Lesson 2

History of
Computer
PREPARED BY: PINK APRIL
O. MANGUERA, LPT
The computer is the most useful and versatile tool yet
developed. It has changed the information needs of
the most people of advanced countries but also the
peoples of third countries. Computer has influenced
the international trade pattern of employment,
industrial productivity, home life, health and scientific
research technological advances are usually a mixed
of blessing, neutral between good and evil.
Evolution of Technology
The evolution of technology has always depended on

one thing; the human rationale. Humans tend to think of
ways on how to improve tasks, workload, or simply day-
to-day activities. The concept of technology started off
with the basic tool.
Technology is the use of scientific knowledge, experience
and resources to create processes and products that fulfill
human needs. Technology is vital in communication.
• Aiding Communication
Telephone and fax machines are the devices used
in extending communication.
• Spreading Information
To broadcast Information such as news or weather
reports effectively. Radio, television, satellites and the
World Wide Web (www) are powerful tools that can be
used.
Who is Charles Babbage?
Charles Babbage was born on Dec. 26, 1791 in
England. He was a polymath and became a
mathematician, mechanical engineer, inventor, and
philosopher. He contributed to many different scientific
fields but his most famous work is designing a
programmable computing device.
Charles Babbage is considered the “father of the

computer” and is given credit for devising the first ever
mechanical computer. His design served as the blue
print for other, more complex machines.
In 1991, a functioning Difference Engine No. 2 was built

based on Babbage’s original drawings at the Science
Museum, London. It consisted of 8,000 parts, weighed
five tons, and measured 11 feet long. The engine was
built under conditions that were available during the
19th century. In 2000, the Science Museum also
completed the printer Babbage had designed for the
difference engine.
• By 1820 and 30’s- Invented the Difference
Engine, an early computer, a calculating
machine.
• 1820- Charles Babbage invented a small
machine to compute the table of squares.
• 1827- Charles Babbage published a table of
logarithms from 1 to 1080000.
• Mid-1830’s- Babbage developed plans for the
Analytical Engine, first digital computer.
• 1851- Charles Babbage suggested the germ of
the cornograph for a solar eclipse.
• 19th-century- Charles Babbage designed a printer
for the second Difference Engine which supported
line-wrapping.
• Late 19th-century-Invented a replica of the
Difference Engine
Charles Babbage created the first mechanical computer which later it led to
different designs. That is the reason why he is called "The Father of the
Computer." He hated doing calculations by hand so he wanted to come up with
a machine that would solve this problem. He wanted to build a machine that
could benefit others as well. In 1812, he said- "I wish to God these calculations
had been performed by steam."
In 1822, Babbage proposed building a machine called the Different Engine that
could calculate tables automatically. Charles kept on working on this engine
and then he came up with Analytical Engine or Analytical Steam Engine because
it was planned that it was going to be powered by steam. The main difference
between the two engines is that the Analytical Engine could be programmed
using punched cards.
The Analytical Engine could make decisions based on the results of previous
computations. It could also perform several features used in modern
computers like sequential control, branching and looping. Charles worked on
his Analytical Engine until he died and sadly he did not finish. This invention is
now displayed at the London Science Museum.
In 3500 BC, The Sumerians developed cuneiform
writing. Cuneiform is one of the oldest forms of writing
known. It means "wedge-shaped," because people
wrote it using a reed stylus cut to make a wedge-
shaped mark on a clay tablet Cuneiform is not a
language but a proper way of writing distinct from the
alphabet. It doesn’t have ‘letters’- instead it uses
between 600 and 1,000 characters impressed on clay
to spell words by dividing them up into syllables.
IBM Watson
IBM Watson is a cognitive computing system that takes in
questions expressed in natural language and then use Artificial
Intelligence, Big Data and algorithms to understand them and
return with an answer as close as possible. Watson was
developed on IBM’s DeepQA project and now, its advanced
QA capabilities are used by various enterprise customers in
many applications. IBM has formed Watson’s knowledge base
by providing it with many documents, including databases,
dictionaries, newswire articles, encyclopedias, taxonomies
and different reference materials.
Watson was originally made for answering questions on the Jeopardy, a quiz
show organized in 2011. It was able to win against human competitors because
it not only uses conventional computing but also three other capabilities, such
as dynamic learning, hypothesis generation and natural language processing.
One cannot find any other technology other than Watson with these
capabilities combined.
IBM Watson can be seen applied to different fields, including education,

medicine and retail. The success of Watson indicates that this technology will
be here for a long time because of its ability to share knowledge in every field.
The retail expertise of Watson extends into the fields of finance, real estate,
banking and travel. Watson-based technologies can be seen replacing the
services of many people, including real estate agents, bank officers and even
financial advisors by using comprehensive knowledge to give detailed answers
to the questions posed. Watson is also seen changing the medical industry.
After tweaking its knowledge base, Watson will be able to be up-to-date with
the research data and also provide the best treatment recommendations.
ARPANET
ARPANET was the network that became the basis for the Internet.
Based on a concept first published in 1967, ARPANET was developed
under the direction of the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency
(ARPA). In 1969, the idea became a modest reality with the
interconnection of four university computers. The initial purpose was to
communicate with and share computer resources among mainly
scientific users at the connected institutions. ARPANET took advantage
of the new idea of sending information in small units called packets that
could be routed on different paths and reconstructed at their destination.
The development of the TCP/IP protocols in the 1970s made it possible
to expand the size of the network, which now had become a network of
networks, in an orderly way.
Evolution of Computers
Before the era of computer begins, counting machines was invented to
help people with business industry. The usage of counting machine,
begin as early as 200 B.C. Evolution of computers can be traced at 6
stages:
• The early years
• First generation
• Second generation
• Third generation
• Fourth generation
• Fifth generation
The Early Years
YEARS INVENTION
500 BC Chinese Abacus (First counting machine)
1617 Napier’s Bones, John Napiers was a Scottish scientist

born in the 16th century, he’s best remembered for
developing methods so that multiplications and divisions
can be carried out using addition and subtraction.
YEARS INVENTION
1881 Joseph Marie Jacquard, a French inventor from a

weaving family, invented the Jacquard loom which
kickstarted the automation of the weaving industry. The
Jacquard loom used programmable cards and went on
to influence Charles Babbages work so the loom is
considered an important step towards modern
computing.
1871
Charles Babbage, Difference Engine No.1 was
the first successful automatic calculator and
remains one of the finest examples of precision
engineering of the time. Babbage is sometimes
referred to as "father of computing."
YEARS INVENTION
1941 A programmable, electromechanical calculator designed

by Professor Howard Aiken. Built by IBM and installed
at Harvard in 1944, the Mark I's 765,000 parts were
used to string 78 adding machines together. It used
paper tape for input and typewriters for output.
According to Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, the Mark I
sounded like a thousand knitting needles. The Mark I
calculated in decimal arithmetic, rather than binary.
Computer Generations
• First Generation (1940-1956)
The first generation of computer were huge, slow, expensive and often unreliable. In
1946, two Americans, Presper Eckert and William Mauchly build the Eniac ( Electronic
Numerical Integrator and Computer). It use vacuum tube instead of mechanical switches of
the Mark 1.
Vacuum Tube- was an extremely important step of the advancement of computers.

In a computer, a vacuum tube which is an electronic tube about the size of light bulbs, was
used as the internal computer components.
• Second Generation (1956-1963)
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.
Examples: UNIVAC III,, IBM 7030 Stretch

• Third Generation (1964-1971)
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.
• Fourth Generation (1971-PRESENT)
In 1971 Intel created the first microprocessor. In 1976, Steve
Jobs built the first apple computer. Then , in 1981, IBM introduced its
first personal computer.
During the fourth generation, hardware technology such as
silicon chips, microprocessor and storage devices were invented. A
microprocessor is a specialized chip which is developed for computer
memory and logic.
Silicon Chip
Microprocesso
r
• Fifth Generation (PRESENT & BEYOND)
The fifth generation computers are technologically advance and are still
being developed to become more efficient. 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.

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Lesson 2

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History of

The evolution of technology has always depended on

Charles Babbage is considered the “father of the

In 1991, a functioning Difference Engine No. 2 was built

• Late 19th-century-Invented a replica of the

IBM Watson can be seen applied to different fields, including education,

500 BC Chinese Abacus (First counting machine)

1617 Napier’s Bones, John Napiers was a Scottish scientist

1881 Joseph Marie Jacquard, a French inventor from a

1941 A programmable, electromechanical calculator designed

Vacuum Tube- was an extremely important step of the advancement of computers.

Examples: UNIVAC III,, IBM 7030 Stretch

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