3.8 Early
Electronic Computers
The first electronic
computer was ENIAC ( Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator) in 1946.
This computer used vacuum tubes.
When the transistor
was developed in 1947 a different type of computer was made in 1958 which was
much smaller than ENIAC.
Integrated circuits
(ICs) also helped make computers smaller.
Personal computers
became popular in late 70s
True or
False? Write out the true sentences and change the false sentences so that they
are true.
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ENIAC was 30m long, 3m high, and contained 18000 vacuum tubes. |
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The first electronic computer was EDVAC. |
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The first commercially available electronic computer was UNIVAC. |
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John von Neumann perfected the first transistor. |
Computers made after 1966 used an integrated circuit for improved performance. |
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The first popular computer was the Altair. |
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The first Apple computer had no memory, no keyboard, no display and no printer. |
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The IBM-PC offered 16Kb of RAM and was based on the 6502 8-bit microprocessor. |
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The 80386 microprocessor uses a 32-bit data bus. |
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The Mackintosh computer was one of the first personal computers to feature a GUI. |
True or
False? Write out the true sentences and change the false sentences so that they
are true.
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Mainframes are the fastest and most powerful type of computer. |
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ALU stands for Arithmetic Load Unit. |
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The QWERTY keyboard has the most efficient keyboard layout. |
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The cursor can change shape, depending on the program being used, and the task to be performed. |
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CRT is the monitor technology used by most personal computers. |
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A mouse is an output device. |
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A dot matrix printer produces a higher quality output compared with a laser printer. |
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The software stored in a ROM is called firmware. |
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Sequential access to data is slow compared with direct access. |