early computers
Room-sized calculating machines
Early computers refers to computing machines from roughly the 1940s through the 1970s—room-sized systems using vacuum tubes or early transistors, requiring specialized operators and punch cards for input.
The phrase evokes an era of technological pioneering: Early computers filled entire rooms and had less processing power than a modern smartphone.
It distinguishes these machines from personal computers that followed.
- ColossusImmense statue or figure
- vacuum tubesElectron-controlling glass cylinders
- UNIVACEarly electronic mainframe
- ENIACFirst general-purpose electronic computer
- assembly languageMnemonic-based processor instructions
transistors · Ada Lovelace · machine code · relays · Bletchley Park · code breaking · World War II · debugging · binary arithmetic · Grace Hopper · COBOL · magnetic tape · tape reels · FORTRAN · batch processing · number crunching · time sharing · punched cards
- computerscomputers, desktop, desktops, laptop, laptops
- Industrial Revolutionsteam engine, railroad, factory, coal, iron
- SmithsonianNational Zoo, Natural History Museum, Hope Diamond, Wright Flyer, Spirit of St. Louis
- CyberneticsNorbert Wiener, feedback loops, control systems, self-regulation, homeostasis
early computerssmartphones
Handheld touchscreen computers
laptops · tablets · mobile devices · handheld devices · wearable computers
early computerspersonal computers
Individual-use computing devices
home computers · consumer electronics · smartphones · desktop computers