History Of Computers

Computers were initially large machines that could fill entire rooms. Some were operated using large vacuum tubes that formed the basis of todays transistors. In order to operate such machines, punch cards were used. One of the first such examples of this was the Jacquard Loom.

                                                                      Jacquard Loom
In 1833 Charles Babbage invented his difference engine, an early calculator.

Together with the punch card design, he created the analytical engine. Regrettably the engine never saw completion due to political issues.

Over time computers became more and more powerful, with the introduction of the ubiquitous microprocessor driving forward development. Gordon Moore, one of the co-founders of Intel, invented Moores law, which predicted that the number of transistors that could be placed on an integrated circuit inexpensively doubled every 2 years. This law has held true to a certain degree, and it can be seen in motion every day with the introduction of more and more powerful microprocessors and larger hard drives and memory modules.