History on computers and other cool info


  1. Posts : 1,486
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       #1

    History on computers and other cool info


    so i have to write a 5 page term paper on some kind of technology used between the years 1900-2013 so i chose computers. i will post up my paper in a bit, im still typing it, however being that this is a computer forum, i think some of you may find it kinda interesting. if all the facts are not correct, dont hate. my teacher dosent even know what a Graphics card is.... lol

    there is just SO much to write on this topic! its hard to choose what i want to include. i took major jumps from Unix and Linux to DOS and Windows. lol
    FYI, this is for a Digital Communications class. enjoy!
    Last edited by N00berG00ber; 23 Jan 2014 at 18:41.
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  2. Posts : 1,486
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #2

    here it is:
    sorry it dident correctly format

    The term “computer” was first used back in the year 1613 and described a human who performed mathematical calculations or computations (Computer Hope). In the year 1969, Apollo 11 blasted off with four astronauts in hopes that their final destination was to be the moon. In 2014, the average cell phone has more processing power and more technology in it than any of the four astronauts and NASA combined. In the year 2000, only fourteen years ago, the Company AMD was the first company in the world to achieve 1GHz on a standard desktop computer processor that was available to ship to customers. In 2013, AMD again beat Intel (AMD’s major competing processor company) to 5GHz on a desktop processor. AMD currently holds the world record for the “fastest” overclocked processor at 8GHz. Throughout the course of time, our very definition of the word “computer” has been implemented into our everyday lives so much that we as humans rely heavily on computers every day to live and has affected our lives in every way possible.
    As stated before, the definition of “computer” was used to describe a human doing calculations or computations. In todays’ world, the word “computer” is used to describe millions of different electronic devices ranging from simple hand held calculators to the world’s fastest super computer named Tianhe-2 hosted in China to life support machines used in hospitals to keep people alive. The processing power of these machines has increased at an incredible amount to even allow these machines to exist. However, these components would be completely useless without the use of an operating system.
    Before modern operating systems existed, early computers components communicated with its users through a mainframe. A mainframe is a very crude and basic form of a computer program that allowed a user to input a set of instructions in which allowed the computer to understand what the user wanted. The computer would then run the set of instructions until the set of instructions commanded the computer to stop or until the computer crashed. The very first official mainframe was created and used in 1956 by General Motors and was named GM-NAA I/O (History of operating systems). These mainframes allowed companies and individual users to request system specific requests that could be implemented into the mainframe and used to suit their individual needs. Before the use of a modern operating system, mainframes dominated the market. In the 1960’s the most popular and well known modern operating system was called Unix and was developed for AT&T (History of operating systems). Unix was an incredible breakthrough in the computer world and prompted many individuals and companies to start production on a new operating system. Unix was so widely adopted that it is still in use today, 2014. It is incredibly flexible as to what can use is, free for anyone to use, open source, and incredibly easy to modify. Unix is still the main foundation of all operating systems used on modern devices today. Because of Unix, many of the first home computer systems were now affordable and small enough for the average family to fit in their homes. The very first production home computer became available in the 1968’s. After Unix, Linux and DOS soon became available for use in home computers. Linux is still the foundation of all modern operating systems including Apple’s IOS and OSX, Google’s Android, Microsoft’s Windows, and many more. After the first computer was placed in homes, the market exploded and suddenly technology and computers were booming.
    A transistor can be thought as an electronic gate allowing electrical current to pass through and stopped in just a couple of nano-seconds. Moore’s Law states that over the history of computing hardware, the number of transistors on an integrated circuit is expected to double every two years. In the year 2013, the standard desktop processor has reached 2.6 billion transistors in a single chip (Moore’s Law). At this rate, it is expected that by the year 2034 integrated circuits, such as computer processors, will reach the max physical limit and will restrict actual growth of computers and their physical components. The rate at which computers are developing is extremely alarming. Early home computers running Linux or DOS allowed users to do everything from storing and saving information and word processing, to performing complex calculations all in the convenience of their home but required a knowable user to control. The very first official word processing program was invented in 1976 and used on DOS. In modern operating systems, the two most widely known are Microsoft Windows and Mac OSX. Windows 3.0 the first Graphical User Interface (GUI) operating system introduced in 1990-1994 and was developed by Bill Gates (History of Microsoft windows). The production of Windows 3.0 revolutionized the computer industry. The entirely new GUI allowed not only knowledgeable users to use computers, but everyone. It simplified the computer enormously. Some of the other most popular versions of windows is Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and most recent Windows 8; all based on Linux and DOS. During the production of Windows Bill Gates had a dream “…We talked about a computer on every desk and in every home. It’s been amazing to see so much of that dream become a reality and touch so many lives.” Bill Gates is entirely correct although the form of “computer” may not be the typical house hold computer. Today, nearly 4/5ths of the worlds’ population has some sort of computer.
    Another form of a computer is a smartphone. Smartphones are still very new to the world, however took a major launch because of the ease of use and all the capabilities of them. The first official smartphone was produced in the year 2000. It was called Ericsson R380 and was produced by Ericsson Mobile Communications Company (Smartphone). This phone not only sparked a revolution in technology, but it also opened an endless future for all kinds of new technologies. It was not until the year 2007 that Apple introduced a whole new type of phone called their iPhone. This iPhone was a revolution. It featured an all new multi touch operating system called IOS, a 32-bit 602MHz CPU, 128Mb of RAM, and up to 16Gb of storage. These types of specs have never been seen before in any kind of phone. Apple started a whole new industry with the release of their iPhone. Their OS was extremely user friendly and featured a new form of “programs” or apps that were able to be installed and used on the phone.
    Since 2007, Apple and Android have been playing leap frog with each of their unique and different mobile operating systems, both in which are based on Linux. Since the beginning of the first actual definition of a computer, it took forty-four years for a single computer processor to reach 1GHz. In 2007, Apple was more than half way there at 600MHz. In the year 2013, a company called Qualcomm produced the Very first mobile phone processor to reach 2.3GHz-what was previously unheard and unimaginable just six years earlier in a phone or tablet.
    In more than fifty years of development between operating systems and hardware, one may ask what all this processing power and advancing operating systems are actually used for. The answer is simple. To drive and fuel every human’s need for improvement and advancement physically, socially, and figuratively.
    The computer industry has revolutionized the life of an average person and has made life incredibly simpler and has turned what we thought of a luxury into a necessity. People are now able to talk to others completely across the world in a matter of seconds, weather that be from a voice call, video call, instant message, or text message. This is all due to the help of the Internet invented in the 1950s. Today there is nearly 1.3 trillion gigabytes of data stored on the Internet which equates to the mass of two ounces of data and growing every second. In the early 1970s, a typical home computer desktop held about five megabytes of hard drive storage, about the space of one mp3 in today’s terms. One of the main reasons to the huge demand in the Internet is because of how easy communication is between people. Apps, programs, and services such as Instagram, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, and Google allow hundreds of thousands of users talk to anyone in the world at any time. Users also have the entire worlds’ knowledge at their figure tips.
    Today, nearly 90% of Americans have a smartphone. Their smartphone is capable of reaching world news as fast as it can be posted. However all this news would not be remotely at all possible unless it was for computers. The modern processing power of a computer today allows for news reporters to record, add effects, edits, and make real time changes all while being live in the air for people to watch only with about seven seconds of delay from camera to television (Deadline Hollywood). In digital communications, computers have allowed for multi-million dollar films to be produced and edited in only a small matter of time with very few people actually at work. They have allowed for cheaper production costs and have reduced the risk of injury of many stunt devils due to the use of special effects or CGI (Computer generated Imagery).
    Our very definition of the word “computer” has been implemented into our everyday lives so much that we as humans rely heavily on computers every day to live and has affected our lives in every way possible. Determination has been a motivation in people’s lives that has been the pushing force behind the incredible advancement of computers and their very future. Remarkable advances in processing power and the ease of a GUI in operating systems has allowed hundreds of millions on people all over the world connect and become as one. The future is very bright with the ever advancement of computers and their components. As people push even harder to produce even more powerful computers, the unthinkable will again be possible despite Moore’s Law.
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  3. Posts : 3,371
    W10 Pro desktop, W11 laptop, W11 Pro tablet (all 64-bit)
       #3

    N00berG00ber said:
    ... In the early 1970s, a typical home computer desktop held about five megabytes of hard drive storage, ...
    You might want to check your facts here, there were few, if any, home computers in the early 1970's and virtually none of them had hard drives.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 1,486
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    Thread Starter
       #4

    strollin said:
    N00berG00ber said:
    ... In the early 1970s, a typical home computer desktop held about five megabytes of hard drive storage, ...
    You might want to check your facts here, there were few, if any, home computers in the early 1970's and virtually none of them had hard drives.
    i know....i said HDDs cause i dident want to explain it. even if i did explain it, he wouldent understand it. i did that often in the essay.

    also:
    Home computer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    late 1970's and common in early 1980's. but first was 1968

    edit: fixed some things on my final.
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  5. Posts : 983
    10 x64 | 7 x64
       #5

    I had an isa hard card for my Tandy 100sx.
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  6. Posts : 1,486
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #6

    thanks!
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