The development of computers received a great push during WW2, with the need to create secure encrypted messages and to break codes for military intelligence. The first mechanical computers were developed in the 19th century, but were always limited by the size of the mechanism and the precision with which it could be manufactured. The last, and arguably the most elegant of these, was the Curta calculator. It was developed by Curt Herzstark, then a prisoner in the Buchenwald concentration camp during WW2. Both Mr. Herzstark and his calculator survived the war. The Z2, built by Konrad Zuse in Germany in 1939, could be considered the first electro-mechanical computer. The Z2 evolved from the Z1, a highly sophisticated mechanical computer built in 1936. The Z3 followed in 1941 and featured many elements found in modern computers. All of the Z prototypes were destroyed during WW2. In the US, the ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer) electro-mechanical computer was built in 1942. Development was never completed and it was later dismantled. The Harvard Mark I arrived in 1944. It was designed by Howard Aiken and Grace Hopper, who was one of the great early pioneers of computer development. It also was an electro-mechanical computer. The first electronic computer was the ENIAC (Electrical Numerical Integrator And Calculator), designed by John Mauchly and John Eckert. It weighed some 30 tons and incorporated some 19,000 vacuum tubes and 1,500 relays. Construction was completed in 1945. It entered service in 1946 and was used until 1955. The world of computers changed in 1947 with the invention of the transistor by AT&T Bell Telephone Laboratories. The transistor had several advantages over the vacuum tube previously used in computers. They were cheaper, faster, more compact, ran cooler, and more reliable for long term operation. The first computer to exploit this new technology was the UNIVAC (UNIVersal Automatic Computer), which went into service in 1951. Since 46 UNIVACs were built and sold, it is also considered the world's first production computer. The first non-government UNIVAC computer sold went to General Electric. IBM entered the scene with their 701 EDPM (Electronic Data Processing Machine) in 1953. The next major step was the development of the integrated circuit (IC). The first commercial ICs arrived in 1961. This was followed in 1971 with the development of the microprocessor (uP). This was a revolutionary development as it placed all of the basic components of a computer on one chip. The first uP was the Intel 4004. At the same time, the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was developing the minicomputer. The PDP-8, introduced in 1964, was considered the first true minicomputer. The PDP-8 led to the development of the incredibly successful 16-bit PDP-11. (The PDP-11 series were the first computers I spent a significant amount of time working with.) DEC developed the 32-bit VAX (Virtual Address eXtension) minicomputer in 1976. VAX minicomputers became extremely popular. The 8-bit microcomputer market was slowly developing for corporate and industrial use, followed by hobbyists. The first computers aimed at the general public were introduced in the 1970s. One of the first was the Altair 8800, introduced in 1974, which used the Intel 8080 uP. The first commercial software package available for the Altair was a BASIC interpreter, developed by Bill Gates and Paul Allen - the founders of Microsoft. The Altair 8800 was followed by the Apple I, Apple II, Commodore PET, and Radio Shack TRS-80, all extremely successful home computers. Many early computers used the CP/M (Control Program for Microcomputers) operating system. IBM introduced their first Personal Computer (PC) in 1981. It used the MS-DOS operating system, developed by Microsoft for the PC. This was an unusual step for IBM, which developed much of the software that ran on their computers in-house. IBM also made the internal details of the PC public and encouraged companies to develop products and software for it. The open-architecture of the PC was also popular with hobbyists.

"Who invented the computer?" is not a question with a simple answer. The real answer is that many inventors contributed to the history of computers and that a computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, each of which can be considered a separate invention. Konrad Zuse 1936 Konrad Zuse - Z1 Computer First freely programmable computer. 1942 John Atanasoff & Clifford Berry ABC Computer Who was first in the computing biz is not always as easy as ABC. 1944 Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper Harvard Mark I Computer The Harvard Mark 1 computer. 1946 John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly ENIAC 1 Computer 20,000 vacuum tubes later... 1948 Frederic Williams & Tom Kilburn Manchester Baby Computer & The Williams Tube Baby and the Williams Tube turn on the memories. 1947/48 John Bardeen, Walter Brattain & Wiliam Shockley The Transistor No, a transistor is not a computer, but this invention greatly affected the history of computers. 1951 John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly UNIVAC Computer First commercial computer & able to pick presidential winners. 1953 International Business Machines IBM 701 EDPM Computer IBM enters into 'The History of Computers'. 1954 John Backus & IBM FORTRAN Computer Programming Language The first successful high level programming language. 1955 (In Use 1959) Stanford Research Institute, Bank of America, and General Electric ERMA and MICR The first bank industry computer - also MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) for reading checks. 1958 Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce The Integrated Circuit Otherwise known as 'The Chip' 1962 Steve Russell & MIT Spacewar Computer Game The first computer game invented. 1964 Douglas Engelbart Computer Mouse & Windows Nicknamed the mouse because the tail came out the end. 1969 ARPAnet The original Internet. 1970 Intel 1103 Computer Memory The world's first available dynamic RAM chip. 1971 Faggin, Hoff & Mazor Intel 4004 Computer Microprocessor The first microprocessor. 1971 Alan Shugart &IBM The "Floppy" Disk Nicknamed the "Floppy" for its flexibility. 1973 Robert Metcalfe & Xerox The Ethernet Computer Networking Networking. 1974/75 Scelbi & Mark-8 Altair & IBM 5100 Computers The first consumer computers. 1976/77 Apple I, II & TRS-80 & Commodore Pet Computers More first consumer computers. 1978 Dan Bricklin & Bob Frankston VisiCalc Spreadsheet Software Any product that pays for itself in two weeks is a surefire winner. 1979 Seymour Rubenstein & Rob Barnaby WordStar Software Word Processors. 1981 IBM The IBM PC - Home Computer From an "Acorn" grows a personal computer revolution 1981 Microsoft MS-DOS Computer Operating System From "Quick And Dirty" comes the operating system of the century. 1983 Apple Lisa Computer The first home computer with a GUI, graphical user interface. 1984 Apple Macintosh Computer The more affordable home computer with a GUI. 1985 Microsoft Windows Microsoft begins the friendly war with Apple. source: http://inventors.about.com/library/blcoindex.htm author: Mary Bellis (Picture of Konrad Zuse (taken 14 years ago, 1992)

Charles Babbage is credited with originating the idea for a general purpose programmable computer in 1837. He never completed the mechanical device before his death, but it has been shown that the design was complete and would have worked. Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, created the first program for this machine in 1843, and is credited as being the first computer programmer.

I think it was Steve jobs or something, he invented the computer, and Bill Gates stole the idea from him.....that is now why Bill Gates is so rich, because he's a thief.

IBM was the first computer designer. It was a 'punch-card system' in 1933 which was used to help organize the nazi concentration camps.

Charles Babbage, 1791-1871 Source: http://www.faqfarm.com/Q/Who_invented_the_computer Many say the first computer is the "difference engine." The first of these devices was conceived in 1786 by J. H. Mueller. It was never built. Difference engines were forgotten and then rediscovered in 1822 by Charles Babbage. This machine used the decimal numbers system and was powered by cranking a handle. The British government first financed the project but then later cut off support. Babbage went on to design his much more general analytical engine but later returned and produced an improved design (his "Difference Engine No. 2") between 1847 and 1849. Others point out that this is the first ELECTRONIC computer. The earliest computer known is the Antikythera Machine, a mechanical device that computed the positions of the astrological signs on any given date, past or future. It was discovered in an ancient shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea and dates to approximately 250 BC. The designer/builder is not known, but because of its similarity to other mechanical devices known to have been designed by Archimedes, it is probably his work. Still others will say the abacus is the first computer. They were invented by the Chinese between 2400 BC and 300 BC is considered as the first computer ever. Abacus was used by the merchants and Clerks in China. Here is still more input: * If you mean Electronic Computer, It was a man called Alan Turing from Cambridge UK, Who was draughted in to Bletchley park secret base where they worked at cracking the WW2 enigma codes that the Germans used every day. The Germans changed their Enigma machines to a four digit code maker. However, Because what went on at Bletchley Park the computer made from thousands of valves was kept top secret up untill recently. The computer, named Colossus was smashed to peices at the end of the war. The buildings have now been restored as a tourist centre. * The first computer, or "modern computer" was invented in World War II by a German engineer, Konrad Zuse in 1941 called the Z3. More Info: "I can add some authenticity to this answer. My grandfather was a rocket scientist on Werner Von Braun's team during WWII. He was the technician who actually built the computer described above. It was an analog computer designed to simulate the guidance system for the rockets. It was built in secret because the higher-ups had not given their permission for this project." * After doing some reseach to answser a question for a scholarship I was applying for I found that Babbage failed to build a complete machine. The most widely accepted reason for this failure is that Victorian mechanical engineering were not sufficiently developed to produce parts with sufficient precision. * It was Konrad Zuse. He invented the z1, z2, z3, z4 and other ones. The z3 was the first fully functional program-controlled electromaechanical digital computer in the world-completed in 1941. Charles Babbage just made a mechanical computing machine. * "Who invented the computer?" is not a question with a simple answer. The real answer is that many inventors contributed to the history of computers and that a computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, each of which can be considered a separate invention. * The first electronic computer was invented by John Vincent Ansoff. He named it the Anatasoff Berry Computer, or the ABC. * Now, if we're talking technical knowledge and actual precursors to the PC - IBM may have accidentally spread it around when they allowed cloning of the PC architecture. But they were not the first. * These are all pre-IBM machines: MITS ALTAIR 8800, Apple II, TRS80, Attari 800 and the Commodore 64. * Purists who claim that the ALTAIR was not the first, will say it was 'Simon' by Berkley Enterprises, 1950, costing $300. * The first completely electronic computer was developed in England in 1943. It was known as Colossus. It took up 1,000 Sq. ft. weighed 30 tons/60,000 pounds. And took 150 kilowatts which is enough power to light up a small town. * The first computer was developed by Charles Babbage. It was called the Differencial and Analytical Engine. The programmer for this computer was Ada Lovelace (first programmer).

It's generally considered to be the mechanical Difference Engine, invented by Charles Babbage. However, the differential engine was not "turing complete" like modern computers, so it's claim to the title may be contested depending of how you define a computer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Difference_engine Incidentally, Babbage was working on the Analytic Engine, also mechanical, which would have been turing complete. Unfortunately it was never completed due to (I think) lack of funding.

"Who invented the computer?" is not a question with a simple answer. The real answer is that many inventors contributed to the history of computers and that a computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, each of which can be considered a separate invention. This series covers many of the major milestones in computer history (but not all of them) with a concentration on the history of personal home computers. The complete chart of inventors at: http://inventors.about.com/library/blcoindex.htm

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"Who invented the computer?" is not a question with a simple answer. The real answer is that many inventors contributed to the history of computers and that a computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, each of which can be considered a separate invention. Learn more about the topic by reading the article here: http://inventors.about.com/library/blcoindex.htm

I believe it's called the ENIAC, or The EMAC, one giant computer that took a bunch of power lol..ya that's all I got..sorry.

One of the first was actually created by IBM during WWII. It was a punchcard computer used by the NAZIs to keep track of people in concentration camps. I don't know if it's really "the first," but it at least makes the "fun fact" list.