  A History Lesson


                        A Brief History of the Computer
                        Copyright 1995 by Jim Gunn

 Today we take the ubiquitous computer for granted. It and the software
 we've come to depend on, are an everyday appliance. It is important to
 look back through the years at all the people and companies that
 contributed to the success of our beloved industry.

 1642

 A nineteen year old hacker named Blaise Pascal,  - we're not sure if that
 was his real name or his handle - invents the original computer. This
 pioneering system had no graphical interface and used a stylus for the
 command line. While Blaise had high hopes, it did not catch on as well as
 he hoped.

 The basic problem was with technical support. Neither the telephone nor
 on hold music had been invented yet. Messenger pigeons were tried but
 many of them croaked while in a holding pattern for the single tech rep.
 Thus when things went wrong, there was no practical way to call for help.

 Now-a-days, this problem doesn't exist since "on hold music" has become
 commonplace. We can listen to in on almost any technical support line for
 as long as we want.

 1692

 Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz invents the math co-processor. The computer
 could then multiply and divide as well as add and subtract. Leibniz's
 invention was quickly adopted by all the mail order outfits of the time.
 They in turn created the list price versus the real price marketing
 gimmick.

 1833

 Charles Babbage proposes the first supercomputer. He conned the British
 government into footing part of the bill, but mostly spent his own
 fortune on it. Nine years and 27,000 pounds later, the whole project was
 kaput and nothing ever really came of it. In modern times Seymour Cray
 has subsequently perfected this process.

 1842

 Augusta Ada Lovelace invents the first computer hobbyist magazine. She
 read a description of Charlie Babbages's system, written by an unknown
 Italian engineer. Augusta promptly copied this, made up a whole lot of
 extra stuff that was all theory and published it. Lovelace made all the
 profits while the engineer had to go into consulting to earn a living.

 Her publication enjoyed widespread popularity for a while. Then it seems
 that she proceeded to promote the super computer as a means of predicting
 the outcome of horse races and actually constructed and used the thing.
 The readership believed all this because, after all, they had seen it in
 writing, so it must be true.

 When the results turned out to be not quite as accurate as desired, she
 tried to pull a cover up. However, throughout Europe there was a network
 of pages, outriders, and messenger pigeons which quickly spread the word
 that the super computer was flawed. Augusta was eventually forced to
 admit that there was a problem and had to implement a replacement program
 which cost most of the profits from her endeavor. On her deathbed, she
 still contended that the erroneous calculations only occurred in a
 minuscule number of instances.

 1944

 Harvard University unveils the Mark I Automatic Sequence Controlled
 Calculator. This, at last, was a true electronic calculating machine and
 is considered the first computer as we know it today. Features included
 being slower than the user wanted, miscalculating and it stayed broken
 most of the time. IBM actually paid for it and the modern age had
 arrived.

 1946

 ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) is introduced. The
 age of the vacuum tube had arrived. ENIAC built upon the success of the
 Mark I by introducing the "bug" while maintaining all of the former's
 features.

 1951

 Remington Rand introduces the UNIVAC computer. Now the computer was
 commercially available to businesses but hobbyists would still have to
 wait a bit. In reality all they had done was purchase the ENIAC, renamed
 it, and began selling copies. Later this would be termed cloning.

 1954

 IBM enters the computer fray big time with the 752. This is significant
 for some reason or other. The author, having toyed briefly with one is
 not too sure why. There was a 751, but it was just another ENIAC.

 The commercial computer age was fully upon us at this point. Instances of
 how useful the computer had become were everywhere. For example, in the
 previous decade, an aircraft would take six to nine months to design and
 reach production. Now that time period was shortened to three to five
 years with the aid of a computer. In only two more decades, advances in
 computational power would be such, that the period would be further
 reduced to seven to fifteen years. Progress was inexorable.

 1959

 Jack Kilby and Robert N. Noyce invent the microprocessor. This begins a
 whole new era for the computer industry. Noyce goes on to found Intel
 corporation. Intel releases a new microprocessor model every few weeks
 from then on. Thirty-five years later it finally becomes useful with the
 release of the registered version of DOOM.

 1964

 IBM introduces the concept of If you can get one, it's obsolete, with the
 shipment of their 360 series computers. The system/360 revolutionizes the
 computing industry. Everything that had been previously programmed no
 longer worked. Many companies not only installed the new systems, but
 actually paid extra for "emulator" packages which allowed their programs
 run. IBM secretly authorized sales people to treat customers to alcoholic
 beverages even though there was a strict corporate policy to the
 contrary.

 1976

 Stephen G. Wozniak and Steven Jobs invent the Apple computer in their
 garage. They were attempting to repair the transmission on a '59 DeSoto
 at the time.

 The first model was named Lisa after one of their daughters, the later
 version was named "Mac" after one of their trucks. They succeeded
 mightily with their invention. Millions were sold, hundreds were used.
 Having only a single button on their mouse was the only limitation.

 The main result of all their efforts was a really neat-o Super Bowl ad.

 1981

 IBM introduces the Personal Computer (PC). This was wildly successful and
 eventually reached a market share of 75%. Considering that IBM was the
 only manufacturer at the time, this was indeed a notable achievement.
 Only the near bankruptcy of the early 90's will ever surpass this in the
 corporate annals.

 In addition, the PC provided computing capabilities to the average
 citizen.

 Growth was slow at first, but as time passed, the number of individuals
 having a computer on their desk or in their den reached epidemic
 proportions. Nothing useful has been accomplished ever since.

 1990

 Microsoft introduces their hugely successful version of Windows, 3.0.
 Suddenly every PC in the world has a graphical user interface - suddenly
 every PC in the world is underpowered. Taking the industry by storm, icon
 collecting became the national pastime.

 A significant side effect is the growth of bulletin board systems. From
 the beginning of the home computing age, bulletin boards had been the
 territory of an elite cadre of highly sophisticated computer enthusiasts.
 With the introduction of Windows 3.0, this changed entirely. Like Sam
 Colt's revolver, all men were now equal. Anyone could send electronic
 messages stating the stupidest things possible with Windows as the core
 subject.  Everyone had a computer, Windows, an opinion; no one had a
 clue.

 A couple of years later, Windows was revised to version 3.1. The
 significant changes were: TrueType font collecting replaced icons as the
 hobby of the masses and all UAEs (Unexpected Application Errors) were
 banished by the introduction of the GPF (General Protection Fault).
 Everyone was relieved that they no longer experienced UAEs and considered
 the new version extremely stable. A clue was still not included.

 1992

 Gateway 2000, a dairy farm in South Dakota, finally perfects "on hold"
 music. It is now available continuously via an 800 number.

 1995

 Microsoft Windows 95 appears. It is impossible to find a 5081 punched card.

 Repent, the end is near.

 Jim Gunn is a weird guy who has been dabbling with computers pretty much
 forever. His main hobby is being president of Sterling Consulting in Salt
 Lake City (a.k.a. Salt Puddle), Utah.




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