The fascinating computer invention expedition is spread from Abacus to ENIAC. It started in ancient times, leading to the development of the digital computer ENIAC in 1945. Although we know, Charles Babbage as the inventor of computers, he did not succeed to build his mechanical difference engine. In addition to him, several inventors like (i) Ada Lovelace, (ii) Per Georg Scheutz, (iii) Herman Hollerith, (iv) Vannevar Bush, (v) Alan Turing, (vi) John Vincent Atanasoff, (vii) Konrad Zuse, and (viii) Joseph Marie Jacquard made a substantial contribution to the invention of computer.
Often, we cite the name of Charles Babbage as the inventor of the computer. Perhaps, it’s unfair to give full credit to him. Numerous creative works of many genii have culminated in the invention of computer. Hence, who invented the computer gets a long list of names. Like many other great ideas, the invention of computer also demanded a Flow of Ideas from many creative individuals.
The invention of the computer is the journey of automating number-crunching jobs. For sure, automation has been killing number-crunching jobs. But it has also been empowering human beings to generate and deploy ideas to create and expand Wealth creation windows. Furthermore, building machines for automating number-crunching better has been changing technology core, resulting in the Reinvention of computers. The reinvention of the next-generation computer from the new technology core has been destroying jobs and firms engaged in building machines out of the previous technology core.
Expedition of invention through Creative Destruction:
As human beings have the urge to build increasingly more powerful computing machines, consuming less material and energy, the journey of computer invention is endless. Hence, this journey has been causing dynamics in technology invention, advancement, and obsolesce. Besides, computer invention has caused destruction to products, jobs, and firms. Consequently, the invention of computer has been transforming society with stress and pain.
The invention of computer begins with the abacus in ancient times:
Due to the endless desire to get number-crunching jobs done better, human beings are after finding computing machines. As per recorded history, the journey of building the machine for automating number crunching began with the invention of the abacus. Abacus or counting frame has been in use since ancient times.
The basic idea is to have rows of movable beads (representing digits) or similar objects strung on a wire. With the help of an abacus, we can manipulate numbers to operate, such as addition, substruction, division, multiplication, or even a square or cubic root. In addition to automation, the abacus also helps develop a high-level cognitive skill that runs calculations with a practical algorithm.
The exact origin is yet to be known. Among different variations, the Sumerian abacus appeared between 2700–2300 BC.
The invention of computer by Joseph Marie Jacquard as loom:
For simplifying the process of manufacturing textiles with complex patterns, Mr. Jacquard invented a loom in 1804. Holes in pasteboard cards represent the patterns—each card corresponding to one row of the design. Hence, many cards that compose the textile design are strung together in order. The rest of the machine reads these cards and waves the fabric with patterns. Despite its invention more than 300 years ago, the Jacquard loom has a very close resemblance to modern computers. Furthermore, it was the first invention of industrial machinery with computing capability. In addition to improving productivity, Jacquard’s invention of the computer made it relatively easy to produce complex patterns in fabrics.
Besides, in the 1880s and 1890s, Herman Hollerith used punched cards with his tabulators. IBM improved it further and introduced punched cards with rectangular holes and 80 columns in 1928. Interestingly, this invention, having roots in the Jacquard loom, became a significant source of revenue and profit for IBM. As late as 1955, IBM found this invention as a source of 20 percent revenue and an astonishing 30 percent profit.
Charles Babbage’s invention of computer as Difference Engine:
Humans had to provide energy in operating both the abacus and Jacquard loom. Hence, Baggage should get the credit to bring automation in number crunching. In 1821, he conceived the design of a calculating machine to operate with steam instead of human labor. The purpose was to automate the computation of tables of numbers. Subsequently, the British government funded the project. But due to a lack of technology capability, he could not implement his design.
From Charles Babbage to ENIAC: 1821-1945
After Charges Babbage until the invention of ENIAC, some notable contributions were made by inventors like (i) Ada Lovelace, (ii) Per Georg Scheutz, (iii) Herman Hollerith, (iv) Vannevar Bush (v) Alan Turing, (vi) John Vincent Atanasoff, and (vii) Konrad Zuse.
Till 1937, the idea of inventing the computing machine was around mechanical technology core. EvenTuring-Welchman Bombe was an electro-mechanical device. In 1937, John Vincent Atanasoff took the initiative to build the first electric-only computer without using gears, cams, belts, or shafts. Subsequently, Atanasoff and his graduate student, Clifford Berry, made the first computer to store information on its main memory. It was capable of performing one operation every 15 seconds.
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC), in 1945, was the first digital computer. It was the first “automatic, general-purpose, electronic, decimal, digital computer,” according to Edwin D. Reilly’s book. It was an electronic machine. ENIAC had more than 17,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors, 6,000 switches, and 1,500 relays. It was an enormous machine, occupying the 50-by-30-foot (15-by-9-meter) basement of the Moore School. As it was generating 174 kilowatts of heat, there was a need for its own air conditioning system. Its ability to execute up to 5,000 additions per second made it several orders of magnitude faster than its electromechanical predecessors. The cost of building ENIAC was as high as $400,000.
In addition to the digital approach of building computers with binary switches made out of electronic valves, von Neumann architecture also solidified the concept of the invention of computer. von Neumann model or Princeton architecture — is a computer architecture based on a 1945 description by John von Neumann. In addition to input and output devices, this architecture has a processing unit that contains an arithmetic logic unit and processor registers.
Invention of the Transistor in 1947 began the race of reinvention and miniaturization:
The electronic technology core of ENIAC caused creative destruction to all the computing machines previously built using mechanical and electromechanical technology cores. However, till 1945, the development of the computer was mainly for the Government. But the situation rapidly changed with the invention of the Transistor by Bell Labs in 1947. Transistor quickly replaced the vacuum tube technology core to build a faster, less heavy, and less energy-hungry computer. Along with performance improvement, the cost of computers kept falling due to the miniaturization of the Transistor.
Particularly, the invention of process technology for integrating multiple Transistors and other discrete components on the same wafer opened a new era of developing computers. Hence, the computer began the diffusion in the corporate world in the 1960s—as progressive waves. The continued advancement of integration led to the development of microprocessors and the invention of personal computers in the 1970s. The development of point and click technology around the mouse and graphical user interface made computers usable by ordinary people. Further advancement of integration has led to developing a highly computationally intensive smartphone, making commuter invention for all.
Creative destruction and Disruptive Innovation effect of the invention of the computer:
Due to the change of technology core, successive generations of computers have cased creative destructions to older generations. Furthermore, often, existing firms developing an older generation of computers suffered from disruptive effects. This dynamic also made tiny Startups into large corporations. The long journey of the invention of the computer is littered with the uprising and destruction of both ideas, jobs, and firms.
Like Telephone, the light bulb, Television, and the Cell Phone, the invention of computer is not the act of a single creative genius. The inventive activities are also spread over centuries. Furthermore, like many great inventions, the invention of computer started with mechanical technology core. Subsequently, it adopted electrotechnical technology, followed by vacuumed tube-based electronic technology. However, game-changing development occurred with the Transistor’s invention and its subsequent miniaturization as integrated circuits.
