The History of Computers (must read)

The History of Computers

While computers are now an important part of the lives of human beings, there was a time where computers did not exist. Knowing the history of computers and how much progression has been made can help you understand just how complicated and innovative the creation of computers really is. 

Unlike most devices, the computer is one of the few inventions that does not have one specific inventor. Throughout the development of the computer, many people have added their creations to the list required to make a computer work. Some of the inventions have been different types of computers, and some of them were parts required to allow computers to be developed further. 

The Beginning 

Perhaps the most significant date in the history of computers is the year 1936. It was in this year that the first "computer" was developed. It was created by Konrad Zuse and dubbed the Z1 Computer. This computer stands as the first as it was the first system to be fully programmable. There were devices prior to this, but none had the computing power that sets it apart from other electronics. 

It wasn't until 1942 that any business saw profit and opportunity in computers. This first company was called ABC computers, owned and operated by John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry. Two years later, the Harvard Mark I computer was developed, furthering the science of computing. 

Over the course of the next few years, inventors all over the world began to search more into the study of computers, and how to improve upon them. Those next ten years say the introduction of the transistor, which would become a vital part of the inner workings of the computer, the ENIAC 1 computer, as well as many other types of systems. The ENIAC 1 is perhaps one of the most interesting, as it required 20,000 vacuum tubes to operate. It was a massive machine, and started the revolution to build smaller and faster computers. 

The age of computers was forever altered by the introduction of International Business Machines, or IBM, into the computing industry in 1953. This company, over the course of computer history, has been a major player in the development of new systems and servers for public and private use. This introduction brought about the first real signs of competition within computing history, which helped to spur faster and better development of computers. Their first contribution was the IBM 701 EDPM Computer. 

A Programming Language Evolves 

A year later, the first successful high level programming language was created. This was a programming language not written in 'assembly' or binary, which are considered very low level languages. FORTRAN was written so that more people could begin to program computers easily. 

The year 1955, the Bank of America, coupled with Stanford Research Institute and General Electric, saw the creation of the first computers for use in banks. The MICR, or Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, coupled with the actual computer, the ERMA, was a breakthrough for the banking industry. It wasn't until 1959 that the pair of systems were put into use in actual banks. 

During 1958, one of the most important breakthroughs in computer history occurred, the creation of the integrated circuit. This device, also known as the chip, is one of the base requirements for modern computer systems. On every motherboard and card within a computer system, are many chips that contain information on what the boards and cards do. Without these chips, the systems as we know them today cannot function. 

Gaming, Mice, & the Internet 

For many computer users now, games are a vital part of the computing experience. 1962 saw the creation of the first computer game, which was created by Steve Russel and MIT, which was dubbed Spacewar. 

The mouse, one of the most basic components of modern computers, was created in 1964 by Douglass Engelbart. It obtained its name from the "tail" leading out of the device. 

One of the most important aspects of computers today was invented in 1969. ARPA net was the original Internet, which provided the foundation for the Internet that we know today. This development would result in the evolution of knowledge and business across the entire planet. 

  It wasn't until 1970 that Intel entered the scene with the first dynamic RAM chip, which resulted in an explosion of computer science innovation. 
On the heels of the RAM chip was the first microprocessor, which was also designed by Intel. These two components, in addition to the chip developed in 1958, would number among the core components of modern computers. 
 


A year later, the floppy disk was created, gaining its name from the flexibility of the storage unit. This was the first step in allowing most people to transfer bits of data between unconnected computers. 

The first networking card was created in 1973, allowing data transfer between connected computers. This is similar to the Internet, but allows for the computers to connect without use of the Internet. 

Household PC's Emerge 

The next three years were very important for computers. This is when companies began to develop systems for the average consumer. The Scelbi, Mark-8 Altair, IBM 5100, Apple I and II, TRS-80, and the Commodore Pet computers were the forerunners in this area. While expensive, these machines started the trend for computers within common households. 

One of the most major breathroughs in computer software occurred in 1978 with the release of the VisiCalc Spreadsheet program. All development costs were paid for within a two week period of time, which makes this one of the most successful programs in computer history. 

1979 was perhaps one of the most important years for the home computer user. This is the year that WordStar, the first word processing program, was released to the public for sale. This drastically altered the usefulness of computers for the everyday user. 

The IBM Home computer quickly helped revolutionize the consumer market in 1981, as it was affordable for home owners and standard consumers. 1981 also saw the the mega-giant Microsoft enter the scene with the MS-DOS operating system. This operating system utterly changed computing forever, as it was easy enough for everyone to learn. 

The Competition Begins : Apple vs. Microsoft 

Computers saw yet another vital change during the year of 1983. The Apple Lisa computer was the first with a graphical user interface, or a GUI. Most modern programs contain a GUI, which allows them to be easy to use and pleasing for the eyes. This marked the beginning of the out dating of most text based only programs. 

Beyond this point in computer history, many changes and alterations have occurred, from the Apple-Microsoft wars, to the developing of microcomputers and a variety of computer breakthroughs that have become an accepted part of our daily lives. Without the initial first steps of computer history, none of this would have been possible.

The difference between Core 2 Duo and Core Duo (Dual Core)

The difference between Core 2 Duo and Core Duo (Dual Core)

Dual core is simply a generic term referring to any processor package with two physical CPUs in one. 

The Pentium D is simply two Pentium 4 Prescott cpus inefficiently paired together and ran as dual core.

The Core Duo is Intel's first generation dual core processor based upon the Pentium M (a Pentium III-4 hybrid) made mostly for laptops (though a few motherboard manufacturers have released desktop boards supporting the Core Duo CPU), and is much more efficiently than Pentium D.

The Core 2 Duo is Intel's second generation (hence, Core 2) processor made for desktops and laptops designed from the ground up to be fast while not consuming nearly as much power as previous CPUs.

The Pentium D, Core Duo, Core 2 Duo and Athlon X2 are all current CPUs that have dual cores in one package.

Note - Intel has dropped the Pentium name in favor of the Core architecture.

Difference between Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo

Difference between Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo

Core 2 Quad is two Core 2 Duo processors placed together.

8 MB of Shares L2 Cache
1066 MHz front-side bus

How it all started:
Pentium 4
Pentium Dual Core: Two Pentium 4 Placed Together
Core 2 Duo: True Dual Core Processor
Core 2 Quad: Two Core 2 Duo Placed Together

The performance different between Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad is not much because most of the current applications do not use all the 4 cores efficiently.

Difference Between FAT32 & NTFS

FAT32 { File Allocation Table }

The File Allocation Table (FAT) file system is a simple file system originally designed for small disks and simple folder structures. The FAT file system is named for its method of organization, the file allocation table, which resides at the beginning of the volume. To protect the volume, two copies of the table are kept, in case one becomes damaged. In addition, the file allocation tables and the root folder must be stored in a fixed location so that the files needed to start the system can be correctly located.

A volume formatted with the FAT file system is allocated in clusters. The default cluster size is determined by the size of the volume. For the FAT file system, the cluster number must fit in 16 bits and must be a power of two.

FAT32 is a derivative of the File Allocation Table (FAT) file system that supports drives with over 2GB of storage. Because FAT32 drives can contain more than 65,526 clusters, smaller clusters are used than on large FAT16 drives. This method results in more efficient space allocation on the FAT32 drive.

The largest possible file for a FAT32 drive is 4GB minus 2 bytes.

The FAT32 file system includes four bytes per cluster within the file allocation table. Note that the high 4 bits of the 32-bit values in the FAT32 file allocation table are reserved and are not part of the cluster number.

Operating System Supported --> All version of Windows upto XP

Limitations

Max Volume Size--> 32Giga Bytes for all OS & 2Tera Bytes for some Operating Systems.
Max Files on Volume--> 4194304.
Max File Size--> 4Giga Bytes minus 2 Bytes.
Max Clusters Number--> 4177918.
Max File Name Length--> Up to 255.

File System Features

Unicode File Names--> System Character Set.
System Records Mirror--> Second Copy of FAT.
Boot Sector Location--> First Sector and Copy in Sector #6.
File Attributes--> Standard Set.
Alternate Streams--> No.
Compression--> No.
Encryption--> No.
Object Permissions--> No.
Disk Quotas--> No.
Sparse Files--> No.
Re parse Points--> No.
Volume Mount Points--> No.

Overall Performance

Built-In Security--> No.
Recover ability--> No.
Performance--> High on small volumes & Low on large.
Disk Space Economy--> Average.
Fault Tolerance--> Minimal.

NTFS { New Technology File System }

NTFS is a high-performance and self-healing file system proprietary to Windows XP, Vista, 2003, 2000 & NT, which supports file-level security, compression and auditing. It also supports large volumes and powerful storage solution such as RAID.

The most important new feature of NTFS is the ability to encrypt files and folders to protect your sensitive data.[/list]

Operating System Supported --> Windows Vista, XP, 2003, 2000 & NT

Limitations

Max Volume Size--> 2 Tera Bytes.
Max Files on Volume--> Nearly Unlimited.
Max File Size--> Limit Only by Volume Size.
Max Clusters Number--> Nearly Unlimited.
Max File Name Length--> Up to 255.

File System Features

Unicode File Names--> Unicode Character Set.
System Records Mirror--> MFT Mirror File.
Boot Sector Location--> First and Last Sectors.
File Attributes--> Standard and Custom.
Alternate Streams--> Yes.
Compression--> Yes.
Encryption--> No.
Object Permissions--> Yes.
Disk Quotas--> No.
Sparse Files--> No.
Re parse Points--> No.
Volume Mount Points--> No

Overall Performance

Built-In Security--> Yes.
Recover ability--> Yes.
Performance--> Low on small volumes & High on Large volumes.
Disk Space Economy--> Maximum.
Fault Tolerance--> Maximum.

Microsoft windows keyboard shortcuts

CTRL+C (Copy)

CTRL+X (Cut)

CTRL+V (Paste) 

CTRL+Z (Undo) 

DELETE (Delete) 

SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin) 

CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item) 

CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item) 
F2 key (Rename the selected item) 

CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word) 

CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word) 

CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph) 

CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph) 

CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text) 

SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document) 

CTRL+A (Select all) 

F3 key (Search for a file or a folder) 

ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item) 

ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program) 

ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object) 

ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window) 

CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously) 

ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items) 

ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened) 

F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop) 

F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer) 

SHIFT+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item) 

ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the System menu for the active window) 

CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu) 

ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu) 

Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the corresponding command) 

F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program) 

RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu) 

LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu) 

F5 key (Update the active window) 

BACKSPACE (View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer) 

ESC (Cancel the current task) 
SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing)
Dialog Box Keyboard Shortcuts

Dialog Box Keyboard Shortcuts


CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs) 

CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs) 

TAB (Move forward through the options) 

SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options) 

ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option) 

ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button) 

SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box) 

Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons) 

F1 key (Display Help) 

F4 key (Display the items in the active list) 

BACKSPACE (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box)

Microsoft Natural Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu) 

Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties
dialog box) 

Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop) 

Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows) 

Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows) 

Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer) 

Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder) 

CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers) 

Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help) 

Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard) 

Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box) 

Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)

Accessibility Keyboard Shortcuts

Right SHIFT for eight seconds (Switch FilterKeys either on or off) 

Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off) 

Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK (Switch the MouseKeys either on or off) 

SHIFT five times (Switch the StickyKeys either on or off) 

NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off) 

Windows Logo +U (Open Utility Manager) 

Windows Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts

END (Display the bottom of the active window) 

HOME (Display the top of the active window) 

NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*) (Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder) 

NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+) (Display the contents of the selected folder) 

NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-) (Collapse the selected folder) 

LEFT ARROW (Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder) 

RIGHT ARROW (Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder)

Shortcut Keys for Character Map

After you double-click a character on the grid of characters, you can move through the grid by using the keyboard shortcuts: 

RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line) 

LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line) 

UP ARROW (Move up one row) 

DOWN ARROW (Move down one row) 

PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time) 

PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time) 

HOME (Move to the beginning of the line) 

END (Move to the end of the line) 

CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character) 

CTRL+END (Move to the last character) 

SPACEBAR (Switch between Enlarged and Nor mal mode when a character is selected)

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Main Window Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL+O (Open a saved console) 

CTRL+N (Open a new console) 

CTRL+S (Save the open console) 

CTRL+M (Add or remove a console item) 

CTRL+W (Open a new window) 

F5 key (Update the content of all console windows) 

ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the MMC window menu) 

ALT+F4 (Close the console) 

ALT+A (Display the Action menu) 

ALT+V (Display the View menu) 

ALT+F (Display the File menu) 

ALT+O (Display the Favorites menu) 


Remote Desktop Connection Navigation

CTRL+ALT+END (Open the m*cro$oft Windows NT Security dialog box) 

ALT+PAGE UP (Switch between programs from left to right) 

ALT+PAGE DOWN (Switch between programs from right to left) 

ALT+INSERT (Cycle through the programs in most recently used order) 

ALT+HOME (Display the Start menu) 

CTRL+ALT+BREAK (Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen) 

ALT+DELETE (Display the Windows menu) 

CTRL+ALT+Minus sign (-) (Place a snapshot of the active window in the client on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.) 

CTRL+ALT+Plus sign (+) (Place a snapshot of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing ALT+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

Internet Explorer navigation

CTRL+B (Open the Organize Favorites dialog box) 

CTRL+E (Open the Search bar) 

CTRL+F (Start the Find utility) 

CTRL+H (Open the History bar) 

CTRL+I (Open the Favorites bar) 

CTRL+L (Open the Open dialog box) 

CTRL+N (Start another instance of the browser with the same Web address) 

CTRL+O (Open the Open dialog box, the same as CTRL+L) 

CTRL+P (Open the Print dialog box) 

CTRL+R (Update the current Web page)

CTRL+W (Close the current window)