A Long Way From Univac
Can you imagine a world without computers? You most probably interact with some form of
a computer every day of your life. Computers are the most important advancement our
society has ever seen. They have an interesting history, many interesting inner
components, they are used nearly everywhere, and continue to advance incredibly fast.
Because the field of computers is so broad, this paper will focus mainly on personal
computers.
Although computers have been evolving for quite some time, they really didn't gain
popularity until the introduction of the personal computer. In 1977, Steve Jobs,
co-founder of the Apple Computer Company, unveiled what is generally considered to be
the first personal computer, the Apple II. This computer was introduced on April 16,
1977, at the First West Coast Computer Faire, in San Francisco. In 1981, the
International Business Machines Company introduced the first IBM PC. Unlike Apple, IBM
used a policy of open architecture for their computer. They bought all of their
components from the lowest bidder, such as the 8086 and 8088 microprocessor chips, made
by a Intel, a Hillsboro, Oregon company. When IBM's computer's design had been
finalized, they shared most of the inner workings of the computer with everyone. IBM
hoped that this would encourage companies to manufacture computers that were compatible
with theirs, and that in turn, would cause software companies to create operating
systems, or OS, and other programs for the ?IBM Compatible? line of computers. One of
the computer manufacturers was a Texas company called Compaq. A company called Dell
Computers was the first ?factory direct? computer seller. A small Redmond, Washington
company called Microsoft made a large amount of software for the ?IBM Compatible? line of
computers. This open architecture policy of IBM was not without it's flaws, however.
IBM lost some business to the ?clones? who could offer more speed, more memory, or a
smaller price tag. IBM had considered this an acceptable loss. One of the few
components of the IBM PC that was kept from the clone manufacturers was the Basic Input
Output System, or BIOS. This program, which was usually etched permanently on a chip,
controlled the interactions between the internal hard and floppy drives, the external
drives, printers, and monitors, etc. Clone manufactures had to make their own versions
of an input output system. Some manufacturers copied the IBM BIOS exactly, such as Eagle
Computers, and Corona Data Systems. This is one adverse affect that IBM had not thought
of. However, all of IBM's copyright violation lawsuits against these companies ended in
IBM's favor. IBM has continued to grow to this day, however, the clone manufacturers
make far more personal computers than IBM, while IBM makes more business machines, and
the Power PC microprocessor, used in Macintosh computers. IBM clone are now made by
Packard Bell, Sony, Acer, Gateway 2000, and more. The clones have continued to use
software and operating systems made by Microsoft, including: DOS (Disk
Operating System), Windows, Windows 95, and Windows NT. The clones also primarily use
microprocessors manufactured by Intel, including the 8086, 8088, 80286, 80386, 80486,
Pentium and Pentium Pro, which offer speeds over 200 megahertz, and will be even faster
in the near future (Silver 7-28).
Apple took a somewhat different course during this period. Not willing to enter the IBM
clone manufacturing market, Apple continued to make their own kind of computers. They
made minor improvements on the Apple II line, but eventually decided they needed to make
a new type of computer. They first introduced the Apple III in September of 1980. It
was a dismal failure. The first buyers encountered numerous system errors and failures,
because of a poor OS. Besides that, it was poorly manufactured, with improperly fitting
circuitry, loose wires and screws, etc. The later released Apple III+ did poorly because
of it's brother's poor debut. The next big release was the Lisa in January of 1983. It
was the first personal computer with a mouse, and nice graphic capabilities. Experiments
showed that it was 20 times as easy to use as the IBM PC, and it drew enormous praise
from computer magazines. It had flaws too, however. It strained the power of the aging
Motorola 68000 microprocessor, so it lost in speed tests to the IBM PC. It also came
with a $10,000 price tag, over twice as much as most IBM clones. The Lisa failed, not as
catastrophically as the Apple III, but failed, nevertheless. Apple had but one more ace
up their sleeve, and they released it in January of 1984. They called it the Macintosh,
and it was very
popular. Apple still uses the Macintosh series of computers to this day. In 1995, Apple
finally allowed other companies to use their OS, and manufacture clones. Some clone
manufacturers include: Power Computing, Umax, Radius, and Motorola. Unlike IBM, Apple
still sells more computers than it's clones, but Power Computing is steadily gaining in
sales. Macintoshes and Mac clones use System 6, System 7, System 7.1, System 7.5, and
System 7.6, all made by Apple. Macintoshes and their clones use microprocessors
manufactured by Motorola, including, 68000, 68881, 68020, 68030, 68040, and the Power PC
601, 603, and 604, made by Motorola and IBM, with speeds up to 225 megahertz, and a 603e,
available in January of 1997, operating at 300 megahertz (Hassig 45-68)
Computers have many interesting components, including: motherboards, microprocessors,
FPUs (Floating Point Unit), hard disk drives, floppy disk drives (5.25? and 3.5?), CD ROM
drives (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), cartridge drives, ROM chips (Read Only Memory),
RAM (Random Access Memory), VRAM (Video Random Access Memory), NuBus or PCI expansion
cards (Peripheral Complement Interface), monitors, keyboards, mice, speakers,
microphones, printers, network systems, and modems. The motherboard is what the
microprocessor, FPU, ROM, RAM, VRAM and all the circuitry are attached to. The
microprocessor, also called a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and FPU are what everything
goes through, and tell what to do with data. Most CPUs operate from 2.5 megahertz (MHz,
millions of cycles per second) to 300
MHz. The hard disk holds large amounts of data for a long time. Most hard disks can
hold from 1 megabyte (MB) to 10 gigabytes (GB). *NOTE: (1 GB is 1,024 MB, 1 MB is 1,024
kilobytes (K), 1 K is 1,024 bytes, 1 byte is 8 bits, and a bit is an on/off code (binary
code uses 0 for off and 1 for on), therefore a 10 GB hard disk can have 8,589,934,592
bits!). Floppy disks are for putting small amounts data on, and being able to take them
with you. The old 5.25? disks held a few K of data, while the new 3.5? type holds 800 K
or 1.4 MB. CD ROMs are relatively new. They have very fine lines on their surface read
by a laser, and can usually hold 650 MB of data (which is unchangeable). CD ROM drives
range in disc reading time from 1X (real time, 150 K/sec) to 15X (2.2 MB/sec).
Cartridges store large amounts of data and are removable, like floppy disks. They can
store up to 1 GB, and come in all shapes and sizes, each type with a different drive.
ROM is unchangeable data soldered on the motherboard. RAM is memory the computer uses
for immediate access, such as open applications. Everything on the RAM is lost when the
computer is shut down. VRAM is used to display a higher resolution or greater color
depth on the monitor. 512 K or 1 MB is the standard amount on most computers, and 8 MB is
the most available. The resolution ranges from 400 by 300 pixels to 1,920 by 1,440
pixels. The color depth ranges from 1 bit (black and white) to 36 bit (68,719,476,470
colors). NuBus and PCI expansion cards add special features to computers, such as
receiving TV transmissions. Monitors display images given to them by VRAM. They range
in size from 9 to 21 inches diagonally. Keyboards input data into the computer. Mice
have a
track ball that moves around inside, causing a cursor to move across the screen.
Speakers amplify the sound output of a computer. Microphones allow sounds to be recorded
on a computer. Printers allow computers to put data on paper. Network systems allow
data to be easily transmitted from one computer to another. Modems allow data to be
transmitted through telephone wires. They have variable speeds from 300 bytes per second
(BPS) to 57,600 BPS (Rizzo 5-21).
Today, computers are utilized in just about every field imaginable. A caution for the
future of computers is that they could go berserk or, if they had a working artificial
intelligence, they could make mankind completely obsolete. Computers have evolved, and
will continue to evolve faster than any tech technology to date. Therefore, it is
impossible to fathom where computers will be in a thousand, or even a hundred years. One
thing, however, is certain: computers are the most important advancement our society has
ever seen.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rizzo, John and K. Daniel Clarke. How Macs Work. New York: Ziff-Davis Press, 1996.
Hassig, Lee, Margery A. duMond, Esther Ferrington, et al. The Personal Computer.
Richmond: Time Life, 1989.
Silver, Gerald A. and Myrna L. Silver. Computers and Information Processing. New
York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993.
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