Chronology
1642: Pascal designed the first calculating machine (addition and subtraction) based on gears.
1694: The mathematician Leibniz, working on the original design of Pascal, achieves a machine that in addition to adding and subtracting, also multiplied, divided and even extracted square roots.
1822: Babbage, an English mathematician, established the principles of operation of an electronic computer. He worked in a project of machine called “differential machine”, which could solve polynomials up to 8 terms.
1833: A new work of Babbage gives like result the design of a machine that it can be regarded as a prototype of the current computers. He called it “analytical machine” and introduced the concept of feedback of information.
1889: Hollerith patented the first electric tabulator machine, which is considered as the mother of the modern machines for data processing. This machine was used in 1890, for the Census of population of the United States of North America.
1944: Von Neuman proposes the idea of “internal program” and develop a theoretical basis for the construction of an electronic computer.
1945: As a result of the second world war, and because the implied military needs, builds the first electronic computer which was called ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator). Its first practical applications were, be used in the construction of tables for the calculation of the trajectory of projectiles.
1952: The construction, on a trial basis, of the computers MANIAC-I and MANIAC-II, set this date as the birth of modern digital computers and the end of the “prehistory of computing”.
For to complete this Chronology, we need to say that, after this last event, the term “Computer” became in a word frequently used in Universities, Investigation Labs, Electronic Companies, etc. And in 1970 with the launch to the market of the Intel 4040 Processor, many companies start with the studies for making Computers Commercially.
There were many Brands fighting for take advantage on the microprocessors market, and with this competence did lower the prices of this element. Since hundreds of dollars, what did almost impossible produce a low cost computer, to the $20’s that was the cost, for example, of the 6502 processor that have had a very important rol in this history.
But the most important historical jump was made in 1976, when two young people undertook the adventure called Apple Computer Inc.
In only one year after their first “commercial attempt” with the Apple I, they launched to the market, in April of 1977, the Apple II.
That Computer was considered the first Popular Personal Computer of the History.
That event gave rise to the birth of many brands of Computers: Commodore 64, TRS 80, Sinclair and many others. Immediately after that, they started appearing many Software companies offering their products for satisfy the incipient market.
Thereafter, the speed that has had the development of this marvel of the human invention has been so fast, that we could hardly describe it, even using several volumes of information. A lot of men focused their lives on Projects that legated us the technology usability.
One of the best demonstrations of technological advancement in this regard, is to see as today everyone can have access to computers that exceed, by far, to those achieved by these precursors. And, as if out, carry them in a pocket or wrist as if it were a conventional watch.
