Computers: A brief history
Technology is now-a-days pretty much synonymous with the word life-style, so much so that many people and most of the youth would go crazy if they did not have a smartphone, tablet or a laptop with them. For them tech has become more important than their health and time, well that’s a topic for another time. Among all those techs a computer is one that plays a very crucial role in a person’s life who is earning money.
Computers in present time are available in all shapes and forms like desktop pc, all in one pc, laptops that to in different sizes, palmtops etc., but back in the pioneer age it was not like this, it was a bulky, hulking machine that looked anything but portable. So, when exactly did this all start from? Who started it? Who invented laptops? Who made this wonder that has survived the harsh competition of modern world where it is yet to be replaced by anything better.
Whenever we read some subject there is always someone who was a pioneer in that field and was called father of that subject like Theophrastus ‘the father of botany’, Aristotle ‘the father of Zoology’, like that who is the father of computers? Well, there is no straight forward answer to this question. Many would believe it was Charles Babbage but what he invented was not something that resembled computer at all. Keep in mind that the early inventions like abacus, calculators & tablet machines are not included in here.
The word computer was first used in 1613 that referred to a human being who performed calculations or computations.
In 1822 Charles Babbage conceptualized and developed an engine that was capable of computing several sets of numbers and it could make hard copies of the pages. But due to lack of funding at that time he was never able to complete it to its full potential. Later in 1837 Charles Babbage proposed the 1st mechanical computing engine called the analytical engine. But again that machine idea was not realized due to lack of funds.
The first programmable computer was named ‘Z1’ which was created by a German, Konrad Zuse in his parents living room in 1938and is considered to be the 1st functional computer. The 1st fundamental theories were laid out by Alan Turing with his creation the Turing machine which performed and printed in a manner where as if a person was following a series of logical instructions.
The 1st computer company was built in 1949 & was named ‘Electronic Controls Company’. It was founded by J. Presper Eckert & John Mochly.
Intel introduced the 1st microprocessor in 1971 the ‘Intel 4004’.
The 1st personal computer or PC was named ‘Altair 8800’, Which was introduced by Ed Roberts in 1975.
The ‘Micral” is the first non assembled PC that was sold in 1973 for some-where around 1500 to 2000$ that featured 8008 processor.
The 1st laptop was IBM 5100 . It weighed only(sarcastic) 55 pounds or 24.9 kgs(That does sound like something I would want on my lap).
The 1st truly portable laptop was Osborne-I which was only 11kgs.
After that it was worked upon by many companies lek Compaq, Apple, & now it has come to be where it is.