The history of computers 1840s-1980

Quite a massive chunk of history that I shall be covering in this entry. However, I will be touching on the topics quite lightly and in a quick manner. For my course, I will be using computers for half the time, and as it's linked to video games, I thought it was best to start from the very beginning. Computers played a big role in the development of video games, and it snowballed from there, so I want to grasp a better understanding of the history. However, like the entire of history, everything is biased and written by the winner's point of view, so I have gathered my sources together to work out which part came when and in which order (thanks to my lecturer for the helpful links as well).

Let's start from the beginning, with a wonderful invention in 1849. It was called Difference Engine. Which is basically a mechanical calculator, and most likely the biggest calculator still to date. However, it was automatic which got the ball slowly rolling. It had the foundations of the working of a computer, and it could be reprogrammed. Seemed like an amazing calculator, and it still is extremely shiny today.
 The picture displays the one, the original, in London's Science Museum. I told you it's still shiny.

In 1939, the first HP came to our eyes, it was a box that made noise. However it was the first HP to be invented and they will stay with us for many more years to come. In 1940, the CNC typewriter was produced. This showed the idea of monitors and the keypad which is the basic layout of a computer today.

One of the main breakthroughs were 1943, whilst the men went to fight for the country with their guns and helmets, the women were left at home to cover for them. They created collosus, which was a code breaker for the German enigma code. A lot of women worked on the early computers, but the men like to take the credit.

IBM decided to come on to the scene, with style in 1948. They decided to give the computer a chance to be stylish, and it somewhat worked from that I guess. The Lions invented the Leo in 1951, which was an actual stock control, yes as well as creating delicious treats, they invented this. In the same year, the univac was invented which could store and retrieve data.

The year 1960 was a turning point, the dec pdp - II was invented which displayed a monitor, and the keyboard. It was also small, and able to be placed in offices. Pong also came stumbling along in this year too. Both a massive turning point in this decade, as Pong is classed as the original video game, but that's quite debatable.

The qwerty keyboard and space bar came on to the scene in 1972 on a tv typewriter. The first paint program was created, called super paint. Up until this point, computers were mainly homed on people who have certain skills, like stock taking, or data inputting, the mathematical side of it. This program was the mother to Photoshop and Coral painter. It was the first computer directed to the art subject field. In 1974, the mouse came on to the scene. Two years after that, the very first apple came on to the scene, where it looks pretty but it's not all there. Two more years later, the commodore pet was created, where multiple programs could run at once.

Now the turning point for video games, the atari vcs prototype was born. The very first video game console, with an input for a joystick. Plus, it could play more than one game. A bit humdrum compared to today's technology, but back then, it was a strong powerful turning point. The atari 2600 was born and shelved, which had little cartridges.

Space invaders became hot and mainstream in 1980, which I shall then leave this post on. So in a few decades, the computer had become developed fiercely, and the creators had understood that this is where the future is at. They tried to push the limits with their technology, and to make the entire computer system more compact. However, it had branched out from just mathematics to the design field and to the entertainment field for family fun and homework repellent for the children.


Now, a lot of technology has developed throughout this time period. The computer started off as having a solo purpose, used for businesses. The people who had money to invest, and spend on the development of computers was the big businesses or the government, so obviously, they knew what they wanted to achieve with this technology. Being a little fat plumber going to the wrong castle again to rescue the princess was not what they were concerned about whilst we were being bombed in the blitz. However, these foundations were strong, and everything is quite significate. If it wasn't, then we would not be at the stage we are at now. Before being able to use anything for fun, you have to understand the concept and context and the foundations of it (personal experience, 3ds max, which at the moment, is a horrible piece of software).  I think the arcades was one of the bigger turning points, because it got the industry noticed, and how companies understood that people want these games at home, and it gave them a goal to work towards (to make money) which helped developed the technology of video games.

Currently listening to: Lights.