The history of the PC

Today computers are used everywhere: in banks, supermarkets, offices or at home.

But how was the modern computer Invented?

The predecesser of the digital computer was the calculating machine. It was invented in 1642 by the French philosopher Blaise Pascal.Analogue computers were built at the beginning of the 20^th century. During the first and second world war mechanical and electrical analogue computers were used in submarines and planes.

In the 1940s, Howard Aiken a mathematician at Harvard University created the first digital computer. It was big and primitive but it could solve mathematical problems without using any parts of a mechanical calculating machine.

The use of the transistor in computers in the late 1950s made it possible to develop smaller, faster, and more reliable computers possible. With the invention of microprocessors the evolution of computers went on.

A modern digital computer is a system composed of few elements:a Processor, a keyboard, a mouse, memory storage devices, a monitor, and last but not least a motherboard that conects all the elements of the system.

But a computer also needs Software that tells it what to do. A computer can only do as much as the software enables. The operating system, installed on every computer is a master control program that transform commands and controls of the hardware. From a operating system like Windows, Unix or DOS you can run applications like games and multimedia programs as well.

And what about the future?

The next generation of computers will be faster, smaller and more intelligent.

But who wants to have a computer that disobeys orders because it`s more inteligent than it`s user?

Will we be allowed to turn off this computer, a thinking and living creature?

The future will give us the answers.