History of Computing
1900 – 1959
v1900 – 1949: Conception
ØComputers as electronic “super” calculators, useful only for complex scientific and engineering calculations (WW II);
scientific curiosities.
v1950s: Birth of the “Electronic Brain”
Ø“Stored program” computers and programming languages.
²“Stored program” computers could carry out varied tasks; programming languages were introduced (e.g., COBOL and Fortran). But computers were essentially PCs — one user at a time, communicating with the machine through toggle switches, paper tapes, and punched cards.
ØLarge models involving millions of calculations
²Computers could be used for large models involving millions of calculations (planning factory schedules, forecasting the weather, predicting elections). Lack of permanent storage (no disks or tapes) precluded use in day-to-day business activities. During the entire 1950s, only a few dozen machine were sold, each costing hundreds of thousands of dollars (in 1950 money).