Every person born today will be exposed to computers sometime in their lifetime. These number crunching machines can be found at work, school, and even at home. The computers have many applications other than game playing. Some of these uses include word processing, exploring the internet, e-mailing friends and family, and storing files.
Computer science is a relatively young field of study. Computers first appeared just over 50 years ago with the introduction of the ENIAC during World War II. ENIAC bore little resemblance to computers of today. It was a room-sized monster composed of vacuum tubes. It weighed approximately 30 tons and consumed 140 kilowatts of power. It was supposed to calculate trajectory tables for artillery but was not fully operational until after the war.
Computers have come a long way since the 1940's. They are smaller, faster and cheaper. A concise history of computing is presented as a timeline at the Computer Museum. Another site specializing in computer history is History of Microcomputers.. To take a closer look at the "brain" of the computer, the microprocessor, follow this link to the Great Microprocessors of the Past and Present.
Do such words as disk drive and hard drive confuse you? There
are two web sites where you can find definitions of these terms
and many others. Gateway Computers has a site designed to help
perspective customers find their way through the maze of terminology
Gateway 2000 Glossary Page.
There is also a Dictionary of Computing
available on line. Simply enter the word you wish to find and
then hit search, the definition will quickly be found.
Other links: