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Computer Timeline

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by rjbailey

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I downloaded your Computer Timeline file and opened it with interest.

Whoever designed this has completely ignored any computing developments that have occurred outside the USA. Let me enlighten you.

The poster shows the IBM development of punch card control of machines. This inclusion is used as the baseline for my comments which include mechanical computing techniques and machines.

The first recorded form of computing must be the Chinese Abacus developed thousands of years ago and still used today.

The next significant development was the punch card system by Hollarith in the 17/18th century (not by IBM).

The first true computing machine was developed by Babbage at Cambridge University in, I think, the early 1800s. This was the basis of mechanical calculators, adding machines and shop tills. These mechanical devices are still used in many parts of the world today.

The first electronic computer was the 'Bombe'. This was developed by the British Security Services before and during the Second World War and was used to break the German Enigma Codes. All German Government and Military messages were encoded using an electrical code machine, itself a form of computer. This was developed and patented by a Swiss gentleman who's name I cannot remember. The Germans believed the Enigma Codes to be unbreakable. At the beginning of the war their messages were being read on a sporadic basis. Refinements to the 'Bombe' during the war allowed all German messages to be decoded on a daily basis.

So if you wish to be historically correct you should include the above in the poster. As you can see the likes of IBM and other companies were very late in entering the computing field.

Thank you,

Roy Bailey.

2 replies

by mrbill-

Some of us Yanks think we invented the world.

It is very IBM/Apple oriented. It does not mention a lot of the early equipment it should, especially Babbage?s computing device, the Difference Engine. Herman Hollerith, founder of the Hollerith Tabulating Company(later part of IBM), helped build an early punch card reader for the US 1890 Census. Blaise Pascal?s 1642 machine. To name but a few.

by hal 9000

Which was designed and manfactured in Australia by the CSIRO some time between 1942 and 1945 when it first was used in any form and it continued to work till the mid 70's when it was finially mothballed in favour of something newer and easier to use, but it has since been donated to the Melbourne Power House Musum for display purposes only as they are too scared of it breaking if they where actually to apply power to it but I think thta it would fuction correctly as it was assembled correctly with the assistance of some of the last tech's who maintained the unit before its decominsioning and like everything built in that time it was made to last and even though it is slow and very big it works along the same lines as the modern computer but without the Silicon technology that is currently in vouge.

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