Major Events and People in the History of Computers By: Sarah Rodriguez

Charles Babbage

Sep 5, 1824

Charles designed the first automatic calculator, called the Analytical Engine. The Machine was actually based on another machine called the Difference Engine, which was a huge steam - powered Calculator that Babbage designed to print Astromaical tables.

Herman Hollerith

Sep 5, 1890

While Herman was working for the U.S census Bureanu, was the first to take Jacquard's punching card concept and apply it to computting with his hollerith Tabulating Machine. Hollerith's tabulating machine automatically read data that had been punched cards, speeding up the tabulation process

Z1 Computer

Sep 5, 1936

The Z1 Computer was created by Konrad Zuse which was a mechaical calculator. The Z1 is thought to be the first computer to include certain features integral to today's systems, such as a control unit and seperate memory functons.

BASIC

Sep 5, 1950

Beginners All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code revolutionized the software industry. The BASIC was a language that beginning programming students could easily learn.

Bill Gates

Sep 5, 1950

Bill Gates was one of the first of two men that owned a Altair (Paul Allen). They both made a program where user commands translate into commands the computer can understand.
Later convinced the Altairs developers to buy their program, marking the start of a company called Microsoft.

Univac

Sep 5, 1951

Universal Automatic Computer was the first commercially successful electronic digital computer. operated on magnetic tape setting it apart from its compertitors, which ran on punch cards.

Introduction of the GUI

Sep 5, 1972

The GUI (Graphical user interface) allowed users to intersct with the computer more easily. Until that time, users had to use complicted command-or menu-driven interfaces.

Altair Computer 8800

Sep 5, 1975

The Altair Computer 8800 had no keyboard, and no monitor which made it difficult for the user. $395 for a do-it yourself kit, and $498 already assembled for you. In todays dollars it would be $2,162, and with the Altair you could create your own programs.

Steve Jobs

Sep 5, 1976

Made Apple computer and build up the Apple company along the side of Steve Woziak. Steve Jobs was working for computer game manafacturer while Steve Wozniak was working on his own computer designs. Steve Jobs was liked Wozniak's prototypes and decided to work together, the two built a personal computer the Apple I in Wozniak's garage. A year later in 1977 built the Apple II.

Wordstar

Sep 5, 1978

First word processing application.

Viscalc

Sep 5, 1978

First electronic spreadsheet application.

Osborne Computer

Sep 5, 1981

24.5 pounds minuscule 5 inch computer cost $1,795 and cost in today's dollars $4,612. The Osborne was a overnight success quickly reached 10,000 units per month but the company later closed but was bought by another company the Osborne in 1983 producing its own portable computer.

Pagemaker

Sep 5, 1985

The first desktop publishing software.

Excel

Sep 5, 1985

One of the first spreadsheet to use a graphical user interface.

Mosaic

Sep 5, 1993

The Web browser Mosaic allowed users to veiw multimedia on the web, causing internet traffic to increase by nearly 350%.

Eniac

Sep 5, 1994

Electronic Numerical Integrator and computer was another U.S government sponsored machine developed to calculate the settings used for weapons. Eniac used nearly 18,000 vacuum tubes and filled approximately 18,00 square feet of floor space.

Netscape

Sep 5, 1994

Web browser, which soon became a predominant player in browser software. 1998 Netscape was made free to the public.

Apple 2

Sep 5, 1997

The Apple II was ceated by Steve Jobs and Steve Woznaik after the company Apple I of course. The Apple II had a color monitor, sound. and game paddles. The Biggest innovations was that the operating system was stored in read-only memory (ROM).