What is a Computer?

In its most basic form a computer is any device which aids humans in
performing various kinds of computations or calculations. In that respect the earliest computer was
the abacus, used to perform basic arithmetic operations.
Every computer supports some form of input, processing, and output. This is less obvious on a
primitive device such as the abacus where input, output and processing are simply the act of moving
the pebbles into new positions, seeing the changed positions, and counting. Regardless, this is what
computing is all about, in a nutshell. We input information, the computer processes it according to its
basic logic or the program currently running, and outputs the results.
Modern computers do this electronically, which enables them to perform a vastly greater number of
calculations or computations in less time. Despite the fact that we currently use computers to process
images, sound, text and other non-numerical forms of data, all of it depends on nothing more than
basic numerical calculations. Graphics, sound etc. are merely abstractions of the numbers being
crunched within the machine; in digital computers these are the ones and zeros, representing
electrical on and off states, and endless combinations of those. In other words every image, every
sound, and every word have a corresponding binary code.
While abacus may have technically been the first computer most people today associate the word
computer with electronic computers which were invented in the last century, and have evolved into
modern computers we know of today.

ENIAC

First Generation Computers (1940s 1950s)

First electronic computers used vacuum tubes, and they were huge and complex. The first general
purpose electronic computer was the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer). It was
digital, although it didnt operate with binary code, and was reprogrammable to solve a complete
range of computing problems. It was programmed using plugboards and switches, supporting input
from an IBM card reader, and output to an IBM card punch. It took up 167 square meters, weighed 27
tons, and consuming 150 kilowatts of power. It used thousands of vacuum tubes, crystal diodes,
relays, resistors, and capacitors.
The first non-general purpose computer was ABC (AtanasoffBerry Computer), and other similar
computers of this era included german Z3, ten British Colossus computers, LEO, Harvard Mark I, and
UNIVAC.

IBM 1401

Second Generation Computers (1955 1960)

The second generation of computers came about thanks to the invention of the transistor, which then
started replacing vacuum tubes in computer design. Transistor computers consumed far less power,
produced far less heat, and were much smaller compared to the first generation, albeit still big by
todays standards.

The first transistor computer was created at the University of Manchester in 1953. The most popular of
transistor computers was IBM 1401. IBM also created the first disk drive in 1956, the IBM 350 RAMAC.

Third Generation Computers (1960s)

IBM System/360

The invention of the integrated circuits (ICs), also known as microchips, paved the way for computers
as we know them today. Making circuits out of single pieces of silicon, which is a semiconductor,
allowed them to be much smaller and more practical to produce. This also started the ongoing process
of integrating an ever larger number of transistors onto a single microchip. During the sixties
microchips started making their way into computers, but the process was gradual, and second
generation of computers still held on.
First appeared minicomputers, first of which were still based on non-microchip transistors, and later
versions of which were hybrids, being based on both transistors and microchips, such as IBMs
System/360. They were much smaller, and cheaper than first and second generation of computers,
also known as mainframes. Minicomputers can be seen as a bridge between mainframes and
microcomputers, which came later as the proliferation of microchips in computers grew.

Fourth Generation Computers (1971 present)

First microchips-based central processing units consisted of multiple microchips for different CPU
components. The drive for ever greater integration and miniaturization led towards single-chip CPUs,
where all of the necessary CPU components were put onto a single microchip, called a microprocessor.
The first single-chip CPU, or a microprocessor, was Intel 4004.
The advent of the microprocessor spawned the evolution of the microcomputers, the kind that would
eventually become personal computers that we are familiar with today.

First Generation of Microcomputers (1971 1976)

Altair 8800

First microcomputers were a weird bunch. They often came in kits, and many were essentially just
boxes with lights and switches, usable only to engineers and hobbyists whom could understand binary
code. Some, however, did come with a keyboard and/or a monitor, bearing somewhat more
resemblance to modern computers.
It is arguable which of the early microcomputers could be called a first. CTC Datapoint 2200 is one
candidate, although it actually didnt contain a microprocessor (being based on a multi-chip CPU
design instead), and wasnt meant to be a standalone computer, but merely a terminal for the
mainframes. The reason some might consider it a first microcomputer is because it could be used as a
de-facto standalone computer, it was small enough, and its multi-chip CPU architecture actually
became a basis for the x86 architecture later used in IBM PC and its descendants. Plus, it even came
with a keyboard and a monitor, an exception in those days.
However, if we are looking for the first microcomputer that came with a proper microprocessor, was
meant to be a standalone computer, and didnt come as a kit then it would be Micral N, which used
Intel 8008 microprocessor.
Popular early microcomputers which did come in kits include MOS Technology KIM-1, Altair 8800, and
Apple I. Altair 8800 in particular spawned a large following among the hobbyists, and is considered the
spark that started the microcomputer revolution, as these hobbyists went on to found companies
centered around personal computing, such as Microsoft, and Apple.

Second Generation Microcomputers (1977 present)

Commodore PET2001 (Image by Tomislav Medaklicensed under CC-BY-SA).

As microcomputers continued to evolve they became easier to operate, making them accessible to a
larger audience. They typically came with a keyboard and a monitor, or could be easily connected to a
TV, and they supported visual representation of text and numbers on the screen.
In other words, lights and switches were replaced by screens and keyboards, and the necessity to
understand binary code was diminished as they increasingly came with programs that could be used
by issuing more easily understandable commands. Famous early examples of such computers include
Commodore PET, Apple II, and in the 80s the IBM PC.
The nature of the underlying electronic components didnt change between these computers and
modern computers we know of today, but what did change was the number of circuits that could be
put onto a single microchip. Intels co-founder Gordon Moore predicted the doubling of the number of
transistor on a single chip every two years, which became known as Moores Law, and this trend has
roughly held for over 30 years thanks to advancing manufacturing processes and microprocessor
designs.
The consequence was a predictable exponential increase in processing power that could be put into a
smaller package, which had a direct effect on the possible form factors as well as applications of
modern computers, which is what most of the forthcoming paradigm shifting innovations in computing
were about.

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Macintosh 128k (Image by All About Apple museum licensed under CC-BY-SA-2.5-it)

Possibly the most significant of those shifts was the invention of the graphical user interface, and the
mouse as a way of controlling it. Doug Engelbart and his team at the Stanford Research Lab developed
the first mouse, and a graphical user interface, demonstrated in 1968. They were just a few years
short of the beginning of the personal computer revolution sparked by the Altair 8800 so their idea
didnt take hold.
Instead it was picked up and improved upon by researchers at the Xerox PARC research center, which
in 1973 developed Xerox Alto, the first computer with a mouse-driven GUI. It never became a
commercial product, however, as Xerox management wasnt ready to dive into the computer market
and didnt see the potential of what they had early enough.
It took Steve Jobs negotiating a stocks deal with Xerox in exchange for a tour of their research center
to finally bring the user friendly graphical user interface, as well as the mouse, to the masses. Steve
Jobs was shown what Xerox PARC team had developed, and directed Apple to improve upon it. In
1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh, the first mass-market computer with a graphical user interface
and a mouse.
Microsoft later caught on and produced Windows, and the historic competition between the two
companies started, resulting in improvements to the graphical user interface to this day.
Meanwhile IBM was dominating the PC market with their IBM PC, and Microsoft was riding on their
coat tails by being the one to produce and sell the operating system for the IBM PC known as DOS
or Disk Operating System. Macintosh, with its graphical user interface, was meant to dislodge IBMs
dominance, but Microsoft made this more difficult with their PC-compatible Windows operating system
with its own GUI.

Portable Computers

Powerbook 150 (Image by Dana Sibera licensed under CC-BY-SA.)

As it turned out the idea of a laptop-like portable computer existed even before it was possible to
create one, and it was developed at Xerox PARC by Alan Kay whom called it the Dynabook and
intended it for children. The first portable computer that was created was the Xerox Notetaker, but
only 10 were produced.
The first laptop that was commercialized was Osborne 1 in 1981, with a small 5 CRT monitor and a
keyboard that sits inside of the lid when closed. It ran CP/M (the OS that Microsoft bought and based
DOS on). Later portable computers included Bondwell 2 released in 1985, also running CP/M, which
was among the first with a hinge-mounted LCD display. Compaq Portable was the first IBM PC
compatible computer, and it ran MS-DOS, but was less portable than Bondwell 2. Other examples of
early portable computers included Epson HX-20, GRiD compass, Dulmont Magnum, Kyotronic 85,
Commodore SX-64, IBM PC Convertible, Toshiba T1100, T1000, and T1200 etc.
The first portable computers which resemble modern laptops in features were Apples Powerbooks,
which first introduced a built-in trackball, and later a trackpad and optional color LCD screens. IBMs
ThinkPad was largely inspired by Powerbooks design, and the evolution of the two led to laptops and
notebook computers as we know them. Powerbooks were eventually replaced by modern MacBook
Pros.
Of course, much of the evolution of portable computers was enabled by the evolution of
microprocessors, LCD displays, battery technology and so on. This evolution ultimately allowed
computers even smaller and more portable than laptops, such as PDAs, tablets, and smartphones.