Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts

Friday, 7 October 2011

History

During the 1940s, as newer and more powerful computing machines were developed, the termcomputer came to refer to the machines rather than their human predecessors.[7] As it became clear that computers could be used for more than just mathematical calculations, the field of computer science broadened to study computation in general. Computer science began to be established as a distinct academic discipline in the 1950s and early 1960s.[8][9] The world's first computer science degree program, the Cambridge Diploma in Computer Science, began at the University of CambridgeComputer Laboratory in 1953. The first computer science degree program in the United States was formed at Purdue University in 1962.[10] Since practical computers became available, many applications of computing have become distinct areas of study in their own right

Thursday, 6 October 2011

History


As the personal computer became feasible in the early 1970s, the idea of a portable personal computer followed. A "personal, portable information manipulator" was imagined by Alan Kay at Xerox PARC in 1968,[6] and described in his 1972 paper as the "Dynabook".[7]
The IBM SCAMP project (Special Computer APL Machine Portable), was demonstrated in 1973. This prototype was based on the PALM processor (Put All Logic In Microcode).
The IBM 5100, the first commercially available portable computer, appeared in September 1975, and was based on the SCAMP prototype.[8]
As 8-bit CPU machines became widely accepted, the number of portables increased rapidly. The Osborne 1, released in 1981, used the Zilog Z80 and weighed 23.6 pounds (10.7 kg). It had no battery, a 5 in (13 cm) CRTscreen, and dual 5.25 in (13.3 cm) single-density floppy drives.