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I. The history of the computer
1.The beginnings of arithmetic
The history of the computer began when mathematics was invented. This was around 5000 BC. Because at that time the basis of the calculation was started by the start of the counting.
Around 3000 BC simple aids such as knot cords or notched sticks were used for arithmetic. At the same time, the Babylonians invented the sex decimal system, with the base number 60. This is still used today, for example at the hour with 60 minutes or the minute with 60 seconds.
In 2630 BC, dust tablets were used in China for line calculations. These are handy, trough-shaped, dust-covered trays, into which lines are scratched in order to then count on small counters.
Around 1750 BC the "Papyrus Rhind" was written by the Egyptians. It contains multiplication, division and fractional calculation. Around 400 BC the Salamian arithmetic table or "abakion" was used for arithmetic.
One hundred years later, the decimal system and numerals were used. The zero was introduced in India around 700 AD. This enables position calculation.
In 1295, the idea for the first time to build a machine to support theological evidence came from the Catalan philosopher and theologian Raimundus Lullus.
2. The first calculating machines
1623: the theologian and mathematician Wilhelm Schickhardt constructed for his friend
Johannes Kepler the first mechanical calculating machine, which is called the computing clock.
1642: The Frenchman Blaise Pascal invented the six-digit addition machine that he had built for his father to simplify routine accounting work.
1671: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz built the "Difference Machine" which could already calculate all four basic types of calculation.
1703: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz developed dyadik, which as a dual system becomes the basis of all computers.
After that, the development of the precursors of the computer was rather slow.
It wasn't until 1822 that the Englishman Charles Babbage partially built the "Difference Engine". However, due to technical and financial problems, Charles Babbages could not implement his "Difference Engine" during his lifetime, because it would have weighed several tons and consisted of over 25,000 individual parts. But he could have made part of her. However, this was not so functional, since gears got stuck for lack of accuracy.
In 1833 Babbage developed a concept for the "Analytical Engine", which was to be individually programmed using punch cards, as were already used in looms. He had also given this machine a temporary storage. It was saved with the gear train, which Babbage named "Store". A maximum of 200 intermediate results could be saved, which corresponds to about 21 kilobytes (very little today).
But even for this machine, which would have been the size of a small locomotive, the means and technology were not sufficient. Charles Babbage was fully aware of the progress that was due to him, as the following words from 1864 show: "It will probably take half a century before someone realizes a machine that can solve any math problem. I trust in the value the results of my work showed.
3. Development of the first computer
According to Charles Babbage, it took over a century for a new machine to be invented. This was the Z3 from the German Konrad Zuse, which was completed in May 1941.
3.1 THE Z3
This computer had a computer unit for the bills. It had 2600 relays (electromechanical switches), 800 for the arithmetic unit and 1800 for storing up to 64 words.
The program was in an 8-channel punched code, punched on loops of film material, and the Z3 was able to do up to 20 additions per second. The "Z3", which should actually be called "V3" (V3 stands for experimental device 3), got its name from the fact that it was the third machine, but the first one to be fully functional. The production then cost about 25,000 Reichsmarks. Konrad Zuse is said to have known nothing of Charles Babbage's developments in his day, and that is precisely why Konrad Zuse's work is rated very highly.
3.2.COMPUTER NAME COLOSSOS
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In 1943, the British mathematician Maxwell Herman Alexander Newman and the telephone engineer Thomas Howard Flowers completed the "British giant". Because of its size, this computer was given the code name "COLOSSOS". He had 1,500 vacuum tubes.
3.3.ASCC · COMPUTERS FOR THE NAVY
Howard Hathaway Aiken, mathematics professor at Harvard University in Boston, created the "ASCC" (Automatic Sequence-Controlled Calculator) for the American Navy until 1944, in a seven-year collaboration with IBM at the Computation Laboratory in Cambridge (Massachussets).
This computer also worked with punched tape and was used to solve differential equations. However, he was soon handed over to Harvard Mark University, where he was renamed "Harvard Mark I". It was then improved by IBM punch card machine parts and electric typewriters, as well as punch tape readers for 24-channel punch tapes for entering special function values. In the end, this plant weighed 35 tons, contained 760000 individual parts, 3000 ball bearings, about 800 kilometers of control power lines, and cost $ 400,000!
3.4. THE FIRST FREE PROGRAMMABLE COMPUTER "ENIAC"
In 1946, the electrical engineer John Presper Eckert junior and the physicist John William Mauchley at the Moore School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, America, developed "The ENIAC" (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer = Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computing Device), which is under the code name "PX" (Project X) was constructed.
This is considered the first computer in the world (US Patent 3120606 dated June 26, 1947) that could be freely programmed. It weighed 30 tons and consisted of 18,000 electron tubes (amplifier tubes) and 1,500 relays, which took up an area the size of a tennis court. The manufacturing cost was about $ 3 million!
For every calculation or loop, hundreds of switches had to be put into the correct position by hand, and in this way he could already do 5000 additions or 400 multiplications per second. It was about 2000 times faster than Harvard Mark I.
However, the ENIAC had some shortcomings:
- The sensitive electron tubes often failed.
- The representation of the numbers was too complex: 10 ring-shaped electron tubes as counters.
- Programming via switches was too cumbersome.
3.5. THE ENIAC'S DEVELOPMENT WAS THE EDVAC
During the development of the "ENIAC", John Presper Eckert junior and John William Mauchley developed the "EDVAC" (Electronic Discret Variable Automatic Computer). It was easier to program and universally usable. It also used Charles Babbage's plans, which provided for a strict separation of the storage unit, arithmetic unit (called "MILL" by Charles Babbage) and control unit.
The electronic memory was either a delay-time memory filled with mercury, or metal disks that were coated with magnetizable surfaces.
In contrast to the "ENIAC", changing the program was very easy. The program simply had to be loaded into the storage unit, whereas the "ENIAC" required major conversion work.
4.The basics of the Von Neumann concept
John von Neumann developed five foundations at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS), inspired by the "EDVAC", from which he learned through friend Herman Heine Goldstine, which later became "Foundations of the Von Neumann Concept" or "IAS." Concept "were known.
Von Neumann concept:
1. The arithmetic machine consists of five functional units: the control unit, the arithmetic unit, the main memory and an input and output unit. (Control and arithmetic unit are combined in the CPU, the central processor unit.)
2. The calculator is independent of the task. It is only the program that is put in the working memory that makes it operational.
3. All data and commands are binary coded and are located in a shared working memory.
4. The commands of the program are numbered in the working memory and are executed one after the other (sequentially), controlled by the program counter.
5. Special jump commands make it possible to deviate from the saved sequence.
These points apply to every computer, with the last two points describing programming.
5.Invention of the chip
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In 1965, the third generation of computers was born with the invention of the chip.
A chip (which could replace up to 20 transistors) is a very small plate made of silicon, on which a large amount of transistors, diodes, resistors and other components are built.
An example of this generation of computers was the IBM computer system 360.
6.Computers in every household?
The mass production of computers from the 80s led to further price reductions, so that they could also be used in the private sector.
In 1981 the IBM Personal Computer (PC) was introduced, together with the Microsoft DOS operating system.
In 1982 the first IBM-PC compatible devices reached the German market
In 1984, IBM sets a new standard with the AT ("Advanced Technology"), which is equipped with the INTEL 80286 processor
In 1986 the 32-bit PCs were introduced that use the INTEL processor 80386. The first PCs with the new 80486 processor from INTEL were introduced in 1989. Alone on the basis of today's operating systems, which can only use this processor in its speed, there is a doubling of the working speed to the 80386 processor.
New processors were developed each year in the 1990s (e.g. Pentium, Pentium 2 and 3 processors)
And today we already have the Pentium 4, and the development continues ...
II. The Internet
1.Backgrounds of development
In the 1960s, the U.S. Department of Defense began supporting the development of computer networks due to the cold war. The USA wanted to have a means of communication that still worked after a nuclear strike. In 1969 the ARPANET was developed, which networked computers of the military, the defense industry and some universities.
2.ARPANET
It initially served to connect the universities of Los Angelas and Santa Barbara in California, Utha and the Stand Research Institute (are research institutes). This network was initially used to exchange research data, but was then expanded to include an electronic messaging program. In the event of war or other disruptions, this system automatically switches to another network so that the data can still be forwarded.
More and more networks were created and so it was necessary to find a way to connect all these systems so that they can communicate with each other without problems. Under the name Internetting Project, a development of a transmission protocol (TCP / IP) was commissioned so that the different systems can communicate with each other.
3.TCP / IP protocol
TCP / IP protocol (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) was developed in 1974. The United States government prescribed this protocol in 1978 for all of the networks it supported, thereby setting the standard.
3.1 DECLARATION TCP / IP
A system-independent protocol that is installed on every computer connected to the network. A protocol consists of a series of rules that can determine the data transfer between two computers and eliminate errors that occur. All data that are to be transmitted via the Internet are divided into so-called blocks (packs) and then sent. If some of these packs are lost, they are automatically requested again. There are two protocols on the Internet:
a) the Internet Protocol (IP):
It divides the data into packs and then sends them to the exact address of the recipient
b) the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP):
This protocol is responsible for the correct data transmission
In a sense, both protocols are interdependent, which is why we speak of TCI / IP. The TCP / IP protocol later did not become an international standard set by the ISO, but nevertheless prevailed worldwide.
4. Birth of the Internet and its further development
In the early 1980s, the CSNET was the first independent network to receive DARPA's permission to join the ARPANET. The year 1983 is generally regarded as the birth of the internet. This year, the MILNET, the military part of the ARPANET, separated from the rest.
From the mid-1980s, the NSF (National Science Foundation) also showed interest in the Internet, it wanted to give scientists at all US universities access to the network, and so it founded the NSFNET. In this network, the NSF had linked the six supercomputer centers in the USA to form a backbone network (English: back wheel), which was to cope with the increasing data flows. When data traffic exploded, the NSF signed a contract with Merit, Inc. (Michigan Education and Research Infrastructure Triad), through which Merit took over the administration, operation, and development of the NSFNET. In June 1988, the weak 56 Kbps dedicated lines were replaced by 1.5 Mbps lines, which prevented total network overload.
The NSFNET now took on more and more tasks of the ARPANET, which was dissolved in June 1990. In September 1990, Merit, IBM and MCI founded the ANS (Advanced Networks and Services), which was to look after the NSFNET and set up a new one with 45 Mbps lines. 26 months later, on December 2nd, 1992, this network went into operation. The need for this was enormous, in November 1992 there were already 24 billion parcels (1 million a day for the first time) that went through the lines.
In Europe, of course, the need for a university network was also recognized and the RARE was founded in 1986 to coordinate the efforts of the countries throughout Europe. The COSINE project (Cooperation for an Open Systems Interconnection Networking in Europe) was their first project with the aim of building an infrastructure for the academic sector. The first pan-European network was set up, which has continued as EuropaNET since February 1993.
In 1989, researchers in Geneva developed the WorldWideWeb (WWW), which can be seen today as the graphical user interface of the Internet.
5. The World Wide Web (WWW)
The WWW is a service on the Internet that makes it possible to make the pages colorful. On the WWW, information is presented on pages that can be linked to one another with so-called links. This creates a worldwide network of various publications, which can always be linked to images, videos and sound.
6. Internet provider
When the WWW was launched in 1992, the network began to spread more and more thanks to its improved user-friendliness. This opened up completely new lines of business, such as the providers. A provider is a provider of Internet access. Providers operate permanent dedicated lines to the Internet that they have rented themselves. Sometimes the providers not only rented them, but sometimes also bought them. The largest providers are AOL (American Online), Compu Serve and T-Online etc.
7. Requirements to be able to use the Internet
If you don't want to be left behind technically, you should take part in the Internet and you need a few things for this.
7.1 LANGUAGE ON THE INTERNET
The "official language" on the Internet is English. However, this does not only refer to the technical terms, but also to the content: Over 60% of the offer is only available in English. However, even those who don't speak English can benefit from the Internet and online services. There is already a wide range of German websites
7.2.PERSONAL COMPUTER
Basically every PC on which Windows runs properly is internet-capable. But it should be at least a 486 processor with a speed of 66 MHz.
7.3.MODEM
The easiest way to access the Internet is with a modem over the phone line. The modem translates the computer's digital signals into analog (tones) and sends them over the line. At the other end, the retranslation takes place in the receiver modem. Modems are available in different price ranges, a data throughput of 33,600 or 56,000 baud is recommended. This is the speed of the modem, e.g. B. 56,000 bits per second. The modem is connected to a COM port (an interface on the back of the computer) of the computer and to the telephone socket. Together with the modem, you also receive the software that must be installed so that the PC and the modem understand each other.
Another variant is to access the Internet via a cable connection. The advantage here is that the transmission rate is much higher than with a normal telephone connection. It is also cheaper for a lot of surfers because the telephone costs are eliminated.
7.4.BROWSER
If you can and want to go online now, you need a specific program called a browser. The best known browsers are Internet Explorer from Microsoft or Netzcape Navigator from Netzcape. You can download these interfaces free of charge from the Internet, although Internet Explorer is also included with Windows 95/98 etc.
8. What you can do with the Internet
8.1 E-MAIL
The email has been around since 1992 and is the most used. You can compare it to normal mail, because it is used to transmit messages from one computer to another. The advantage is that it can be sent and received at any time. But you can not only send text, but also pictures and other files (music). So email is faster, more versatile and more powerful than regular mail.
8.2.ONLINE SHOPPING
Online shopping and ordering are other lines of business. In so-called virtual department stores, the customer can view the offers as in a catalog with a very large selection and then order directly from the mail order company. For example, the computer manufacturer Dell (one of the largest computer manufacturers in the world) b offers its customers to assemble a computer over the Internet and then order it. Dell makes several thousand US $ in sales every day online. But the virtual department stores could not prevail over the real department stores, as there are still too few households connected to the Internet and payment transactions on the Internet are still relatively insecure.
8.3.HOMEBANKING (TELEBANKING)
This enables you to carry out banking transactions such as transfers, account balance queries, standing orders, etc. via a data connection from house to bank.
8.4. CHAT
When chatting (chatting in German) you can get to know many people from abroad. Chatbars or chat rooms are almost everywhere! Such as B. with almost all radio stations, with most television stations, and also among other things on the websites of cities. But there are also extra chat websites, such as:
8.5 DOWNLOAD
Download is understood to mean downloading programs, pictures, music, etc. Here, those Internet users who have a normal telephone connection have a major disadvantage, since larger programs would take too long to download them. With a cable connection, on the other hand, you can download larger files, because firstly it is faster and secondly it doesn't matter how long it takes because you only pay a fixed fee per month, no matter how long you are online.
The downloading of music files (MP3 files) is currently extremely popular. However, this is very controversial since there is no agreement on the copyright rights. But as long as it is not prohibited, you will continue to download.
9. Future of the Internet
Attempts are currently being made to enable Internet access via the socket. When this system is mature, it enables data to be transferred much faster than anything that has existed before.
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