History of computing (wikipedia)

Invention

Nobody knows who built the first computer. This is because the word "computer" used to mean a person who did math as their job (a human computer). Because of this, some people say that humans were the first computers. Human computers got bored doing the same math over and over again, and made tools (mostly mechanical calculating devices like abacuses) to help them get the answers to their problems.

Automation

Humans have a problem with math. To show this, try doing 584 x 3,220 in your head. It is hard to remember all the steps! People made tools to help them remember where they were in a math problem. The other problem people have is that they have to do the same problem over and over and over again. A cashier used to make change every day in her head or with a piece of paper. That took a lot of time and people made mistakes. So people made machines that did those same things over and over. This part of computer history is called the "history of automated calculation," which is a fancy phrase for "the history of machines that make it easy for me to do this same math problem over and over without making mistakes."
The abacus, the slide rule, the astrolabe and the Antikythera mechanism (which dates from about 150-100 BC) are examples of automated calculation machines.

Programming

Some people did not want a machine that would do the same thing over and over again. For example, a music box is a machine that plays the same music over and over again. Some people wanted to be able to tell their machine to do different things. For example, they wanted to tell the music box to play different music every time. They wanted to be able to program the music box- to order the music box to play different music. This part of computer history is called the "history of programmable machines" which is a fancy phrase for "The history of machines that I can order to do different things if I know how to speak their language."
One of the first examples of this was built by Hero of Alexandria (c. 10–70 AD). He built a mechanical theater which performed a play lasting 10 minutes and was operated by a complex system of ropes and drums. These ropes and drums were the language of the machine- they told what the machine did and when. Some people argue that this is the first programmable machine.^[1]
Most historians agree that the "castle clock", an astronomical clock invented by Al-Jazari in 1206, is the first known programmable analog computer.^[2] It showed the zodiac, the solar and lunar orbits, a crescent moon-shaped pointer travelling across a gateway that made some doors to open every hour,^[3][4] and five robotic musicians who play music when levers hit them. The length of day and night could be changed (AKA re-programmed) every day in order to account for the changing lengths of day and night throughout the year.^[2] Some people^[who?] consider Ada Lovelace to be the first programmer.^[source?]

The Computing Era

At the end of the Middle Ages, people in Europe thought math and engineering were more important. In 1623, Wilhelm Schickard made a mechanical calculator. Other Europeans made more calculators after him. They were not modern computers because they could only add, subtract, and multiply- you could not change what they did to make them do something like play tetris. Because of this, we say they were not programmable.
In 1801, Joseph Marie Jacquard used punched paper cards to tell his textile loom what kind of pattern to weave. He could use punch cards to tell the loom what to do, and he could change the punch cards, which means he could program the loom to weave the pattern he wanted. This means the loom was programmable.
Modern computers were made when someone (Charles Babbage) had a bright idea. He wanted to make a machine that could do all the boring parts of math, (like the automated calculators) and could be told to do them different ways (like the programmable machines.) Charles Babbage was the first to make a design of a fully programmable mechanical computer. He called it the "The Analytical Engine".^[5] Because Babbage did not have enough money and always changed his design when he had a better idea, he never built his Analytical Engine.
As time went on, computers got more and more popular. And that stands out at the beginning. This is because people get bored easily doing the same thing over and over. Imagine spending your life writing things down on index cards, storing them, and then having to go find them again. The U.S. Census Bureau in 1890 had hundreds of people doing just that. People got very bored and very frustrated, and would say, "There HAS to be an easier way to do this." Then some bright person figured out how to make machines do a lot of the work. Herman Hollerith figured out how to make a machine that would automatically add up information that the Census bureau collected. The Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation(which later became IBM) made his machines, and everyone was happy. At least, they were happy until their machines broke down, got jammed, and had to be repaired. This is when the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation invented tech support.
Because of machines like this, new ways of talking to these machines were invented, and new types of machines were invented, and eventually the computer that we all know and love today was born.

Analog and Digital Computers

In the first half of the 20th century, scientists started using computers, mostly because scientists had a lot of math to figure out and wanted to spend more of their time thinking about the secrets of the universe instead of spending hours adding numbers together. If you remember getting bored doing your times tables, you will know exactly how they felt.
So they put together computers. These computers used analog circuits, which made them very hard to program. Then, in the 1930s, they invented digital computers, which made them easier to program.

High-scale computers

Scientists figured out how to make and use digital computers in the 1930s and 1940s. Scientists made a lot of digital computers, and as they did, they figured out how to ask them the right sorts of questions to get the most out of them. Here are a few of the computers they built:

Defining characteristics of some early digital computers of the 1940s (In the history of computing hardware)

Name	First operational	Numeral system	Computing mechanism	Programming	Turing complete
Zuse Z3 (Germany)	May 1941	Binary	Electro-mechanical	Program-controlled by punched film stock	Yes (1998)
Atanasoff–Berry Computer (US)	mid-1941	Binary	Electronic	Not programmable—single purpose	No
Colossus (UK)	January 1944	Binary	Electronic	Program-controlled by patch cables and switches	No
Harvard Mark I – IBM ASCC (US)	1944	Decimal	Electro-mechanical	Program-controlled by 24-channel punched paper tape (but no conditional branch)	No
ENIAC (US)	November 1945	Decimal	Electronic	Program-controlled by patch cables and switches	Yes
Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine (UK)	June 1948	Binary	Electronic	Stored-program in Williams cathode ray tube memory	Yes
Modified ENIAC (US)	September 1948	Decimal	Electronic	Program-controlled by patch cables and switches plus a primitive read-only stored programming mechanism using the Function Tables as program ROM	Yes
EDSAC (UK)	May 1949	Binary	Electronic	Stored-program in mercury delay line memory	Yes
Manchester Mark 1 (UK)	October 1949	Binary	Electronic	Stored-program in Williams cathode ray tube memory and magnetic drum memory	Yes
CSIRAC (Australia)	November 1949	Binary	Electronic	Stored-program in mercury delay line memory	Yes

EDSAC was one of the first computers that remembered what you told it even after you turned the power off. This is called (von Neumann) architecture.

• Konrad Zuse's electromechanical "Z machines". The Z3 (1941) was the first working machine that used binary arithmetic. Binary arithmetic means using "Yes" and "No." to add numbers together. You could also program it. In 1998 the Z3 was proved to be Turing complete. Turing complete means that it is possible to tell this particular computer anything that it is mathematically possible to tell a computer. It is the world's first modern computer.
• The non-programmable Atanasoff–Berry Computer (1941) which used vacuum tubes to store "yes" and "no" answers, and regenerative capacitor memory.
• The secret British Colossus computers (1943)^[6], which you could kind of sort of program. It showed that even though it had thousands of tubes, it still worked most of the time. It was used for breaking German wartime codes.
• The Harvard Mark I (1944), A big computer that you could kind of program.
• The U.S. Army's Ballistics Research Laboratory ENIAC (1946), which could add numbers the way people do (using the numbers 0 through 9) and is sometimes called the first general purpose electronic computer (since Konrad Zuse's Z3 of 1941 used electromagnets instead of electronics). At first, however, the only way you could reprogram ENIAC was by rewiring it.

Several developers of ENIAC saw its problems. They invented a way to for a computer to remember what they had told it, and a way to change what it remembered. This is known as "stored program architecture" or von Neumann architecture. John von Neumann talked about this design in the paper First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC, distributed in 1945. A number of projects to develop computers based on the stored-program architecture started around this time. The first of these was completed in Great Britain. The first to be demonstrated working was the Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM or "Baby"), while the EDSAC, completed a year after SSEM, was the first really useful computer that used the stored program design. Shortly afterwards, the machine originally described by von Neumann's paper—EDVAC—was completed but was not ready for two years.
Nearly all modern computers use the stored-program architecture in some form. It has become the main concept which defines a modern computer. Most of the technologies used to build computers have changed since the 1940s, but many current computers still use the von-Neumann architecture.

Microprocessors are miniaturized devices that often implement stored program CPUs.

In the 1950's computers were built out of mostly vacuum tubes. Transistors replaced vacuum tubes in the 1960's because they were smaller and cheaper. They also need less power and do not break down as much as vacuum tubes. In the 1970s, technologies were based on integrated circuits. Microprocessors, such as the Intel 4004 made computers smaller and cheaper. They also made computers faster and more reliable. By the 1980s, computers became small and cheap enough to replace mechanical controls in things like washing machines. The 1980s also saw home computers and personal computer. With the evolution of the Internet, personal computers are becoming as common as the television and the telephone in the household.
In 2005 Nokia started to call some of its mobile phones (the N-series) "multimedia computers" and after the launch of the Apple iPhone in 2007, many are now starting to add the smartphone category among "real" computers. In 2008, if the category of smartphones are included in the numbers of computers in the world, the biggest computer maker by units sold, is no longer Hewlett-Packard, but rather Nokia.

Kinds of computers

There are three types of computers: desktop computers, mainframes, and embedded computers.
A "desktop computer" is a small machine that has a screen (which is not part of the computer). Most people keep them on top of a desk, which is why they are called "desktop computers." "Laptop computers" are computers small enough to fit on your lap. This makes them easy to carry around. Both laptops and desktops are called personal computers, because one person at a time uses them for things like playing music, surfing the web, or playing video games.
There are bigger computers that many people at a time can use. These are called "Mainframes," and these computers do all the things that make things like the internet work. You can think of a personal computer like this: the personal computer is like your skin: you can see it, other people can see it, and through your skin you feel wind, water, air, and the rest of the world. A mainframe is more like your internal organs: you (hopefully) never see them, and you barely even think about them, but if they suddenly went missing, you would have some very big problems.
There is another type of computer, called an embedded computer. An embedded computer is a computer that does one thing and one thing only, and usually does it very well. For example, an alarm clock is a embedded computer: it tells the time. Unlike your personal computer, you cannot use your clock to play Tetris. Because of this, we say that embedded computers cannot be programmed, because you cannot install programs like Tetris on your clock. Some mobile phones, automatic teller machines, microwave ovens, CD players and cars are examples of embedded computers.

CCK moves to control Internet content for schools

The Information ministry will block public schools’ access to websites with pornographic and narcotic-related content to curb online child abuse in the wake of increasing Internet access in the country.


Currently, there is no government policy on Internet use in schools offering computer courses and the onus has been left to individual institutions to formulate internal rules.


On Wednesday, the ministry and the telecommunications industry regulator, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), convened a two-day workshop that brought together public and private sector players to draft rules that will be adopted into government policy.


Information Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo said the government had decided to focus on schools since it is unconstitutional to impose a blanket block on pornographic and drug related websites.


“We are blocking all adult-related sites in schools equipped with computers and connectivity offered by the government,” said Dr Ndemo.
CCK director general Charles Njoroge said the programme should have started long time ago.


“There is no timeline yet, however this filtering should have started like yesterday,” Mr Njoroge said.


The Internet is increasingly playing a significant role in delivering services such as education, and has also become a powerful tool in social networking.


Dr Ndemo, however, says there is an urgent need to filter access of abusive content for minors who do not have the capacity to make sound judgement.


Michael Muringu, a legal expert and an Editor of Kenya Law Reports, said while there are enough laws against exposing children to sexual or obscene content such as the Children Act, Sexual Offences and the Penal Code, crimes committed through the Internet have remained loosely defined.


“One of the biggest challenges and which should be addressed is Internet policing,” said Mr Murungi, adding: “As a country we do not lack the legislations on the child abuse but when it comes to the Internet , monitoring, pursuing and arresting such predators actually becomes a big issue.”




Policing the Internet has been made difficult by the matter of jurisdiction as a crime can be committed by someone outside the jurisdiction of Kenyan courts. While the government is looking for better ways to enhance enforcement mechanisms and technical solutions to block such sites from the minors, experts are of the view that the responsibility should first begin with parents and guardians.


“Just because there are traffic police officers on the road, a parent cannot assume that his or her children will arrive to school safely without taking basic care and the same applies to the Internet, parents should take advantage of the advanced technology to block such sites” said Mr Murungi.


The two-day forum is seen as a step towards appending the current legislation, The Kenya Information Communication Amendment Act 2009, section 84D that deals with obscene Internet content but which some legal professionals have previously flouted, saying it does not measure up to international practices.


Liability


The Act holds Internet Service Providers (ISP) liable for websites visited by customers, which is out of keeping with the international norm which favours a “take down” approach where ISPs’ are notified of the illegal content and given some time to block the offending information from being accessed through its systems.


This exposes them to a fine Sh200, 000 or a jail term of two years upon losing a case filed against them.


Latest statistics from CCK indicate that the country has 8.6 million internet users, however the data does not give a breakdown in terms of the age groups accessing the internet.


mokuttah@ke.nationmedia.com

MY FRIDAY STORY

Get Real and Fearless

By Ton Pascal 
Because we are bombarded daily with conflicting news about the World's social-politicalposition our personal needs and situations become more and more confused and difficult to assert and downright painful to bear. We must Get Real and Fearless when Positive Affirmations, Meditation or Relaxation isn't not enoughto keep us in the right path.
After my article, "Fearless in Difficult Times" was published, I received a load of very interesting emails. Besides the thank you notes and congratulations, I noticed that more often people asked for direct personal guidance as if they were still unsure that meditation and relaxation were not enough to get through this difficult period in our society.
Millions of jobs have been lost not just in the U.S A. but world over. Thousands of corporations closed their doors. General business is doing poorly. This has been going on for almost two years. But the good news we hear now, and thank God for it, is the slump is almost over!!!!!
Then we get this interesting example of economic news from this pool by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, BLS: "Non-farm payroll employment continued to decline in July (-247,000), and the unemployment rate was little changed at 9.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The average monthly job loss for May through July (-331,000) was about half the average decline for November through April (-645,000). In July, job losses continued in many of the major industry sectors."
Is it declining (the rate) or is unemployment rising? You would need a master's degree in social-political-financial-economics to make sense of it all and I don't have one.
But the government takes a very close look at the unemployment rate to evaluate the economy's growth, or in this case decline. From my side I don't find it encouraging, the fact that the numbers of unemployed people more than doubled from 4.6% in December 2007 when the recession started, to 9.4% in July 2009, was 9.8% in December of 2010. No degree needed here.
Where do I stand in the middle of all this, you ask, not wanting to look back at your losses trying to keep a positive outlook? How do I stand now in the way of achieving my goals and dreams? Is your next question?
Life is a lesson, I tell you. Of course you don't see me, since I am coming to your help in this article as a friendly ghost.
You blink, go blank, think to yourself,'like when my father said "a spanking is good for you?" no thanks.'
Take this roadblock as a test, I insist.
This is what I often refer to as 'taking up challenges' and transforming them into positive opportunities. My point being that I believe we are spiritual beings going thru this learning process as human beings living a physical temporary life, I tell you.
Where is that passion you used to have for . baseball, painting, writing, sailing, traveling?
You are too old? How about teaching? Volunteering? Take your pick.
You have the answer, don't ask me.
Isn't that great?
Yes it is, I tell you. Outside situations or people are more complex, which you must accept and work as they are. But 'you' you know, and you are readily available. And because this 'you' you can work on.
Did I miss a catch somewhere along these lines, you think to yourself, looking sideways making sure nobody is watching your reactions or actually seeing that you reading a self-help article.
Even if you don't accept entirely my principle, I continue, I hope you do take this sound advice:
· -A) Stop making excuses, telling yourself lies and take a hard look at the role you have in your present situation.
This is the first step to conquer your fears and regain control of your life.
· -B) You must be realistically honest and see things as they really are.
· -C)Accept responsibility for your role in life, no matter what situation you are in.
Skip these three steps and you'll be back to the same roadblock and questions as before.
You are the one and only who can achieve your goals and live the much-deserved life of your dreams.
And you are also the one and only who stands in its way.
Go on, you are on your own now. No one can help you here with this task.
Start digging.
There are all these old beliefs you have to give up and changes you must make to achieve your goals and live the life you dreamed about.
Once you dig up the truth about the role you had in all of the big decisions in your life's journey you very likely will need a chair in case you are not sitting or lying down.
A pattern will emerge and, surprise, surprise, it is YOU who has been keeping yourself down all this time and it might scare the . the daylights out of you. And it is very scary, I assure you.No one likes to look into their inner dark closet and expose their own skeletons and shortcomings.
How do you go about it? And with what are you going to replace all these changes and beliefs?
This is a major housecleaning. Do you think there is a specialized maid service that can help you here?
Your mind might wonder about the thousands of self-help books, TV psychic darlings and personalities. Which one do you go for?
Again as a friendly ghost, I tell you: None of the above!
It is all about you.
You have the power. You control and direct the necessary energy needed.
The short and the long of it: you create your own reality!
Do this simple exercise. Write down the questions about yourself you're most afraid to hear the answers to. Once you have honest and trustingly faced yourself, you will feel that a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders. Don't fear the vulnerability you just uncovered. Denial is no place to hide. You are now a real spiritual human being and anything is possible.
Here are a few affirmations I suggest you use daily on your fearless road to success:
· I am a good man/woman.
· I deserve love, happiness, health and wealth.
· I am grateful for my life.
· I accept only what is good and positive.
· I am grateful for myself and my situation.
· I am now ready to receive all the love and wealth from the vast supply of the universe.
Every night before you go to sleep, visualize your next day and surround yourself with people you love and people who love you. Create positive situations, deals, and encounters with people who will positively influence your work. Positive affirmations and visualization open your mind to receive positive energy.
Have a great journey!

The bible and the cellphone..

---

                 VS

 

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone? 

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets? 

 What if we flipped through it several time a day? 

 What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it? 

 What if we used it to receive messages from the text? 

 What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it? 

 What if we gave it to Kids as gifts? 

 What if we used it when we traveled? 

 What if we used it in case of emergency? 

 This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible? 

Oh, and one more thing.

Unlike our cell  phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being
Disconnected because Jesus already paid the  bill.

Makes you stop and think 'where are my priorities? And no dropped calls! 

When Jesus died for us, he was thinking of you!

If you are one of the 7% who will stand up for  
Him, forward this.
93% of the people won't forward it.

LIVERMORE'S centennial light facts

 

FACTS

• Age: 110 years and counting (as of June 2011)
• Installed: First installed at the fire department hose cart house on L Street in 1901. Shortly after it moved to the main firehouse on Second. In 1903 it was moved to the new Station 1 on First and McLeod, and survived the renovation of the Firehouse in 1937, when it was off for about a week. During it's first 75 years it was connected directly to the 110 Volt city power, (subject to the power outages) , and not to the back-up generator for fear of a power surge. In 1976 it was moved with a full police and fire truck escort, under the watch of Captain Kirby Slate, to its present site in 1976 at Fire Station 6, 4550 East Ave., Livermore, California. It was then hooked to a seperate power source at 120V according to Frank Maul, Retired City Electrician, with no interuptions since.
• Proof of Longevity: From local newspaper records; also GE engineers researched it. Was donated to the Fire Department in 1901 by Dennis Bernal who owned the Livermore Power and Light Co.
• Vital Statistics: The improved incandescent lamp, invented by Adolphe A. Chaillet, was made by the Shelby Electric Company. It is a handblown bulb with carbon filament. Wattage- Began at 60 watts, currently shines at 4 watts. Left burning continuously in firehouse as a nightlight over the fire trucks. For some research test results on another Shelby bulb at Annapolis follow this link.
• Recognition: Declared the oldest known working lightbulb by Guinness Book of World Records. Ripley's Believe-It-or-Not in 1972 researched it and declared it the oldest. Charles Kurault of the TV program "On the Road with Charles Kurault" visited the bulb in the 1970s and included it in his book as well. Declarations from the President of the U.S., Congress, Senate, State Senate and Assembly, and Shelby Ohio.In 2007 it was again recognized in Guiness, and Ripleys books.
• Closest Competitors: The Second longest bulb was listed in the 1970 Guinness Book under the heading Most Durable says that "on 21 Sept 1908 a stagehand named Barry Burke at the Byers Opera House, Fort Worth, Texas screwed in a new light bulb and that it was still burning". The building was renamed the Palace Theatre, and the light was known as the Palace Bulb ever since. It now resides in the Stockyards Museum, and will have been burning for 100 years Sept of 2008. A website is in the works.
  The Third, a bulb in a New York City hardware store, Gasnick Supplies, had been working since 1912, but it is unknown if it still works today.
  The Fourth is known as "the bulb" which like ours, burns in a firehouse in the town of Mangum, Oklahoma. It has been in operation since around 1926, has no special power conversions, and is turned on and off with normal use.
  The Fifth was a bulb in a washroom at the Martin & Newby Electrical Shop in Ipswich, England was dated from 1930 and burned out in January 2001.
  For more info on these follow this link to Roadside America, or Wikipedia.
• Future Plans: The City of Livermore and the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department intend to keep the bulb burning as long as it will. They have no plans at present what to do with the bulb if or when it does burn out. Ripley's has requested it for their museum.
• Visiting: You can visit the bulb depending on the availability of the Firemen on hand. Go to the rear of the station and ring the bell. If they are in someone will answer the door. Otherwise you can see the bulb if you look through the window up on the top of the wall to your left. To contact them directly you may call the LPFD at (925) 454-2361.
• Celebration: We commemorated its centennial on Friday, June 8, 2001 at the fire station. Please see the celebration gallery for all the pictures.
  Plans are now in the works for the 110th birthday party on June 18, 2011.
  

For more information about the bulb, contact the Lightbulb Centennial Chairman Lynn Owens at (925) 447-9477, Webmaster Steve Bunn at (510) 538-8207, or email Bulb@lpfire.org