History of the Computer

4 History of the Computer Close your eyes and imagine two huge rooms. Now imagine some massive fans and an air conditioner running noisily in the background, and people in white lab coats running from one glowing tube to another. A print-out provides information from one end of the strange-looking device occupying most of the room. Is it science fiction? A scary movie? Welcome to computers-1940s style! ENIAC, the first electronic mainframe computer, weighed more than 30 tons and was larger than a modern house. It covered 167 square metres and needed 160 kilowatts of electrical power. When it was turned on, it caused the city of Philadelphia to go dark for a moment. This “ modern computer" was 1, 000 times faster than any other calculating machine of its era and could complete 5, 000 additions, 357 multiplications or 38 divisions in one second. Fast? Yes, but imagine trying to carry it to the nearest Internet café!

Size matters. And in the world of computers, the goal has always been to make them more powerful and, at the same time, smaller. Think about laptops, cellphones and video games. Each of these owes its existence to ENIAC. Integrated circuits and the silicone chip made computer operations faster and allowed for even smaller machines. In no time at all, the power of the computer reached the point where e-mail and the World Wide Web became realistic and possible. It's difficult to imagine a world without e-mail or the Internet. However, not long ago, the word “ computer" conjured up images of massive mainframe devices operating as if by magic. When the first personal computer was introduced to the world in 1981, few people could imagine the changes it would bring. Next time you log on to your e-mail account or check some information on the Internet, think of ENIAC, and imagine what the world would be like if all computers were just as huge. Imagine having to call a tow truck to transport your computer to your friend's house for a night of surfing the Web!