The History Of Computing
By Archie Senior
Alan Turing and the First Computers
In 1936, a man called Alan Turing dreamt up a thinking machine. He called this an 'imaginary machine.' It read symbols and processed them in tables.
During the war, Alan Turing worked on code breaking machines, and was part of the team building the 'Colossus' computer at Bletchley Park.
After the war, Turing worked on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and helped build more computers.
He believed that one day machines would take over the world.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee and the World Wide Web
Tim Berners-Lee invented the WWW (World Wide Web) in the 1980's. He worked at CERN (The European Organisation for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Tim Berners-Lee wanted to link all information (hypertext (HTTP)).
Hypertext was already used in CDs and databases.
So he invented the internet which linked hypertext documents across linked computers.
Computers
Computers are devices that can be programmed to do logical thinking operations. Computers can solve more than one type of operation at once. Modern computers are millions of times more able than the first computers, when Alan Turing worked on computers.
CPU
CPU stands for Central Processing Unit. It is like a brain in the computer.
RAM
RAM stands for Random Access Memory. This is where the computer works out how to solve the problem that it is tasked with.
Hard Drive
The Hard Drive stores data which can be deleted. It is the main storage unit.
Monitor
A monitor is a display for computers. It is basically a screen.
Keyboard
The keyboard is an assortion of keys that have letters, numbers and symbols on them.
Motherboard
A Motherboard is sometimes known as a mainboard or a system board, and is the printed circuit board in computers.
Mouse
A mouse is a scrolling device used for moving around the screen and getting to search engines etc.
Optical Drive
An optical drive is a disk that uses laser light as part of the process that reads and writes on a computer.
Inputs + Outputs
Inputs and outputs such as a keyboard sends information into the memory in the computer, which transfers information with the CPU. That sends the information out to an output such as a monitor