Lesson 1 History and Evolution of Computers .pdf

EMST

1. Lesson 1: History and Evolution of Computers
EMST - Living in the IT Era
Module 1

Understanding Computers and Information
Technology

2. Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

•Explain the history of computers.
•Classify the different computer types.
•Identify the common usage of computers in society
EMST - Living in the IT Era

3. Introduction

Computers have become ubiquitous. It comes in different forms, sizes, prices, and purposes. A day without a
computer of any form could mean unproductive and dull. While it is true that almost all of us know and use
computers, not everyone has developed nor acquired the skill of computer literacy. Computer literacy plays a
significant role for anyone to land a good job. Gaining a more profound understanding of computers could also
help us enhance how we use them.

As its name suggests, the computer was initially designed to perform complex calculations. The abacus in
Figure 1.1 is an ancient counting tool that is said to be one of the inspirations in the design of the computing
machine. Computers have evolved, and today's computers can hardly be recognized from the designs of early
computers.


EMST - Living in the IT Era
Figure 1.1 First Calculating Device Abacus

4. Before 1980

•Computers were large and expensive. Very few people had access to them. And computers are
primarily used for high-volume processing tasks.




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Figure 1.2 First Programmable, Electronic, General-Purpose Digital Computer ENIAC – Electronic Numerical Integrator
and Computer

5. EMST - Living in the IT Era
Figure 1.3 First General-Purpose Electronic Digital Computer Design for Business Application
UNIVAC – Universal Automatic Computer

6. EMST - Living in the IT Era
ENIAC
•Invented by John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckret
•Students at University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School
of Electrical Engineering
•The US Army Ordinance Research funded their
research for the construction of a machine to compute
artillery-firing tables.
•The settings used for different weapons under target
accuracy.
•It is programmed using a panels, tubes, resistors,
capacitor that consumes 150 kilowatts of electricity
which creates too much heat that the computer needs
an air-conditioning system.
•In operating the ENIAC, it requires a skilled team
individuals that are assigned for programming, data
input, execution, monitoring, output and maintenance.
UNIVAC
•Designed and created by the inventors of ENIAC
•Pioneering and more versatile beyond just numerical
calculations.
•Can handle various tasks including business data
processing, scientific calculations, and weather
predictions.
•It can perform complex calculations and can handle
large volume of data.
•It was not only limited to military applications.
•Became the first commercially available computer.

7. EMST - Living in the IT Era
Microcomputers in the early 80s
• Computers were inexpensive, and some developed personal computers. The use of computers in these
years increased radically.
Figure 1.4 Personal Computers in the early 80s

8. EMST - Living in the IT Era
Computers play vital roles in every aspect of our society today, from homes to business
establishments, educational, medical, and financial institutions, including research, military, and
government organizations.

At home, computers connected to the Internet are used for online bills payment, video and music
streaming, gaming, and communication. With the radical change in the work and schooling setup
caused by the Covid19 pandemic, information, and communication technology has enabled many
working individuals to perform work from home. At the same time, students could experience
continuity of learning through the online learning modality.

The pandemic also moved most schools to shift to online modality. Computers have made it possible
for schools to deliver instruction and perform other related transactions with students and other
stakeholders despite the limitations due to health protocols. Even before the pandemic, educational
institutions already used computers to manage the information of their students, faculty, other
employees, and stakeholders. Thus, making them more productive and efficient in their transactions.

9. EMST - Living in the IT Era
•A computer is a programmable device that stores, retrieve, and processes data.

•Humans were the original computers (human computers) who performed numerical calculations
using mechanical calculators, such as the abacus and slide rule.

•Today's computers are electronic devices that accept data (input), a process that data, produce
output, and store (storage) the results (IPOS)

•Data refers to raw and unorganized facts in text, graphics, audio, or video.

•Information is data that is processed into a functional form.

•Information processing is converting data into information.

10. Six basic categories of computers

•Embedded computers
•Mobile devices
•Personal computers
•Midrange servers
•Mainframe computers
•Supercomputers

Embedded computers are combined into a product. These are designed to perform specific tasks or functions in a
particular product. It can't be used as a general-purpose computer and is often embedded into household
appliances, thermostats, sewing machines, A/V equipment, and cars.




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Figure 1.5 Examples of Embedded Computers

11. A mobile device is a tiny device with built-in computing or internet capability—examples: Smartphones, Smart
Watches, handheld gaming devices, and portable digital media players.

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Figure 1.6 Examples of Mobile Devices

12. A personal computer is a system designed for use by one person at a time.

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Figure 1.7 Example of Personal Computer

13. EMST - Living in the IT Era
Figure 1.8 Examples of Midrange Servers


A midrange server is a medium-sized computer that hosts programs and data for a small network.
•Originally intended to meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses, which did not require the massive
computing power of a mainframe but needed more power than commodity servers could supply.

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Figure 1.9 Example of Mainframe Computer

A mainframe computer is an enormously powerful computer used by numerous organizations to manage large
amounts of centralized data.

15. EMST - Living in the IT Era
Figure 1.10 Example of Super Computer

A supercomputer is the fastest, most expensive, most powerful type of computer.
Are often used to run artificial intelligence programs, supercomputing has become synonymous with AI. This
regular use is because AI programs require high-performance computing that supercomputers offer. In other
words, supercomputers can handle the types of workloads typically needed for AI applications.

16. EMST - Living in the IT Era
Figure 1.10 Example of Super Computer

Web - a service used to share and exchange data in the computer.
- referred to as client- server communication

Internet - email, online gaming, www (world wide web), ftp (file transfer protocol)

Data - images, videos, documents or any information

Computers that ask for data are called clients.
The computer that gives and serves data are called servers.

Client - could be a machine or a program
Client machine - could be a laptop, desktop, smartphones, tablets etc.
Client program - allows users to make request or access like www, word processors, editing
software.

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Server - Client model
•Sharing resources
•Data among multiple clients
•Performing computation for a client
•Control, distribute, protect information


•One server for a website
•One server for data storage
•One server for email
Businesses rely on continuous server operation as they are essential for organizational functions. A server
failure can result in financial losses.

Servers comprise significant CPU and RAM capacity and require redundant components to ensure
uninterrupted operation. This redundancy ensures that a single component or server failure does not disrupt
the entire system. In the event of a server failure, alternative servers are in place to handle desktop client
requests.

18. EMST - Living in the IT Era
Computers and The Society

Immense improvements in the use of technology over the past decade have had a distinct impact on the user's
daily life, both at home and at work.

There are a lot of benefits of a computer-oriented society, but there are also some risks such as:
•computer viruses - specific type of malware
•malware (Malicious Software) - any intrusive software developed by cybercriminals
•cybercrime - is any criminal activity that involves a computer, networked device or a network.
•and privacy issues - misuse or unexpected misuse of their private or intimate information

Computer viruses is a type of malware that attaches itself to other programs, self-replicates, and spreads from one
computer to another. When a virus infects a computer, it makes copies of itself and attaches to other files or
documents. It then modifies those files and continues to spread.

Examples
•Identity theft and phishing
•Privacy issues

19. Virus
• A type of malware that attaches itself to a legitimate program or file, enabling it to spread from one computer to
another.
•Viruses can damage or corrupt files. stealing information or disrupt the normal functioning of the computer.

Types of Malware

•Trojans - appears to be legitimate programs but have malicious functionality hidden
•Adware - “spam” unwanted or malicious advertisement. Often in the form of pop-ups and may collect user data
for advertising purposes.
•Spyware - used to monitor the activities of users. Often leads to credential theft. Originates in corrupted files, or
downloading suspicious files.
•Worms - Often attack a computer’s memory or hard drive. It can duplicate itself in other devices or systems.
•Ransomware - most common form of malware. It attacks encrypt a device’s data and holds it for ransom. If the
ransom isn’t paid by the certain deadline, the threat actor threatens to delete or release the valuable data.
EMST - Living in the IT Era