Discover the History of Computers: A Brief Review

Although many people think of computers as a new idea enabled by new technology, computer history dates back though many centuries, although computers are much different now than they were the past. Generally accepted as the oldest known computer, the Greek Antikythera mechanism dates to the centuries before Christ and shows us that brilliant people existed long before we ever came on the scene.

The local calendar on the Antikythera was synchronized with the stars and created the scheduling for the Olympics. This computer worked by turning a handle that rotated a complicated series of gears. This was in fact the first "green" computer, seeing that it consumed no electricity and caused no negative impact to the environment.

Centuries later, the Germans exhibited a powerful computer called the Z1, invented by Konrad Zuse. This unit worked with binary mathematics and performed one computation per second. Like the Antikythera, this computer was mechanical, not electronic, although the Z1 was equipped with an electric motor.

World War II bombers destroyed the Z1, but an aging Zuse finished building a replica of his computer in 1986 which now is displayed in the German Technology Museum.

The first American computer came from Bell Labs in 1937 and used relays and switches to drive its computations. This computer, called the Model K, became the first remotely accessed computer in history when it was programmed via teletype in 1940.

Some consider Harvard's Mark II as the first modern computer. It made history by establishing one term that has become a ubiquitous part of computer jargon ever since: the computer bug. In 1947, the computer was not working properly and was not producing reliable outputs. Technicians traced the problem to a moth that got stuck in a relay, preventing it from closing its connection. Humanity has been plagued by computer "bugs" ever since.

Although the technology of our era is impressive, keep those humans form countless generations before us who made the innovations that ultimately laid the foundation for the computers we all enjoy today.