History of Computers (Part 2)

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about the history of computers from the first machine truely considered a computer through a machine called "Colossus". To read that post, click here. This post will cover the history from where I left off through the modern computer.

In 1942, development of the ENIAC (Electrical and Numerical Integrator And Calculator) began. The funding for research and development of the ENIAC was largely provided by the U.S. military. The military needed a machine that could calculate the information needed for artillery-firing tables. These tables were used to communicate to soldiers in the field how to adjust the settings on the artillery in order to be accurate under varying conditions. Development was led by John Mauchly and John Presper Eckert. The ENIAC took about a year to design, once designed it took about 18 months and $500,000 to build it. In today's money that is almost $6.5 million.

ENIAC

After the ENIAC came a period where no real developments were being made in the world of computers. That is until the 1960's came around and the mainframe computer was born. Mainframe computers used technology from the Atansoff-Berry Computer, the Colossus and the ENIAC. Mainframe computers were largely used only by large organizations due to their high cost and large amount of space they took up. At this point in history there were no personal computers in use.

After this the components to make computers began to get smaller and cheaper to manufacture. This lead to the rise of the personal computer.

Works Cited:

Abdelmoumin, Ghada A. "CSC 110 Class." Personal interview. Aug. 2012.

Bellis, Mary. "The History of the ENIAC Computer." About.com Inventors. About, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventions/a/Eniac.htm>.