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Computer

A computer is a general purpose device that can be programmed to carry out a finite set of arithmetic or logical operations. Since a sequence of operations can be readily changed, the computer can solve more than one kind of problem.

History of computing

Main article: History of computing hardware

The Jacquard loom, on display at theMuseum of Science and Industry in Manchester,
 England, was one of the first programmable devices.

The first use of the word “computer” was recorded in 1613 in a book called “The yong mans gleanings” by English writer Richard Braithwait I haue read the truest computer of Times, and the best Arithmetician that euer breathed, and he reduceth thy dayes into a short number. It referred to a person who carried out calculations, or computations, and the word continued with the same meaning until the middle of the 20th century. From the end of the 19th century the word began to take on its more familiar meaning, a machine that carries out computations.

Limited-function early computers:

The history of the modern computer begins with two separate technologies, automated calculation and programmability. 

Blaise Pascal invented the mechanical calculator in 1642, known as Pascal's calculator.

 The Greek mathematician Hero of Alexandria (c. 10–70 AD) built a mechanical theater which performed a play lasting 10 minutes and was operated by a complex system of ropes and drums that might be considered to be a means of deciding which parts of the mechanism performed which actions and when. This is the essence of programmability.

First general-purpose computers

In 1801, Joseph Marie Jacquard made an improvement to 

the textile loom by introducing a series of punched 

paper cards as a template which allowed his loom to

 weave intricate patterns automatically. The resulting

Jacquard loom was an important step in the development

of computers because the use of punched cards to define

woven patterns can be viewed as an early, albeit limited, 

form of programmability.

Computer network:

A computer network or data network is a telecommunications network that allows computers to exchange data. The physical connection between networked computing devices is established using either cable media or wireless media. The best-known computer network is theInternet.

History

• In September 1940, George Stibitz used a teletype to send instructions for a problem set from his Model at Dartmouth College to hisComplex Number Calculator in New York and received results back by the same means.
• In the late 1950s, early networks of communicating computers included the military radar system Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE).
• In 1960, the commercial airline reservation system semi-automatic business research environment (SABRE) went online with two connected mainframes.
• In 1962, J.C.R. Licklider developed a working group he called the "Intergalactic Computer Network", a precursor to the ARPANET, at the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA).
• In 1964, researchers at Dartmouth developed the Dartmouth Time Sharing System for distributed users of large computer systems. The same year, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a research group supported by General Electric and Bell Labs used a computer to route and manage telephone connections.
• Throughout the 1960s, Leonard Kleinrock, Paul Baran and Donald Davies independently conceptualized and developed network systems which used packets to transfer information between computers over a network.
• In 1965, Thomas Marill and Lawrence G. Roberts created the first wide area network (WAN). This was an immediate precursor to theARPANET, of which Roberts became program manager.
• Also in 1965, the first widely used telephone switch that implemented true computer control was introduced by Western Electric.
• In 1969, the University of California at Los Angeles, the Stanford Research Institute, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah were connected as the beginning of the ARPANET network using 50 kbit/s circuits.
• In 1972, commercial services using X.25 were deployed, and later used as an underlying infrastructure for expanding TCP/IP networks.
• In 1973, Robert Metcalfe wrote a formal memo at Xeroc PARC describing Ethernet, a networking system that was based on the Aloha network, developed in the 1960s byNorman Abramson and colleagues at the University of Hawaii. In July 1976, Robert Metcalfe and David Boggs published their paper "Ethernet: Distributed Packet Switching for Local Computer Networks" and collaborated on several patents received in 1977 and 1978. In 1979, Robert Metcalfe pursued making Ethernet an open standard.
• In 1976, John Murphy of Datapoint Corporation created ARCNET, a token-passing network first used to share storage devices.
• In 1995, the transmission speed capacity for Ethernet was increased from 10 Mbit/s to 100 Mbit/s. By 1998, Ethernet supported transmission speeds of a Gigabit. The ability of Ethernet to scale easily (such as quickly adapting to support new fiber optic cable speeds) is a contributing factor to its continued use today.