Lesson Title:

MODULE 1: HISTORY OF COMPUTER: BASIC COMPUTING PERIODS

Lesson Objective:

At the end of the module, the learners will be able to:

1. Gain familiarity of the different discoveries during the different periods.

2. Learn different inventors and discoveries during electro-mechanical age that lead to the
inventors of today’s technology.
3. Identify different technologies and their improvement during the different generations.

Lectures and Annotations:

Definition of Computer
 Computer is a programmable machine.
 Computer is an electronic device that manipulates information, or data. It has the
ability to store, retrieve, and process data.
 Computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions
(program).
 Computer is any device which aids humans in performing various kinds of
computations or calculations.

Three principal characteristics of computer:

• It responds to a specific set of instructions in a well-defined manner.
• It can execute a pre-recorded list of instructions.
• It can quickly store and retrieve large amounts of data.

Applications of ICT (Computers) in Our Daily Lives

1. Business
Almost every business uses computers nowadays. They can be employed to store
and maintain accounts, personnel records, manage projects, track inventory, create
presentations and reports. They enable communication with people both within
and outside the business, using various technologies, including e-mail. They can
be used to promote the business and enable direct interaction with customers.

2. Education
Computers can be used to give learners audio-visual packages, interactive
exercises, and remote learning, including tutoring over the internet. They can be
used to access educational information from intranet and internet sources, or via e-
books. They can be used to maintain and monitor student performance, including
through the use of online examinations, as well as to create projects and
assignments.

3. Healthcare
Healthcare continues to be revolutionized by computers. As well as digitized
medical information making it easier and access patient data, complex information
can also be analyzed by software to aid discovery of diagnoses, as well as search
for risks of diseases. Computers control lab equipment, heart rate monitors, and
blood pressure monitors. They enable doctors to have greater access to
information on the latest drugs, as well as the ability to share information on
diseases with other medical specialists.

4. Retail and Trade

Computers can be used to buy and sell products online - this enables sellers to
reach a wider market with low overheads, and buyers to compare prices, read
reviews, and choose delivery preferences. They can be used for direct trading and
advertising too, using sites such as eBay, Craigslist, or local listings on social
media or independent websites.

5. Government
Various government departments use computers to improve the quality and
efficiency of their services. Examples include city planning, law enforcement,
traffic, and tourism. Computers can be used to store information, promote
services, communicate internally and externally, as well as for routine
administrative purposes.

6. Marketing
Computers enable marketing campaigns to be more precise through the analysis
and manipulation of data. They facilitate the creation of websites and promotional
materials. They can be used to generate social media campaigns. They enable
direct communication with customers through email and online chat.

7. Science
Scientists were one of the first groups to adopt computers as a work tool. In
science, computers can be used for research, sharing information with other
specialists both locally and internationally, as well as collecting, categorizing,
analyzing, and storing data. Computers also play a vital role in launching,
controlling, and maintaining space craft, as well as operating other advanced
technology.

8. Publishing
Computers can be used to design pretty much any type of publication. These
might include newsletters, marketing materials, fashion magazines, novels, or
newspapers. Computers are used in the publishing of both hard-copy and e-books.
They are also used to market publications and track sales.

9. Arts and Entertainment

Computers are now used in virtually every branch of the arts, as well as in the
wider entertainment industry. Computers can be used to create drawings, graphic
designs, and paintings. They can be used to edit, copy, send, and print
photographs. They can be used by writers to create and edit. They can be used to
make, record, edit, play, and listen to music. They can be used to capture, edit and
watch videos. They can be used for playing games.
10. Communication
Computers have made real-time communication over the internet easy, thanks to
software and videoconferencing services such as Skype. Families can connect with
audio and video, businesses can hold meetings between remote participants, and
news organizations can interview people without the need for a film crew. Modern
computers usually have microphones and webcams built-in nowadays to facilitate
software like Skype. Older communications technologies such as email are also
still used widely.

11. Banking and Finance

Most banking in advanced countries now takes place online. You can use
computers to check your account balance, transfer money, or pay off credit cards.
You can also use computer technology to access information on stock markets,
trade stocks, and manage investments. Banks store customer account data, as well
as detailed information on customer behavior which is used to streamline
marketing.

12. Transport
Road vehicles, trains, planes, and boats are increasingly automated with computers
being used to maintain safety and navigation systems, and increasingly to drive,
fly, or steer. They can also highlight problems that require attention, such as low
fuel levels, oil changes, or a failing mechanical part. Computers can be used to
customize settings for individuals, for example, seat setup, air-conditioning
temperatures.

13. Navigation
Navigation has become increasingly computerized, especially since computer
technology has been combined with GPS technology. Computers combined with
satellites mean that it's now easy to pinpoint your exact location, know which way
that you are moving on a map, and have a good idea of amenities and places of
interest around you.
14. Working From Home
Computers have made working from home and other forms of remote working
increasingly common. Workers can access necessary data, communicate, and
share information without commuting to a traditional office. Managers are able to
monitor workers' productivity remotely.

15. Military
Computers are used extensively by the military. They are use for training
purposes. They are used for analyzing intelligence data. They are used to control
smart technology, such as guided missiles and drones, as well as for tracking
incoming missiles and destroying them. They work with other technologies such
as satellites to provide geospatial information and analysis. They aid
communications. They help tanks and planes to target enemy forces.

16. Social and Romance

Computers have opened up many ways of socializing that didn't previously exist.
Social media enables people to chat in text or audio in real time across large
distances, as well as exchange photographs, videos, and memes. Dating sites and
apps help people to find romance. Online groups help people to connect with
others who have similar interests. Blogs enable people to post a variety of views,
updates, and experiences. Online forums enable discussions between people on
specialist or general topics.

17. Booking Vacations

Computers can be used by travelers to study timetables, examine route options,
and buy plane, train, or bus tickets. They can be used to explore and book
accommodation, whether traditional hotels, or through newer services, such as Air
BnB. Guided tours, excursions, events, and trips can also be explored and booked
online using computers.
 18. Security and Surveillance
Computers are increasingly being combined with other technologies to monitor
people and goods. Computers combined with biometric passports make it harder
for people to fraudulently enter a country or gain access to a passenger airplane.
Face-recognition technology makes it easier to identify terrorists or criminals in
public places. Driver plates can be auto scanned by speed cameras or police cars.
Private security systems have also become much more sophisticated with the
introduction of computer technology and internet technology.

19. Weather Forecasting

The world's weather is complex and depends upon a multitude of factors that are
constantly changing. It's impossible for human beings to monitor and process all
the information coming in from satellite and other technologies, never mind
perform the complex calculations that are needed to predict what is likely to
happen in the future. Computers can process the large amounts of meteorological
information.

20. Robotics
Robotics is an expanding area of technology which combines computers with
science and engineering to produce machines that can either replace humans, or do
specific jobs that humans are unable to do. One of the first use of robotics was in
manufacturing to build cars. Since then, robots have been developed to explore
areas where conditions are too harsh for humans, to help law enforcement, to help
the military, and to assist healthcare professionals.

History of Computer: Basic Computing Periods

Earliest Computers originally calculations were computed by humans, whose job

title was computers.
 These human computers were typically engaged in the calculation of a mathematical
expression.
 The calculations of this period were specialized and expensive, requiring years of
training in mathematics.
 The first use of the word "computer" was recorded in 1613, referring to a person
who carried out calculations, or computations, and the word continued to be used in
that sense until the middle of the 20th century.

a. Tally sticks
A tally stick was an ancient memory aid device to record and document numbers,
quantities, or even messages.

Figure 1.1 Tally Sticks

b. Abacus
An abacus is a mechanical device used to aid an individual in performing
mathematical calculations.

• The abacus was invented in Babylonia in 2400 B.C.

• The abacus in the form we are most familiar with was first used in China
in around 500 B.C.
• It used to perform basic arithmetic operations.
 Figure 1.2 Abacus

c. Napier’s Bones
 Invented by John Napier in 1614.
 Allowed the operator to multiply, divide and calculate square and
cube roots by moving the rods around and placing them in specially
constructed boards.

Figure 1.3 Napie’s Bones

d. Slide Rule
Invented by William Oughtred in 1622.
• Is based on Napier's ideas about logarithms.
• Used primarily for – multiplication – division – roots – logarithms –
Trigonometry
• Not normally used for addition or subtraction.
 Figure 1.4 Slide Rule

e. Pascaline
• Invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642.
• It was its limitation to addition and subtraction.
• It is too expensive.

Figure 1.5 Pascaline

f. Stepped Reckoner
• Invented by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in 1672.
• The machine that can add, subtract, multiply and divide automatically.
 Figure 1.6 Stepped Reckoner

g. Jacquard Loom
• The Jacquard loom is a mechanical loom, invented by Joseph-Marie
Jacquard in 1881.
• It is an automatic loom controlled by punched cards.

Figure 1.7 Jacquard Loom

h. Arithmometer
• A mechanical calculator invented by Thomas de Colmar in 1820,
• The first reliable, useful and commercially successful calculating machine.
• The machine could perform the four basic mathematic functions.
• The first mass-produced calculating machine.
 Figure 1.8 Arithmometer
i. Difference Engine and Analytical Engine
• It an automatic, mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial
functions.
• Invented by Charles Babbage in 1822 and 1834
• It is the first mechanical computer.

Figure 1.9 Difference Engine & Analytical Engine

j. First Computer Programmer

• In 1840, Augusta Ada Byron suggests to Babbage that he use the binary
system.
• She writes programs for the Analytical Engine.
 Figure 1.10 Augusta Ada Byron

k. Scheutzian Calculation Engine

• Invented by Per Georg Scheutz in 1843.
• Based on chares Baggage’s difference engine
• The first printing calculator

Figure 1.11 Scheutzian Calculation Engine

l. Tabulating Machine
• Invented by Herman Hollerith in 1890.
• To assist in summarizing information and accounting.

Figure 1.12 Tabulating Machine

m. Harvard Mark 1
• Also known as IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (ASCC).
• Invented by Howard H. Aiken in 1943
• The first electro-mechanical computer.
 Figure 1.13 Harvard Mark 1

n. Z1
 The first programmable computer.
 Created by Konrad Zuse in Germany from 1936 to 1938.
 To program the Z1 required that the user insert punch tape into a punch tape reader
and all output was also generated through punch tape.

Figure 1.14 Z1

o. Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC)

• It was the first electronic digital computing device.
• Invented by Professor John Atanasoff and graduate student Clifford
Berry at Iowa State University between 1939 and 1942.
 Figure 1.15 Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC

p. ENIAC
• ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer.
• It was the first electronic general-purpose computer.
• Completed in 1946.
• Developed by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.

Figure 1.16 ENIAC

q. UNIVAC 1
• The UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer 1) was the first
commercial computer.
• Designed by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.
 Figure 1.17 UNIVAC 1

r. EDVAC
• EDVAC stands for Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer
• The First Stored Program Computer
• Designed by Von Neumann in 1952.
• It has a memory to hold both a stored program as well as data.

Figure 1.18 EDVAC

s. The First Portable Computer
• Osborne 1 – the first portable computer.
• Released in 1981 by the Osborne Computer Corporation.
 Figure 1.19 First Portable Computer
t. The First Computer Company
• The first computer company was the Electronic Controls Company.
• Founded in 1949 by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.

Basic Computing Periods - Ages

a. Premechanical
The premechanical age is the earliest age of information technology. It can be
defined as the time between 3000B.C. and 1450A.D. We are talking about a long
time ago. When humans first started communicating they would try to use
language or simple picture drawings known as petroglyths which were usually
carved in rock. Early alphabets were developed such as the Phoenician alphabet.
 Figure 2.1 Petroglyph

As alphabets became more popular and more people were writing

information down, pens and paper began to be developed. It started off as just
marks in wet clay, but later paper was created out of papyrus plant. The most
popular kind of paper made was probably by the Chinese who made paper from
rags.
Now that people were writing a lot of information down, they needed ways to
keep it all in permanent storage. This is where the first books and libraries are
developed. You’ve probably heard of Egyptian scrolls which were popular ways
of writing down information to save. Some groups of people were actually binding
paper together into a book-like form.

Also, during this period were the first numbering systems. Around 100A.D. was
when the first 1-9 system was created by people from India. However, it wasn’t
until 875A.D. (775 years later) that the number 0 was invented. And yes, now that
numbers were created, people wanted stuff to do with them, so they created
calculators. A calculator was the very first sign of an information processor. The
popular model of that time was the abacus.
b. Mechanical
The mechanical age is when we first start to see connections between our current
technology and its ancestors. The mechanical age can be defined as the time
between 1450 and 1840. A lot of new technologies are developed in this era as
there is a large explosion in interest with this area. Technologies like the slide rule
(an analog computer used for multiplying and dividing) were invented. Blaise
Pascal invented the Pascaline which was a very popular mechanical computer.
Charles Babbage developed the difference engine which tabulated polynomial
equations using the method of finite differences.

Figure 2.2 Difference Engine

There were lots of different machines created during this era and while we have
not yet gotten to a machine that can do more than one type of calculation in one,
like our modern-day calculators, we are still learning about how all of our all-in-
one machines started. Also, if you look at the size of the machines invented in this
time compared to the power behind them it seems (to us) absolutely ridiculous to
understand why anybody would want to use them, but to the people living in that
time ALL of these inventions were HUGE.

c. Electromechanical
Now we are finally getting close to some technologies that resemble our
modern-day technology. The electromechanical age can be defined as the time
between 1840 and 1940. These are the beginnings of telecommunication. The
telegraph was created in the early 1800s. Morse code was created by Samuel
Morse in 1835. The telephone (one of the most popular forms of communication
ever) was created by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. The first radio developed by
Guglielmo Marconi in 1894. All of these were extremely crucial emerging
technologies that led to big advances in the information technology field.

The first large-scale automatic digital computer in the United States was the
Mark 1 created by Harvard University around 1940. This computer was 8ft high,
50ft long, 2ft wide, and weighed 5 tons - HUGE. It was programmed using punch
cards. How does your PC match up to this hunk of metal? It was from huge
machines like this that people began to look at downsizing all the parts to first
make them usable by businesses and eventually in your own home.
 Figure 2.3 Harvard Mark 1

d. Electronic
The electronic age is what we currently live in. It can be defined as the time
between 1940 and right now. The ENIAC was the first high-speed, digital
computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing
problems. This computer was designed to be used by the U.S. Army for artillery
firing tables. This machine was even bigger than the Mark 1 taking up 680 square
feet and weighing 30 tons - HUGE. It mainly used vacuum tubes to do its
calculations.

There are 4 main sections of digital computing. The first was the era of
vacuum tubes and punch cards like the ENIAC and Mark 1. Rotating magnetic
drums were used for internal storage. The second generation replaced vacuum
tubes with transistors, punch cards were replaced with magnetic tape, and rotating
magnetic drums were replaced by magnetic cores for internal storage. Also during
this time high-level programming languages were created such as FORTRAN and
COBOL. The third generation replaced transistors with integrated circuits,
magnetic tape was used throughout all computers, and magnetic core turned into
 metal oxide semiconductors. An actual operating system showed up around this
time along with the advanced programming language BASIC. The fourth and
latest generation brought in CPUs (central processing units) which contained
memory, logic, and control circuits all on a single chip. The personal computer
was developed (Apple II). The graphical user interface (GUI) was developed.

Figure 2.4 Apple 2

History of Computer: Generations of Computer

There are five generations of computer:

• First generation – 1946 to 1958

• Second generation – 1959 to 1964

• Third generation – 1965 to 1970

• Fourth generation – 1971 to Today

• Fifth generation – Today to future

a. The First Generation
The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for
memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very
expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, generated a
lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions. First generation computers
relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language understood
by computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a
time. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed
on printouts.
b. The Second Generation

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of

computers. One transistor replaced the equivalent of 40 vacuum tubes. Allowing
computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more
reliable. Still generated a great deal of heat that can damage the computer.

Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language

to symbolic, or assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify
instructions in words. Second- generation computers still relied on punched cards
for input and printouts for output. These were also the first computers that stored
their instructions in their memory, which moved from a magnetic drum to
magnetic core technology.

Examples: UNIVAC III, RCA 501, Philco Transact S-2000, NCR 300 series, IBM
7030 Stretch, IBM 7070, 7080, 7090 series

c. The Third Generation

The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third
generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon
 chips, called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency
of computers. It could carry out instructions in billionths of a second. Much
smaller and cheaper compare to the second-generation computers.

d. The Fourth Generation

The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as

thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. As these
small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form
networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet.

Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse a
nd handheld devices.

e. The Fifth Generation

Based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Still in development. The use of
parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a
reality. The goal is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are
capable of learning and self-organization. There are some applications, such as voice
recognition, that are being used today.

References

• https://ftms.edu.my/v2/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/csca0201_ch01.pdf
• https://www.sutori.com/story/history-of-ict-information-and-communications-
technology-- N7J51bQqSU7vLWcVfdn5M9qa
• https://www.livescience.com/20718-computer-history.html
• https://www.explainthatstuff.com/historyofcomputers.html