Today (31 March) marks 70 years since the world’s first commercial computer was unveiled.
The Universal Automatic Computer I (UNIVAC I) was the absolute state of the art when it was unleashed on the world in 1951, even if some of its capabilities seem one step away from pen and paper compared to modern computers.
However, the massive UNIVAC’s introduction on 31 March 1951 ushered in the future of commercial computing.
Universal Automatic Computer I (UNIVAC I)
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Fun facts
Even though the UNIVAC’s power was relatively modest, it didn’t stop people from worrying about the dangers of machines that could one day take over their jobs.
PROFILE
Inventors J. Presper Eckert and J.W. Mauchly work on the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) which was formally dedicated at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania
WHAT’S THE STORY? IT’s an anniversary marking the delivery of the world’s first commercial computer – Univac 1 – to the US Census Bureau 70 years ago yesterday. Engineers J Presper Eckert (left) and John Mauchly delivered the machine to the bureau, and it became operational three months later, by which time dozens more had been sold to other government departments and private companies. Eckert and Mauchly had earlier developed Eniac (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator), the first general-purpose electronic digital computer, which was first used in a calculation for Los Alamos Laboratory in December 1945.
The ENIAC is 75 years old. This complex piece of kit from the 1940s was the world’s first computer. It was commissioned by the US army to calculate missile trajectories. It was officially launched .
The world’s first general purpose computer turns 75 The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), built at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering, sparked the ‘birth of the computer age’ thanks to a team of women programmers. Jean Bartik (left) and Frances Spence operating the ENIAC’s main control panel. Bartik was present on the day of ENIAC’s unveiling to the world, and even helped troubleshoot a switch issue the night before its unveiling, but her efforts, and those of ENIAC’s five other women programmers, were nearly forgotten.
On Feb. 14, 1946, the world’s first general purpose electronic computer was introduced to the world. The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), constructed at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering (now Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science), was touted as “an amazing machine which applies electronic speeds for the first time t
Made in Philadelphia, the 'first modern computer' is celebrated on 75th anniversary inquirer.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from inquirer.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.