Assignment #1
Kristie LeGore
CIS120
1/18/04
Douglas C. Engelbart
Douglas Carl Engelbart is the director of Bootstrap Institute, his own company that promotes the concept of collective IQ. He invented or contributed to the computer mouse, windows, the Internet and much more.
Douglas Engelbart grew up during the Great Depression near Portland, Oregon. In 1942 after graduating from high school he went to Oregon State University to study electrical engineering
During the 60’s and 70’s he dedicated himself to creating a hypermedia groupware system called NLS (oNLine System), responsible for the computer mouse and windows. The first prototype computer mouse was made in 1964 to use with a graphical user interface (GUI), ‘windows’. In 1970 Douglas Engelbart patented the mouse, which was made from a wooden shell with two metal wheels described as an XY position indicator for a display system.
By changing the way computers worked, from highly specialized equipment that only trained scientists could operate, to a more user friendly system, Engelbart fulfilled his envision of seeing people being able to communicate and organize their ideas with speed and flexibility.
Source(s):
Inventors of the Modern Computer: The History of the Computer Mouse and the Prototype for Windows- Douglas Engelbart. 18 Aug. 1998.
Mary Bellis. 18 Jan. 2004
<http://inventors.about.com/weekly/aa081898.htm>
A lifetime pursuit: From a biographical sketch of Douglas C. Engelbart by Christina Engelbart. 24 Jun. 2003.
Bootstrap Institute. 18 Jan. 2004
<http://www.bootstrap.org/chronicle/chronicle.html>
Ada Byron Lovelace, best known as the first computer programmer, was the inspiration for the PASCAL based computer language, ADA. Her work became the leading text in describing the process now known as computer programming, when she wrote so profoundly about Charles Babbage’s “Analytical Engine”.
Born, the daughter of British poet, Lord Byron, in 1815 in London, Ada Byron Lovelace was a British mathematician and musician. Annabella Milbanke, her mother, encouraged her to study mathematics. After marrying Lord William King, Earl of Lovelace, and having three children, she died of cancer at the age of 36 in 1852.
Lovelace met Charles Babbage at the age of 18 and was invited to study his difference engine. She soon became an expert on Babbage’s work by asking questions and observing his design. Lovelace understood Babbage’s machine better than most of the older people with more experience than her, as he began to change his plans and design his analytical engine.
Being proficient for machines and yet easy to apply, ADA is a general-purpose language designed to be readable and easily maintained. ADA was custom-built by the U.S. Department of Defense, in the late 1970’s, with the intention of becoming an established language to take the place of the many specialized computer languages currently in use.
Source(s):
Ada Byron Lovelace: The First Computer Programmer.
Author Unknown. 18 Jan. 2004
<http://www.aimsedu.org/Math_History/Samples/ADA/Ada.html>
Konrad Zuse made the first binary computer and wrote the first algorithmic programming language. Working as one of the construction engineers for the Henschel Aircraft Company in Berlin, Germany at the beginning of World War II, he earned the semiofficial title of “inventor of the modern computer”.
Zuse was born June 22, 1910 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf, Germany.
In 1936, Zuse wanted to overcome the difficulty of doing large calculations with either mechanical calculations or the use of a slide rule. So, he had come to the realization that an automatic-calculator tool would call for three basic elements: a control, a memory, and a calculator for the arithmetic. He made the first binary computer called the Z1.
In 1946, Zuse wrote ‘Plankalkül’, the first algorithmic programming language in which he used to program his computers. Using this program he wrote the world’s first chess playing program. Zuse’s series of automatic calculators helped him with his lengthy calculations along with the many inventions of his colleagues and successors.
Source(s):
Inventors of the Modern Computer: The First Freely Programmable Computer invented by Konrad Zuse. 2 May 1998.
Mary Bellis. 18 Jan. 2004
<http://www.inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa050298.htm>
Donald Knuth is the Professor Emeritus of The Art of Computer Programming at Stanford University. He is also the author of the landmark series “The Art of Computer Programming.”
Born in 1938, Donald Ervin Knuth is the son of Ervin Henry Knuth, a schoolteacher, and Louise Marie Bohning.
Recognized as the Father of Computer Science, Knuth published numerous papers in both computer science and mathematics. He developed LR parsing, or analyzing grammatical structure of sentences, theory that lead to the parser, or software for analyzing computer language, generators such as YACC (yet another compiler-compiler)
Knuth is best known for his TeX typesetting/literature program, the Megafont font generation program, and the five book series, ‘The Art of Computer Programming’, he wrote on the programs. After becoming dissatisfied with the typesetting technology he had to use while trying to complete his series of books, that summarized and analyzed the important algorithms for sequel computers, he wrote these programs not only to help himself, but to help others be productive as well.
Source(s):
<http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/>
<http://www.gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Knuth.html>
<http://laurel.actlab.utexas.edu/~cynbe/muq/muf3_20.html>
Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore are the founders of Intel Corporation. Intel Corporation is the leading manufacturer in microprocessors and integrated circuits.
In 1968, Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore were working as engineers for the Fairchild Semiconductor Company when they decided to quit and make their own company. Bob came up with the idea of the kind of company he wanted to start, wrote it down, and managed to convince San Francisco venture capitalist Art Rock to back them on their new project.
In the late 1960’s, many scientists were discussing the possibility of a computer on a chip that could integrate circuit technology. Intel’s Ted Hoff thought it to be possible. And the 4004 was the world’s first universal microprocessor.
In November 1971, Intel introduced to the public the world’s first single chip microprocessor. Invented by Intel engineers Federico Faggin, Ted Hoff, and Stan Mazor. The 4004 took the integrated circuit and placed all the parts that made a computer think on one small chip. Programming intelligence into inanimate objects had become possible. Source(s):
Inventors of the Modern Computer: Intel 4004-The World’s First Single chip Microprocessor. 29 Sept. 1998.
Mary Bellis. 18 Jan. 2004
<http://www.inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa092998.htm>