8/12/2019 Computer Fund Part I Lesson 01

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I - 1.1

Introduction to

Computers

PART I

8/12/2019 Computer Fund Part I Lesson 01

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I - 1.2 Computer Fundamentals

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Computers and SocietyAfter completing this lesson, you will know:

The history of computers from the 1940s up to the present.

The future of computing.

The many ways in which computers are used in modern life.

How it is possible to make computers accessible to persons withdisabilities.

How computers are used in two key areas: business and education.

This lesson introduces computers and their use today. This lesson gives a briefhistory of computing to date. This lesson also describes the accessibility issuesfaced by many individuals in the workforce and how computers and assistivetechnology help overcome accessibility problems.

A Brief History of ComputersPart of the reason your computer at work is called a PC (personal computer)can be found in the general history of computers. When computers started toshow up on desks in more and more offices, they were in limited places such as

banks and insurance companies. right green flickering screens providedaccess to only the most vital customer information. !ou might even rememberhaving a computer like that on your desk, or on your parents" desk. ut therewas nothing personal about that computer.

#f course, there wasn"t supposed to be. $n fact, if you had talked to thosecorporations about letting individual employees influence or customi%e howcomputer systems worked, you"d have been shown the door. Companies putcomputing power into individual hands but controlled and limited everyconceivable interaction between employees and computers. &nd let"s not forgetthat we"re talking about ' years ago. o technology was available to makedesktop computers anything more than a front end to a huge central computerthat was miles away.

When the first computers called personal computers came on the scene in thelate *+ s, the name really meant -not a business computer. ot only did

businesses not see any use for them, but they didn"t want anything to do withthem and their anarchy. Customi%ing the color of the screen and the sounds thecomputer made was /ust silly. &nd writing your own programs to make thecomputer do what you wanted it to do0 - o, thank you1

LESSON 1

8/12/2019 Computer Fund Part I Lesson 01

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I - 1. Computer Fundamentals

$t took some visionary people at three companies2$ 3, 3icrosoft, and &ppleComputer2to see that a computer you or $ could really control2a truly

personal computer2was e4actly what business had been waiting for. Thesections that follow contain a short timeline of the history of moderncomputing.

1940s

5ome of the first automatic computers were built between *+'+ and *+66 andwere used as part of the code7breaking activities during World War $$. #ne ofthese computers was named 8 $&C (electronic numerical integrator andcomputer). 8 $&C occupied * s9uare feet (about +' s9uare meters) of floor space, weighed more than : , pounds (; , kilograms), and containedmore than *

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Part 1: Lesson 1 Computers and Society I - 1.

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The integrated circuit or silicon chip was invented in *+?< and *+?+ by twoindependent researchers. & single chip could contain the electronic circuitry of

an entire computer, which created another revolution in computer design. The*+: s brought minicomputers, such as the @8C P@P * and the $ 35ystemA': , into more and more industries. $n addition, research at the

ational &eronautics and 5pace &dministration ( &5&) in the Bnited 5tatesled to the creation of even smaller computers. Computers no longer costmillions of B.5. dollars and no longer re9uired speciali%ed environments.

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$n *+ ?, the ero4 &lto was the first prototype computer to use a graphical user interface (=B$), by which symbols for computer functions are provided insteadof the user having to type complete commands. This was also the first computer to use a mouse as an input device. 8ven though this system was never released

to the public, it greatly influenced the development of 3icrosoft Windows and&pple 3acintosh operating systems.

The 3$T5 &ltair, the first computer to be called a personal computer, alsodebuted in *+ ?. This was sold mainly as a kit computerD a user had toassemble it before it could be used. The computer used the $ntel