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Apparently the most asked question on Google is "who invented the computer" followed closely by "when was the computer invented". This got me wondering too so I headed off on a mission to find the answers to these all important questions myself and where better to start than on the World Wide Web?

I decided the first thing to discover should be the actual definition of the word computer. The Oxford Concise Dictionary defines "computer" as follows:

"noun - an electronic device capable of storing and processing information in accordance with a predetermined set of instructions."

While devices for 'adding up' have been in existence since about 35,000BC and the abacus was used by the Babylonians in 2400BC, using the above definition, they can not be described as 'computers'. In 1837 a man called Charles Babbage came up with his idea for the Analytical Machine. While this could certainly be considered as a precursor of the modern computer, I still feel it can not truly be considered a computer by the above definition and so my search continued.

So who did invent the first practical electronic machine that could be considered a 'real' computer, using the Oxford Concise Doctionary definition? The Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) was invented in 1939 by John V. Atanasoff and Clifford Berry and while not perhaps practical, it could certainly be considered the first electronic device invented for computing.

Following closely behind in 1943 came the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer). Built in America and influenced by the ABC, the ENIAC is widely regarded as the first functionally useful electronic general-purpose computer. Used purely for military functions, it wasn't until 1951 that a commercially viable computer came into being the UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer). The UNIVAC I was the first mass produced commercial computer and was manufactured by Remington Rand in the USA. Only 46 machines were sold at a whopping $1 million each.

It was the development of the microprocessor that allowed computers to become smaller, more powerful and yet affordable by most. By the 1990's most businesses could afford to have their own PC (personal computer), soon to be followed by the general public.

In fact in this day and age it is unlikely to find many households that DON'T have a resident computer cluttering up valuable space. As technology improved and microchips got smaller, we saw the advent of the laptop - smaller, faster and very portable, a far cry from the days of early computing!

Learn more about this author, Jayne Scott.
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