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The history of the personal computer as a mass-market consumer electronic device began with the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s. A personal computer is one intended for interactive individual use, as opposed to a mainframe computer where the end user's requests are filtered through operating staff, or a time-sharing system in which one large processor is shared by many individuals.
Functional schematic showing the Williams tubes in green. Tube C holds the current instruction and its address; A is the accumulator; M is used to hold the multiplicand and the multiplier for a multiply operation; and B contains the index registers, used to modify instructions.
The history of computing hardware spans the developments from early devices used for simple calculations to today's complex computers, encompassing advancements in both analog and digital technology.
The history of computer science began long before the modern discipline of computer science, usually appearing in forms like mathematics or physics.Developments in previous centuries alluded to the discipline that we now know as computer science. [1]
Replica of the Atanasoff–Berry computer at Iowa State University The 1946 ENIAC computer used more than 17,000 vacuum tubes. A vacuum-tube computer, now termed a first-generation computer, is a computer that uses vacuum tubes for logic circuitry.
The analytical engine was a proposed digital mechanical general-purpose computer designed by English mathematician and computer pioneer Charles Babbage. [2] [3] It was first described in 1837 as the successor to Babbage's Difference Engine, which was a design for a simpler mechanical calculator.
The Atanasoff–Berry computer (ABC) was the first automatic electronic digital computer. [1] The device was limited by the technology of the day. The ABC's priority is debated among historians of computer technology, because it was neither programmable, nor Turing-complete. [2]
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 16 January 2025. English mathematician, philosopher, and engineer (1791–1871) "Babbage" redirects here. For other uses, see Babbage (disambiguation). Charles Babbage KH FRS Babbage in 1860 Born (1791-12-26) 26 December 1791 London, England Died 18 October 1871 (1871-10-18) (aged 79) Marylebone, London ...