A computer is a modern intelligent electronic device that can automatically and quickly perform large-scale numerical calculations and various information processing according to pre-stored programs. The scientific name of computer is electronic digital computer, which was developed from early electric calculators. When it comes to "the world's recognized first electronic digital computer", most people think of it as "ENIAC", which was launched in 1946. Mainly used for calculating ballistics. It was manufactured by the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, but it is huge, covering an area of ??more than 170 square meters, weighing about 30 tons, and consuming nearly 140 kilowatts of electricity. Obviously, such computers are very expensive and inconvenient to use. This statement is commonly used in basic computer textbooks. In fact, according to the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, the earliest electronic digital computer should be John Atanasoff, associate professor of the Department of Physics at the University of Iowa, and his graduate assistant. ABC (Atanasoff-Berry-Computer) manufactured by Clifford E. Berry (1918-1963) in October 1939. The reason for this misunderstanding is that a person named Moakley in the "ENIAC" research team plagiarized the research results of John Atanasoff in 1941 and applied for a patent in 1946. For various reasons, this mistake was not reversed until 1973. (For specific information, please refer to Baidu Encyclopedia - "John Atanasov" entry. I hope everyone will remember ABC and John Atanasov, and hope that future textbooks can correct this error). Later, in order to commend and commemorate John Atanasoff's great contributions in the field of computers, in 1990, former U.S. President Bush awarded John Atanasoff the nation's highest technology award, the "National Science and Technology Award."
In 1956, the transistor electronic computer was born. This was the second generation of electronic computers. Just a few larger cabinets can accommodate it, and the computing speed is greatly improved. In 1959, the third generation of integrated circuit computers appeared. In 1946, the calculator invented by John von Neumann was as big as three warehouses and was gradually developed.
Beginning in the 1970s, this is the latest stage of computer development. By 1976, the "Clay 1", made of large-scale integrated circuits and very large-scale integrated circuits, brought computers into the fourth generation. The invention of very large-scale integrated circuits has enabled electronic computers to continue to be updated in the direction of miniaturization, miniaturization, low power consumption, intelligence, and systematization.
In the 1990s, computers developed in the direction of "intelligence", creating computers similar to the human brain that can perform tasks such as thinking, learning, memory, and network communication.
In the 21st century, computers have become more notebook-like, miniaturized and specialized, with operation speeds exceeding 1 million times per second. They are not only easy to operate and cheap, but can also replace part of people's mental work, even in Some aspects extend human intelligence. Therefore, today's microelectronic computers are vividly called computers. Angry Frog Network Planning Agency believes that the computer has created an information age, and the series of hardware and software produced by it support a huge network. Our lives are closely related to computers. The 21st century must be an Internet era, and computers It is an important support in this era.
The world's first personal computer was launched by IBM in 1980. IBM launched a personal computer based on Intel's x86 hardware architecture and Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system, and formulated PC/AT specifications for PCs. The subsequent development of microprocessors launched by Intel and operating systems launched by Microsoft is almost equivalent to the development history of personal computers. The Wintel architecture has completely replaced IBM's dominant position in personal computers.