1babbage difference engine

Computer History

  • The Difference Engine

    The Difference Engine
    The difference engine was designed by Charles Babbage in 1821. It used only arithmetical addition and removed the need of using multiplication and division. They crunched numbers by repeated addition according to the method of finite differences.
  • Computer Keyboard

    Computer Keyboard
    The invention of the modern computer keyboard began with the invention of the typewriter. In 1868, Christopher Latham Sholes filed for a patent of the typewriter that we commonly use today. It didn't contain the number 0 or 1 because the letters I and O were deemed enough.
  • Telephone

    Telephone
    Charles Bourseul wrote the first design in 1854, however Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the patent for the electric telephone in Mrach 1876
  • Z1 Computer

    Z1 Computer
    The Z1 was the first freely programmable computer. Many others followed with the UNIVAC computer to be the first commercial computer.
  • Colossus

    Colossus
    Colossus was the first digital computer that was programmable. They were developed for British code breakers during WWII.
  • Hard Disk Drive

    Hard Disk Drive
    A hard disk drive is a data storage device used for storing and retrieving digital information using rapidly rotating disks. The first IBM drive was approximately the size of two refrigerators.
  • PC

    PC
    The Programma 101 was the first desktop personal computer. It was produced by the Italian company Olivetti, and invented by Pier Gorgio Perotto.
  • Laptop

    Laptop
    As the personal computer became available, the idea of a portable person computer soon followed. The first commercially available portable computer appeared in September 1975.
  • DVD

    DVD
    The DVD was invented by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic. DVD is sometimes explained as ‘digital video disc’ and it is a digital optical disc storage format.
  • USB

    USB
    Flash memory was developed in the mid 80’s by Toshiba and USB were developed in the late 90’s. The breakthrough was the ability to connect flash memory to a computer without any need for drivers and special software.