Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Tongue lashing lecture

Week 2 Lecture: Before I forget, here is a post about the tongue lashing lecture we experienced about the history of the computer and the internet. I say tongue lashing as an emphasis on the amount of information piled into our heads within the tiny space of an hour.

Well, the first computers date back to the time of Charles Babbage in the 19th century. Babbage designed the 'Difference Engine' which calculated and printed mathematical tables. It wasn't until the 70's though that a cascade of developments began. 1975 brought about the release of the very first PC (personal computer) and then Bill Gates dropped out of uni to write a language for the Altair system called BASIC. He then (from the confinements of his garage) started to market his program though a little company called Microsoft and by the end of 1975 more companies had jumped on the bandwagon and joined the PC industry. 
What next? Apple! From bite size to un-bite-able the company was fathered by the likes of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. They produced the 'Apple I' and sold it for $666.60 US. Within two years and at the age of 25 Steve Jobs was worth over $100 million and the PC turned from a toy into a business tool. Thank god for Apple right? My Macbook Pro is my baby!

Anyway to further this history of the computer I actually took the time to visit a few links from the 'suggested reading' section of the NCT09-GC post.
The third link led me to a page called 'Triumph of the Nerds: A History of the computer'. The name itself was a little daunting but I continued to plow on through its depths. No there was no depths, just more links that uncovered some concrete facts as to how computer technology has transformed from the simple counting aid called the Abacus in 3000 B.C. to what we now fixate as part of our lives, the Internet. At first I would have said the world wide web, but the lipstick red words from the lectures post just screamed at me 

"It is important to understand that the internet is not the same thing as the web."

And yes in my ignorance I have learned that the web is just one part of the broader internet which includes many other things as well as the Web. It's ever expanding and it's an infinite source! Who knows where it will take us in the future! I think my summary here is done. Just a quick insight into what I have managed to take away from the lecture.

Below are some links to timelines, looking at both - the history of the computer and the history of the internet. Go feed your brains with some history! I found these very useful in accompanying the lecture notes!



No comments:

Post a Comment