During their 50-year life span, computers have become the perfect example of
modern convenience. Living memory is strained to recall the days of steno
pools, carbon paper, and mimeograph machines. It sometimes seems that
these magical computing machines were developed instantaneously in the
form that we now know them. But the developmental path of computers is
paved with accidental discovery, commercial coercion, and whimsical fancy.
And occasionally computers have even improved through the application of
solid engineering practices! Despite all of the twists, turns, and technological
dead ends, computers have evolved at a pace that defies comprehension. We
can fully appreciate where we are today only when we have seen where we’ve
come from.
In the sections that follow, we divide the evolution of computers into generations,
each generation being defined by the technology used to build the machine.
We have provided approximate dates for each generation for reference purposes
only. You will find little agreement among experts as to the exact starting and
ending times of each technological epoch.
Every invention reflects the time in which it was made, so one might wonder
whether it would have been called a computer if it had been invented in the
late 1990s. How much computation do we actually see pouring from the mysterious
boxes perched on or beside our desks? Until recently, computers served us
only by performing mind-bending mathematical manipulations. No longer limited
to white-jacketed scientists, today’s computers help us to write documents,
keep in touch with loved ones across the globe, and do our shopping chores.
Modern business computers spend only a minuscule part of their time performing
accounting calculations. Their main purpose is to provide users with a
bounty of strategic information for competitive advantage. Has the word
computer
now become a misnomer? An anachronism? What, then, should we call
them, if not computers?
We cannot present the complete history of computing in a few pages. Entire
books have been written on this subject and even they leave their readers wanting
for more detail. If we have piqued your interest, we refer you to look at some of
the books cited in the list of references at the end of this chapter.
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