WEEK 1: From ENIAC to iPad: Moments from IT History

January 29, 2022

WEEK 1: From ENIAC to iPad: Moments from IT History

19th century

The first mechanical computer was invented by English mechanical engineer Charles Babbage in the early century. It was called "Difference Engine". The mechanical computer was designed to tabulate polynomial functions. "Difference Engine" was failed due to the lack of technology at the time. Babbage began work on a new project called "Analytical Engine," but due to his death, he was unable to complete it. His son Henry was also interested in developing new technology that would benefit humans. He finished the project and introduced it into society in 1906.

20th century

Interesting fact: Do you know that early computers developed in the 1900s, was installed to submarine to solve a problem with firing torpedoes at moving targets?

Earlier in 20th century:

Because of the Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and II, scientists wanted to invent new technologies that would aid them in World Wars. During World War II, the United States developed the first programmable computer ENIAC which had a primary function of computing artillery firing tables. However, the general-purpose programmability of ENIAC excited society. Because of its electronic capabilities, ENIAC could program anything 1000 times faster than any previous computer.

After 1950, scientists decided to make computers more comfortable. As you can see from the picture on the bottom of the text, ENIAC was too big to carry.ENIAC weighed 30 tons, took up 1,800 square feet of space, and was made of 17,468 vacuum tubes, 1,500 relays, 70,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors, and nearly five million hand-soldered joints.

End of the 20th century:

In 1977, Apple introduced the Apple II personal computer, which was significantly smaller than the ENIAC. It sold well from the start, with nearly 6 million computers sold in the first six years. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was the most successful computer. It brought nearly $49 million to the United States.

First internet-enabled mobile device:

After a decade, devices got smaller and smaller. In Finland, scientists launched the first internet-enabled mobile device called Nokia 900 Communicator. The phone was large and heavy at 397 grams, but powerful at the time. It had 8 MB of memory, which is divided between applications (4 MB), program memory (2 MB), and user data (2 MB).

Previous phones had offered only text web browsing, but the 9000 Communicator could render graphics in all their monochrome glory and connect to the Internet. Rather than previous devices, it rolled all of the features of a computer into a phone, putting email, web browsing, fax, word processing, and spreadsheets into a single pocketable device.