Research

The infographic by industrial computer manufacturer Chassis Plans outlines this phenomenon in the evolution of both ram and processors over the past four decades. The infographic highlights some of the most interesting changes in the computing world in our time. Ram, for example, is shown going from an estimated value of $512 billion dollars for a gig of ram in 1966 to its projected cost of 1/100th of a cent in the year 2030. From the Intel 4004 to the latest Ivy Bridge processor the infographic also takes you through a graphical history of modern processors.

3000 - 500 BC Abacus Manipulating numbers has been an onerous chore since the development of commerce. Interestingly, the first attempt to automate calculations involved the fingers. The next attempt to solve this problem was the development of the abacus. Whether you find that the inventors were the Greeks and Romans, or the Chinese depends on your source as does the date they first appeared. There is even evidence that late in the first millennium the Aztecs were using an abacus (Fernandes, 1997). Using an abacus a skilled operator could add, subtract, multiply and divide very rapidly. Records show that on November 12, 1946, the champion abacus operator of Japan defeated a man using an electric calculating machine (Kojima, 1997). The abacus, however has several disadvantages over an electric calculator. For one, it requires considerable training. Moreover, the real disadvantage of the abacus is that the operator must perform his calculations mentally. All the abacus does is store the results step by step.

This table of contents comprises a sequence of articles related with the scientific and technological matters responsable for the worldwide evolution of Electronics during 100 years of the XX century.

The Museums Computer Group provides a forum for discussion between museum, gallery, archive and higher education professionals who work with computers and new technologies. We meet at least twice a year at different museums throughout the UK.

Pictures and articles relating to the History of computing.

The Australasian Heritage Software project is a publicly-compiled and accessible database documenting Australian and New Zealand software history. The field of software history is enormous and largely undocumented. Few repositories of software or documentation exist. This project aims to collect documentation from the public - and, where feasible, source code - in order to create a picture of the software written locally, and to present this online. The general public and specialist fans and collectors know a lot about software and computer history. That's why we are asking people to please pitch in and help us build a publicly accessible database of this information. We want to receive information about software that either was locally created in Australia and New Zealand, or created by locals. Please enter information about any Australian and/or New Zealand software that you are aware of, from the earliest mainframes to the present day.

Technology has evolved far beyond the mainframes of the late 1950s. In 1949, a Popular Mechanics magazine declared that all computers in the future would weigh no more than one and a half tons. Little did they know that computers would become portable featherweight machines popularly known as laptops. Naysayers dispute the origin of portable computers; however, most agree that it first became feasible in the 1970s. In 1968, Alan Kay of Xerox PARC brainstormed the idea of a “personal, portable information manipulator.” Kay proposed his idea further in the abstract paper entitled “the Dynabook.” This became the hallmark and inspiration of the first commercially available portable computers.

The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) was formed in 2001, when researchers within the UC system realized that the real opportunities lay not just in developing new and innovative technologies, but in applying them. See how CITRIS has built a foundation that can support and deliver long-term sustainable growth.

AITP is the community of IT knowledge focused on empowering the IT profession by evolving its members to their full potential as a professional. It is our goal, our purpose to provide a community network for the IT business professionals to reach their true potential by providing education programs for advancing technology and business skills, leadership development opportunities, networking, peer mentoring and knowledge sharing, and online resources.

The first generation of computers (1823-1945) One of the most conspicuous devices, which today's world can boast of, is the computer. However, at the very outset, computers were like mere human clerks, who calculated in accordance with effective methods and were thus referred to as the computing machine.