Ancestors Of The Modern Computer

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Ancestors of the Modern Computer


Today’s computers are used to do thousands of different tasks. They control and guide so many things that are important in current society. Computers make difficult tasks simpler, time consuming jobs shorter, and life in general easier. Man has always looked for some way to make their work quicker and easier. Probably, the first thing that ever started us in the direction conceiving the idea for the computer was the need for printing text and solving complicated mathematical calculations.
Man’s first solution to making math simpler was the abacus, which is still used in some parts of the world today. Later inventions were machines with gears and wheels that could add and subtract, and ones that used punch cards to give the machine information. These instruments were not used widely, nor have any kind of an impact on their society. While they could have been put to good use, they were just little too ahead of their time.
Printing and writing is another tedious task that computers simplify. Originally people had to copy entire books by hand so they could be circulated. This method would take up tremendous amounts of time. Later the idea for a printing press came about. Little letters would be etched into small wood or metal blocks. Ink would be put on the blocks and then transferred onto the paper. Even though this took less time it still took too much.
First-Generation computers were first created in 1945. These machines were very large and used vacuum tubes which made the computer heat up quickly....