Who Invented the Personal Computer (PC)

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There were many people that helped invent the computer. It was a collective process that occurred over time.

For many of the younger generation, having a computer around is natural. However, it hasn't always been that way for the older generations. The computer may be a relatively new invention that has revolutionized this technological era we live in, but it was actually first thought of in 1837 when am British professor of mathematics described his idea for the Analytical Engine, the first stored-program mechanical computer. Charles Babbage was this professor's name. The Analytical Engine was designed to be powered by a steam engine and was to use Punched Cards, which was used to program mechanical looms at the time.

What made the Analytical Engine unique was that it was designed to be programmed. It was because of this and the fact that it would be more than 100 years that any similar devices would be constructed, Charles Babbage, would be considered by many as the "father of computing". Because of legal, financial, and political obstacles, the Analytical Machine would never be completed. Charles Babbage was also difficult to work with and alienated the supporters of his work.

So, although Babbage didn't have it totally correct, he had the idea there. It wasn't until 1939 that John V. Atanasoff and Clifford Berry developed the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) atIowa State University, which was regarded as the first electronic digital computer. The ABC was built by hand and the design used over 300 Vacuum Tubes and had capacitors fixed in a mechanically rotating drum for memory.

However in 143, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) is widely considered to be first functionally useful electronic general-purpose computer. The ABC computer influenced the ENIAC and was the turning point in the history of computing and was used to perform ballistics trajectory calculations and used 160 kW of power. World War II is known to be the driving force of computing hardware development and one of such use of computers was in communications encryption and decryption.

The first commercially available computer is the UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) made by the Remington Rand in the USA and was delivered to the US Census BureauIn June 1951. It used 5,200 vacuum tubes and consumed 125 kW of power. 46 machines were sold at more than $1 million each.

The mass-produced, bulky UNIVAC eventually led to the development of the microcomputer that is similar to what we currently have now: small, low-cost computers that individuals and small businesses could afford. By the 1990s, the microcomputer or Personal Computer (PC) became a common household appliance, and became even more widespread with the advent of the Internet.

Basically, the answer to “Who Invented the Computer” is that many people did. The invention was a collective process that occurred over the course of history. Together, many inventors, companies, and agencies, from the ancients to the moderns, invented the computer. Not just one intellectual, mathematical, or technological development, but on a series of them.

No matter how many people helped come up with the invention, the fact is that it has now become an integral part of our lives. CBT Planet offers a variety of computer based training courses that you can take to enhance your knowledge on anything from IT certifications, soft skills and desktop programs. CBT training is great for busy people since it allows them the convenience of learning on their own time. Computer training courses from CBT Planet also offer a quality education since they are taught by certified experts in the industry.