The Evolution of Computing Technology

Autodidactic individuals have caused immense monoeuvres in the computing industry over the past years. These individuals’ success was much seen in the nineteenth century. That is why this paper seeks to establish the gradual development of computing technology and show the importance it has on this planet today.

Computers have generally evolved from large primitive machines to more sophisticated electronic machines which are smaller in size. For instance, according to Flynn on encyclopedia.com, the first computerized calculator which was referred to as ‘the analyzer’ developed in mid 1930s was so bulky that it weighed over 100 metric tons. Similarly, a calculator which was a pragmatic replicate of Babbage’s idea of a computer was developed and it’s said by Flynn to weigh between 5-6 tons. If we go by what we have currently, computers are very small and highly portable gadgets.

Another aspect that evolved is the programming technique. As Williams on ezinearticles.com explains, early computers were programmed by fixing different switches and altering the wiring systems. This process was difficult on machines which required mechanical accuracy and could take a couple of days. Flynn on the other hand says that programming was done using punched cards and tapes. The tapes could tear during a heavy task. This difficulty catalysed another essential innovation in computing .

A program which could be stored in the computer was made. According to “The Early History of Computers,” stored programs were brought about in 1949. Another decade later saw an evolution that led to replacement of the vacuum tubes with transistors which was an upper hand because the size of the computer greatly reduced as Blain reports. It was not long after that when third generation machines sprout out between 1960-’70. These ones are said by Mishra that they applied integrated circuit technology on a chip made from silicon and therefore outdid transistors.

More advanced computers were developed in 1970s up to 1990s. According to Mishra, they used dense integrated circuits on the same chip made from silicon. These computers were very fast and were fourth on the hierarchy. As Schulz puts it, minicomputers emerged and were much user friendly than mainframes. They used modern programming language that includes use of graphics such as in web designing. The most recent computers are ranked fifth and are supposed to process human speech through voice recognition as Mishra reports.

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In a nutshell, computing technology has come a long way. This is evident from the time when a computer weighed in tons. Also the evolution in programming language has made computers user friendly. We wait to see what the future has in computing field.