The History of Computers By Griffon
Table of Contents
Early computers....................pg.1 Selling the computer.............pg.2 Computer games...................pg.3 Future computers................pg.4 Glossary................................pg.5 About the author...................pg.6 Cited sources........................pg.7
Early Computers Charles Babbage Charles Babbage was a mathematician who created plans for an automatic calculator. He would use cards with holes in them to program the calculator to do equations. But the problem with his calculator was that it was very expensive and it was very big. Charles Babbage never completed one of his inventions. In 1985 the science museum in London recreated the Difference Engines and they proved that Charles Babbage’s Difference Engines could work.
ENIAC In 1942 a physicist John Mauchly sold a large computer to the U.S. army. Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (or ENIAC for short) was for calculating complex tables that would take lots of weeks for a human to do. ENIAC was one of the first computers to be fully electronic. One of Charles Babbage’s Difference Engines
pg.1
Selling the Computer
Hewlett Packard (HP) was started in 1939 by William Hewlett and Dave Packard in a garage in Palo Alto, California. At the start they were not very focused and made lots of types of different products. But soon after that they focused more on computers. Now Hewlett Packard is now known mainly for its laptops and printers.
Apple Apple was started by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in Cupertino, California. Their first computer was the Apple I when they sold about 200 computers they created the Apple II. The Apple II was a success and they sold many computers. Apple has now become a major computer company known all over the world.
Hewlett Packard
Microsoft
The apple II
In 1975 Microsoft was created by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. After they started Microsoft they focused on programming computers for other companies and they soon became very well known. Now they focused on computers and programs for them. Now they are famous for Internet Explorer, Microsoft Word and Windows.
pg.2
Computer Games The first computer games The first computer games were where you typed in commands for your character to do. After that computer games started to have graphics and were Pong, Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. Now computer games have evolved from games where you typed commands to games that look and feel as though they are real.
pg.3
Future Computers Computers of the future How the computer has evolved Only 60 years ago you would be considered crazy if you said that a computer could fit into your pocket but now it can. Did you know that in almost every room of a house there is a computer, such as in the air conditioning, phones and microwaves. Did you also know that a smart phone has more computing power than one of the room sized computers like ENIAC.
Many people think that the computers of the future might be much more smart than humans will be. But other people think that computers will never be as smart as the human brain. Who knows what the future will be. By 2050 your clothes could have computers in them to make them hot or cold. Lots of things in 2050 such as highways (to check if the highway needs maintenance), buildings (to stop them from falling over) and chairs (to make them more comfortable) might have computers in them.
camera/computer
glasses computers in the future might project their keyboards
projector
pg.4
Glossary Programing-making commands for a computer Electronic- a thing that uses electricity Equation- anything in math that uses the equals sign Automatic- a thing that does something very fast Complex- something that is very complicated Physicist- a person who works with physics
pg.5
About the Author Griffon likes to read and he finds computers fascinating. He lives in Shanghai, China but is from Canada and Holland. His favorite colors are blue and green. He hopes that you have enjoyed this book.
pg.6
Cited Sources How Stuff Works http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ computers-in-2050.htm Computer History Museum http://www.computerhistory.org/exhibits/ World Book worldbookonline.com Gifford, C. (2011). Gadgets, Games, Robots, and the Digital World. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited.
pg.7