Tech Topic: The History & Future of Computers
The History of Computers
According to Professors Frank Vahid & Susan Lysecky, who developed ZyBooks,
“Computing Technology for All”, computers originated from telephone switches in
the 1900's. Engineers at the time discovered that switches could perform
calculations using the positions of the switches based on meaning such as 1 for
ON, and 0 for OFF. In the 1940's the first of these computers were built and
required were large and only available in certain areas of the world for
computing large amounts of data. In 1943, the ENIAC was created as the
first U.S. general purpose computer by the Army’s Ordnance Proving Ground. According
to Professor Maarten Bullyok, it’s intended purpose was to computate ballistic
trajectories, but it proved to be capable of much more. The idea of
having a personal computer was far-fetched due to the laborious tasks of
operating them because they had to be kept in air-conditioned rooms that
required special wiring and outlets. Regarding the future of computers, there
is development for what is called a Quantum-Computer. This innovation is
intended to solve more complex issues, quicker than before by combining 1's
& 0's within what is called a quantum bit. The video below, created by
Forbes, explains in depth the benefits of this development.
Hardware & Software
With further advances of the
decades, and the need for a smaller yet complex computing system, the computer
chip was created in the 1970’s. Prior to its creation, computers were run off
of thousands of switches that occupied entire large rooms to a handheld chip
that could deliver the same capabilities & more. This trend is known as
Moore’s Law, where switch sizes halve every 2 years. This was a huge factor in
developing the computers we have today in terms of size & in complexity. In
comparison to the computer chips debut, where it could only hold central
processing unit to run program instructions (1’s & 0’s), CPUs of today can
hold anywhere from two, four, eight or more CPUs. As a result, in today and
future trends we have smaller, thinner computers, that provide east to
transportation, data management & processing times.
Programming Languages
The shift from mechanical systems to electronic computing led to the first major advancements, laying the groundwork for future developments. In this period, the focus was on automating calculations and processing data; concepts that are foundational to IT today, especially in terms of computational power. In the 1960’s & further back, programming languages were lower level in comparison to today’s standards and were solely used to provide straightforward numerical computations. Internet pioneer, Steve D. Crooker stated in an article titled “Arpanet & Its Evolution” that “programming was tedious and prone to errors. In a batch processing environment, the programmer might have to wait several hours or even a full day to get results back, only to discover there was an error in the program”. This issue would drive the innovations of interpretive programming languages such as LISP & BASIC. American computer scientist, Grace Hopper worked as a technical consultant that defined the programming language, COBOL and introduced it as an English-based programming language designed for business use for financial record keeping and is still used today. ALGOL (algorithmic language) was used for mathematics within scientific computing were some of the first higher level programming languages that were typically only used by engineers or business agencies at the time. Languages of today such as Python, & C++ use variables some of which are inferred meaning you do not have to type them specifically, it just depends on the assigned value.
Computer Applications
In 1975, Bill Gates pioneered the creation and debut of Microsoft. This
computer company also created Microsoft Windows applications leading into the
1980’s. Thus, in 1983, he developed the concept of having a graphical user
interface (GUI), which allows computer programs and files to be represented by
icons and other graphics on the screen. Though unsuccessful at first, the 1990s
saw a transformation in software applications, most notably being the creation
of Word Processor, Excel, & PowerPoint. A word processor is based on
formatted text input that uses a cursor, like in most applications, in order to
indicate where a user’s input will be next. It can also support the insertion
of columns, drawing, images, as well as marginal, & text formats unlike
applications known as text files, that can only store text & do not support
formatting.
Before the creation of Microsoft Excel in 1985, Harvard students, Dan Bricklin, & Bob Frankston created VisiCalc. The was the first digital application to debut for computers & was the influence of Microsoft Excel & Google Sheets. A spreadsheet application is used for displaying data tables or charts of data in an organized manner using alphabetically & numerically numbered columns. Each column & row are comprised of cells. The data that is inputted can be manipulated using sorting or categorizing of what is input into the cell or by color. Formulas are used to quantify the data that is inputted. Mathematical necessities are supported by this function by highlighting the needed cell information and clicking the available mathematical icons to formulate the information, either by Sum, Average, or finding the minimum value within the selected cell.
PowerPoint, formally known as Filemaker, for the Mac version at its origin in 1984, is an application that uses text & graphics including animation to display on slides instead of digital paper like Word. Various editing tools are available similar to Word & Excel such as formatting text, & alignment. Presentation however provide an array of themes that can be applied & combined with formatting capabilities.
Currently AI has been a leading innovation in computer applications, for example Microsoft 365 Copilot. Copilot is a new application that uses AI within various communication applications such as Outlook, TEAMS, Excel, Word & PowerPoint to rewrite, transform, or gather analytics across multiple applications. Copilot offers the ability to turn data that was created in Word Processor into PowerPoint slides within seconds, or rewrite emails to make them sound more professional, or direct.
Database Management
In 1890, Herman Hollerith, an inventor, created the first punched
card tabulating machine. The tabulating machine was used to compile
statistics for the U.S. Census. This is an early example of the early age of
what would become databases. According to professors Frank Vahid & Susan
Lysecky, data such as gender, age, and residence were stored on punched cards.
Because of the tabulating machine, the census tabulation process was completed
two years faster than usual. The machine's success enabled Hollerith to sell
tabulating machines to many nations. More than 10 different nations used
machines for their year 1900 census. Today, by definition data is a collection
of values that are translated into readable information. Having a database
means having the ability to access material through organized methods, for
example how a retail store keeps inventory, or how a hospital logs &
retrieves patient information online. Given the large amounts of data that are
in constant movement across the globe, and need for transparency, having a
secure Data Based Management Systems or DBMS is essential to meet various
global needs. Server farms, for example, were created in order to store,
process, & manage large amounts of data efficiently. This offers physical
storage for the database, that resides in storage servers via hard drives
(HHD's) or solid-state drives (SSDs). Data is replicated to provide
availability & loss recovery in certain instances. Many companies use
databases located at server farms such as Google Cloud, & Microsoft Azure,
this method is called cloud hosting. This enables various forms of data to be retrieved
by anyone with access around the world to information, photos, & media
Security of Computers
In the earlier ages of computers,
hacking did not hold the same meaning it does today. Because of how scarce and
difficult it was to own a computer, only a few like-minded individuals knew how
to operate them in most cases. Most computers were held in a lockable room,
where people would attempt to break in out of the sheer curiosity of them.
In the 1970’s, when the expansion of computers began, information started being
secured with the use of passwords, but the discussions of computer security
started to arise when the first virus called “Creeper” was created by BBN
Technologies engineer, Bob Thomas. Creeper was regarded as the first “known
computer virus that could move about in the ARPANET (The Advanced Research
Projects Agency Network), which was the precursor to the Internet. Dr. Eric
Cheng, a professor for early child education wrote an article on Institutional
Strategies in Cyber Security & stated that, "Creeper was subsequently
made to move across the ARPANET and the self-replicating Creeper was deleted.
The conflict between the two programs exposed the network vulnerability of
ARPANET and though regarded as harmless at the time, it raised the issue of
network security".
 |
| Teletype message of the test virus "Creeper" |
Today, even though cybersecurity is
much more advanced than before, issues still exist & are referred to by
some as security holes. The term "security hole" is in reference to a
computer or other device that is at risk of a security breach. A modern method
of security today uses digital certificates. According to information found in
the Zy Books created Professors Frank Vahid & Susan Lesecky, most data is
exchanged over the Internet using public keys which is a form of data
encryption. The issue with this is that public keys are available to anyone
allowing hackers to install malicious software into one’s computer with the
intent to extort their sensitive data. A digital certificate combats this and
authenticates the public key, confirming that the data originated from a
legitimate source which provides a form of surveillance for data. Software’s
such as anomaly-based intrusion detection systems (IDS) are widely used today
in cyber security.
According to a scholarly article
titled "Modern Cyber Security & Advanced Machine Learning",
collaboratively written by various professors of the IT industry, this mixture
of advanced technology with current measures can assist to identify anomalies
in normal system behavior. The future of cybersecurity lies with the
combination of current security methods with advanced machine learning referred
to as device mastering (ML). With the growing complexity of technology,
cyber threats & attacks also increase this need. This will provide improved
heightened detection of vulnerabilities, & automation of safety to make
users aware of vulnerabilities in an effort to decrease human error. As well as
faster reaction time to threats, & facts visualization that will help
security teams weed out threats within large amounts of data more efficiently
& accurately in real time.
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