History of Computers

Juan C. Meza 11W

Introduction
In this power point presentation, I will have the pleasure to feed
you off with exciting information about the major developments in
the area of computing. Well take a brief journey throughout the
generations of computers and a special slide just for those
interested in leaning about the User Interfaces history and what
is expected from it in the following years.

Charles Babbage in the Pre-computers age

Charles Babbage was born in London Dec. 26, 1791, in London.
In the early 1820s, an English mathematician called Charles Babbage,
designed a calculating machine which he called the Difference
Engine. This machine could only be used for simple mathematical
problems such as addition and subtraction
Charles had a kick starter and the government granted him 1500 to
construct it, in 1823.
A total of 17,500 were invested into the difference engine
Charles Babbage also designed another calculating machine that was
used in calculating more complex problems, he called this mechanism
as the Analytical Engine.

First Generation Computers: Vacuum Tubes

(1940-1956)
The first generation computers used a vacuum tubes and magnetic
drums in order to store the desired information.
The main problems of these computers are the following: very
expensive to operate and it gets very hot, making it dangerous to use.
Some examples of the first generation computer producers are ENIAC
and UNIVAC.
The UNIVAC was the first to sell a commercial computer to client,
this occurred in 1951.
The ENIAC computers weighted about 30 tons, and needed a 200
kilowatts of electric power input in order to function.

Second Generation Computer: Transistors

(1953-1963)
The use of transistors were the main feature that made possible the
replacement of the First Generation computers.
The transistor was invented in the year 1947 at the Bell Labs center.
The first order computers of this generation were sent to a atomic
energy industry
Before having the transistors the computers relied on
digital circuits composed of vacuum tubes.
These computers still relied on punched cards for input
and outputs.

Third Generation Computers: Integrated

Circuits (1964-1971)
In this generation the transistors were reduced and
placed on semiconductors.
This new way of design allowed the computers to be
faster and more efficient.
Another fascinating feature in that in this generation of
computers the users didnt need to interact with punched
cards or printouts in order to communicate with the
program, but rather use keyboards for this function
Silicon is the most common material used to make the
computer chips.

Fourth Generation Computers:

Microprocessors (1971-Present)
The main key theme of the fourth generation computers is that
these computers had the capacity to store thousands of circuits in a
single chip, this is called the microprocessor.
Microprocessors are now used in almost all logic functioning device.
What used to fill a large room with dozens of metal pieces (as in
the first generation of computers) now can fit in the palm of a hand
without any visible difficult.
The CPU is where most calculations occur at.
In 1984 Apple had the pleasure to introduce the Macintosh.

Fifth Generation Computer: Artificial

Intelligence (Present and Beyond)
This new generation hasnt reached its full potential as many vital information
and technology havent been discovered or studied thoroughly.
This branch has its vision focused in creating a computer that can behave
similar to the human species.
In may of 1997, IBM designed a computer that was able to defeat the world
chess champion Kasparov.
There has been recently been developed voice recognition systems that posses
the ability to convert the desired spoken words into a written text.
Many of the research of this area is found within the margin of robotics, who
have been successfully trying to teach how a program must react to certain
sensory information.

User Interface Development

Definition: Visual part of computer application or operating
system through which a user interacts with a computer or a
software. It determines how commands are given to the computer
or the program and how information is displayed on the screen.
(BusinessDictionary.com, User Interface)

User Interface Development

Major Developments on User Interface Technology
The Invention of the Mouse

The Invention of the computer

keyboard

The first model was

designed and developed by
Douglas Engelbart, with the
help of his friend Bill
English, and was patented
on November 17, 1970.

Christopher Sholes
keyboard was the man who
patented the modern
keyboard. This typing
device was developed in
1868.

Menus of computer System

Usually described as a thin,
rectangular bar at the top of the
computer window containing a
mixture of vital functions for the
user. This user interface feature
was developed by NeXT Computer
in the late 1980s and early 1990s

The future of UI
Gesture Interfaces

BrainComputer Interface

Tangible User Interface

Imagine a future where

interactions with computer
systems are primarily through
the use of gestures. Many
organizations have developed
programs which are able to
recognize some hand
movements but were still new
to this feature.

Our brain generates all kinds of

electrical signals with our
mere thoughts, and each
specific thought has its own
brainwave pattern. These
unique electrical signals can be
profiled to carry specific
commands.

Imagine having a computer

system that has the ability to
fuse your physical environment
with the digital realm to enable
the recognition of real world
objects, well its currently being
designed. In Microsoft Pixelsense
(formerly known as Surface), the
interactive computing surface
can recognize and identify
objects that are placed on top of
the screen.

Bibliography
"What Is User Interface? Definition and Meaning."BusinessDictionary.com. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.
"When and Who Invented the First Computer Mouse?"When and Who Invented
the First Computer Mouse?N.p., n.d. Web. 24
Sept. 2015.
"Keyboard."Keyboard. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.
"What Is Menu Bar?" What Is Menu Bar? N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.
<http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/m/menubar.htm>.
"Creating Applications for Microsoft Pixelsense." N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/pixelsense/SoftwarePlatform.aspx>.
"Charles Babbage." Charles Babbage. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.
<http://www.computerhistory.org/babbage/charlesbabbage/>.

End Slide
As these UI become more intuitive and natural for the new
generation of users, we are treated with a more immersive
computing experience that will continually test our ability to
digest the knowledge designers have to share. It will be
overwhelming and, at times, exciting and its definitely something
to look forward to in new technologies to come.