The History of Computers :: Computers Technology Technological Essays

The History of Computers From uninitiate abaci to lab tops and calculators, the computer has evolved through time to become the native part of our technocratic society. The development of the computer has shaped the way technology and attainment is prognosised in different cultures around the world. The connotation of what a computer is like a shot brings to mind a monitor, keyboard, performanceor and its other electronic components however, that is not how things collapse always been. From the Chinese utilize abaci to count, to the Druids usage of stones to follow the seasonal changes, to the Europeans using Pascalines and calculators to work out numerical problems the concept of the computer has been around for hundreds of years (Hoyle). Therefore, the history of computers is important to observe not only for the influence it brought to our culture, except the progress it has made through time. The history of modern computers has been influenced by the sooner advancement of primordial technology. The abacus developed in circa 500 B.C for example, used pebbles, rocks, beads, or shells to keep track of the counters numbers. Furthermore, the abacus was mans first attempt at automating the counting process (Hoyle). In addition, the Pascaline, invented and built by a French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal, was the first mathematical adding machine (Long 54). The Pascaline was a gear-driven machine that allowed the user to calculate answers without doing arithmetic (Hoyle). In addition to the abacus and the Pascaline, Babbages Folly, also known as the difference machine, hastened the development of computers. and ripe the state of computational hardware (Long 55). This engine, designed by the Cambridge professor Charles Babbage, could do any of the basic functions of mathematics adding, subtracting, multiplying, and division in series at a rate of 60 additions per minute (55) could all be polite with minimal effort. All of these ideas and concepts helped pave the way for innovators to design what we now view as the modern-day computer. It took certain people to utilize these primitive forms of computation data to create real technologically advanced machines. Such a person, for example, was the professor Dr.