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The abacus is also called a counting frame. The abacus is a calculating tool. The exact origins are unknown. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abacus -
A manually-operated calculating device. Used for calculating products and quotients of numbers. Napier made this device to aid in calculations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier's_bones -
The slide rule is a mechanical analog computer. The slide rule is used for general calculations. William Oughtred combined to Gunter rules to make this device. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_rule -
The first calculator to be produced in quantity and be used. Pascaline added and subtracted numbers. Blaise Pascal was led to develop a calculator by the calculations required by his father's work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_calculator https://www.britannica.com/technology/Pascaline -
The Stepped Reckoner was a digital mechanical calculator made by Gottfried Leibniz. Was able to multiply and divide numbers through repeated addition and subtraction. Mechanical problems prevented the machine from working reliably. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepped_reckoner -
A machine fitted to loom. Often considered a predecessor of modern computing. The machine was controlled by a number of punch cards. Named after Joseph Jacquard the inventor of the machine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacquard_machine -
The first calculator reliable enough to use daily in an office. It became the first commercially successful mechanical calculator. Thomas de Colmar patented the product. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmometer -
An automatic mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions. Some common mathematical functions could be done on a Difference engine as well. The name is derived from the method of divided differences. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Difference_engine -
Was designed to be a simple, general-purpose mechanical computer. Charles Babbage designed the difference and analytical engine. The Analytical engine was never finished. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytical_Engine -
It was the first printing calculator sold. The first model was able to calculate up to 5-digit numbers and third-order differences. Per Georg Scheutz worked on the engine with his son. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_Georg_Scheutz -
An electromechanical machine designed to assist in summarizing information stored on punched cards. Hollerith was inspired by conductors using holes punched into tickets to make his machine. 1890 U.S. Census used the tabulating machine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabulating_machine -
The world’s first operational automatic digital computer. The computer was unreliable in operation. Konrad Zuse built the computer in his parents' house. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z1_(computer) -
The Havard Mark 1 could perform large computations automatically. It did computations for the U.S. navy. Howard Aiken look for a company to design and build his calculator. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Mark_I -
The first programmable general-purpose computer. Designed primarily to calculate artillery firing tables to be used by the U.S. army. Mauchly and Eckert designed the computer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENIAC -
A semiconductor device that is used to amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power. One of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. Shockley was the father of the transistor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor -
Designed for business applications. It could read 7,200 decimal digits per second. Mauchly and Eckert began design work at their own company. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIVAC_I -
Used binary digits instead of decimal. Designed to be a stored-program computer. EDVAC was delivered to the Ballistic Research Laboratory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EDVAC -
A general-purpose compiled imperative programming language. Especially suited to numeric computation and scientific computing. John Backus proposed a more practical alternative to assembly language. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortran -
A compiled computer programming language used for business. Takes other programs written in a high-level language and converts them into another language that is understandable. The initiative for COBOL drew on Grace Hopper's Flow-Matic. https://www.microfocus.com/en-us/what-is/cobol -
An integrated circuit that serves as the primary component of all computing devices. Large numbers of tiny MOSFETs integrate into the chip. Kilby and John’s creation revolutionized and miniaturized technology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_circuit -
Changed how humans interacted with computers. A single wheel was used to translate motion. Engelbart was exploring interactions between humans and computers when he began development of the mouse. https://www.sri.com/hoi/computer-mouse-and-interactive-computing/#:~:text=First%20computer%20mouse%20prototype%20changes,computer%20mouse%20prototype%20in%201964. -
Composed of a thin and flexible disk. Read from and written by a floppy disk drive. Shugart Associates produced and improved upon the first floppy disks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_disk -
A family of wired computer networking technologies. Commonly used in local area networks. Metcalfe was inspired to make the Ethernet by the ALOHAnet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet -
An 8-bit home computer that was one of the world’s first successful mass-produced microcomputers. Was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak. Steve Jobs oversaw the development of the product’s foam-molded plastic case. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II -
A Desktop microcomputer sold by Tandy Corporation through Radio Shack stores. One of the earliest mass-produced and marketed home computers. The name is an abbreviation Tandy Radio Shack , Z80. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80 -
The first PC made. The IBM Acorn was re-named to the IBM PC. Twelve engineers designed and made the Acorn. https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-ibm-pc-1991408 -
A program to explore new ways to store and process information with molecules. Aims to discover and define future opportunities for molecules in information storage and processing. DARPA is still working on this program. https://www.darpa.mil/program/molecular-informatics -
Microsoft Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families. Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows as an operating system shell. Windows is the most popular operating system in the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows -
An Proprietary graphical operating system developed by Apple. The primary operating system for Mac computers. The second most used desktop OS. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacOS -
Was secret until it’s revealing. The operating system the phone uses is called “iPhone OS”. The original iPhone supported three major versions of the operating system. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_(1st_generation) -
The first Chromebook was the Cr-48 Chromebook. A laptop or tablet running Chrome OS. Used to perform a lot of tasks using Google Chrome. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromebook