-
Period: to
Evolution of Computers
-
Astanasoff-Berry Computer
The Atanasoff–Berry Computer was the first electronic digital computing device. It was made in late 1939 at Iowa State University. M. B. (n.d.). John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry - The First All Electronic Computer. John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry - The First All Electronic Computer. Retrieved October 3, 2012, from http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa050898.htm -
IBM 701 EDPM
Announced on April 29, 1952, the IBM 701 was IBM’s first commercial scientific computer. IBM partly invented it to help with the Korean War. Only 19 701s were produced, which could be rented for $15,000. The 701s did not work with IBM’s punch card equipment and were large and bulky. Bellis, M. (N/A). The history of international business machines and ibm computers. Retrieved from http://inventors.about.com/od/computersandinternet/a/IBM701.htm -
Spacewar!
Spacewar was the first popular computer game. Steve Russel, a programmer from MIT, created it in 1962. Its predecessors were OXO (A tic tac toe game) and Tennis for Two (similar to Pong) Two spaceships shoot each other while being attracted to a gravity well in the center. If a ship touches the center or a projectile from the enemy ship, it explodes. Bellis, M. (2011). About.com. Retrieved from http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/Spacewar.htm -
Floppy Disk
Alan Shugart at IBM invented the floppy disk drive in 1967. The floppy disk was similar to a cassette tape because both used iron oxide (rust) to store information. When iron oxide is exposed to a magnetic field, the particles permanently align. Both floppy disks and cassette tapes can be erased and rewritten. Brown , G. (2011). howstuffworks. Retrieved from http://computer.howstuffworks.com/floppy-disk-drive1.htm -
Microsoft Disk Operating System
Microsoft DOS (Disk Operating System) is a 16 bit operating system that was released on August 12, 1981 for IBM’s personal computer. DOS was made by Bill Gates and featured a command prompt similar to the one that appears when the current versions of Windows boot up. It is a black background with white text. And users must enter commands to run applications. Bellis, M. (n.d.). About.com inventors. Retrieved from http://inventors.about.com/od/computersoftware/a/Putting-Microsoft-On-The-Map.htm -
Microsoft Windows 1.0
Microsoft Windows 1.0 was a 16 bit MSDOS based operating system released on November 20, 1985. It had many innovations that are still in use today such as having multiple application windows open, (hence the name windows) using a mouse, scroll bars, icons and dialog boxes. Bellis, M. (2011). About.com inventors. Retrieved from http://inventors.about.com/od/mstartinventions/a/Windows.htm
