People in the History of Computers

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Conceived the idea of the computer in the 1800's

"father of computers"

error prone= humans are not perfect

designed a computer called the "difference engine"- was not completed funding was withdrawn

designed simpler "analytical engine" -not completed due to lack of funding- worked with Ada Lovelace- she created a program that went with the analytical engine- she is first computer programmer, and her program was the first computer program

German engineer

Designed first programable computer- Z1

computers augment our ability -"I was too lazy to calculate, so I invented the computer"

Designed and created (with others) "Colossus"

Known for proposing the "Turing test"- test to determine the ability of a machines intelligence

Created the Atanasoff-Berry computer (ABC)

First general purpose digital computer (some believe this to be ENIAC)

3 key elements of the ABC computer (still used today)

Binary bits to represent all numbers and data

First computer to perform all operation by electronics rather than wheels, ratchets and switches

Organized a system in which computation and memory were separated

ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)

First use was calculations for the Hydrogen bomb

Vacuum tubes

Led to first commercial computers (UNIVAC 1) ~ Universal Automatic Computers

Vacuum tubes- 1930's - mid 1940's- Unreliable

Charles Babbage

Konrad Zuse

Alan Turing

John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry

J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly