The

for the modern computer user

In the beginning

Our universe created in a big bangPlanets formed from the remnants of dead

starsLife evolves on earthHumans invent beer (also agriculture,

pottery, etc.

Our universe created in a big bangPlanets formed from the remnants of dead

starsLife evolves on earthHumans invent beer (also agriculture,

pottery, etc.)

In the beginning

Then the computer was invented

The first programmable, digital electronic computers invented during WWII, first by the Germans, then by the English and Americans to aid the war effort.

Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator, built at the University of Pennsylvania for the War

Department.

What is a computer?

“A computer is a programmable machine that receives input, stores and manipulates data/information, and provides output in a useful format.” - Wikipedia

Mainframe Computer

Integrated Circuits

An integrated circuit (microchip) is a miniaturized electronic circuit. Integrated circuits are used in almost all electronic equipment in use today and have revolutionized the world of electronics.

The integrated circuit, which came into use in 1958, made the common home computer possible.

Moore’s Law

• “The number of transistors on integrated circuits (computer chips) doubles every two years.”

• Named for Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore. In a 1965 paper, he showed that this had been the trend since the invention of the computer chip in 1959, and predicted that it would continue for 10 years.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law

Law of nature, or self-fulfilling prophecy?

Moore’s law means:

• Computers get twice as fast

• Computers get twice as powerful

• Computers get less expensive

Image source: http://lifeboat.com/ex/technological.evolution

© 2002-2010 Lifeboat Foundation

Every two years…

And so do…

• Cell phones

• Digital cameras

• Hearing aids

• Computer components of everything from cars to washing machines to video game consoles

ARPANET – The birth of the internet

• The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network was developed by an agency of the US Dept. of Defense to enable communication between computers not physically connected.

• First message was sent Oct. 29, 1969.

Commemorative plaque at Stanford University

The Internet Grows

• Other projects were developed to share data between unconnected computers.

• They were standardized and connected. The term “internet” was first used in 1974.

• During the 1980s, networks were developed to connect computers in Europe and around the world.

The Home ComputerThe Home Computer

Apple Computer ad circa 1985

Source: http://christhis.com/archives/124/every-kid-should-have-an-apple-iic

Microsoft

Historic Microsoft photo of Paul Allen and Bill Gates on October 19, 1981 surrounded by PCs after signing a major contract with IBM to develop software for its upcoming PC line.

Copyrighted image. Source: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/leadership/gallery.mspx

• Microsoft Corporation established on April 4, 1975 to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800.

• In 1980, IBM contracted with Microsoft to develop DOS (Disk Operating System) for its upcoming line of personal computers.

• In 1984, the first version of Microsoft Windows was released.

• In 1990, Microsoft Office was released.

WWW – The worldwide web“A system of interlinked

hypertext documents accessed via the Internet.”

"The World-Wide Web (W3) was developed to be a pool of human knowledge, and human culture, which would allow collaborators in remote sites to share their ideas and all aspects of a common project."

Launched - 1998

Stated mission: “To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.“

Unofficial slogan: “Don't be evil.”

• Google’s principal product is the GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE, which competes with other search engines such as Yahoo, AOL and Bing.

• Other Google products include Gmail, Picasa and other free internet services.

• Google revenue is derived principally through online advertising.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a mostly free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 17 million articles (over 3.5 million in English) have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world, and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site. Wikipedia was launched in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger and has become the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet.