Many people do not know how, or even when computers were first made. Even before the first electronic computers were made, many people believe that computers started with the abacus, a simple counting device. The abacus is believed to have been built in Babylon in the fourth century B.C. The "First Generation" of computers started in the very late 1930's. These computers were grotesquely slow, colossal in size, created much heat, used hundreds of kilowatts of power, and were about as reliable as a used up match (www.pbs.org). As time went on, these computers evolved from using vacuum tubes to transistors. Transistors mark the beginning of the "Second Generation" of computers in 1947. Unfortunately, the 2nd Generation did not advance as much as most people hoped, but eventually, the "Third Generation" was brought about by the invention of integrated circuits in 1958. Integrated circuits replaced transistors, and many computer languages came out in this time. Many more computer companies were born during this time, and eventually this led to personal computers for everyday use. Microprocessors introduced the beginning of the "Fourth Generation" and a time where computers were in almost every house.
The very first things that we consider "computers" were nothing more than adding machines. "Perhaps the first example of this is the abacus, known in the Orient at least as early as 600 B.C."(Nunz 517). The abacus consists of a frame with rods that hold beads which depending on their position represent a different number. It is usually made of wood and the rods that were thought to one time have been made of bamboo. Users can add, subtract, multiply, and divide just like modern calculator (Fernandes).
It all started with calculating machines and has advanced to the fast microprocessors we have today. People use computers everyday in many forms from the computer that's in a car to a home PC. Computers have changed everyday life in the way society drives, communicates,...