Basic Technology History
Online Technology Source
Computers:
First Computer Invented:
Most people when they think of first computer invented they
think Bill Gates. This, however, is not true, for the computer
was invented long before Bill Gates was around. Bill Gates only
revolutionized the computer, buy creating a more compact and
useful form of the computer and making it available to everyone
with a job.
There are many people out there who would say that the first
"computer" was the abacus, invented in Asia about 5000 years
ago. I however, wouldn't.
The first of the "modern" computers was invented during World
War II, in 1941 by a German engineer named Konrad Zuse. Its name
was the Z3 and it was used to help design German airplanes and
missile's. Then in 1943, the Allied forces developed a computer
called Colossus. It helped decode German messages. The Mark I,
designed by Howard H. Aiken, an engineer working with Harvard
and IBM. The Mark I was positively huge, taking up half of a
football field. It was useful though and it helped to create
ballistic charts for the US Navy during the war.
Shortly after this, came the Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Computer (ENIAC), developed by John Presper Eckert and John W.
Mauchly, working with the government and the University of
Pennsylvania. ENIAC was about 1000 times faster than The Mark I
but no smarter.
The Use of transistors, ment computers that could store memory
and even run programs. Soon after computer languages were
invented so that people could change the programs run by the
computer. Finally computer research brought us smaller, more
useful computers, and eventually the kinds of computers that we
have today.
First Laptops Invented:
Although it is a little hard to determine what the first
portable or laptop computer was, and when it was invented, we
can however say that there is more than one claim to laptop
fame. There was even signs of laptops dating back as early as
1979. Designed by a Briton, William Moggridge, for use by NASA
in early 1980's. IT was one fifth the weight of any model
equivalent in performance and was a 340K byte bubble memory
lap-top computer with die-cast magnesium case and folding
electroluminescent graphics display screen.
Since then notebook PC's released in 1981 lay clam to being the
first. It was the Epson HX-20, a battery powered portable
computer, with a 20-character by 4 line LCD display and a
built-in printer that started the new widespread desire for
these laptop computers.
In January of 1982, Microsoft's Kazuhiko Nishi and Bill Gates
begin discussions on designing a portable computer, based on
using a new liquid crystal display or LCD screen. LCD technology
in 1982? Yeah that's right! Believe it or not we had the
technology to make the LCD tvs and monitors that you've seen
only recently over 22 years ago. But that's another story in
itself.
First PDAs Invented:
First of all PDA stands for personal digital assistants in case
you didn't already know. In 1993, Apple Computer Inc. released
the very first PDA(personal digital assistants) "The Newton