History of History of ComputersComputersThe 60’s and 70’sThe 60’s and 70’s

Created by Chasidy Created by Chasidy Loosier ClarkLoosier Clark

19601960

Digital Equipment introduced the first minicomputer, the PDP-1, for $120,000. It was the first commercial computer equipped with a keyboard and monitor.

19611961 According to According to

Datamation Magazine, Datamation Magazine, IBM had an 81.2 % IBM had an 81.2 % share of the computer share of the computer market in 1961, the market in 1961, the year it introduced the year it introduced the 1400 Series. The 1401 1400 Series. The 1401 mainframe, the first in mainframe, the first in the series, replaced the the series, replaced the vacuum tube with vacuum tube with smaller, more reliable smaller, more reliable transistors and used a transistors and used a magnetic core memory.magnetic core memory.

IBM 1401

19621962

The LINC (Laboratory The LINC (Laboratory Instrument Computer) Instrument Computer) offered the first real offered the first real time laboratory data time laboratory data processing. Designed processing. Designed by Wesley Clark at by Wesley Clark at Lincoln Laboratories, Lincoln Laboratories, Digital Equipment Digital Equipment Corp. later Corp. later commercialized it as commercialized it as the LINC-8.the LINC-8.

LINC-8

19631963 ASCII- American Standard ASCII- American Standard

Code for Information Code for Information Interchange-permitted Interchange-permitted machines from different machines from different manufacturers exchange manufacturers exchange data. ASCII consists of data. ASCII consists of 128 unique strings of 128 unique strings of ones and zeros. Each ones and zeros. Each sequence represents a sequence represents a letter of the English letter of the English alphabet, an Arabic alphabet, an Arabic numeral, an assortment numeral, an assortment of punctuation marks and of punctuation marks and symbols, or a function symbols, or a function such as a carriage return.such as a carriage return.

19641964 CDC’s 6600 CDC’s 6600

supercomputer, designed supercomputer, designed by Seymour Cray, by Seymour Cray, performed up to 3 million performed up to 3 million instructions per second- a instructions per second- a processing speed three processing speed three times faster than that of times faster than that of it’s closest competitor, the it’s closest competitor, the IBM Stretch. The speed of IBM Stretch. The speed of the computer came from the computer came from it’s design, which had 10 it’s design, which had 10 small computers, known small computers, known as peripheral processors, as peripheral processors, funneling data to a large funneling data to a large processing unit.processing unit.

CDC 6600

19651965

Object Oriented languages got and early boost with Simula, written by Kristen Nygaard and Ole-John Dahl. Simula grouped data and instructions into blocks called objects, each representing one facet of a system intended for simulation.

19661966 Hewlett-Packard Hewlett-Packard

entered the general entered the general purpose computer purpose computer business with its HP-business with its HP-2115 for computation, 2115 for computation, offering a offering a computational power computational power formerly found only in formerly found only in much larger much larger computers. It computers. It supported a wide supported a wide variety of languages, variety of languages, among them BASIC, among them BASIC, ALGOL, and FORTRAN.ALGOL, and FORTRAN.

HP-2115

19671967 Seymour Papert Seymour Papert

designed LOGO as a designed LOGO as a computer language for computer language for children. Initially a children. Initially a drawing program, drawing program, LOGO controlled the LOGO controlled the actions of a actions of a mechanical “turtle,” mechanical “turtle,” which traced it’s path which traced it’s path with pen on paper. with pen on paper. Electronic turtles made Electronic turtles made their designs on a their designs on a video display monitor.video display monitor.

“People give lip service to learning to learn, but if you look at curriculum in schools, most of it is about dates, fractions, and science facts; very little of it is about learning. I like to think of learning as an expertise every one of us can acquire.”

19681968 The Apollo Guidance The Apollo Guidance

Computer made its Computer made its debut orbiting the debut orbiting the Earth on Apollo 7. A Earth on Apollo 7. A year later, it steered year later, it steered Apollo 11 to the lunar Apollo 11 to the lunar surface. Astronauts surface. Astronauts communicated by communicated by punching two-digit punching two-digit codes and the codes and the appropriate syntactic appropriate syntactic category into the category into the display and keyboard display and keyboard unit.unit.

Apollo Guidance Computer

19691969 Xerox Corp. bought Xerox Corp. bought

Scientific Data Systems Scientific Data Systems for nearly $1 billion- 90 for nearly $1 billion- 90 times the latter’s times the latter’s earnings. The SDS series earnings. The SDS series of minicomputers in the of minicomputers in the early 1960’s logged more early 1960’s logged more sales than did the Digital sales than did the Digital Equipment Corp. Xerox Equipment Corp. Xerox changed the series to the changed the series to the XDS computers but XDS computers but eventually closed the eventually closed the division and ceased to division and ceased to manufacture the manufacture the equipment.equipment.

19701970 Computer-to-computer Computer-to-computer

communication expanded when communication expanded when the Department of Defense the Department of Defense established four nodes on the established four nodes on the ARPANET: the University of ARPANET: the University of California Santa Barbara and California Santa Barbara and UCLA, SRI International, and the UCLA, SRI International, and the University of Utah. Viewed as a University of Utah. Viewed as a comprehensive resource-comprehensive resource-sharing network, ARPANET's sharing network, ARPANET's designers set out with several designers set out with several goals: direct use of distributed goals: direct use of distributed hardware services; direct hardware services; direct retrieval from remote, one-of-a-retrieval from remote, one-of-a-kind databases; and the sharing kind databases; and the sharing of software subroutines and of software subroutines and packages not available on the packages not available on the user’s primary computer due to user’s primary computer due to incompatibility of hardware or incompatibility of hardware or languages.languages.

ARPANET topology

19711971 The first advertisement The first advertisement

for a microprocessor, the for a microprocessor, the Intel 4004, appeared in Intel 4004, appeared in Electronic News. Federico Electronic News. Federico Faggin, Ted Hoff, and Faggin, Ted Hoff, and others at Intel designed others at Intel designed the 4004 while building a the 4004 while building a custom chip for Busicom, custom chip for Busicom, a Japanese calculator a Japanese calculator maker. The 4004 had maker. The 4004 had 2,250 transistors, 2,250 transistors, handling data in four-bit handling data in four-bit chunks, and could chunks, and could perform 60,000 perform 60,000 operations a second.operations a second.

Intel 4004

19721972 Hewlett-Packard announced Hewlett-Packard announced

the HP-35 as “the HP-35 as “ a fast, a fast, extremely accurate extremely accurate electronic slide rule”electronic slide rule” with a with a solid-state memory similar solid-state memory similar to that of a computer. The to that of a computer. The HP-35 distinguished itself HP-35 distinguished itself from its competitors by its from its competitors by its ability to perform a broad ability to perform a broad variety of logarithmic and variety of logarithmic and trigonometric functions, to trigonometric functions, to store more immediate store more immediate solutions for later use, and solutions for later use, and to accept and display to accept and display entries in a form similar to entries in a form similar to standard scientific notation.standard scientific notation.

HP-35

19731973 The TV Typewriter, designed The TV Typewriter, designed

by Don Lancaster, provided by Don Lancaster, provided the first display of the first display of alphanumeric information on alphanumeric information on an ordinary television set. It an ordinary television set. It used $120 worth of used $120 worth of electronics components. The electronics components. The original design included two original design included two memory boards and could memory boards and could generate and store 512 generate and store 512 characters as 16 lines of 32 characters as 16 lines of 32 characters. A 90- minute characters. A 90- minute cassette tape provided cassette tape provided supplementary storage for supplementary storage for about 100 pages of text.about 100 pages of text.

TV Typewriter

19741974 Scelbi advertised its 8H Scelbi advertised its 8H

computer, the first computer, the first commercially advertised commercially advertised U.S. computer based U.S. computer based microprocessor, Intel’s microprocessor, Intel’s 8008. Scelbi aimed the 8008. Scelbi aimed the 8H, available both in kit 8H, available both in kit form and fully assembled, form and fully assembled, at scientific, electronic, at scientific, electronic, and biological applications. and biological applications. It had 4 kilobytes of It had 4 kilobytes of internal memory and a internal memory and a cassette tape, with both cassette tape, with both teletype and oscilloscope teletype and oscilloscope interfaces.interfaces.

Scelbi 8H

19751975 The visual display module The visual display module

(VDM) prototype, (VDM) prototype, designed in 1975 by Lee designed in 1975 by Lee Felsenstein, marked the Felsenstein, marked the first implementation of a first implementation of a memory mapped memory mapped alphanumeric video alphanumeric video display for computers. display for computers. Introduced at the Altair Introduced at the Altair Convention in Convention in Albuquerque in March Albuquerque in March 1976, the VDM allowed 1976, the VDM allowed use of personal computers use of personal computers for interactive games.for interactive games.

Felsenstein’s VDM

19761976 The Cray I made its The Cray I made its

name as the first name as the first commercially commercially successful vector successful vector processor. The fastest processor. The fastest machine of its day, its machine of its day, its speed came partly from speed came partly from its shape, a C, which its shape, a C, which reduced the length of reduced the length of wires and thus the time wires and thus the time signals needed to signals needed to travel across them.travel across them.

Cray I

19771977 The Apple II became and The Apple II became and

instant success when instant success when released in 1977 with its released in 1977 with its printed circuit printed circuit motherboard, switching motherboard, switching power supply, keyboard, power supply, keyboard, case assembly, manual, case assembly, manual, game paddles, A/C power game paddles, A/C power cord, and cassette tape cord, and cassette tape with the computer game with the computer game “Breakout”. When “Breakout”. When hooked up to a color hooked up to a color television set, the Apple television set, the Apple II produced brilliant color II produced brilliant color graphics.graphics.

Apple II

19781978

June 8June 8thth- Intel 8086- Intel 8086 Arcade Video game “Space Arcade Video game “Space

Invaders”Invaders”

19791979 Harvard MBA candidate Harvard MBA candidate

Daniel Bricklin and Daniel Bricklin and programmer Robert programmer Robert Frankston developed Frankston developed VisiCalc, the program made VisiCalc, the program made a business machine of a a business machine of a personal computer, for the personal computer, for the Apple II. VisiCalc (for Apple II. VisiCalc (for VisiVisible ble CalcCalculator) ulator) automated the recalculation automated the recalculation of spreadsheets. A huge of spreadsheets. A huge success, more than 100,000 success, more than 100,000 copies sold in one year.copies sold in one year.

Bob Frankston & Dan Brinklin