Computer and Games History Part 1: The dawn of a new age

Most people think that computers are a very new thing that came into existence at the end of the 20th century. So did I. That was until recently because in an early morning lecture as I fought with my body which was demanding for more sleep I heard something I thought was pretty awesome. Entirely mechanical computers have existed since the 1800's, these machines used punch cards similar to the type used in early electrical computers. The Difference engine is the first one and was designed by a mathematician named Charles Babbage, this was just a calculator and sadly was never built which is a shame especially as it turns out it would have worked because some museums have ones made following the designs.

Upon further inspection of Charles Babbage's story is that he was a product of the industrial revolution and like many key figures in that time strived to improve the way work was done. Making systems less prone to error or have increased efficiency is part of this time period. The problem that lead to the difference engine was that of the fact that previously the only way to do a calculation was that you had to do it yourself. Things like the Abacus did help but for the complicated calculations needed for scientific research and navigation meant that many mistakes could be made.

If you want to find out ore about Babbage this article is quite nice:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/object_feb96.html?c=y&page=2

Babbage sought to remove this problem and make things better. This attitude of improvement is the story of computing as all the time computers are getting faster, smaller and sleeker. with more possible programs. This changes many of things in our lives by allowing new medical systems or scientific advancements that lead to faster cars, new cheaper ways of making pretty much everything we have and then allowing us to create new inventions.

Anyway lets stick to the development of computers...

Mechanical computers were built after Babbage's death. The next major steps in computing were made in the run-up to and during the second world war as electro-mechanical and electric computers were used to crack codes or perform calculations for logistics. The Colossus was one such machine made by the allies to break coded messages sent by the axis.

After the war computers were being used more and more by businesses and governments to do many different tasks.Companies like IBM made it that computers were a part of the system. The next major change was that of computers being made smaller. As technology improved and more complex machines could be made using cheaper materials the size of the machines decreased but they still increased in power. Many computer companies started form creating personalized computers for the new expanding market that moved computers from the workplace to the home. The ZX Spectrum is a good example of one of these new computers for the home.

This ends our first part of this subject. This brief timeline of how computers changed from mechanical to electric and then from large to small sets up the way modern computers are made. next section will be focused more on computers and the games consoles of the 80's and 90's.

References:

http://www.computersciencelab.com/ComputerHistory/HistoryPt3.htm
By John Koplin 2002

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/object_feb96.html?c=y&page=1
By Edward Parks 1996

Images:

http://www.computerhistory.org/babbage/
 Doran Swade 2005

http://www.colossus-computer.com/images/030109-49.jpg

http://zxspectrum48.i-demo.pl/hardpics_pliki/sinclair_zx-spectrum_3-4_hr.jpg