In just a few years, the computer managed to enter human life so tightly that it became almost impossible to imagine its existence without it. With its help, you can not only type texts, but also listen to music, watch movies, chat online and much more. It’s hard to imagine that several decades ago it simply didn’t exist! But this is how it was until those who invented the computer showed it to the world.
Undoubtedly, at first it was exclusively a machine for calculations and was used by a narrow circle of scientists. But today almost everyone has a personal computer or laptop. You use it every day, and you know when, where and who invented the computer? But this is a rather interesting question. Let's figure it out.
When and where did they invent the computer?
People have always sought to automate computing in order to facilitate this laborious process. Such attempts have been made since ancient times: an abacus from ancient Babylon, ancient Chinese abacus, the famous anti-cheater mechanism from Greece - these are all the predecessors of a modern computer.
Many famous scientists worked on the development of computer technology in modern times: Leibniz, Muller, Pascal and others. The result of their labors was the invention in 1820 of an arithmometer.
The first semblance of a computer appeared in Tokyo. In 1941, a universal analytical computer was designed and built that could carry out tasks without human intervention. Z3 - this was the name of this achievement of science.
Who is the creator?
Yes, the first kind of PC was built in Japan. But who invented it, who invented the computer? Few people know that back in the 19th century, the English mathematician Charles Babbage conceived and developed a plan for such an analytical machine. He even managed to create a prototype, but he could not find finance for the full implementation of the project.
In 1946, the American company ENIAC, guided by the projects of Mauchly and Eckert, made the first computer on transistors. We worked on its development for about three years, spent half a million US dollars. This machine could be reprogrammed and used to solve all kinds of problems. However, such a computer turned out to be a very impressive device. It weighed about 28 tons and was cooled using aircraft engines! In 1971, a floppy disk drive and the first microprocessor were invented.
However, such computers were huge and expensive devices that only large enterprises and government agencies could afford ...
The first mini-machine in 1965 was created by Digital Equipment Corporation. It was called the PDP-8, and it was no bigger than a refrigerator ... in size. This was followed by several more models, but not much less.
Who invented the personal computer we used to see?
The decisive step to what we use today, in 1976, took two young Americans - Wozniak and Jobs. They developed a device designed for video games, which also could be programmed. He was called "Apple." Subsequently,
Steve Jobs created a corporation with the same name, which took up the production of personal computers.
Well, in 1986, IBM made an IBM PC device with a 16-bit Intel processor and software developed by Microsoft. By the beginning of the 1990s. it is these devices that have turned into a mass use item.
The path of the computer to the device we are familiar with today was quite long and difficult. Today, everything is much simpler. There are PCs in almost every home, and some do not have one. And we should be grateful to those who invented the computer and worked to improve it. After all, this device has become almost indispensable for each of us. Someone needs it for work, and for someone to communicate and just have a good time.