on every single one of our lives in our digitized Earth. -
Google
Google is founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Google is currently ranked as the number one search engine on the world wide web. I chose the invention of Google as my last milestone because it has drastically affected computers, the growth Internet, and the increase of the flow of knowledge across the globe. It has soared exponentially.
